The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1880-07-20
White House etiquette.

Inc ccremonious dinners at the White
House are as much matters Of course as the
reception of tho Presidents wfo by day
and his own Casually called lcvees, no one
knows why,) by night. Custom has made
it obligatory on our Chief Magistrate to
give several of these dinners during each
session of Congress. A spacious apart
ment, forty by thirty feet, known as the
Estate dining room" is provided for these
banqucts. There Is another smaller room.
where the President and his family take
their meals, and where they often entertain
their friends. Twenty or twenty-five can
comfortably dine therein. The estate
dining room" adjoins the red parlor and
has door of communication with that and
two with the hall. 1t has handsome
carpet and antique, substantial furniture
including a solid mahogany buffet OF the
largest size, which looks as If it had been
III use half century at least. There are
two windows fronting south, reaching from
floor to ceiling; there is a mantcl-piece and
Fireplace at one end of the room and side
tables OF mahogany in convenient places.
The walls are tinted pale hue and pancled
with gilt bands. The table used for ban
qucts is long and broad enough to scat forty
guests and leave abundant space for tho
servants to pass around it. A mirror about
two feet wide and long enough to extend
nearly the entire length of the table is ono
OF the hciriooms of the White House, and
is always placed horizontally along the CEN
ire OF the table when feasts are given. 1t
has an ornate gilt frame and serves as the
foundation for the table decorations. There
are other handsome ornaments belonging to
the White House which are sometimes used
these occasions, as, for example, the Hia-
watha vase, representing Hia xatha in q
slnglc-mastcd vessel on a crystal lake Ga
mirror on whose borders arc representa-
tions III silver of aqueous plants and amphib-
1ous animals. This vasc was purchased for
the use of the White House by Mrs Grant
at the Centennial Exhibition. The table
linen is very fine. The glass Is the finest
white cut glass, as thin as egg shells The
china is white Sevrcs, with colored bord-
CT. The silver Is massive, and for the de-
sert the celebrated gold forks and spoons
which brought down wrath on Van Buren,
arc used. China, glass and linen all have
an eagle and shield upon them and are
simply marked "Prcsident's House" The
dinners are the only official entertainments
given at the White House at which refresh
mcnts arc offered. Tho custom of offering
even the simplest collation. at any of tho
public receptions was long since abandoned,
not only because 1t was impossible to pro.
vide food for the multitude which rushes
in on such occasions, but also on account
of the piggish way in which the crowd fed
and swillcd lemonade, throwing rs much
Oh the carpets as into the rapacious mouth.
Those who arc entertained at tho State din
ncrs arc members of the Cabinet, Judges of
the Supreme Court, Senators and Repre-.
sentativcs and the foreign ministers. Thu
wives of all who are married are asked
when the husbands are; these dinners are
never 'stag- parties" When foreigner of
high rank, who may be regarded In any
sense as representing foreign nation or
sovereign visits Washington, ho is usually
dined In state at the White House. It is
etiquette not to decline an invitation to one
of these feasts for any reason of lass mag
nitude than death In the family or severe