Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-04-18
THE DOORSTEP SEASON.
ONE OF THE SOCIAL CUSTOMS OF WASHINGTON
THE INFLUENCE or THE DOORSTEP on SOCIETY
SOME FIGURES CONCERNING THE SUBJECT.

ONE OF THE SOCIAL CUSTOMS OF WASHINGTON
THE INFLUENCE or THE DOORSTEP on SOCIETY
SOME FIGURES CONCERNING THE SUBJECT.
The door step season will soon open. The
soft signing of the south wind is the prelude.
The trees and shrubs burst into a harmonious
poem OF green in its honor and the trailing vines
thrill with anticipation "a they wreath the rail-
inGs and pillars Ofthe porch. At its coming the
worm Of melancholy feeds on the damask cheek
as it Were of the gas man and the coal man and
'the old man" smiles with rapture as he thinks
of the reduced coal and fuel bills There is no
season that excites such diversity of emotions
and yet it Is not officially recognized
as season. The calendar knows it not.
The aImanars do not mention it. The
of its existence. But 1t is not OF the heavens nor
the product of science. 1t is the invention of
society. Society has it's balls. its operas and its
receptions TO brighten the winter months but
when the sweet grace of spEing touches the dull
earth and the genial influence of nature is felt,
then the doorstep assumes its benign sway.
What society owes to the doorstep, and what q
potent factor It is In the affairs of the world has
never been justly estimated. 1t Is one of those
silent influences that permeate human affairs
and shape human destiny, and yet is lost sight
of by philosophical minds. Herbert Spencer has
formulated a system of sociology. and yet In no
single paragraph of THAT much Wanted work
has he mentioned this important factor. He
does not even mention the front gate. Science
may ignore facts. but that is not necessarily an
inhalation of such facts.
THE DOORSTEP SEASON
Is Just about opening in this city. and the few
mild evenings that have already occurred has
In some localities advanced the season pre-
maturely. Preparations are in progress for the
opening and by the end of this month the
season will be fairly begun. The mats and
cushions that have been laid away during the
winter are brought from their winter retire.
ment and are being repaired and furnished up
for active service. The mat that will just fit
the parlor door and can be used about the
rooms is found to be just little too long or a
little too short for the front door STEP and one
has to be made specially for this purpose. When
there are one or more young ladies in the house
1t is found necessary to have mats for as many
dOorsteps. but when there is only one young
lady that of course simpiifies matters. The
style for front door step mats shows but little
material change over that of last year. For
young ladies just out in society the worked
door mat OF cofee-bag material Is most COM
monty adopted But this style is
gradually discarded for mats of
heavier. softer material, and there is
less attention paid to ornamentatiOn. For ladies
OF more mature age cushions are very generally
used which are found to be comfortable when
Those employing the latter accessory of door
step furniture q rule simply observe the Gus
toms of the season from mere force of habit
and generally retire in the early hours of the
evening to the endowment of novel and an
easy chair in their back parlOr. When the
front doorstep Is thus furnished callers can be
entertained there instead of going into the
house This is custom OF the seas on and a
very pleasant one. Sometimes, when returning
from an evening engagement or walk instead
int fho 3o
customary to stop awhile on the front door
step and finish out the call.
MATHEMATICS APPLIED TO THE SUBJECT.
The custom Is so general in this city that on
pleasant evening In the spring and summer
nearly every doorstep is occupied and in some
cases the entire family are grouped about the
door enjoying the evening air. This is very OBJ
sefvabie In the early hours; but as the evening
wears away the dOOr-steps while not quite de-
serted are not quite so crowded. Some phlO-
sophieal mind has arranged q sort of tabular
statement, showing the ratio Of the decrease in
the number of these groups by half hours during
Che evening. The table gives the reduction up
o the hour Of II 7. m but the columns show that
two becomes the fixed number after 10 O'Clock
Other investigators have carried the tabular
statement up to the hour of IL midnight with
the same result; but these calculations are not
considered reliable. The lateness of the hour is
thought to have effected.the powers of the OBJ
servers, and hence the results are discredited
During the present season it is the intention to
enlist the services OF competent mathemati-
clan who is employed in all night observations
af the naval observatory, and his researches, it
y hoped, will settle this vexed question
In some quarters objections have been raised
TO the observance Of the customs of this season,
on the ground that as the front door step has no
back, 1t is, in consequence labor to occupy it
Tor any length of time. While on the face of it
TINS objection seems valid. yet the testimony Of
those who are the most constant observers of
the custom, tends strongly to establish the very
opposite. Even young ladies' who would be
the most likely to complain about any discom-
fort. state that the front door step Is not at all
wearisome, but In fact that 1t is very delight
nl and agreeable place They say that the charm
OF the scene. when all about is hushed in the
stiffness Of the night and the soft south wind
laden with the perfumes of fragrant flowers
sighs through the leafy branches and the moon
light shimmerng down through the interlacing
foliage above, renders a thought of WEAKNESS
impossible and as for back they never felt the
need of it. This Is prima facie evidence. and
ought to satisfy the most sceptical
THE INFLUENCES OF THE SEASON.
The front door season Is one of open air The
theater where the votaries Of society move is
changed from the heat and crush of the ball and
reception room to the cool pure air of the front
door STEP The change suggests new ideas and
brightens and adorns the conversation. 1t is
step from art to nature. There the pleasant
evenings are spent. and there they linger and
nnger. and then bid regretful good nights. 1t
is healthful social custom. It brings neigh
Dors together. and makes whole streets social
gathering The parental warning is however
now being formulated, and will, when the
weather permits, be begun to be heard and In
continued iteratiOns against sitting out on the
door step. But the young people like 1t. and
they will probably sit there they did last wear
and the year before. and a. far back az when our
grandfathers helped our grandmOthers hold up
the front gate.
Letter from Old Point.
VISIT or THE PRESIDgNT-How HB WAS RECEIVED