Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1883-01-17
White House Dinners.


as last year, which was on a large Car,
and read
The President requests the honor OF th
. company Of, at dinner on.
, Thursday was the usually the day o
the week be chose last year for his dinner
which was the day Washington preferred
q, when President. have before me, say
, writer, copies which have made from
the original invItstions of several Presl
dents
First, of course. comes one of Genera
Washington's. This have copied from
, one in the possession of Mr.. j. c q.
Kennedy, whose grandfather, Major Ell.
liott, was one of the engineers who laid out
this city. The invitation reads:
The President OF tine United States and
: Mrs Washington request the pleasure OF
Company to dine on-next at 4
O'Clock.
J -, 179-. An answer is requested.
|, Mr.. fillmore, while President, had one
sty.e Of invitation on nOte-paper and an
other on a large card. Sometimes Mrs.
Fillmore's name appeared with his and
sometimes not. One style was worded:
j The President requests the favor of
! IS company at dinner on Thursday
next at 8 o'clock.
Al answer is respectfully requested
! Another style used by him substituted
the word honor for favor. One of Sir. Bu
chanan's, which Judge Blacks daughter,
| (Mrs. Hornsby) has reads much tine same
as Mr.. FIllmore's:
Tue President requests the honor of
Miss Blacks company at dinner on Friday
January the 8 h, al q O'Clock. An early
answer Is reqested.
General Grants dinner invitations gen.
eraIiy read ''the President and Mrs. Grant
request The honor Of" etc., but when hey
/ gave the reception in honor of the 4 ,ng of
the Sandwich Islands. the invitations were
worded:
The President of the United States re-
quests the company Of at the recep-
lion IN honor OF his Majesty, the King of
the Elawauan Islands on Thursday evening
December 18Th at o'clock.
This IS the oaly Invitation of President
which have found, except that of Gene
raj Washington, where the form ''rresi-
dent of the United States is used. As
las been mentioned, General Washington
invited guests to dlpner at four o'clock,
MIR. Fillmore at five O'Clock and Mr. Bu-
clanan al six o'clock. President Grants
and those Of President Hayes were at z
O'Clock, while for all that President Ar
thur had last winter half past seven was
the hour named and the dinner usually
began al eight.
General Washington's Invitations were
gotteL up IN very fine style for tnat era,
but he frequently, as fnd from the writ
ngs OF his contemporaries, extended ver-
bal invitations, either in person or through
one of his secretaries, 10 'oificel charact-
crs, members OF Congress, strangers or citi- |
zens OF distinction" John Adams. when
consulted by Washington as TO rules Of
etiquette soon after their INAUGURATION, |
recommended this and said that such In- |
vitations should always be extended with |
out formslIty." Nevertheless it was con-
sIdered during the very fist year ofWash- |
lngton's administration a mark OF his ia
vor when any one received an invitation |
to dine with HIM and an intimatioD that |
Jhe course of public man had excited his |
dispieasure when no such invitation was |
tennered.
For instance. Senator Maclay wrote De |
cember l6 1889, that Mr.. lizard gave hin |
''clear hints OF MS loss OF character at |
court and OF the direct influence OF the |
President with members or Congress-, in- |
stanced IN eX ending invitations TO them. |
Aacay had lost favor because he wanted |
votes by ballol in the Senate on Washing |
toms nominations, and Senator lizard told |
hIm that oil the other Senators had been to |
dine with. the great man. A week later. |
Washington attended a session of the Sen
ate In person, accompanied by General |
Knox, the Secretary of War, TO advise |
with the Senate about a treaty with In |
dians, and the day of h.s second visit 10 |
that body Senator Maclay was called out |
by The doorkeeper to speak to Colonel |
Humphreys, one of the Presidents house
hold, and was by the latter verbal ly invi-
ted to dinner with the President on the
following Thursday at four O'Clock, that
being Monday. Senator Maclay writes
II really was surprised at the invitation.
1t viii be my daiy 10 go; however, 1 will
make no Inferences whatever. am con-
vinced all the dinners he can now give or
ever could, will make no difference in my
conduct"
''When the dinner occurred the CON-
pany were President aud Mrs. Adams, the
Governor and his wife, Mr.. Jay (Chlef
Justice) asd wife, Mr. Dalton and lady,
perhaps his wife, and Mr.. Smith, Basset
and Msciay, Lear and Lewis, the Presi
dent and Mrs. Washington sat opposite
each other in the middle of The table. This
custom has always been followed at a
dinner given by Prlsieent who has q
wife, but | presume few know how far
hack the precedent for II goes. Inc two
secretaries, Lear and Lewis, each sat at
one end OF The table. 1t was a great din
ner and the best Of the kind ever sat at.
Tne room, however, was disagreeably
warm"
This was in August. President Arthur
has revolted against following this prece-
dent, thought il is the general complaint
that other host or hostesses here do have
their rooms, even in winter, too warm. |
heard President Arthur last winter when
giving orders, just before one oil hls din
ners was ready, to open the windows and
cool the house. He added, laughingly,
turning to another lady and myself: 81 here
Is an engineer here who has been so ac-
custom ed to oyeTheating the rooms that,
having demonstrate d in vain. feel tempted
TO order him to be slam and his body
thrown in tue river. But man cannot
do everything he wants, even if he Is
President J"
To return to WashingtOn's dinner, the
writer of the description continues: First
. was soup, fish, roasted and boiled meats.
eammon, fowls, etc. THIS was the dinner.
The middle Of the table was garnished in
the usual tasty way with small images,
flowers (artificisD, etc. The desert was
first apple pies, puddings, etc.; then ICED
creams, jelles. etc.; then watermelons,
musk-melons, apple, nuts. 1t was the
most solemn dinner ever I sat at, con-
tinues Msclay. Not an health drank,
scarcely word said, until the cloth was
taken away. Then the President, taking
glass OF wine, with great formality drank
the health OF every individual by name
round the table. Everybody imi'aied
b;m-charJed glasses and sucl s. buZZ of