Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1884-12-31
NEW YEARS DAY.
as rT ~ SEEN TBROUGB THE So
CIErr MAYS GLASSES


to Wear.
As tomorrow will be New Years day II
may he OF interest to go back over some of
the early customs that marked Its observance
as day given UP 10 social iollity IN new
fork city. Finy years ago u was the gay
custom for ladies' arrayod In their comcliost
70 keep open house, when not only friends
and iutimatcs but formal acquaintance,
availed themselves of the opportunity 10 call
In person and pay their dovoirs ut the shrine
of domcsticity. These calls were not confined
to mere acquaintanccs, either Merchants
expected their clerks. their foromen and all
their employees to pull the bell of courtesy
and mako the bow of respect on that one day.
Christmas was not an occasion Of general OBJ
scrvancc. 10 was regarded rather ~ n rolig-
ions fcstiva, than a Srial day, and by com
mon consen. ola ti;ders took hold of New
Years day as the ono occasion when extremes
could meet without offence, and the moro
rigid rules Of etiquette bo somewhat relaxed
in favor of domestic regard and common
courtesy. 4 piece of cake and glass of wine
marked these calls which were most unlike
the "ilits" of the present day.
The New Regime.
These good old customs did not survive the
march of modern ideas. Each caller began
made, and ladies took to boisting of their
well filled list of names Tho vulgar rich
began to make displays in the table lire, and
long tables took the place of handsome side
boards and protentious menu succeeded
the modest cake and wine. Little by little,
as New York grew, inferior ideas supplantod
the oldtime animus, and the purpose of tho
custom was absolutely switched off into yul-
gar programmes. Snobs brought snobbory
iutn fnShipu. and rushed DhpIlt
the streets mt noon IN full evening dress, per-
fumcd with cologne and smelling of ciga
rettes.
IL being impossible to meet for any length
of time, many friends scattered over large
area, cards were invented To fill the want IL
Is now and has been long considered entirely
proper to send cards on New Scars's day,
and thousands of baskets are hung out every
wear hy ladies who have had all the indis-
criminatc handshaking they carr for, and are
quite content TO empty card basket into the
tro rather than meet the Toms Dicks aud
Harry's of their husbands friends
now TO DRESS,
Concerning the very important item of
dress the following from the New York
Herald will bo of interest .'If men make
calls and women rcecivo them, dress becomes
an important consideration. Some men have
an idea that "full dress means dress coat
SO II does In the evening. So II does not in
the morning. Nevertheless, hundreds of
idiots will call on ladies' before the hours OF
tho afternoon are come wearing garment
which can bo appropriate in the evening only.
Men, be they old or Young should wear
frock coat, with appropriate addonda and
gloves such as cumport with walking cos
tune Under no CirCums mstances should they
appear IN full evening dress until full even
ing has made its appearance.
In other words a call prosuppuscs IA little
something better than q bow. "lIow dye
do?" n bow, and "GOod morning" II man
pops into iady's presence ~ jack in the
box jumps on top of the box lid, jerks out
word or two and pops out again he nits. He
dosen't call, and no selfrespecting young
woman would care to have such. But as there
are men who like to say they made 100 calls,
30 are there women who are fond of show
ing long listS Such may like the Hit way Of
doing business, aud there will he many who
will 50 do.
But about the ladies' dresses?
All! That's tender topic and must be
handled gingerly. II all depends on the
style of entertainment Some ladies will re-
"eive in morning costume until five o'clock,
when they will change to full evening dress.
Others viii have their curtains drawn, their
parlors dnrkcned and the gas lighted at
eleven in the forenoon, after which they will
play 1t IL evening and appear in costumes ap-
propriate to be worn after the gas IL lighted.
II would be difficult for ladies 10 err in the
matter of dress, because they are allowed the
widest latitude In determining tho nature of
the reception. Men, however, have but one
course to follow In daylight they must
wear ordinary street costume and i'm the
evening don the dress coat.
HATS, COATS AND CANES.
Several inquiries are made as To tho dispo-
sitiou to he made of hat, coat aud cane by the
caller 1t all depends ON the nature of the
visit If it's tO bo a flit keep your coat on
your back and hold hat and cane well in
hand. II you make a very ccremOnious call
do the same, but ii there be servant--as
there should beat hand, let him care for
your extras while you make what the ladies
will appreciate, good old fashioned call"
These little matters really mean much, par
ticularly If the day be stormy, If snow is on
the ground or umbrellas aud top coats are
wet or damp with rain. In these cases hat,
coat, overshOes and umbrellas must ofcoursc,
be left in the hall by oven the fightiest fit in
thristendonI.
TEMPT HIM NOT.
In olden time glass of sherry, Madeira or
port with which to mosten "A bit of cake or
biscuit was considered quite the thing. OF
late years the habit of vulgar display by
people who knew no better led up TO tables
which grcaned with catables of every de-
scTiption, from oysters To game, from sherry
to champagne, from whisky To eggnogg.
one politician paid every lst of January to
fashionable caterer sl,500 for his "spread,"
wines and liquors extra. Others followed his
example and their houses were sought by
rabble who went TO gluttoniZe and guzZlc and
laugh at the expense of their entertainers.
A revulsion naturally followed and for some
years past tables are the exception ana sense
less displays but occasional. 1t is said that
everybody drinks nowadays and unfor-
tunately il is almost Il proyable assertion
Women who think at all will be apt To think
twice before they deliberately put temptation
in the hands of young men or any man on
New Years day II ii is well to drink here,
why refuse there? And with some people,
once started the end is hard to find. \ new
year begun with dehauch is not nice 1t is
bad enough for the man who loses his head.
How about the woman who tempts him.