Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1884-01-05

OF THE MEN WHO MADE CaLIs-NEw YEAR
DESCRIBED FROM THE STAND POINT OF AN
HosTEss-THE TYPES OF MEN AND HOW THEY
ACTED.
The following extract from young ladies'
journal was obtained for publication by the
kindness of a friend.
don't think New Year day can possibly be
as amusing anywhere else as ii is in Washing
ton. You see such an immense variety of man:
from the carefully-polished society man. the
leader OF germans and accomplished bearer of
crushed mats. to the uncOuth boy just in from
the backwO0dS. who, not to be outdone by anv
| one, must needs spend his first New Year in
! washington making calls. although it involves
! agonlZing fortunes to himself, not to speak of
| the su1erngs he infiiCts on his hostess. Why Is
! 1t that you never see debutantes going through
| those Writhing. speeches. aGOnies of shyness?
a girl takes her first New Year day with excite
| lnent, It Is true. but with perfect composure.
But after all, [ dare say it is much easier 10
! stay home and expect people than il is to march
| INTO one draWIng-rOom after another ana face
| pnalanX OF girls. There We're quite q lot of Us
| together, and, of course. We were all ENJOYING
| the most solid satisfaction life can Give-tne
consciousness of looking our best With full
realization of the fact that though the Lord
| lOOketh on the heart man lOOketh on the out
/ ward appearance, we had spent considerable
sllce OF eternity in attirinG ourselves III eur puT
| pie and fine lnen-iTuratiYe. of course for
purple Is very trying to the average complexion;
ana though tine linen may have been very sly
liSh IN Bible times, it Is not to be mentioned on
| the same day OF the week with the pretty things
| we wear nowadays But do not think the men
would be at ali iattored if they knew how often
among the chatter upstairs it was remarked:
''Oh! only men will come, and they don't
| know the difference"
WHAT THE MEN DON'T KNOW.
They don't know whether this is new silk
ODtr 1oc+
width or new lace sleeves, or at least if they do
they oughnt to. And if you are described in
the papers we all know the brilliant poetic
| fancy OF the society reporter, and how he
kindly transmutes all our laces into real point,
and all our Rhnestones into ''damond orna-
! ments." No nuns yelling is so simple that it
| can't he transformed into "a superb ottoman
silk, and no white null so cheap that it can't
| be clouds of tieecy lace" when seen through
the magic spectac!es of the society reporter
When he comes boldly in. as he did this year.
tWning one LEG caressingly around the other, and
| doing complicated bow that revealed what
fearful and wonderful piece of mechanism the
| human frame is, and cheerfully announcing
himself as the representative of the Daily
| Nhatstsname. proceeds with that poking and
| prylng curiosity, otherwise called the true
Journalistic instinct to inquire what YOU have
on. poor indeed is the females fancy who can
| not 1mprOvlse for herself brilliant toilet. And
if he looks little dubious we press him to take
another plate of chicken salad, and his doubts
are instantly dspelled.
| READY FOR THE FRAY.
Our nldurais quart dheue was Before any one
arrived. We felt it our duty to be ready at one
o'clock. but unless you are at one of the ex-
tremes OF town no one comes that early. After
we had calmly and d!spassionately looked each
| other over, made various slight changes of
toilet, carefully arranged Just becoming num-
Der OF wax candles, each of us taken ginger
iy. long-glOyed poke at the fire to make if
crackle, there is nothing to do but to wait and
the more easily depressed of the party begin to
| say we are not going to have any calls. There
| is no lack OF conversation. but we all begin to
reject that We didn't get into our War-paint to
| talk to lot Of other girls all day. Starvation
! also adds its depressing influence 1t is long
! past lunch time. but there is no stimulus to 90
| out and eat any thing without at least one man
| One cnterprising girl says she speaks for the
| first hungry man, and this Cannibalistic scnti-
ment eXCtcS no other emotion in the others
than envy that they weren't long-headed enough
| to speak for him first. She soon gets him. too
for when they do begin they come with rush
all sorts and sizes. and Invariably the most in
| congruous ones. all In bunch.
! PADDED ARMY OFFICERS.
There are army officers, looking like stuffed
| men in their tightly -buttOned uniforms. and
bearing in their hands their hats with wildly
waving horses tails-far be it from them to
conceal such glories by leaving them in the hall
| Navy men, too, glittering in gold lace
''Such bore, you know. to have to get into
| ones uniform for the President reception
| That is what they say. bat really | have no
! doubt they enjoy their tfnery as much as the
girls do. OF course these dazzling meteoIs ig-
more the ''CltS' already assembled and Of co1lrsa
| the 'cits" make dispararing remarks about
| brass buttons" and the enChantment they are
| supposed to have for the girls Then, of course.
| the society fellow who gives his whole soul to
| it. and makes it the business of his existence,
whose past Is last nights german and his future
| to-morrow's tea. comes in rigdly crooking his
| elbow and uttering his little conventionaitics
| at the same time with the Smithsonian scien-
| fist, whose brain and erudition his scientific
| treatises in nobody knows how many volumes.
| and his ability to converse with YOU in all known
| tongues. are but as sounding brass and a tink-
ling cymbal on occasions requiring society small
| talk.
THE ROCKET CALLER.
| Then there are the rocket callers. usually
very, very young, who dash in with:
youahappy New OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
Observation-Disclosures NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
| Observation-Disclosures Y ardmuStg ogoodmo
rnlng."
And are off before You can do ANYTHING but
gasp. In painful contrast to these metcors are
the stayers. They come in deliberately they make
a long standing call; at last poor weak human
nature succutnDS, ana you suggest sitting down.
Then you know your doom is sealed Men NAV
come and men may go, but he stays on forever
You see out Of the corner of your eye your very
own private and particular young men come in,
but you cannot look appealingy at them to
come and help you out, for the slayer holds YOU
with his glitterng eye. and you listen like
| two-year child, while he pours forth upon YOU
| floods of valuable information, about as spicy
as cold mashed potato. You hear your
special favorites making their adieux, or harder
fate to bear. having delightfully."- gay visits In
the dining room with the other girls It is not
considered etiquette in society to burst into
tears and Cry out loud, but you could gladly do
| it. He Is ObvOus to pointed inquiries If he
has many more calls to make, but replies
cheerfully that he has not. You throw petite
ness TO the winds and ask him what time it Ia.
He either tells you that his watch has stopped.
| or mention with statistical eXactness that it is
| twenty-seven minutes to six, but with brow
ur ruftled by shadow of suspicion that YOU are
| referring to him. When you are reduced to the
| very confines of insanity and begin to yawn I'M
| reservedly, he rises reluctantly and saws he
really must go, as if you were urging him with
| tears in your eyes to stay. When your dazed
senses realize that he has fairly departed YOU
can. like the ranks of Tuscany, ''scarce forbear
to cheer" But when he returns with wild eyes
| TO announce that some other fellow has got his
OvercOat with his list his cards, and. frirbtfu
climax, his cigars, you feel that fate has avenged
you.
| THE TACITURN CALLER.
But the slayer, with all his faults. is at least
1 all e. an