St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-11-08
Washington Society Now in the Throes
Of Candy Pulls. Broom Drills,
ETC., Etc.
Sons of Judges and Senators Engaging
in Amateur Theatricals and
Minstrelsy.
Diplomats Who Want to be Sociabie,
But Stun BILE on the English
Language.
Only Now and Then a Sporadic Case
of Wedding--Milf Ladies
Receive.
Society mt the Capital.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 5, 1SS5.-This is the
''silly season. in the social world. 1t is a
sort of interim between the close of the
summer vacation and the opening OF the
winters festivities 1t is a time when the
society people struggle with the meager
surroundings and events for material with
which to amllse themselves. The events OF
the past few days have been especially illus
tratiye of this state of affairs. TO
| see lot of society young ladies
and gentlemen indulging in ''broom
drills" amateur dramatic" entertain
ments, ''gingham parties" Halloween
tatfy pulls" and that sort of thing betokens
the absence of much that is legitimate in
social way, and the presence OF good deal
OF anxiety to equal it until something bet
ter shall make its appearance. One OF the
events Of this week has been dramatic
entertainment by young ladies of st. Johns
Episcopal church in Georgetown, very
proper and aristocratc old church
whose young ladies and gentlemen
are quite out of their usual element
in broom drills, amateur drama and this
sort of thing. Another event of this char
acter was Bingham party held at the resi-
dence of a prominent citizen of aristocratic
| young ladies present appeared in Kate
| Greenaway dresses made OF gngham.
| Still another curious entertainment OF this
character was Halloween party, at which
| the young ladies appeared in poke bonnets
| and old time costumes and spent the even
| ing with the details of an Old-faShiOned
| tatfy-pulling. After all, people in society
are very much like other people. They
rather enjoy
THESE LITTLE sPREES
at which they may unbend, and throwing
aside the formalities of the ''social' world.
have a good time. 1t is not an unusual
| thing to find young ladies and gentlemen
who figure in the highest walks of social
| life appearing in masquerade or fancy cos
| tunes in public for the sake of dear charity,
| and it has been even known that sons OF
supreme court justices and senators have
| enjoyed the experience of appearing on the
| stage with blackened faces to kick up their
| heels in true minstrel style. And this is
about the time of year at which they
usually do it. The consequence
is that the social events of
| the present are OF a pecu-
| liar sort. Interesting to those who take
| age observer There are evidences, how
season. For instance, the ladies living at
| the Washington barracks where there are
a dozen or twenty married officers, have
opened the social season by fixing upon
| Monday as their day for receiving. Last
Monday was pretty busy day with them,
too, in spite of the fact that the weather
was unpropitious. The wives OF the
supreme court justices are also beginning
| their usual winters program and are re-
ceying their friends on Mondays accord
ing to their usual custom. The number of
callers at these homes is not yet very large,
however, and it is probable that the
SEASON OF ACTIVE SOCIAL LIFE
will not begin until about the opening of
congress. This bids fair to be very busy
season among the diplomatic people. The
| japanese minister has set the example by
| couple of entertainments this week, to one
| of which he invited large number of dip
| lOmatS, with their families, while the other
| was devoted more especially to Washington
| society in general. The diplomatic world
| here is peculiar one. Anybody who is a
diplomat is well received in society. In
fact most diplomats are courted by the So
cial world, and it is a very agreeable thing,
| too, to them, for your average diplomat has
little to do except to indulge in this sort of
thing. The social world generally. how
ever, does not satisfy your average diplo-
mat, for very large proportion of them
find the use of the English language
something of burden, and they
are very glad to have the
opportunity of meeting with those who
speak a language with which they are more
familiar. The result is that there are great
many quiet entertainments going back and
speak French, of course, and apparently
enjoy these quiet entertainments Of their
own very much. So that, while the winter
is likely to be brilliant one among the dip
lomats, so far as general society goes
it will not interfere with the workings
of this wheel within the social wheels The
japanese minister evidently intends to make
| this, his second winter in Washington. an
extremely brilliant one. He did not arrive
last season in time to take any very promi-
nent part in social affairs, though he was in
| time to indicate his interest in matters of
| this kind by one or two entertainments at
| his own home. He is understood
ToBE A GENTLEMAN OF WEALTH
and social experience, and as he and his
| wife have both some knowledge of the Eng
| liSh language they will probably do more in
| social way thanany representatives of that
nation who have preceded them. The matr-
monial activity which marked last week
and the week before is not so prominent a
| feature this week. There have been three
OF four weddings of some prominence,
| among them Miss Emma Darden
to Mr. Russell Neale Of Baltimore, and
Miss Alice Hannah to Mr. Warren M.Whyte.
For next week the marriage of Miss Emma
Black Pentland to Mr.. WilhelTus Bogart
Bryant is announced.
An interesting feature of the week was
fair held for the benefit of the
National Rifles armory fund. This
popular military company is an
offspring of that other anci ent
! and popular corps, the Washington Light
infantry, who, couple of years ago,
erected fine armory and theater. The
proceeds of the National Rifles fair are to
be applied to the building of their new
armory. The society ladies take good
deal of interest in the fair. At the upper
and lower end of the hall there were two
auction booths, where attachments
| of the National Rifles corps did
a thriving business. There were two
| sets of ladies more noticeable because more
! picturesque than the rest. One set were
! dressed in japanese costume and engaged
| in telling fortunes and selling tiny cups OF
tea at the Mikado stand: and the other set,
| who had charge of Mrs. Lincon's station
airy booth. were attired in wonderfully-con-
structed dresses, composed of paper of vari-
| ouspretty cOlOrs. In the center OF the floor
| there was large booth in the shape of
pagoda where half dozen eloquent young
misses sold perfumes and toilet articles.
| All the booths in the great hall were given
up almost entirely to fancy wares, in which
artistic needlework and flower designs pre-
| dominated.
NOTES.