The Dickinson press., 1888-03-24
A STATE BANQUET.
ABOUT FORMAL WHITE HOUSE DIN
NERs, PAST AND PRESENT.

Lifc-Thc Invitations md the Guests.
Flowers, Sculpture, Wines and the
Most Exquisite Cookery.
The president gave his first state dinner
not Il great while ago. 1t was to the cabi-
net. and each guest received Il heavily en-
gravcd invitation inclosed in an envelope,
which bears the national coat of arms. The
White House paper and cards havca gigantic
eagle printed in gold upon them. 1t bears a
gold shield on its breast, and its bcak holds
the words 'E Pluribus Unum.' The card of
invitation to IL state Inner is almost us big
US n cabinet photograph. 1t is engraved in
black, and it bears the words: ''rhc Plesi-
dent and Mrs. Cleveland request the pleasure
of the company of - at dinner Oh -
evening, at O'Clock, 1855"
These dinners last several hours, and the
guests first assemble in the East room, and it
is here that the president md Mrs. Cleveland
receive them. They go to. the table at once,
and there they eat often as high as twenty
courses. The dinner just mentioned was one
of thirty covers, and the state dining table
was set i'll its ordinary form. There are
three ways in which tie table may Lc ar
ranged, according to the number of guests
who are to be seated, and the table, us it
usually stands, is fitted TO seat thirty-six. 1t
is Il long oval, and it runs the full length of
the state dining room. When more than
tlliitv-siX sit down it is changed by adding
to each end, making in one shape q gigantic
letter II" and i'll another, by following out
the sides, u figure like the stand of an anvil.
The dining room is gorgeous during a state
dinner. 1t is a great oblong parior, lis largo
as the ground floor of q house thirty feet
wide II forty feet deep, and its ceiling is So
high that it would reach to the base Of tho
windows of the second story of Il city house.
1t lies ut the left of the great promcnad" COR
ridor, and its windows look out on the Poto-
mar and the monument. 1t adjolns the Red
parlor IN the cast, and it has windows on tho
opposite side of the room which look into tho
grand conservatory of the White House.
Tho flowers of Il state dinner table are be
You'd description. and the florist puts his best
efforts on the gold lake which lies in the cen-
ter of the table. This lake runs nearly tho
whole length of til" table, and it is IL mirror
with Il gold rim about three inches high, and
this. during Il great state dinner. is framed
with the choicest of flowers and greens. y
thousand roses are often used at state dinners,
and abcut the same number of carnation
plnkS. During asingln season the state dinners
haze consumed 5000 sprays of lilies of the
val!tT. 400 strings of similaX and thousands
oi other flowers, such as camellias and Gala
lilies. Al times canoes are made, and ships
OF flowers in full sail are seated upon the
tahl". AT others there may be bridges and
castles. and once there was a design which
represented the Hanging Gardens of Semi
ralris. I" these flowers is added the bril-
liance" of the state china, and the wine sparklcs
Ill cut glass.
1t goes without saying that guests at state
dinners always appear i'll full dress. The
men wear boiled shirts and the decollete dress
prevails. as "A rule, with the ladies. AT the
dinner referred to Mrs. Fairchild's dress was
decoliete and Mrs. Endicott's dress was we'll
filled i'll with lace at the front. Mrs. Gen.
Joe llawley wore q blue satin train of silver
brocade and her corsage was low, and Mrs.
j. V. l.. Pruyn wore a ruby velvet. with q
low nccked waist. Mrs. Whitney appeared
in pearl gray satin, and Mrs. ingalls, looked
regal in IL trained robe Of black velvet,
Tho men looked we'll, too, and Bayard
walked out with Mrs. Cleveland, while the
president sat with Miss Bayard on his right.
Speaker Carlisle looks like q statesman in q
swallow tail coat, and Senator Hearst was
stlni.slter than ever in his claw hammer
garment. Secretary Lamar appeared almost
Judicial, with his long hair hanging down
over his collar, and Adniral Porter md Gen.
Sheridan were as courtly as usual. Put
thirty such guests around this big table,
let the light glitter, mako the Wine flow and
odd the gorgeous table decorations and you
have some idea OF the scene. Bring on wait
ers i'll full dress suits and nave the dark
eyed steward presiding over the whole, and
You may begin to appreciate a state dinner.
10 this, however, must be added the food,
and it comes on in shapes that please your
eye while at the same time it ticl.lcs your
stomach. The cook of the White House gets
a better salary than Il New York bookkcel,er,
and he is as much of an artist as some of tho
big chefs of Europe. He builds his dishes
with the care of the painter or tho sculptor,
and castles and boats and nearly every OBJ
Ject i'll nature is represented by him in the
form that the dishes assume on the state dim
ner table. At tho recent dinner there was q
curious stand for tho pates, and there was q
snsarel building covered with conserves and
candied fruits. He had near these tall and
low candelabra, and the tapcrs wcrc tipped
with white, pink and ruby shades.
The cooking in the White House is done in
inc hltcnenS DeloW STAIRS, and the chief room
is directly below the dining room. The
White House kitchen consists of two large
rooms, hung with cooking utensils of every
character and color. Ranges big enough 10
roast all OK are set into the walls, and on
these mammoth kettles and boilers smoke
with an appetizins favor. \ big zinc table
stands i'll the center of the room and tho
cook has a number of assistants. He wears a
white cap and all apron, and he takes pride
i'll his calling.
The ices for state dinners usually come on
the tables in forms as widely different asthe
flowers, and an old French woman here has
made a fortune i'll furnishing ices to noted
dinner ables. She las supplied the prcsi-
dents with their ice cream Since the days of
buchanan, and she is almost as much of an
artist as the chef.-Frank G. Carpenter in
New York World.