Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1889-04-30
THE UNGODLY BALL.
THE SHOW TEMPTED ELDER HARRISON BUT
HE DIDN'T TRIP
A Magnificent Asssmblsgs of the Wealth ant
Beauty Of New York-A Scene Unriyaled
IL Gotham's Gay History.

NEW YORK, April 29-In the minds o
many of those who are tnronging New
York in these days Of celebration the
greatest feature of all is the Grand Cen
tennial ball, which took place in the Me
tropolitan Opera House tonight. All thai
money could do to carry out the immense
plan that was to give night of pleasure t.
six thousand people Was done and this. result
attained was satisfactory. There was Ger
tsinlv little to wished for in point of at
tendance, unless indeed one might have
wished from selfish motives that half the
peaple had stayed at home, and yet it was,
taken sll in all a night long exemplifica
ton of the old adsgs 1.-THE more the mer
rier " The carriages began to roll up to
the Broadway entrance soon after 8 o'clock,
though the ball was put down on the pro-
gramme for 9, and by $50 there were
quite enough people in the corridors of the
great building to have put many a pTeten-
tious ball to blush.
AND WHAT BEAUTIFUL TABLEAUX
surrounded them on every hand. You
entered from Broadway into the very
midst of what seemed to be an old fash
Toned garden. The outer walls of the
auditorium and the sides of the double
stair cases formed three sides of the garden
and trellised vines and Towering shrubs
added to the mursle effect, while real fruit
tresses set about in artistic abandon
challeged one to dispute the fact that on
had lust come out Of doors The imme-
iiGte entrances 20 the great dancing fl )or
were kept clear for obvious reasons, bat
what sight met the eye When once within !
There il no word better describes the first
ser sation experienced on entering the vast
auditorium to nisht than to cay tina: it was
dszz' ing. Luckily fO7 Americans, tn
national colors blend well Even black
and gold are more harsh to the eye than
red. white and b ne The ColOrs were still
more softened by the fac. that it Was not
sll hunting that met the g'ze. The folde
of silk. velvet and plush are more toler-
able. From the centre of the dome long
streamers radiated to the side walls, and
all around the tiers of boxes and the bal
comics as well, there Was
4 WEALTH OF DECORATION
such as had never before beeu attempted
in New York There had been story
abroad to the effect that the decors-
lions had exhausted ten car loads of ever
green's, > 600 specimens of szaleas, 600
ferns, 1000 palms, 5000 panses and about
10 900 tulips. One had only to turn from
the contemplation of the tiers of boxes and
look toward the stage end of the vast
dancing floor to see where several carloads
of plants and flowers had been bestowed
The Presidential box was the centre one
on double tier erected at the back of the
stage. The front was almost covered with
palms with a large American eagle in the
centre surmounted by the words, Wash
ington 1879 and 1889, in colored electric
lights The whole front of both tiers was
curtained with silk flags and decorated
with groups OF standards and great masses
of flowers Standing at the stage end OF
the ball room, looking outward and up
ward iowa d the tiers of boxes that make
up that monster semi-circle, the scene was
one Of enhancing beauty even before the
boxes were filed.
THE FOUR HUNDRED THERE.
Box parties began to come in long before
the Mayor had arrived, and by the time
the word went round that the Presidential
party were coming there were very few
vacancies noticeable. Among the families
represented in this great concourse Of ex-
pectsnt people were those of the following
box holders; William Astor, Ogden Gae-
let, VIM. ]. Hamilton, Chauncey NJ. De-
pew, Elbridge T. Gerry, Stuyvesant Fish,
X bert G. Winthrop, Abram S. Hewitt
Hamilton Fish, Clarence A. Seward, Ward
McAllister, Henry Clews, William Jay,
Robert Goelet, Vim. NJ. Astor, Levi p