The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-03-10
A SCRAMBLE FOR sIREs.
Preparations by Nc Allister's -Four Hun
dred for the Washington Centennial.

"a OOAsAMb FOb 5AksEso.
Preparations by Nc Allister's Four Hun
dred for the W ashington Centennial.
(CopWi0ht 1897
NEW YORK, March 9.-The Wash =
| ington Centennial, to be held in
New York, will 90 down to postetity, as
having been tie great opportunity in the
| life Of its manager, Ward McAllister
The genius of Mr.. McAllster has had
| hit erto II limited, though honorable, scope ;
| he may now rise to be one Of the immor-
| tais; from being merely chef de battalion
he Is now Likely TO be a general of brigade,
and, like Napoleon, to exchange local for
nationsl service. Having created an en-"
| tirely new vocation, he wanted only a
| chance t. extend his field; the chance
has come and he may consider him
| self born under a very lucky star. He
| will on tins occasion, aud very likely ever
after, pronounce on the eligibility or non
eligibility of aspirants all over the country
TO the fashionable plane Of his own Four
| Hundrsl. He will become the national CEN
| sor of fs mon, and although the political
| administration may not recognize his C. flee
with salary, yet the members of the adj
ministrat.on will surely take fash
| ionable or homely status according
as he permits or proscribes, and tho man
who has the temerty TO feign ignorance
of Mr.. Grover Cleveland will not hesitats
to pronounce social bans against whomever
he feels disposed A society woman the
| other day, epsaking OF Mr.. McAl'i>tsr, said:
1T is not often that an uhexceptionable
| man of leisure Is willing to shoulder the
| mechanical details of society matters, and
we are all willing to have him do it, and
are very grateful TO him. He has genius
for that sort Of thing, and. besides, it
gives him various privileges he would
not have otherwise He has obtained
certain notoriety which would be disDloes-
ing to some people but which he seems to
like The other men are only to- glad to
sniff responsibilities upon him, and 1t saves
lot of bother all round he is not Beau
Brummel but in his way he has obtained
rs unique position among his contempo-
raries.n
There has been great talk about quad
rifle to be danced at the Centennial ball bv
descendants Of revolutionary herOe3 and
one would suppose that these people were
to be sought out from byways where fort
une has stranded them, and, crowned
with the laurel leaves of their an
cestors, receive for once the homage of
the worldly for.una'e. Such, however,
has not been the idea OF Mr.. McAliister
With great Ingenuity lie has spent the last
few weeks in searching not for liueal do
scendantS OF revolutionary heroes but,
instead, for heroic revolutionary ancestors
for his own battalion, members of whom
it was lntendsd from the start should com
prise the quadrille. He has found an en-
barrassment # ancestors for them all, for
what American family of two or thres
generations honorable standing but has bv
marriage or descent some connection with
the revolution, and has even lighted on one
for himself, some old Virginian, / believe,
whom he and Mrs. Cornelius Van
derbilt claim in common, and now there is
trouble in the air, and prospects of inter
necine strife, for all claim equal right TO his
toric precedence and If / am any prophet,
when the historical quadrille comes to b.
danced there will be very little said about
ancestors As planned, however, it is n
Demonico ball with enlarged boundaries,
a place where the hdUt ton can parade
their ancestors aud though it may sound
brutally frank to say so, it is tolerably Ger
tain that descendants of revolutionary
heroes who are living in fashionable OBJ
security will not be invi ed to share the
hOnors.
Mr.. McAllister's set, and no one else, ex-
cegt the political guests. will dance in TIE
famous quadrille. Consistent with the pro-
gramme, the boxes have all been parceled
out among the set, and there has not been
at any time one to be had by stranger
The centennial moon, looking down on
the many fanciful changes in ball room
fashions, will note among them the neglect
of the fan. That once important adjunct
of feminine toilet has fallen almost entirely
into disuse, and if the chef means to revive
flavor of old fashions, he should begin az
once on fan drill. The womeu
Of to-day know nothing at all OF "hirts and
vibrations discharges" and "autters,"
and an examination of the latest designs Of
that once bewitching implement indicates
that, following the natural law, it is falling
into a rudimentary condition Many fash
ionable women dispense VITA it altogether,
and others put it to no legitimate use.
Mrs Robert Goelet, indeed, occasionally
waves one Of transparent gauze which
causes delicate shadows to chase each other
over face and dress, but obscuros her not at
all, and suggests In no way the fan Of past
time with which the coquette PLAYED
peek a-boo. Mrs. William Vanderbilt
now and then raises y closed fan TO sup
press n yawn; Mrs. Cornelius toys nerv-
ouslv with one in her lap, but It ordi-
narily remains closed; Mrs. William
Sloane does not open hers, but has a trick
of lifting it to her face when speaking;
Mrs. Henry Clews sometimes uses one
but not with the grace women had OF old;
Mrs. Austin Corbin seldom has one by her
but will toy whole evening with hand
kerchief, lifting it daintly in the fingers
of two hands, pulling it out and dropping
is a lost art. Perhaps the long gloves have
something to do with it; reaching over the
elbows they make it more or less difficult
10 manipulate fan. At any rate, 1t is
certain that playing conspicuously with
fan is not at present considered good form
among chef McAlisters Four Hundred.
ADA CONE.