The Sunday herald and weekly national intelligencer., 1890-05-18

cleanliness and fresh air should play roles in
the treatment of this dread disease. All this
should be done under the care Of the best ply
scian obtainable and a trained nurse. | make
this memoranda, for scarlet fever is already
among us and counts many little victims
\ Y \
There is a story told of certain hostess in
Washington, who said to guest on one of her
reception evenings: "Oh! l am so sorry you
came tonight. This is not the set l wanted
you to meet. There are none of the best people
here" The clever snob, it seems, had divided
her friends into sets and invited them for differ
ent evenings, but unfortunately had mixed, or
rather separated them, with uncomfortable re-
suits. One of the families which this Admins
tration brought to us, who came to the Capital
hoping through official position and money to
obtain the social position denied them at home,
has, with equal social tact, adopted the same
tactics. The cards left upon them were sepa-
rated into three parts, something after this
style-the bowling swells, the swells, and the
people. talked to Arabella, who was invited
to all three of the receptions, about them. She
said she thought that nothing mournful as
the party given to the bowling swells could be
conceived of until she went to the one given to
the "people." This was even more sorrowful
and sad, nothing was lacking but the corpse,
and when any one laughed out loud every one
looked in surprised sort of way at the temerity.
The only jollity about the affair was the little
coterie invited by daughter of the house for
her own amusement. This little coteric, COM
posed of bowling swells-which meant in this
instance some impecunious Government clerks
and half dozen rich girls-sat at one end of
the dancing-room, and, ignoring completely the
rest of the guests, had rather jolly time of it,
Arabella was so ashamed of her position among
them that she escaped as soon as possible aad
mingled with the other people. The most sue
cessful of these parties was the one given to the
swells, but that could hardly be called a hilar-
ious affair.
Some aspects of Washington society tend to
make one cynical. Why is it that one cannot
like person for himself, because he is honest
and true, bright and witty, because he is him
self, rather than because Mrs. Hynmighty or
Mrs. Oldpedigree has stamped him with the seal
of her approval? But even when a man seems
to have the entree of Mrs. Oldpedgree's draw
ing-room amusing conditions arise. know of
nothing funnier than the story of the old fraud
who some five or six years ago took a fancy to
the idea of playing the role of a social swell,
lie was rather an arstocratic-looking man, and
drew on his slender resources to clothe his fine
figure in the purple and fine linen of society.
Then he went to a reception at the White House
and claimed the acquaintance of the women re-
ceiylng. His next move was to appear at the
Cabinet receptions, and, without ever having
had an invitation, had the assurance to say to
one of the Secretary's wives, 'Thank you, dear
madame, for having remembered me with cards
for your evenings. 1t will be impossible for me
to attend the first one, but will give myself the
pleasure of coming for the second" The poor
woman thought there must be some mistake,
that the cards really had been sent, and so smiled
and said she would be delighted to see him.
Gradually he pushed his way into the house of
every person in Washington who entertained,
and every one suffered him and many courted
him, because they imagined he was counte-
nanced by the Mrs. Hynmightys and the Mrs.
aiding was discovered there was hue and cry
among the people who had entertained Kim, and