Telegram-herald., 1890-01-07

sr Door. sef gp i1s biz puIcd ooal And T.
ss.s r,s-ch easier ~ gsg 1r-lE Lslaa ~ slay
sooer. and f1lly - rssE'eots-le. At th1
aae Daniel "elster paach, - c@Lec.
"a, tie grass fzVor.le, zIl1 isa-s every
.ssrs servesl from antique silver punca
b.ssbs Nearly al p45hc nen were
drinking ulen thee. I'D from Chrlslln--s
aN Alter Ne@ Year Z @4s Lm possi bic
q zet = quorum n sooeE men IL the
bssz.s of rspresentariyes. No<. verify
believe. s large ma loriry II tie a1enl1ers
n tnaG BODY d. ct dFluk IL al. even GA
Christmas. ief alone getting their states
mems s2Lns - f1l that fhey could not
sG uorighg Ia their chairs. 4 half cen
gurg ago tie holidays were celebrated ia
" ashlngton ia a rollcking. rosy fashion.
Bands u young eobored men paraded tie
streets singing and shouting. and Ia the
great fireplaces, - hose chimneysOne may
still 50. b. the dozen Ia the older paIts Of
the TORN, burned the huge fule logs. /
Aln constrained q think that the people
tAAFE kffA 6AN~ - Al eNtA4 -ftf an AN
nneulent ever slice the days of Jackson.
Certainly al Incident like that OF tho
cheese would now be impossible. That
such al incident occurred In Jackson's :
day vas not 80 much the fault OF Jack
son As Of the people.
Without doubt the society Of the cap
Ital xas deGeriorated b. the war and by
the conditions which grew out OF that
tremendous demorabzing agency. One
Of the phases Of the ''gilded era" Of the
war and the flush times Immediately
following was the desire Of every body 20
get into society. Pretty much every
body did manage 20 get III. Camp fol-
lowers. suffers. army contractors, the
numerous persons who had grown sud
denly rch by lucky speculations or by
the rise Of values, each and several want
ed 20 shine in the social firmament.
Many Of these shoddy magnates spent
money lavishly, and il was in that era
that Washington broke away from the
simple means Of dissipation which had
been sanctioned by the bon vivants Of
nearly a century. Plain, good whisky
would never do for these newly rich per
sons AMI their sycophants, nor was the
mutton and fish and oysters which Clay
and Webster and Jackson had feasted on
sufficiently luxurious for their tastes. IL
was then that the champagne and terra
pin season set in, and, as a result. cham
payne and terrapin have been the gas
D.
IS for the terrapin, that has become, in
fact, fad. II Is liked simply because it
is expensive If th- little turtle cost a
nickel instead Of s. apiece no one could
be found 90 take a mouthful Of him.
Terra pin is an acquired taste, and though
it was served It many = New Year lun-
cheon Yesterday, as il viii before spring
be served at countless dinners in this city
OF dining. not one man in ten who par
takes Of it and pretends 10 like it really
does like L.
The war and reconstruction era gave
US that shoddy sort of aristocracy which
depended 80 much on the cost of enter
tainments, of houses and equipages.
Mrs. Hayes helped society to get away
from the evil influences of that era, not
50 much by her temperance resolutions
as by the admirable example which she
set in other ways. Year by year since
her day the society of the capital has
been growing better, and in this city,
where almost everybody forty or fifty
years ago was more or less intoxicated
on New Years day, drunken man was
yesterday an object of curiosity on the
streets.
In one important particular the official
society of the capital has not been much
changed in half a century. II is still as
easy to get into society here-ofiicial So
ciety, mind you-as it is to get into a
political OF marching club during a pres
idential campaign. All you need is the
regalia and 10 have your name printed
on a package Of calling cards. As a mat
ter Of fact, the official society of Wash
ington is q species Of political campaign
ing. In order to keep in the good graces
of the public the wives Of cabinet minis
ters AMI other members of the govern
ment throw open their doors. No one is
denied admittance, no one Is treated as
less than equal. Every precaution is
taken against offending even the hum