Daily Kennebec journal., 1893-01-09
GAY SOCIETY.
The Swell Tea Parties of the
National Capital.
They are So Called Because Tea is
Seldom or Never Served.
Most Of The Guests ars Strangers 10 Each
Other and Remain So.

! tAGtlST OI HofsS3 iiVohS oll tA1r pofeiiitats
of the Capital City, a rumble Of heavy
carriage wheels. a banging of the doors
Of broughams. Society has awakened
from its long lethargy and is once more
endeavoring to be gay and imagine it is
having good time.
want to tell you little something
about swell society in this American
capital of ours. 1t won't take me long
to tell YOU all know, for am anything
but fashionable. Il went TO tea day
or two ago-one of the SWEETEST teas the
| town has seen for many month--and
| probably shan't so again for long
year 4 swell tea in Washington, par
ticularly i'll a big house where the hostess
is ambitious and the invitations numer-
Gus, is one of the most soul narrowing
| and provoking instruments of torture
ever had the misfortune to meet with A
tea in Washington, you should know, is
called tea probably from the fact that
no tea is served; that no one thinks of
tea or even coffee, and that the one great
beverage which every one eagerly looks
for and lovingly fingers by is champagne
punch.
You are invited from 4 TO 6 in the aft
efr0on, but after you have haggled
with a cabby about the price for half an
hour and finally reached an agreement
by which he is TO call for You at quar-
ter TO sharp a neighbor who is fashion
able or who thinks she is, kindly sug-
gests that it is very bad form for any
one to appear at 4 o'clock tea before 8.
And if you want to be right in the
SWIM" she adds, you won't get there
till quarter after 5 and will stay only
half an hour. This makes you look like
:n old hand" accepted her advice
about not going till . and wish had
made if an hour later and had staid only
| thirty seconds.
Well, we arrived at 5. There is long
string of carriages inst ahead Of us, for
| every one else wants TO be fashionable
too. After Il long wait we get up To the
port cochere and alight. The man who
opciiS the carriage door is SO magnificent
parsonage that am at once in awe of
hiIa am afraid won't do something
just right and that he will look reprov.
ingly at me. He hands me little ticket
| with number on it, which afterward
learn is the carriage number. to be used
IN ordering your vehicle when you get
ready TO tear yourself away.
Within tho hall another magnificent
person in livery waves you to the right
and your ladies' to the left, and after you
have given one young man your coat and
received \ check for it. and danotheryoung
man your hat and received check for
that. you begin to look around for the
ladies who are so unfortunate as to be
under your escort. During the ten min
utcs which are occupied in this search
you have your toes walked upon by at
| least dozen distinguished people, cab
met officers and senators aud their wives,
who are nearsighted and important and
who appear to think they have right of
way. Some men would consider it an
honor to have their toes trod upon by
such distinguished persons. but have
been SO long in Washington that the
honor conferred seems to me to be out of
I'll proportion to the pain inflicted.
There is nothing now to do but to take
your place in the line of guests and ad-
vance as rapidly as possible to the place
/ where the hostess is standing to receive
YOU. AS you near her you can see that
| she is inagnificently attired and that
hHr face wears perpetual smile. As
! she is Il stranger to You, you fall to won
derng who il, to give you the introduc-
tion. when you observe that a young
| man stands near by to whisper an in
quiry as to who you are, and in turn to
announce with another whisper your
name, so that the hostess may gra-
clonSly greet you as one of her oldest
and dearest friends. 1t is great relief
to discover that you are not the only
one who must thus be made known
In fact two-thirds of the guests are
strangers within the gates, like your
self. Probably our capital society is the
only society in this country in which
people are invited to affairs of this sort
| simply because their names are known
and without any previous acquaintance
| with or even an introduction to the
! hostess
I The worst of it is, as you presently
discover, that not only are a majority Of
the guests strangers to the host and
hHs,ess. but to each other. There is a
great big crowd of people, and those
Whoscacauantanco is somewhat limited
WANDER aboHt disconsolately looking for
some one to say Il word to. The crash Is
great. Half the time You are wedged in
so tkat yon can't stir one way or the
othor. A big fat diplomat bars your
progress in one direction. and three
No.heii oi goooiv SIZE ana great com
t,e,',-sa III iein'ei y uhheni. ior you ="
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