Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-12-29

| /yH/JHMW/d er@ VIII aDunQanIly les
| ///XTV/J tify. But New Year
| //X/Y/ calling as q marked
institution of the day is rather observed in
the breach than in the observance. Who
is to blame for it? Who started the thing,
| anyway?
Some women and men, years and years
ago, belonging to the numerous progeny
of Mr.. and Mrs Knickerbocker, began to
feel pretty good with themselves and their
neghbors and made it point to go round
and tell each other so. 1t was a long jump
from that to the custom of a decade or
two back, when it was the proper thing for
everybody to keep open house-a regular
reception, in gas-lighted rooms, loads to
eat and drink, and bevy of ladies arrayed
in their finest clothes to exchange greetings
with Tom, Dick and Harry just fire.
quently as the men who were really eX-
pected and wanted. That style had its ups
and downs, like everything else, and while
at present fashion says down" the chances
are that, in a few years more, 1T Will be
kept as strictly as 1t IS now ignored. 1t
has been overdone. like most good things
which started with too much enthusiasm,
turned into hard work and then became
irksome. y has got so in this city now
that the official receptions are all there is
of it, The President receives his cabinet
and the representatives or foreign lands
and the rest of the big bugs. This duty
accomplished they right about face home
and all except the foreigners receive their
equals, and interiors, too, in place and
power.
The Presidents Reception.
Presidents have been doing it for many
administrations, and while some of them
may have lost their individual desire to
keep the custom up, the iron laws of off,
cial etiquette are so strong that in all these
eli ole rba has
except TO commence tb9 reception a half
hour nearer to noon.
The official announcement of President
Clevelands reception was made nearly
month ago. At IL o'clock next Tuesday q
scene full of familiar aspects will take
place in the blue parlor The Vice Presi-
dent, If he is here, and 'the members of the
cabinet will formally express to the head
of the nation their best wishes for a happy
New Year, although in all probability they
have already gone through this pleasant
exchange before they came down stairs
with him That over, the Secretary of
State will take his stand at the left of the
President, another State Department Off
cial at his left, end the diplomatic corps
will enter the parlor from Sthe red room.
The dean of the corps, Sir Julian Paunce-
fote, British ambassador. will be at the
head, and all the countries with which We
hold amicable relations will have repre-
sentatives there. There areifour ambassa-
doris and twenty-five ministers. Some of
ments are represented by charge d'affaires
The ladies of the corps always accompany
the ambassadors and ministers to call On
the Vice President and his wife aud the
Secretary of State and his wife. This time,
as it is not likely Mrs. Stevenson will be
here, as a higher duty keeps her near her
daughter, that visit will be omitted. The
diplomatic corps. as body, call immedi-
atey after leaving the White House upon
the Secretary of State and his wife, Iy
whom they are entertained at breakfast.
The dean of the corps presents his col
leagues and the ladies accompanying them
to the Secretary. The foreigners, as a rule,
before finishing their round of calls ut the
other cabinet houses. ordinarily go home
to lay aside their uniforms for their every
day and less conspicuous attire.
The Cabinet Receptions.
President and Mrs. Cleveland will be as
sisted by the ladies' of the cabinet, some
of when will remain at the White House
until 1890 when the reception to the pub
lie will commence.
The cabinet ladies will receive at their
own houses, the receptions generally COM
mencing at 2 and continuing until 5. Each
Will be assisted by q number of ladies'
generally the wives and daughters of the
officials in the departments presided over
by their husbands, as well as their per-
sonal friends. An invitation to assist at
one of these receptions is very highly re-
garded, for 1T is pleasing way of taking
part In the most CeremOniOuS social per-
foimarce in which official Washington lin
duiyeS
In addition to the ladies of the cabinet
who will assist at the White House recep-
ton, Mrs. Cleveland usually invites thirty
or forty other ladies to remain in the blue
room behind the line, and. besides giving
n pretty finish to the assemblage, entertain
the foreigners and others who are priv
leged to remain within its envied pre-
cincrS.
Fashionable New Workers HE themselves
to the country or the seashore or anywhere
else where they can commune with nature,
walk, drive, shoot, hunt, play golf, or do
anything else essentially English. Not a
bad ldea either In this section a fox
chase has been the proper caper and all
the women not invited TO receive at the
cabinet houses would be dead certain to be
very prominent at 1t. New Year balls are
popular hero, too. A delightfully."- large and
jolly one was given last New Year at the
British embassy.
Not Formally ut Home.
Society at the west end will not keep
open house. There may be a few isolated
cases like there were a few singular peo-
pie who did not get vaccinated a month or
two ago. But they will be hopelessly i'm the
minority. Not but what the ladies in most
cases Will be at home and very glad to
see man or a collection of them If they
call around, but the lords. Of creation must
take all the chances and be just as well
pleased IL they are only given the oppor-
tunity to add their bristol boards to what
is alre ady in the basket tied to the door
bell The card basket is the proper thing,
and on that day will be found ornamentng
blocks and blocks of Houses in the west
end. IL n
Last year it was iRtimated by Mrs
Cleveland that the ladies invited to re-
ceive at the White TtpusS should wear
high-neckod dresses, and they did. There
will be no need to repeat the admonition
this time, as it is we'll understood. No
matter how elaborate the gown may be
fashion strictly ordains That fair Shout
ders or shoulders that may not be fair
must be covered in the day time. The fact
that the reception is usually held in gas
lighted rooms has nothing0to do with the
case, and cannot be considered as having
any bearing on it, as some misguided folks
imagine. 1t Is not very far back, though
since an entirely different idea prevailed,
but are convinced now that it was all
wrong and the last opinion rules. An au-
thority then which was greatly respected
announced that the foreign ministers
came in their full dress or military uni
forms, the same as they would wear at
foreign court, full dress was demanded
from everyone else. 1t used to be COM
mon enough to see low-necked tulle ball
gowns at the New Year receptions at the
White House, and there was not any criti-
cism about it until one lady pointed a
h,y riyey in chor lot,