The San Francisco call., 1896-01-02
CRUSH At THE CENTURY.
=;
The. Features Were Music,
Salad, Talk and Egg.
nog.
: j..
SUCCESS OF THE FUNCTION.
Five Hundred Invitations Were Given
=. :. by the Ladies of the Insti.
tuition.
SUCCESS OF THE FUNCTION.

I The ladies of the exclusive and in
E,teileetual Century Club did put on few
extra touches to enhance the grace and
| beauty of their presence on the occasion of
the ''open house" yesterday afternoon.
T This is true of some of the members of the
| board of directors as well as many who
do not hold official position in the club.
| This signifies that devotees of art and
/ Literature, the exponents OF the higher
T civilization of refinement, the disciples of
culture among women, will select color,
| adjust ribbon or brush the hair in
[ style to please and captivate. If they do
| this on New Years day they will probably
do the same thing all the year round.
| Five hundred Invitations were issued for
the reception yesterday, and the result was
|: a crush. Mrs. John F. Swift, the president
OF the Century, stood bravely at her post,
where she received her guests with grace
l:and. dignity. In a similar position Mr..
1Coe, president of the Press Club, could not
have achieved greater distinction for pres
1ence of mind and <ract. and as for Horace
Plat president of the Bohemian Club, he
is simply not in Mrs. SWift's class.
r. While the attendance at the Century
WAS large the proportion of women to men
was five to one. Since the club is
:WUneH 5 INSTITUTION anu The new year Is q
.ieap. year, 1t follows as natural sequence
that the chief interest of the function per-
:tains to the gentlemen who;''graced the
occasion by their presence"
J. &c. Stubbs, the stately demi-blonde
from the big railroad office, was sur
rounded by a bevy of admlring Century
stars.
" Colonel Frank Sumner, ex-paymaster-
general on the staff of Ex-Governor Mark
ham, received a great deal of attention
from the ladies. He was first to enter and
last to leave the rooms.
Louis Sloss Sr., from his position near
the eggnogg bowl downstairs, received
many greetings. He wore smile of ap-
proval.
Superior Judge Daniel ]. Murphy had
great deal OF attention until Judge Coffey
arrived.
Horace Wilson had beautiful lady on
his arm, and wore the smile of satisfac-
I4tion.
|: DR.. Behr; whose system OF moral
philosophy teaches moderation III the
practice of temperance, was shown to the
salad counter upstairs. The genial doctor
was dismayed by the crush, and failed to
reach the eggnog stand.
DR.. Middleton Of the United States army
| discovered by reconnaissance early in the
T: afternoon that hallway led directly to
the eggnQg alcoye, and could be traversed
from the outer door without passing
| through the main crush. He i'm mparted the
Intelligence to a. S. HalIidie, and the
smile of the century lighted the counten-
ance of the latter. Mrs. Swift will now
understand why she saw several gentle
| men passing her reviewing station going
out who were: not seen when they came
| IN. They simply handedtheir cards TO the
| door attendant, passed down the hall
way to the eggnog, and then returned
through the main parlor to the presidents 5
| position.
John Perry Jr. got in the crush at the
| foot OF the stairway leading to the salad
i~and seemed to enjoy the pressure.
l. When. b. Z. Flint arrived the crush was
| greatest. His holiday smile, which was
nicely adjusted when he came in, gave
way to an. expression OF alarm. When
! confidence was restored he saluted the
president, winked at the pianist and sam
/ pied the refreshments.
i II. B. Rathbone, from the classic pre-
cincts of Berkeley, received a great deal of
Eattention from the ladies, who were all in
{.quiring, Where is Professor Moses"
Horace Hill OF the Pacific Union Club
was dream of beauty, and no mistake.
| He wore the most radiant of smiles and
has not been happier since: his resignation
| from The Board of Supervisors was &C
cepted.
Artist Peixotto wore his hair without
ornament. The pose of the young man
that served the eggnog arrested the ar
tistic attention of Mr. Pelxotto.
J. When Colonel w. R. Parnell entered he
%hesitated whether to advance or retreat,
E:but seeing that a comrade of George H.
sThomas Post had an eye on him. he ad-
vanced with firm step. The crush di-
.Verted him sfrom the eggpog to the salad.
| Returning from up stairs, he seemed as
| happy as a veteran with an increased pen
sion.
f. DR.. George H. Powers, who sings Life
| for EvermoreP in the chorus Of Nazareth"
E,wlth vigor that animates, seemed to be
! in great favor at the Century. He was
signing for salad at p. NJ.
f. Uncle George 7. Bromley was escorted
! by Albert Gerberding. 1t was the duty of
the escort to keep the crowd of ladies in
| check when MIR. Bromley arrived. 1t is
| the custom of Uncle George to terminate a
| function at 6 A. M; therefore when the
ladies proposed to dismiss the musicians
and close the refreshment-rooms at P. NJ
| his smile of qualification relaxed into a
| look OF surprise.
Thomas Magee of real estate renown was
one of the callers yesterday. DR.. George
/ w. Merritt, Alex Morrison, John Bonner
4 ard quite conn pany of younger gentle
men attended the function. Some of the
| youngsters were with mamma, and all be-
| haved with exceeding propriety.
The reception was indeed a great sue
cess. The display of posters, the artistic
sketches, the decorations and the music
delighted the visitors.
| The directors of tae Century are: Mrs.
| P. B. Cornwall, Mrs. Frances Edgerton,
Mrs. Ramon. Wilson, Miss Agnes Lowry,
Mrs. Ed C.. Wright, Mrs. Bunnell, Miss
Agnes Manning, Mrs. Whittell, Mrs.
Elisha Ransome, Mrs. Sarah B. Cooper,
Mrs. Austin Sperry, Mrs. Sidney Cushing
and Mrs Robert Mckenzie.
; The reception committee, which deserves
so much credit for the success of the New
Year function, consisted of: Mrs. Henry
Gibbons. Miss Ella Adams, Miss Virginia
Fitch, Mrs. Ramon Wilson, the Misses Bea-
yer, Miss Agnes Lowry. Miss Isabel Lowry,
Mrs. Joseph Marks, Mrs. Isidore Burns,
Mrs. Ed c. Wright, Mrs. A, Gerberding,
Mrs. Barton.
Among the recent gifts to the club is a
fruit piece in oil painted by Mrs. Helen A.
Fitch, a member of the Century.