The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1897-01-22
In the Old Chase Mansion.

A letter to the Baltimore Am 'ican UNI
der date of January 10th, says
The Chase home was aglow this after
noon from two to seven o'clock with the
spirit of that colonial social life which
made the charms and graces of Annapolis
society famous to the remotcst bounds of
America The brilliant occasion was the
opening tea of a series of entertainments
that will be given during the season to aid
the fund for the maintenance of the Chase
Home The historic house, with its broad
halls and ample rooms, filed with the rich
and antique, was open wide to the hun
dreds of delighted visitors who came from
Annapolis, Baltimore and the Naval Acad
envy to enjoy the social festivities of the
tea and to revel in the sight of so many
rare and valuable treasures of art and his
tory. AS one of the receiving ladies, well
posted in chronology said, Adding the
last three years of history, we are now in
the twentieth century, and this house rep
resents in it's furniture and fittings four
centurics-the seventeenth, eighteenth,
nineteenth and twentieth"
The receiving party included Mrs. j..
Gale Harrison, directress of the Chase
Home; Mrs. William G. Ridout, Miss Prue
Ridout, the Misses Craven, Miss McFar-
land, Mrs. Eugene Worthington Miss
Miligan and Miss Nelson, of Annapolis;
Miss Juliette Wise, of the Naval Academy;
Miss Cora Rogers and Miss Virginia Will
son, of Baltimore.
The tea was served in the old dining
room, the apartment to the right of the
main hall, and busy were the receiving
ladies in waiting on their numerous guests.
On the table were four pieces of Candida
bra, two single and two with three lights,
that lit the Chase Home when Lafayette
was guest here in 1924.
These were used this afternoon for the
eight years ago, having been slowed away
| in the vaults of the Farmers National
Bank of Annapolis, and were only brought
out today to grace the occasion. Lovers
of the sacred in Maryland history will be
gratitied to learn that at the tea this after
noon it was authoritatively announced
| that the valuable Lowestoff china that the
trustees had proposed to sell will not be
disposed of, but will remain as an iHsepa-
rable appendant to the historic building
with which it has been associated in ia
nous history for over a century. Some
minor pieces will be sold but, needing the
earnest protest that have come in from
| every quarter, the management has deter
mined not to shear the home of some OF
its chief glories by the sale of its valuable
china Nor will the venerable furniture
be removed Here among other splendid
relics, are the sideboard of Judge Jere
miah T. Chase, the friend of Washington
and Lafayette, which was taken filled will
china and silver, from his burning dwell
ing on King George street fifty years ago
and here are the secretary, sword aEt
pinch bowl OF Governor Sharpe.
Tradition and history, remote and mod
ern, were interesting topics of convers;
| lloH amongst lilt HoSItSScS anu lutl
guests, and one of the relatives of the do
nor of the home stated this afternoon tina
Mrs. Hester Ann Chase Rdout particu
larly desired that the home should be il
perpetual memoriam of her martyrcd sis
ter, Miss Matilda Chase, who was burne
: so severely in the house one night that sh
5 died the next day, and whose heroic con
duct in refusing to call to her aid tw
sleeping women of the house lest she 81
! them on fire, saved most probably tw
lives and the house, as the accident was
, the dead of night This tragedy was 70
! lowed by the mansion itself taking fire tn
/ next night, and to the calls of relief til
l cadet battalion responded with the NAY;
D Academy engine and extinguishcd til
flames Among the visitors to the HON
this afternoon was Ensign Oman, one ,
the cadets who assisted ten years ago
J saving this interesting building from dt
. struction