The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1898-01-07
An old English Custom Introduced
for the First time.
TMATTREWsP Pr. RECToRY.
THE EPIPHANY FESTIVAL, AS a
TIME FOR REJOICING, OBJ
SERVED BY A MOCK ASSEM-
Blaze OF YE oLDEN LORDS
AND DAMEs-,1N OTHER WORDS
THE CHURCH wARDENs AND
N~gsTRYMEN, w1THTHEIR
w1vEs-coRoNATIoN or AKlSG
AND ouEBN-INTRoDucEp BY
REV. n. s. THo3rAs.

The epiphany festival or Twelfth
Night" festival. was celebrated In
Wheeling last nigh. 10. TIE frs, time.
i was celebrated In the form OF a re-
ception rendered by Rev. n. s, Thomas
10 the wardens and vestry hoard OF St.
Matthews p. L. church and the!, wives,
at the rcctory, and was q beautiful and
unique affair. It's lntroducsioninth!s city
by Rev. Mr.. Thomas marks the initial
federation Of what Is to &c an annual
%(afalr.
The epiphany is associated With the
manifestation Of Jesus Christ 10 the
world as the Son OF Gotss and prevlose 10
the fourth century was commemorated
as the Savlor's birthday. Atterward It
became associated, more particularly In
commeroration Of the visit of she aiag!,
OF Wise Men ot.tEs Eust,.a TO this day
the custom holdo In England. o: the ov-
erelgn making IN oblat!on, every cpl
phany, of gold, f~rank!ncense and
myrrh at the altar OF the Chapel Royal.
The queen doesn't make the offering
now, It being done EI deputy, but TIL
comparatively recent tines tie Offering
was made in person. IN England the
epiphany festival receives great observ-
Rnce and aside from being an event IN
the Church of England. 1t Is customary
for the people TO observe Il In reTclry;
for like other church days. holy days
have become holidays as, wa Even by
the early church there wee Es-ny Gus
toms OF observing the tess!va., AMI lhe!e
were curious and p.ct.resqte costumes
worn by the peop.s celebrating It as &
season Of m!rth and revc.ry.
In America mer.5er% OF the Episcopal
church 10 q much less degree have OBJ
served the festival, u what might be
called a social sense; not excepting, Of
course, the regulatio? church services.
But 1t is England where tie Custom,
typical OF the ancient celebration pre-
walls, and Rev. Mr.. Thomas programme
smacked OF .olden dayes." TIE invi-
tations sent out by him and Mrs. Thomas
were Chaucetlan in lingo" and that the
recipients can dabble with case in the
obsolete was evident from 4 glance at
the notes they sent. And within
the rectory parlor5 from s 10 10 o'clock. It
would have taken but a slight transit OF
the Imagination to carry the beholder
81 ooSh ~ "a . 90 az 49, " oAAa NAAS
rcvels on the village green.
1t was a mock assemblaSe OF privy
councillors and ladies OF the household.
Ere they departed until twelve month
hence. a king and queer were crowned
yet they say this country is without a
monarchy! But TO the point. The idea
was new to .ae quests, but they soon
were initiated Rev. Mr.. Thomas read
the minutes" 1f their last meeting. after
which they ad;oIrrtd to the dining room.
Here refreshments were partaken OF
from dainty and antique china. Many
pieces OF the service, by the way, belong
ed, 10 Mr.. Thomas ancestcrs over 100
years ago. The only light shed on the
tables was from candles, which were
nicely relieved by ne green OF miStletoc.
Then came the cutting Of q large cake.
Each piece was cut to fit a handsome
paper box, presented with the cake. One
piece of cake contained the epiphany
ring. This was secured by Mrs. ]. D.
Culbcrtson. who accordingly Won the
honor of being crowned queen. rhe
mobile lords" WIRE not lost sight OF. Like
their danes they engaged In a harmless
tourney for hon"rs. Twelve beans,
eleven white and one black. afforded TIE
weapons, the knight drawing the black
bean inherlting the crown. Fortune
smiled on Robert NJ. Browne.
Then came wassail, that ancient con-
coctlon upon which the lusty Saxons
waXed merry. The Twelfth Night"
Saxons tasted 1t, and inwardly thanked
the stars that the world had progressed
since the days of the thames. But the
menu. Here It is:
t$W Peppermint Cocktail.
lSHA Muscles. on the Half Shell.
Birds Nest Soup. T. Ia Mclean Man.
C~raba2ple CroQuette. a In Aschmann.
Turtle Outlet. a la Culber1sun.
Baked FlaminSo, n In Brock.
Fillct OF Zebra. a Ia Peterson.
Cornnot of Frozen Peppers. q In Spcidcl.
Nightingale Livcrs on Toast, n Ia Flick.
Frlcasec OF Monkey. n Ia Hcarne.
Breast Of Swan, a. la Dubois.
Leatherwood Punch, 4 la Brown.
Washington Cream. Revenue Sauce, 4 Ia
Scott.
Rectory Cheese and holloway Crackers.
Cordial st. Matthews.
"a Coffee and Cigars.
Following the feas. in the banGuc.
hall, adjournment was made in tho mar