The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1901-09-04
Select Social Function at St. Charles.

SctEGS SVCldI E1hSAsVu a. Ss' Vue' 'S0'
'sTbe Barn." nea, St. Charles, is
the temporary residence Of Mr.. and
Mrs. Wm. r. Harbeck and Mr.. Guy
Harbeck, pending the building OF
their dwelling, and as its name i'm
plies, is really neat and commodious
Barn. the body of which comprises a
long, wide, double-hoored hall divided
by screens and portiers into COMFORT
able living rooms; but can be easily
and quickly extemporized into very
fair ball room. Base ball we mean of
course. This place became the
theatre of very pleasant and some
what unique social function on Thurs
day night which for the sake of eupho-
nism was called Domino Sociable. "
Some of the young folks of Bishop
ville's, Wysacky's and Mayesville's
select circles, knowing the big room
in the liberal minds and hearts of
these genial hosts as we'll as the big
room in "The Barn. had requested
the privilege and pleasure of meeting
here for social enjoyment, which was
readily granted. What is Domino
Sociables'' Well it is composite
social function. There we're the merry
masqueraders, some like "spirits OF
health'' and grace, and others like
"goblins damned,'' and there were
those who preferred to appear in their
own fair faces or bronzed cheeks, and
then there were the still more quiet,
staid and matronly chaperones and
paters who seemed partly to forget to
act out their part-to extract as much
enjoyment out of it as onlookers, as
any one else. Then - well there
were others. Did they dance? S-h-h-
hush man! Don't you know where
this ise Saint Charles ! doncher
know? Why it was called Domino
Sociable'' SOS to save the feelings OF
any two penny pietist who might be
shocked into fits otherwise, and who
will now have the fact broke to them
gradually and after prayerful prepara-
tion, that somehow just about the
witching hour, someway those ub1quit-
Gus and amphibious Westberry boys
mysteriously appeared in the back
ground, fully armed with those devil
ish horse hair and cat stringed equip
ments, and when they did commence
to draw "music's mystic melody" out
of those sinful, longnecked, red wood
boxes and hollow tubes, we declare-to-
goodness gracious-sakes-alive our old
legs felt much the same influence as
when the Yanks made music at Us
years ago, only then they wanted to
pat to the rear and this time they
itched to pat closer to the - er-
opposite party; so we couldn't posi-
| bly, blame some of the young ones for
getting more sociable and more faml-
liar as the melodious notes grew
spirited, nor for gravitating towards
each other as natural as the needle
to the magnet, nor for gliding into
that flowing, rhythmic motion that
makes one feel as though he was hug
ging and supporting seraphim and
he was a cherubim hisself-and the
Westberrys were seraphims and each
note bore wings and you were floating
on sea of sweetness and-and doggon
if we dind't feel like gravitatin' some
too, only we feared the floor might
prove stronger magnet than the part
ner and we might gravitate too much
toward the center of gravitation. Age
is honorable but it's mighty incon-
venient, specially when accompanied
with game leg.
There were participants from
Charleston, Rock Hill, Darlington,
Sumter, Bishopville, Heriott's,
Wysacky and Mayesville. It was as
large and as select gathering Of
young folk as could be obtained in any
social circle. These varied func-
tions are more generally pleasurable
to a large number than would be a
mere set dance or demure "socia-
ble,' because of it's composite char
acter. The gay masqueraders rollick
ed and mystifed each other in the soft
moonlight in the grove. The iovial
sociable. kept up hum of sweet sense
and Stiffness, interspersed with cards
and crokinole; while the merry
dancers were lost in circling realms of
elysian bliss; and the matronly
guardians and the "grave and reverend
seigniors'' calmly surveyed the pleas
ant scene while crowding recollections
came trooping down the corridors of
memory and the song Make me boy
again just for tonight" could scarcely
be suppressed.
Now boys I'm going to shoot into
hole. If any of you fellers are in there
you'll get hit and the hit pup howls,
ingenerly. So if you howl we'll know
that one of whom you are which. Seri
>ously, we'd many of US like to see
these sociable meets conducted on so
high plane that they'd meet with
the tacit consent, at least, of most good
people if not with the approval of the
sancro-saints and strictest sect pietist:
but at any rate "void of ofense' and
free from all cause for just censure, or
other than captious criticism. Now
this matter lies with you in nut
shell-or some other vessel-and we'll
ask some Of you, some OF you only: do
you think it at all complimentary to
US, the older generation, who are glad
to act your hosts, to have you bring
o1o 4 L