Smyrna times., 1902-02-12
BY 1EPARTyS'a'pGyss9';
i.;aa ~ !. 5s: ; RggE1A IMPRESSIONS
Del, and will a,p,n
:$ 3; :: :, PRESIDENT RECEPTIONS
WRITTEN BY OUR REGULAR WASHING.
TON CORRESPONDENT.
Vivid Descriptions of the Present Day Recep.
tons Given by the President of the Unit
ted States and His Wife.

=
square envelope bearing the words, in |
gold embossed letters, ''White House."
InclOsed was another envelope bear |
ing the inscription "Mr. and Mrs. de |
Tompkins-Smith," as follows: The
President and Mrs. Roosevelt request
the pleasure of the company of Mr..
and Mrs. de Tompkins-Smith at a re-
ception to be held at the White House
Thursday evening, January the TWEEN
ty-ffth, nineteen hundred and two,
from nine to half after ten o'clock.
cards bearing the inscription, Pre-
sent this at the door,
Of course your correspondent is too
blase to experience any extra heart
beats at the receipt of such an invita-
tion although frankness compels the
admission that there was a certain
qualification at being remembered by
the President quite aside from ones
journalistic capacity and subsequent
events proved that the attendance at a
White House reception solely on
pleasure bent is far different from at
tending as a newspaper correspondent.
The traditions of newspaper Office
would require an account of dashing
equipages and prancing steeds, but, as
a matter of fact, ones first impression
was of the funeral pace at which the
long line of carriages, approached the
porte cochere of the White House. AS
we entered the house a huge police
man took up the door cards which are
a happy innovation adopted by Mr..
Roosevelt. Heretofore, the recipient
of an invitation too often felt at liberty
to bring with him an unlimited num-
Der of friends, the result being a
''crush" which robbed the reception of
all enjoyment. l remember meeting a
gentleman at one of Mr.. McKinley's
receptions who told me he had with
him thirteen unlimited friends.
On entering the lobby, the scene
was one of indescribable confusion. A
number of cloak racks had been erect
ed and men and women were compell-
ed to divest themselves of hats and
wraps and primp and plume amid a
thro; g of colored maids, new arrivals,
and guests struggling for checks.
sdaving secured the check which rep
resented our wraps, we were shown
olpncf xrrrafa ~ chAuo1 into
ante-room and from this apartment
passed into the private dining-room
which had been divided by portierres
and there took our places Sin line -
Back of the portierres was stacked
up" the dining-room furniture in order
to make possible this conversion of
one-half of the room into a semi-pub-
lie corridor.
Precisely as the marble clock on the
mantel struck nine fanfare of trump
cts announced the approach of the re.
ceiving party and the President and
Mrs. Roosevelt, preceded by General
Bingham and Commander Cowles anC
followed by Miss Roosevelt and the
remainder of the party, descended tht
staircase and took their places in thu
blue room. Miss Alice, who followed
her parents, walking alone, appeared
quite unconscious of the fact that sh
was the cynOsure of all eyes. She is
slight, uniformed girl scarcely lookin,
her age, with a pleasant, interesting
but not pretty, face and an abundanc
of brown hair. Her gown, while hand
some, was simply made and quite ar
propriate to her youth. The physiog
nomy of the President is too weI
known to need description. Evenin
dress is becoming to him, and as b
greeted his guests, he singled out
face here and there bowing and sayin
"GOod evening"" his manner being i
pleasant contrast to the continuous
very general bowling which was th
custom of some of his predecessors.
The line of guests moved slowl
across the red corridor, through I'll
red room and dropped into single f
at the word of Lieutenant Gilman, WI
stood iust outside the blue room. NJ
ior McCauley, of the Marine Corp
asked, in whisper, the name of eac
guest and announced it to the recei
ing party. Passing General Binghal
we were greeted by Mr.. Rooseve
who shook hands, not with the DC
functory gesture which implies ''pa
on" but with a cordial grasp viii
seemed to say 81 am glad to see you
words which he often uttered as ps
ticular acquaintance passed him. Fro
nine o'clock until quarter befC
eleven the President greeted
guests, sixteen hundred in all, ne,
betraying the slightest fatigue or
taxation of cordiality.
Mrs. Roosevelt, who stood at ]
husbands right and was further