The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1902-08-02
Selert gtorp.
mrs. GAYLORD'S CELLAR PARTY.
From Lippincott,s Magazine.

| Some say it was grand success; other
that it was wretched affair; but, be i
as 1t may, / think in fairness to the prin
cipal actors, and for the satisfaction Of tn,
numerous critics who exploited themselves
at the time, proper explanation of thi,
curious function should be made
Sitting at my dinner table one pleasant
December evening, had just finished the
final mouthful, and was about to rise, wher
my wife addressed me thus
''Gay. dear. let's give cellar party.
IA cellar party = said I. s'What OF
earth is cellar party?''
IA cellar party, she answered, s'is a
party in the cellar. You know we have
given and been to all kinds of parties con
ceivable, breakfasts, dinners, suppers,
teas, picnics, coaching, hay-rides, and
other things, and people are tired Of
them; they crave something new, and q
cellar party, in my opinion, fully answers
that requirement.
sOh, see. I thought at first you had
found new name for church fair. But,
my dear" | said, looking at her intently
to see if she were well, and she was,
"don' t you think cellar party is rather
| running that sort of thing into the
ground?'
"No, she said, with twinkling eyes
yet steady look, SO familiar; and I knew
then and there that that kind of party, and
no other, was to be. So before | proceed
further, I will explain, for the benefit Of
those who have not the pleasure of one ac-
quaintance, who we are, and why we were
justified in attempting such noverty.
I am Gaylord, and my wife was a
MacQueen Now, the immediate Gay
lord ancestry had made their fortunes in
the leather business, and as one of the
heirs, it required all my time and atten-
tion to look after my share. But the earl
lest association with the leather business
had was the recollection of the tannings
received when an undutiful child.
As fashionable society is rather strict in
its limitations as to who shall or shall not
become recognized factor in its circle,
found it difficult at first to overcome the
stigma OF the leather business cast upon
me; but by paying an expert in heraldic
research the sum of three hundred dol
lars, found that in the time of William
the Conqueror one Reginald Lancelot Gay
lord, who in the battle of Hastings had
covered himself with gore and glory, had
been knighted and assigned coat-of- arms
most suitable to adorn letter paper and the
panels of carriage doors. The deeds and
proper behavior of Sir r. L. G. and his
descendants were wonderful to relate, until
the line gradually ran down and lost its
wealth, when one Montmorency Gaylord
came to America to seek his fortune; and
after that the family history resolved itself
into names, avoiding particulars.
But the noble descent was established,
and | discovered that I had been named
Montmorency after the first Gaylord who
had come to America to seek his fortune
or escape jail, for all I knew Thus l
made myself solid with all who did not
know that paid the expert three hundred
dollars.
With Mrs. Gaylord the question of ped
icree was different, because it had been
handed down for generations how Hugh
Macdonald MacQueen on Flodden Field
had built rampant of the enemies corpses
of his own killing, and there held his
ground until shaft from an English long
bow pierced his heart. Mrs. G. s enc
mics would occasionally remark that they
didn' see why an Irishman fought on the
side of the Scotch that day; but her
friends-and they were always in the ma
iority-regarded that as SANDER Be-
sides, her father and grandfather had been
successful lawyers, and as she was gifted
with health and beauty, had been educated
abroad, and possessed vast energy, she was
well made up for social leader But
her successes had finally driven her, as
they do ambitious generals, to seek her
Waterloo, and it struck me that in eel
lar party she ought to find it.
Her last great curio in the way of an
entertainment had been ''back yard
party" which was great success. All
the windows of house from which view
of the scene could be had were well filled
with half concealed, unlimited neighbors,
who could more easily appreciate the fact
that there twasn't room for everybody, -
them excepted.
A boy with blow pipe and putty made
things interesting for time, but found
his range after the tenth shot, and with
the aid of policeman soon disposed Of
him, marking his family for social ostra
cism from that day on. Yet it was mar.
vellous how the people enjoyed themsel es.
And now Mrs. Gaylord had to think Of
something new.
The fact that our house was a large one
and possessed very fine cellar vas suffi-
ciently suggestive for an active mind, and
the entertaining facilities it presented were
unsurpassed.
And now | return to our conversation.
ssNo, [ am sure | can make it great
hit, if not grand success, for it will be
the first thing of the kind ever tried on
earth F"
''Or under the earth, - ventured; but
my Jest was unheeded, so she continued
1.-THE nearest approach to it was Mrs.
Kuickerbocker luncheon in Luray Cave;
but there is nothing like having these
things at one S own home, Gay,
"What set shall we try this on first,
Mac?" | always called her Mac, her full
name being Adelaide MacQeen Gaylord.
"We haven room to muster in our full
list, and we can't tell anything by trying
it on the dog.
Here | must digress again, to say that
we divided our friends up into ten sets
No. /, or intimates; No. 2, our next best,
and so on down to No. 10 inclusive No.
10 were those who had worked themselves
up in the world on their own merits, and
were not fully recognized in the social
scale; No. were shade better, and so
on to No. l, who were people who hadn'
done stroke of work in their lives or their
fathers before them, but who had historic
ancestry-and hadn't employed genealog-
ical experts to find it out, either, so Mrs
Gaylord thought Experience had taught
what people were congenial in various en-
tertainments, and by thus making them
into sets and numbering them, we knew
exactly whom to ask to limited or un-
limited entertainment without wasting time.