The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1904-05-29
Jeanette Attended Reception
and Writes About it to Her Chum
She Shook Hands Pu L-un with LetH Hand
and Then Worried About It..She the
Way Women datth he Propylaeum

bring him there, and after little they sent
two soldiers off to bring him down-Martha
says they had orders to bring him dead or
alive-but / don't believe they could have
said that, because il wouldn't have done
them any good to have killed him. for then
they couldn't have had their reception at
ALL you know. But whatever the message
was, he came in a few minutes, and / tell
you just had good look at him when he
came down the hall; it's perfectly grand to
think that you have seen real prince.
OF course, they wouldn't let the women
down stairs go up until all the women up
stairs had been presented to the prince,
and L was just so tired standing by the
time we went upstairs that / was most
dead; but / didn't mind so much, because
1t isn't every day that girl gets a chance
TO meet real prince, and do believe in
a girl making the most of her opportuni-
Ties. But finally they let them start up,
and such a time we had the stairs.
The soldiers tried to make the women go
IN regular order and TO keep the crowd
thinned out, but finally they had to give
1t up. and we all scrambled up somehow
think it's horrid for women to push so
at receptions, and when any of them tried
TO crowd past me l can tell you 1 just
stuck my elbows out and made it just as
hard for them as / could. Finally we got
through the crowd up to the platform
said that when she met him she was going
to say: "Vive la chop suey," like they
do in the comic papers, you know but L
thought it was horrid TO make fun of 1t
respect TO personages like the prince. To
tell the honest truth, jamie, dear, l didn't
know just what to do when l did get
apolis girls had been practicing kowtowing
for the last three weeks. but I don't be-
leve it. or maybe it was only the ones
anybody kowtow. and / couldn't have done
it if 1 had; and / wasn't sure what L
ought to do. So thought I'd watch the
women in front of me and do what they
There ia
in front of me, and when she got to the
prince she just grabbed his hand and hung
you. Prince; perfectly delighted; I'm so
happy to make your acquaintance" over
and over. didn't think that was quite the
right thing to do either-the woman just
had little, DID, black shirtwaist and
skirt-so when ii came my turn just shut
my eyes and plunged in. / held out my
hand, and just as the prince was about
to take it l realized it was my left hand,
and tried to pull it back and put out my
right. and, of course, had to drop my
skirts that l was holding up, and the
my train. pulled all the gathers out at
the waist, and in the confusion the prince
got hold Of my left hand. and, really 1
just felt ready to drop with embarrassment.
Now what do you suppose he thinks of
me-shaking hands with my left hand? ?
That's another reason that l don't mind
so much that l forgot and washed my
hand. too, because it seems so dreadful
to shake hands, especially with royalty,
left-handed.
After the reception was over there were
some lovely speeches, and then they gave
him some books. / had real good look at
them, because / just squeezed right up
against the platform and l didn't let any
body bulge me out, either. They were per-
fectly lovely bookstore was a big white
one and the rest were red and the prince
made lovely speech about them, and in
deed / should think he would be awfully
glad to have them, because red books al
ways look so lovely and cheerful in book
case. / didn't know what was in them
/ thought maybe the red ones were a set
of some American author like E. P. Roe,
you know-and / do think it would have
been lovely to have given him set of Roe s
books. because. of course. the prince is a
heathen-he can't help it. of course. for
that's the way they all are in China
but there is so much true religion in Roe's
stories. and it might be they might have
changed his views little. But, anyway,
they weren't-the books were reports of the
National and the International Council of
Women, and 1 guess that is just as good.
John-that's Martha's husband. you know
he Just laughed when he read about IL in
the paper. and he said he expected the
prince would sit up nights to read the
books but that he wouldn't know when he
came TO the end whether he got her or not.
John is awful queer.
Well that was most all there was to the
reception, except that we went downstairs
to get some tea, but there was such a crowd
around the tea tables that we couldn't get
any. So we went home. 1t was way after
Z when we got hOme-Marthd lives so FAR
out, you know-and John said he would
have thought that If the guest of honor
hadn't respect enough for the guests to
come 10 the reception in time that the
guests would have had common sense
enough to go home; but then, John had
been home for over an hour and hadn't had
| his dinner so | guess he was cross
well jamie. dear. / haven't told you
about thing but the reception. but knew
you'd be interested in that more than any
thing else. Goodbye. and write soon: Yours
| with love. JEANETTE.
p. S.-My poor black point d'esprit is just
| in rags-if IL had been anywhere else
would be heartbroken. But 1 don't mind
| sacrificing even my favorite dress in a
| cause like that.
| =. s. No. 2-Oh. yes-one of the girls that
Martha knows told her that she heard from
| a man in the princes party that the prince
was late, not because he was taking nap.
as they said, but because he was smoking
| cigarettes and didn't want to come. Did
you ever hear anything so silly-as If
anybody wouldn't want to come TO such n
| lovely reception and have the pleasure of
meeting so many ladies? OF course, he
must have wanted to come and / don I
doubt that when he goes back to China he
will sit down under the bamboo trees-it is
bamboo trees in China. isn't it?-and recol-
lect that one of his most entertaining
memories-don't you?