The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-01-10
DANCES GIVEN IN A HURRY. Not Much Notice Required From Wealthy Eentertainers Nowadays.

From the New York Sun.
 Under present conditions. an elaborate ball can be given at less than a weeks notice.
 A man or woman who gives a ball at short notice does not have to worry over the question of invitations. The cards are engraved in blank. They read-usuallly under the family crest-that "Mr, and Mrs Blank request the pleasure of VI on such and such a date, at such ana such time The hour is put down as Il, although any guest who arrived at that hour would cause dismay to the hostess. Sometimes the word Dancing is added in one corner of the card
 The private secretary of the establish ment then takes list of guests, and the blanks can be filled in within short time
 Engaging the ballroom is another prob lem of entertaining that no longer trou- bles the millionaire. In the old days he used to go to Delmonico's or later to Sherrys and get the ballroom and as many other rooms as he happened to need. It used to be thought the last cry of the chic to take all the old Delmoni- co establishment, including the cafe. Ar engagements of this nature had to be made months in advance.
 Nowadays, the millionaire has his ball. room as part of his house. All he has to do is to have the room decorated and the supper ordered.
 Very often the flowers, and in any case the palms used for the decorations come : from the greenhouses of the millionaire host. The supper may be had at three days notice. It usually happens that everything served is cooked in the house, unless the hostess does not care to give her chef so much trouble. In such case, the supper Is ordered from one of the two or three fashionable caterers.
 The question of the room the supper and the flowers having been disposed of, there remains the music. The music sup ply of New York is in the control of one or two persons, and they need only to be called upon the telephone even as late as two days before the ball and the musi- clans will be on hand.
 Favors are as easily procured. At one of the shops in which these things are made and sold, the hostess need only in spect some samples and tell the number of each kind that she needs, and they will be at the house on the cay or the dance or earlier.
 Invitations need not be sent out more than a week In advance, and in one re- cent instance they went out only five days before the ball took place.
 Musicaes are more difficult to organize unless they are arranged dIter tne pan of the one man of great wealth. He has a house musician, as it were, musician of real at nments who arranges all his affairs for him. He will say to this per- son:
 T am going to give concert in my music room next Saturday night. I want you to have your orchestra play. and you must get me the best soloist in town I'll pay whatever they want. But see that we have Mime. X. Then, if she can not come, get M x. If they're both busy get me the best person you can find"
 Then the hott gives dinner of perhaps thirty persons As many more are in- vited in after dinner. He meets them at the opera or at dinner, probably not one tenth of them are invited by written notes. Thus, is entertaining in all it's forms made easy for the millionaire.