Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-08-19

liQueurs and the after-dinner, demi-tasse
did not exist for him-returning, finally, to
the dining room. on his hosts initiative, to
find it pleasantly cleared Of the debris Of
the meal
-
Washington. as I have said, does the
business Of entertaining we'll At times 1t
does 1t almost too we'll. A very charming
Englishwoman complained to me that on
accepting a Every informal" invitation to
lunch at three or four days notice, she
drawn, the table lit by candles, her hos
tess and all her fellow guests in costumes
that would have been quite becoming to
bridesmaids or in the royal Enclosure at
Ascot, and a feast prepared that embraced
every unreasonable delicacy In series OF
ten courses. That struck her as carrying
informally to an excess where It became al
most an abuse of language. But would
not say that when compared with New
York overelabOration Is the special fault OF
Washington hospitality. though I believe
that there, as elsewhere throughout Ameri-
ca, the distinction between the formal and
the informal tends to dwindle.
I heard bon mot. attributed to MT.
Roosevelt, to the effect that the only dlf-
ference he had been able to discover be-
tween the two was that in formal
luncheon, or dinner party. there was no
butter. And there were, l confess. occa-
sions on which the plate, the china. the
flowers Especially the f1owers), the cook
ing and the wines seemed to me almost too
prodigal of rarity. But taken as a whole
Washingtonian hospitality, like its entire
mode OF life, escapes the dollar mark; and
so far as my experience Of America goes
Is remarkable for its ease, its unconscious
ness and its finish. 1t has that stamp Of
certainty and mastery that long cultiva-
ton brings; there Is less OF the impression
of effort about 1t than one notices In New
York; and the sociability that springs up
in a small community
distances are easy, intercourse frequent and
an identity Of social interests well estab-
liished. gives to its festivities cordial and
distinctive pleasurableness. AS social fac
tors men count far more in the national cap
ital, and are very much more In evidence
than in any other American city with
which l am acquainted. Perhaps. also. the
neighborhood and reflex influence Of the
diplomatic corps have had something to do
with it. If by the side Of European cap
ital the atmosphere Of Washington seems
thin and soon exhausted, by the side of any
other American city 1t II almost regal.
4 4
But Washington. physically as well as So
cially, is still somewhat embryonic. Halt
an hours drive from its faultless pavements
will land you axle-deep in mud. and to leave
the innermost circle of society is to wander
in a domain where there Is still a good deal
of clearing to be done. and where the land
has been scarcely surveyed, much less
staked out.
One is RECALLED with stories Of the fight for
precedence that could hardly be matched
anywhere for righteousness and bitterness.
I sometimes doubt whether any city trou-
bles itself so much about these problems
as Washington. They are the reflection Of
that memorable regard for etiquette and
the conventions with which 9Th avenue per-
petually astonishes the easy-going British
er. The fundamental opposition between
republican theories and the facts, not only
of social life. but Of human nature, leaves
ual holiness and insistence that In Europe
has long ago been settled by prescription,
usage and tradition and as the citizens Of
a republic are more and not less anxious
than the subjects OF monarchy for some
from other fellows. the struggle for pre-
eedence in Washington. especially on the