The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-02-19
GET A CHARIvARI.
White House Bride and Her Hus-
band Aroused
By Music and Tin Horns at 2:3O
in the Morning.
LED BY JOE LETTER.
Fifteen Automobile Loads 60
Out From Washington.
They Made LOngwOrth Get Up
and Show Himself.
ED BY JOE LETTER.

Washington, Feb. 19.-"Joe" Letter
of Chicago and a party of young So
ciety men of Washington descended
upon Friendship" where Mr.. and
Mrs. Nicholas Longworth are spend
ing their honeymoon, at 2 o'clock Sun
day morning and treated the White
House bride and her husband to an old
fashioned charivari serenade which
awakened the echoes in the distant
+ hills.
Details as to the identity of the
party are difficult to get, aside from
the fact that it was led by Mr.. Letter
and numbered about forty society
men, congressman, army and navy Of
hcers and others who were guests at
/ the wedding.
Mr. Letter originated the plan, and
shortly before 2 o'clock procession
of fifteen autos. with the Letter ma
chine leading and with a band of music
bringing up the rear, filed silently out
of Washington in the direction Of the
! Mclean estate on the TenIeytOWn
road The serenaders reached Friend
ship" at about 2:30 o'clock. It was
STEPPED in darkness. A couple of
mufHed mounted police were patroliug
in front of the entrance. The sere-
naders had only the light of the moon
to guide them. They came to a halt in
the road at a point nearest to the
j mousse A rev words or explanation
sufficed to satisfy the policemen, and
then at q signal the air was suddenly
rent with an ear splitting crash Of
F only One Girl in This World for Me-
in which the horns on the autos Joined.
For He's a Jolly Good Fellow fol-
lowed and a chorus of tin horns
! brought by the serenaders added to
+ the din. Then they played the we'd
ding march from "Lohengrin' in a dis
F cordant fashion and finally broke into
a medley Of popular airs.
No Sign of Life.
During all the racket, meanwhile,
absolutely no sign of life appeared in
the Mclean mansion, which moved the
+ serenaders to double their efforts. They
I HfIed their voices in songs, footed the
auto horns, beat the bass drum and
made life -hfdeous for mile around.
sui no sign from the inside. The
serenaders had come prepared to force
recognition, however, and now they
began to call loudly for Nick and in
sisted upon q speech. 1t was this final
appeal that reached the young con-
gresham Evidently he had believed
that the racket was being created by
a gang Of hOodlums. The sound of
! well known voices gave him an idea
of the makeup of the serenaders. But
he did not at once appear. Indeed,
deep silence and darkness still reigned
in the Mclean mansion, and for an
other fifteen minutes bedlam prevailed
down in the road. Finally. at about 8
the second floor Of the house and the
form of man was seen defined in the
half light of lamp. The form bowed
low and profoundly, but no words were
spoken. A great cheer rang out, fol-
lowed by chorus Of "honk honk'' and
splitting noise from the band. speech,
speechi" they cried, but the form at
the window shook his head and after
a minute the window was lowered and
the form disappeared. After one more
salute from all the forces the sere-
naders settled back in their autos
and returned to Washington.
Otherwise Undisturbed
Aside from this event, the bride and
bridegroom of day have not been dis
turbed in their retreat at Friendship
Mr.. and Mrs. LongWorth remained
quietly at the house. They received no
callers during the day and neither did
they leave the confines of the S0-acre
park which surrounds Friendship
Shortly after 4 o'clock Sunday after
noon the White House bride and her
husband appeared outside the house for
the first time during the day. Mrs.
LongWorth was attired in a long Alice
blue cloak with a white lambs wool
collar. Mr.. Longworth wore a frOck
coat, dark gray trousers and derby hat
and carried a walking stick.
For half an hour tney strolled about
the beautiful estate, engaged in an ami
mated conversation and frequently
laughing heartily. Mrs. Longworth wore
no hat. The day was cloudy and rather
a strong breeze was blowing across the
Potomac. With her cheeks reddened by
the wind and her hair tossed about pic
turesQuely, she made a radiant picture
as she strolled about the grounds at
the side of her husband. who frequent
ly tapped his shoes with his walking
stick.
At the end of about half an hour the
White House bride and bridegroom re-
entered the house and were not seen
again during the day A small group Of
/ curiosity seekers stood on q knoll a
short distance away from Friendship
while Mr.. and Mrs. Longworth strolled
/ about the grounds, but if the young
couple were aware of their presence
they gave no heed Of It,
All through the day mounted police
men and policemen on bicycles patroled
the neighborhood of the estate. keeping
away the curiosity seekers, Of whom
there were several hundred about all
day long
VIII Go South.
The private car Republic in which the
| couple viii make their wedding journey
has been ordered attached to the Tampa
express, which leaves Washington al
1920 o'clock. It will stop at Alexandra,
where the young couple will board their
car, riding from Friendship" to Alex
andria in an automobile.
It is understood that the first stop VIII
be at Palm Beach, where few days VIII
/ into Cuba unless they decide at the last
minute on change Of plans. They are
due back in Washington about March Z.
t In Washington Mr.. and Mrs Long
/ worth will reside at the LongWorth
mansion, Eighteenth and 7 streets, until
their departure for Europe, about June
l. It has not yet been fully decided how
long they viii remain abroad, A tour
of the world has been talked OF, but
whether they viii make this tour now or
later is yet to be definitely decided upon.