The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-01-31

-AA 5:sn NJ. 5:"a: nj e
had a hot entertain-
ment. You might say
that the Skillitts saw the Henner-
racker Four Hundred and raised II to
Six Hundred, and with a few excep-
tions everything came off without any
sun play, which is doing right we'll.
Nish was charming in q champagne
colored princess, demi-train, with a
polanaise back and a basque front,
and gloves to match. She carried
shower bath of lilies of the valley
from Seven Pines
But don't forget to give the decor
atoms send-off. There were palms
and potted plants and garlands and
festoons of Richmond roses, the color
scheme. which was red, being carried
out even to the lemonade and the
Ticker. Everybody called and every
body had a bite. Little Bill stood at
the door with one of them beer adj
Sertising ash trays to receive the
cards. and / guess he must have got
a full deck in all. I stood with Nish
and gave all the old families the glad
hand, and then invited them into
where we had the eatings-mostly
rabbit, cooked in a variety of ways.
some Were Simply Dressed.
end Miss Distill presided at the punch
bowl and helped herself everytime she
felped anybody else. L was nervous
all the evening for fear shed get
drunk and disgrace the Skillitts. Most
of the ladies We're simply dressed. bu,
few who tried 10 be swell stopped
dressing about the time they got VI
to the shoulders. or at least 1t so APP
peared. They put on all kinds OF dog
-
stiits. and also carried little hand
bags Just about big enough to hold {
half-pint and powder puff. But l
being Statewider. attended to tbs
punch. which was corn punch, and not
Very weak. but very mellow.
OF course, they stood around and
talked and asked me about my travels
and told me about their family trees
and their pedigree, but l told them
that pedigree was something that
counted only in horses and rabbit
dogs. They said Nish looked grand,
and hoped the papers would print a
lot about it and give the names of
the guests and what they wore and
what they ate and what they said and
what they thought which reminds
me that if Nish don't get square deal
this time FL take the s1.9S out of
little Bills4yoy. bapk and start news
paper of...nly. own just to keep Nish
in the limelight and boost her So
cially.
Widow Hendricks. who came all the
way from Dumbarion, driving a mule.
got little risky, and suggested a
dance. We moved all the benches out
the front room. when we remembered
that we didn't have any fddlers. Be-
sides, the floor was too rought for
fawncy dawnces-excuse the broad a.
nut they handed it to me from all sides
and I've been somewhat out of tune
I'll day. Then the widow came up
and put her hand in mine and told me
10 tell some fairy stories. | took her
fingers, looked 'em over, and remarked
that / wouldn't like TO measure my
drinks by fingers like that. Honest,
was trying TO be pleasant, for that
mule she was driving was bad actor
and her mitts We're big and rough. She
told me she was tourist, but that
one swallow didn't make summer,
and l broke in to remind her that
neither did it make a drink.
Bill's After-DInner speech.
Bud you know at these Saturday
night walkarounds, when there amt
enough chairs, somebody has to do the
entertaining, and / was the target at
which all questions was thrown. The
conversation got all the way from the
meat famine 10 Harry Thaw, with u
little dashed in here and there about
the Suffragettcs. Finally, when things
were getting rather rough---old man
Henderson had been hitting EN- up
TOO lively in the kltchen-Nish, who
Is always there with the salve, said
that maybe Colonel skillitt would like
10 make Il little after-dinner speech,
which made me sore, because the light
food that was handed around by my
boNs wasn't up to one real meal But
the Dumbarton widow Struggled up
close 10 ME and had to come across.
"fWhile We are here together,
friends l said, i want to talk
straight lust like | live and shoot. We
are growing up race Of narrow
~ minded people.