The Washington herald., 1919-01-19


whom 1t was familiar.
To return to the Russian Ball: II
there were any disgruntled ones who
felt that they did not get their
moneys worth at the Charity Ball.
there was no room for any such
complaint at the Russian Ball. The
tickets at the two were exactly the
same price. And the Russian Rail-
supplied a real honest-to- goodness.
sit-down-and-take-y time supper.
and some perfectly fascinating fea-
ture dances by perhaps half q dozen
of Chalifs best dancers, the young
est, freshest, daintiest little creatures,
and as graceful as kittens, who
came down from New York for the
occasion.
Then there was good dance floor,
and good dance music--the Myer Da-
Wis Orchestra-both details which
were severely criticised at the Char
ity Ball. You may have heard me
say that the Marine Band has its
uses, but that producing dance music
is not one of them. And there was
the fun OF looking up everybody you
knew, and seeing what their idea Of
Russian kakoschnik was-and how
they looked in II. Really about half
the women there had made some
sort of a stab at 1t. and some of them
were most effective. and the girls
were lovely In them; some Of them
were simply screams" and a few,
as one girl tersely put 1t, looked like
Mrs. Devil"
The only possible criticism. the
one that always comes to my mind,
Is the amiable plant of a little
French officer at a similar affair
last winter-'It is too much peo-
pie; too much people!" 1t was sim
ply a mob! Everybody you had
ever seen or heard of was there
and people you had neither seen nor
heard OF for fifteen years bobbed up
serenely. There must have been
at least thirty big dinner parties
whose guests ended the evening at
the Russian ball. People swarmed
in a fashion which simply paralyz ed
the hotel service. They had to open
up a lot of extra check rooms, and
the congestion for a while was be-
yond belief. OF course the fact that
the kakoschnike-(ssy It with a
ezeD-involved a lot of extra
prinking. didn't help much.
1 really think the most effective
outfit in the room was Louise
Delano's. Her gown seemed to be
of gold tissue with touches of
rather a strong blue. and her kakos-
chnik was an enormous fan-shaped
erection of blue, with gold decora-
tions. 1t was monstrously becom-
ing, and it's pretty wearer was dane
ing so much with a certain British
officer-no, l didn't know him-that
one wondered whether she was
about to annex one. following the
example of her cousin. Sarah Price
Collier. who married Lieut.. Charles
Fellowes Gordon, r. n, a week or
two ago. They. by the way were
both at the ball, she in the lovely
white and silver gown which was
her wedding gown, wearing
pearl kakoschnik, and tulle veil,
and looking just about as "bridey"
as she did during the ceremony.
They both looked radiantly happy
Wednesday night, and spooned quite
brazenly.
Nine Bakhmeteff had said she was
going to wear a genuine and very an
cient kakoschnik set with diamonds
and emeralds. OF course, curiosity
was stirred and disappointed. What
she wore seemed to be merely a large,
and no particularly picturesque tiara.
And the jewels she wore with them
well, were they jewels? Oh, yes, yes,
1 know perfectly well that Mime. Bak-
hmeteff has about the most wonderful
emeralds in existence. But I've never
seen them to identify them. and If
those were they. I'm disappointed.
They certainly didn't look the part.
On the whole don't believe they were.
for l think I've been told that the"
emeralds were Unexpectedly light in
color. and these were quite a dark
green.
The arrival OF the Vice President
and Mrs. Marshall, who occupied a
raised box at one end of the room,
was the signal for the ball to begin.
Bugles announced their coming, and
the little procession to the box, led
by the vice President and Nine. Bak-
hmeteff, with Mrs. Marshall following
on the arm of Lieut.. Arthur Bradley
Campbell. Mrs. James McDonald's son,
who was chairman of the floor COM
mittee, was quite imposing. Mrs.
Marshall wore a gown of sulphur COL
ored brocade and silver, silver net
forming the flowing sleeves, and a
narrow-pointed train giving distinc-
ton. She carried a huge sheaf of
American Beauties which the ball
committee gave her as she arrived.
She and the Vice President were
taken up to Mrs. Thomas F. Walsh's
box. large one at the end OF the
room. rather dominating it. Mrs.
Walsh and the rest of her dinner
party-Mr. Franklin McVeigh, for
merly Secretary of the Treasury,
and Mr.. and Mrs. Efingham Law
renee Townsend-on which the
Marshalls had reneged, finding
when Mrs. Marshall had to move her
reception on from the previous We'd
nesday, on account of the death of
Col. Roosevelt, that it would crowd
her afternoon and evening too much.
In the adjoining box Mr.. George
and Nine. Bakhmeter
the Charge d'Affaires of
Great Britain and Mrs. Colville Bar
clay, and Col. Joseph Simon, of the
French High Commission. and Nine.
SimOn-a party which certainly
would have tended to reassure any
one who might have had his doubts
as to the status of the ball. There
had been some question as to
whether the diplomats would regard
it as diplomatic to attend a func-
ton from which one of the en-
bassies was pointedly excluded. The
Cabinet women were frankly un-
about the matter,
though every one of them who was
staying away had a perfectly good
alibi. But the diplomats seemed to
have no misgivings on the subject.
There were plenty of them scattered
about the boxes. The Spanish Am
bassador and Nine. Riano, were in the