The New York herald., 1922-03-12

/ Mrs. Harding, and nobody paid any
special attention to their comings and
| goings. For Washington as a whole,
even official Washington. did not know
they were going till they saw by the
| next mornings papers that they had
gone. Nor were the Hardings the only
highly official stealers Of marches that
| day. The Secretary of State and Mrs.
Hughes put something over on most of
! their acquaintances-and even on many
| Of their friends-when, In what the news
paper men call zone of the regular State
Department handouts" they announced
the engagement of their daughter. Miss
Ca therine Hughes, to MIR. Chauncey
Lockhart Waddell of New York. 1t was
very modest little paragraph, along
with a grist Of routine announcements.
differing from them only In being marked
unofficial" to indicate that II did not
have to do with business Of the Depart
J nent OF State.
| All Washington knows Catherine
| Hughes-at once quite we'll. and-scarce-
| ly at all She was a school girl when
| the Hugheses lived here before. attend
ing the Cathedral School for Girls. It
will be remembered that It was In an adj
| dress at the graduating exercises OF
hat school In 1916 that Justice Hughes
made 1t evident that he would accept the
Presidential nomination IL the Repub-
| lican convention, then meeting In Chi
| cago, offered It to him. AS the most
distinguished father-and the most avail
able-of any member Of the graduating
| class, he had been asked to speak. And
! he spoke-so that all the world heard.
| Truly a notable graduation for Miss
Catherine.
She, however, was moro thrilled at
| the prospect OF entering Wellesley, her
! mothers alma mater, than at the possi-
bility of calling the White House home.
| sweet home" for four years very much
| more interested in her chance Of getting
the particular dormitory quarters that
| she wanted at Wellesley than she was In
! dreaming of which room she would have
| at 1900 Pennsylvania avenue. However.
| II didn't happen that way. The Hughes
family moved to New York. and during
the four years that she was at Welles-
ley Washington knew little OF Catherine
Hughes. Last summer. when they were
| back here Miss Catherine was travel
| ing In Europe with friends. and 1t was
not until rather late last fall that the
| capital had a chance to really make her
| acquaintance.
| Made No Formal Debut.
So far as know. she made no formal
| debut either here or In New York. but
| she has taken her place quietly by her
| mothers side as assistant hostess In her
| fathers house, and most gracious and
| attractive one, and she has been re-
garded as Of the debutante set. along
with Ailsa Mellon and Mary Wallace.
with perhaps more In common with the
| latter. since they were both college girls
Miss Wallace is OF vassar-recently
| graduated. Her engagement was en-
tirely a surprise. Mr.. Waddell seems
| to be quite unknown In Washington,
| though I'm told that he has loomed
| fairly large on her horizon since she
| was in Wellesley and he in Harvard
about the same time. Wellesley, you
1now. Is a suburb OF Boston and Cam
bridge scarcely far enough from the
Common to be called even that
There was some wonder expressed
that Miss Hughes was content to let
her parents go to Bermuda recently
without her. Possibly Mr.. waddell is
the answer. since the announcement o.
the engagement awaited only the return
OF Secretary and Mrs. Hughes. The
FIardirgs were. OF course. informed Of
II before they started South, and Of
fered their congratulations TO Miss
Hughes. Possibly, though I have not
hear1 of 1t, Mrs. Harding sent Miss
Hughes an autographed photograph of
herself in uniform az Honorary Chief
Of the Girl Scouts-as I told you last
week she did to Miss Helen Hopkins
on the announcement of her engage
ment. Fer Catherine Hughes, like Helen
Hopkins, Is captain of a Girl Scout
Troop. About the only entertaining at
the Hughes house during the absence
OF Secretary and Mrs. Hughes was a
party which Miss Hughes gave for her
Girl Scouts. last Friday or Saturday.
Washington does not seem to know
Mr.. Waddell at all. 1t takes Secretary
Hughes's word for II that he Is q Har-
ward graduate. class OF 1918, and was
In the air service during the war: that
he is the son Of Mr.. and Mrs. Edwin
Waddell of Greenfield. Ohio. and Is con-
nected with the firm of Dillon, Reed &
Co., In New York city. where he is at
present living. No date Is set for the
wedding.
AS for the Hugheses-having buried
their little bomb In a mass of routine
departmental announcements they went
to bed early Wednesday night.
and slept the sleep OF the Just. A dis
tracted society editor tells me that she
heard about 10 o'clock that such an
announcement was being made, and
called up the Hughes home. The servant
who answered said. why. Mrs. Hughes
Is in bed, and asleepl" Secretary
Hughes7" why. the Secretary, he's
in bed, tool" How about Miss
Hrghes?" why Miss Catherine-she's
out. you know gone to q dance" And
so had to give II up.
Miss Hughes was out at the Mont
gomery Country Club. at the dinner and
dance, Complicated" with vaudeville,
theatricals. stunts-call II what you will.
which a group OF diplomatic bachelors
bachelor diplomats-was given, and as
the news Of the engagement had pre-
ceded her, she was very much the hero
Inc Of the evening. at least sharing
honors with Miss Manuela Lloveras.
niece OF the Argentine Ambassador and
Mime. lie Breton, and Adelina Oxnard.
daughter OF Mr.. and Mrs. Henry r.
Oxnard. who we're the only girls In
the cast OF the highly amusing perform
ance which the bachelors put over in
the intervals OF the dancing, under the
title of English as She Is Spoke" or
"L'Anglais We gu on 10 Parle."
Numerous Dinner Parties.
I Last week took occasion to COM
ment on the fact that In this Baptist,
and generally non-conformist adminis-
tration, while Lent was to q certain ex-
tent a period OF needed slowing OF the
social pace, II certainly was not 20 be
regarded as o period of fasting. Din
rers--more or less formal Official din
ners--seemed TO be coming thick and
fast: but IL did seem as II society was