Title: A metrical description of a fancy ball given at Washington, 9th April, 1858
First published: 1858
Description: Hi, I'm a not so famous Englishman and my name is Clive John Hudson. I haven't read the book but John von Sonntag de Havilland is my American ancestor......

After returning from military service, de Havilland was active in high society in the American capital. In April 1858, de Havilland was in attendance at one of the great social events of the antebellum period in Washington, DC.  Contemporary accounts of Senator William Gwin’s fancy-dress ball make it clear that it was far above similar parties thrown in Washington. It seems that many American legislators were present in addition to representatives of the Army, the Navy, the Cabinet, foreign diplomatic legations, and even President Buchanan.  The Metrical Description that de Havilland produced of the event was later privately printed. Interestingly, de Havilland attended the party in the costume of the English icon, Coeur de Lion.  Subsequent descriptions of the event noted that de Havilland, was “wearing a veritable suit of massive steel, which became his stalwart frame as though it were clothed in the summer costume of our own times, as he moved with ease through the maze of the dance, ‘towering as a monarch’ over his subjects.” This was not the first time that de Havilland’s great physical strength was noted, nor would it be the last. Two foreign diplomats complemented de Havilland as Robin Hood and Friar Tuck and the group “was considered the most successful among the male costumes of the evening.”

Source: Excerpt from biography by David Boven
Subjects: Social life and customs
Places: Washington (D.C.)
LC classification: F198 .D35