Ellie Strong Reception

“Home at 4 and assisted till 6 at Ellie’s reception ‘Matinee’—‘Apres-midi’ or whatever it was. Found Ellie’s drawing rooms thronged with nice women. A few men were rari nantes in gurgite vasto of hoopskirts, waterfalls and dress bonnets.  The effect of all these adornments and of the womenkind who wore them was pretty, but if the ghost of old Stubbes or Prynne had been a spectator we should have been favored with a diatribe worthy to succeed the anatomie of abuses or the discourse of the unloveliness of love-lockes. It’s so long since I have attended any large fashionable gathering (thanks to Sanitation Commission) that I felt like an owl in daylight, recognized scores of faces but could not recall the names that belonged to them and went about asking everybody in a whisper who everybody else was. Outside the usual “society” set were nice Mrs. Joy and Chandler and Rood, with their wives--whom I was very glad to see.  Hon. Burlingame and other Hon’s, sundry Russian and Prussian diplomats, George Crawford, Lester Wallack (to whom I introduced myself) and his pleasant Mrs. Lester Wallack. Wehli the pianist had sent up his own special Chickering and gave us specimens of prestidigitation on the piano, wonderful to hear, exceedingly ‘effective’ and not wholly without musical worth.  Mrs. Fanny Reed sang certain worthless bits of vocalization with her usual spirit and brilliancy, which was more than they deserved. It seems to have been a ‘successful entertainment.’”