The President's New Year's reception.
The Star of Tuesday evening says:
‘
The reception at the
Executive mansion to-day was a rather meagre one, compared with some former ones.
At 11 o'clock the representatives of the principal foreign Governments attended in full official costumes, as also the Army and Navy officers resident and temporarily here, and the
Judges of the Supreme Court and Court of Claims, paying their respects to the
President of the
United States.
’
At 12 o'clock M., the doors were thrown open to the public, but, as already stated, the rush was not so great as on some previous New Year's receptions, a fact due not a little, we presume, to the awful condition of the "slush-covered" streets.
The only noticeable feature of the occasion was the fact that both secession and Union cockades were visible upon the persons of not a few present, females as well as males, and that in more than one instance the wearers of such badges evinced the fact that they were endowed with more partisan bitterness than good manners, the latter being what they should have manifested, rather than the former, on such an occasion at least.
They, however, refused to manifest the latter, to the extent of declining the
President's hand, and sweeping by him with an effort at a display of lofty disdain, which caused a suppressed titter on the part of all well-bred persons who witnessed the ill-bred airs they thus manifested.
We regret to have to add that some women, as well as men, were guilty of participation in this breach of the privileges of the
Executive Mansion on New Year's day, accorded to all on the theory that on this day at least all who go there will at least respect themselves, if not the authorities of their country at other times.
