Original ADY POWDERBY'S ball was the first I attended in London, and therefore, I suppose, made the strongest impression upon me. It was quite different from a Chicago ball, though the differences were so intangible--not consisting at all in the supper, or the music, or the dresses, or the decorations--that I am by no means sure that I can explain them; so I beg that you will not be disappointed if you fail to learn from my idea of a London ball what a Chicago ball is like. It is very easy for you to find out personally, if you happen to be in Chicago.
We went in a four-wheeler at about eleven o'clock, and as the driver
drew up before the strip of carpet that led to the door, the first thing
that struck me was the little crowd of people standing waiting on
either side to watch the guests go in. I never saw that in Chicago--that
patience and self-abnegation. I don't think the freeborn American
citizen would find it consistent with his dignity to hang about the
portals of a party to which he had not been invited. He would take
pains, on the contrary, to shun all appearance of wanting to go.
Inside I expected to find a crowd--I think balls are generally crowded
wherever they are given; but I also expected to be able to get through
it, in which for quite twenty minutes I was disappointed. Both Lady
Torquilin and I made up our minds, at one time, to spend the rest of
the evening in our wraps; but just as we had abandoned ourselves to this
there came a breaking and a parting among the people, and a surge in one
direction, which Lady Torquilin explained, as we took advantage of it,
by the statement that the supper-room had been opened.
In the cloak-room several ladies were already preparing for departure.
'Do you suppose they are ill?' I asked Lady Torquilin, as we stood
together, while two of the maids repaired our damages as far as they
were able. 'Why do they go home so early?'
'Home, child!' said Lady Torquilin, with a withering emphasis. 'They're
going on; I daresay they've got a couple more dances a-piece to put in
an appearance at to night.' Lady Torquilin did not approve of what she
called 'excessive riot,' and never accepted more than one invitation an
evening; so I was unfamiliar with London ways in this respect. Presently
I had another object-lesson in the person of a lady who came in and gave
her cloak to the attendant, saying, 'Put it where you can get it easily,
please. I'll want it again in a quarter of an hour.' I thought as I
looked at her that social pleasures must be to such an one simply
a series of topographical experiments. I also thought I should have
something to say when next I heard of the hurry and high pressure in
which Americans lived.
'It's of no use,' said Lady Torquilin, looking at the stairs; 'we can
never get up; we might as well go with the rest and----'
'Have some supper,' added somebody close behind us; and Lady Torquilin
said: 'Oh, Charlie Mafferton! 'though why she should have been surprised
was more than I could imagine, for Charlie Mafferton was nearly always
at hand. Wherever we went to--at homes, or concerts, or the theatre,
or sight-seeing, in any direction, Mr. Mafferton turned up, either
expectedly or unexpectedly, with great precision, and his manner
toward Lady Torquilin was always as devoted as it could be. I have
not mentioned him often before in describing my experiences, and shall
probably not mention him often again, because after a time I began
to take him for granted as a detail of almost everything we did. Lady
Torquilin seemed to like it, so I, of course, had no right to object;
and, indeed, I did not particularly mind, because Mr. Mafferton was
always nice in his manner to me, and often very interesting in his
remarks. But if Lady Torquilin had not told me that she had known him in
short clothes, and if I had not been perfectly certain she was far
too sensible to give her affections to a person so much younger than
herself, I don't know what I would have thought.
So we went with the rest and had some supper, and, in the anxious
interval during which Lady Torquilin and I occupied a position in the
doorway, and Mr. Mafferton reconnoitred for one of the little round
tables, I discovered what had been puzzling me so about the house
ever since I had come into it. Except for the people, and the flower
decorations, and a few chairs, it was absolutely empty. The people
furnished it, so to speak, moving about in the brilliancy of their
dresses and diamonds, and the variety of their manners, to such an
extent that I had not been able to particularise before what I felt was
lacking to this ball. It was a very curious lack--all the crewel-work,
and Japanese bric-à-brac, and flower lamp-shades, that go to make up
a home; and the substitute for it in the gay lights and flowers, and
exuberant supper-table, and dense mass of people, gave me the feeling of
having been permitted to avail myself of a brilliant opportunity, rather
than of being invited to share the hospitality of Lady Torquilin's
friends.
'Has Lady Powderby just moved in?' I asked, as we sat down around two
bottles of champagne, a lot of things glacées, a triple arrangement of
knives and forks, and a pyramid of apoplectic strawberries.
'Lady Powderby doesn't live here,' Lady Torquilin said. 'No, Charlie,
thank you--sweets for you young people if you like--savouries for me!'
and my friend explained to me that Lady Powderby was 'at home' at this
particular address only for this particular evening, and had probably
paid a good many guineas house-rent for the night; after which I tried
in vain to feel a sense of personal gratitude for my strawberries, which
I was not privileged even to eat with my hostess's fork--though, of
course, I knew that this was mere sentiment, and that practically I was
as much indebted to Lady Powderby for her strawberries as if she had
grown them herself. And, on general grounds, I was really glad to have
had the chance of attending this kind of ball, which had not come within
my experience before. I don't think it would occur to anybody in Chicago
to hire an empty house to give an entertainment in; and though, now
that I think of it, Palmer's Hotel is certainly often utilised for this
purpose, it is generally the charity or benevolent society hop that is
given there.
During supper, while Lady Torquilin was telling Mr. Mafferton how much
we had enjoyed the 'Opening,' and how kind his cousin had been, I looked
round. I don't know whether it is proper to look round at a ball in
England--it's a thing I never should have thought of doing in Chicago,
where I knew exactly what I should see if I did look round--but
the impersonal nature of Lady Powderby's ball gave me a sense of
irresponsibility to anybody, and the usual code of manners seemed
a vague law, without any particular applicability to present
circumstances. And I was struck, much struck, with the thorough
business-like concentration and singleness of purpose that I saw about
me. The people did not seem much acquainted, except by twos and threes,
and ignored each other, for the most part, in a calm, high-level way,
that was really educating to see. But they were not without a common
sentiment and a common aim--they had all come to a ball, where it
devolved upon them to dance and sup, and dance again--to dance and
sup as often as possible, and to the greatest possible advantage. This
involved a measuring-up of what there was, which seemed to be a popular
train of thought. There was no undue levity. If a joke had been made
in that supper-room it would have exploded more violently than the
champagne-bottles. Indeed, there was as great and serious decorum as was
possible among so many human beings who all required to be fed at once,
with several changes of plates. I observed a great deal of behaviour and
a great similarity of it--the gentlemen were alike, and the ladies were
alike, except that some of the ladies were a little like the gentlemen,
and some of the gentlemen were a little like the ladies. This
homogeneity was remarkable to me, considering how few of them seemed
to have even a bowing acquaintance with each other. But the impressive
thing was the solid unity of interest and action as regarded the supper.
We struggled upstairs, and on the first landing met a lady-relation of
our hostess, with whom Lady Torquilin shook hands.
'You'll never find her,' said this relation, referring to Lady Powderby.
'The Dyngeleys, and the Porterhouses, and the Bangley Coffins have all
come and gone without seeing her.' But I may just state here that we did
find her, towards morning, in time to say good-bye.
When I say that the floor of Lady Powderby's (temporary) ball-room was
full, I do not adequately express the fact. It was replete--it ran
over, if that is not too impulsive an expression for the movement of the
ladies and gentlemen who were twirling round each other upon the floor,
all in one direction, to the music. With the exception of two or three
couples, whose excited gyration seemed quite tipsy by contrast, the ball
upstairs was going on with the same profound and determined action as
the ball downstairs. I noticed the same universal look of concentration,
the same firm or nervous intention of properly discharging the
responsibilities of the evening and the numbers of the programme, on
the face of the sweet, fresh debutante, steadily getting pinker; of the
middle-aged, military man, dancing like a disjointed foot-rule; of the
stout old lady in crimson silk, very low in the neck, who sat against
the wall. The popular theory seemed to be that the dancing was something
to be Done--the consideration of enjoyment brought it to a lower plane.
And it was an improving sight, though sad.
Mr. Mafferton asked me for Numbers seven, and nine, and eleven--all
waltzes. I knew he would be obliged to, out of politeness to Lady
Torquilin, who had got past dancing herself; but I had been dreading
it all the time I spent in watching the other men go round, while Mr.
Mafferton sought for a chair for her. So I suggested that we should try
Number seven, and see how we got on, ignoring the others, and saying
something weakly about my not having danced for so long, and feeling
absolutely certain that I should not be able to acquit myself with the
erectness--to speak of nothing else--that seemed to be imperative at
Lady Powderby's ball. 'Oh! I am sure we shall do very well,' said Mr.
Mafferton. And we started.
I admire English dancing. I am accustomed to it now, and can look at a
roomful of people engaged in it without a sympathetic attack of vertigo
or a crick in my neck. I think it is, perhaps, as good an exposition of
the unbending, unswerving quality in your national character as could be
found anywhere, in a small way but I do not think an American ought to
tamper with it without preliminary training.
Mr. Mafferton and I started--he with confidence, I with indecision. You
can make the same step with a pair of scissors as Mr. Mafferton made; I
did it afterwards, when I explained to Lady Torquilin how impossible it
was that I should have danced nine and eleven with him, Compared with
it I felt that mine was a caper, and the height of impropriety. You will
argue from this that they do not go together well; and that is quite
correct. We inserted ourselves into the moving mass, and I went
hopelessly round the May pole that Mr. Mafferton seemed to have turned
into, several times. Then the room began to reel. 'Don't you think we
had better reverse?' I asked; 'I am getting dizzy, I'm afraid.' Mr.
Mafferton stopped instantly, and the room came right again.
Original 'Reverse?' he said; 'I don't think I ever heard of it. I thought we were getting on capitally!' And when I explained to him that reversing meant turning round, and going the other way, he declared that it was quite impracticable--that we would knock everybody else over, and that he had never seen it done. After the last argument I did not press the matter. It took very little acquaintance with Mr. Mafferton to know that, if he had never seen it done, he never would do it. 'We will try going back a bit,' he proposed instead; with the result that after the next four or five turns he began to stalk away from me, going I knew not whither. About four minutes later we went back, at my urgent request, to Lady Torquilin, and Mr. Mafferton told her that we had 'hit it off admirably.' I think he must have thought we did, because he said something about not having 'been quite able to catch my step at first, in a way that showed entire satisfaction with his later performance; which was quite natural, for Mr. Mafferton was the kind of person who, so long as he was doing his best himself, would hardly be aware whether anybody else was or not.
I made several other attempts with friends of Lady Torquilin and
Mr. Mafferton, and a few of them were partially successful, though I
generally found it advisable to sit out the latter parts of them. This,
when room could be found, was very amusing; and I noticed that it
was done all the way up two flights of stairs, and in every other
conceivable place that offered two seats contiguously. I was interested
to a degree in one person with whom I sat out two or three dances
running. He was quite a young man, not over twenty-four or five, I
should think--a nephew of Lady Torquilin, and an officer in the Army,
living at Aldershot, very handsome, and wore an eyeglass, which was,
however, quite a common distinction. I must tell you more about him
again in connection with the day Lady Torquilin and I spent at Aldershot
at his invitation, because he really deserves a chapter to himself. But
it was he who told me, at Lady Powderby's ball, referring to the solid
mass of humanity that packed itself between us and the door, that it
was with the greatest difficulty that he finally gained the ball-room.
'Couldn't get in at all at first,' said he, 'and while I was standin' on
the outside edge of the pavement, a bobby has the confounded impudence
to tell me to move along. '"Can't,"' says I--"I'm at the party."'
I have always been grateful to the Aldershot officer for giving me that
story to remember in connection with Lady Powderby's ball, although Mr.
Mafferton, when I retailed it, couldn't see that it was in the least
amusing. 'Besides,' he said, 'it's as old as "Punch."' But at the end
of the third dance Mr. Mafferton had been sent by Lady Torquilin to look
for me, and was annoyed, I have no doubt, by the trouble he had to
take to find me. And Mr. Mafferton's sense of humour could never be
considered his strong point.