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86 HISTORY OF MARYLAND.
common to the fashionable society of the whole country; the club, introduced
probably by the many law students sent from the State to study in the
Temple and the other various Inns of Courts was certainly a peculiarity of
society in the peninsula south of the Patapsco, which is generally known as
the "Western Shore." No traces of these clubs are to be found on the
Eastern Shore, where there was a society quite as refine I, though perhaps less
mobile, and as rich as in Anne Arundel and Prince George's. Later in the
day there were clubs in Baltimore, especially after the opening of the
present century, but these were rather literary than social, and their meetings
were illuminated more with wit than with the glow of the blazing punchbowl.
Amongst the papers of the late George L. L. Davis, we have found some
minutes of a conversation which he had some twenty-two or three years ago
with Colonel Richard Burgess, of Washington City, apropos of the old Marlborough Assembly balls, once so famous. " I retain," said Colonel Burgess,
" a vivid recollection of the state of society during my youth in Prince
George's County, and I attended many of the horse-races, balls, plays, and
other diversions of that period. They were then under the management of
the oldest and most distinguished gentlemen of the county; the strictest
order and decorum were observed, and a special regard was paid to the nicer
points of etiquette. There were many horse-races in Prince George's, and it
was very much the practice of the gentlemen and ladies of the county to attend
the races near Georgetown, at Upper Marlborough and elsewhere. The planters
laid aside their spare money, and, with the savings thus secured, they made
up a purse. Many of the horses were very fleet. Drunkenness and disorder
of every kind were severely frowned down. The ladies were delighted to
attend, and nearly always a handsome ball was given to wind up the festival.
The ruins of the old assembly rooms at Upper Marlborough are still conspicuous. It was used for a variety of purposes—for plays, balls, recitations
by a musical class, of which I was a member, and which Bishop Claggett
sometimes attended, and anniversary dinners on the Fourth of July. You
call it the club house. There was another club house in the forest, not far
from the residence of the Bowies, and about six miles from Westphalia, the
family seat of the Burgesses. I frequently attended the balls given there..
The crowd was very great, and I remember that, upon several occasions, I
slept in the ball-room myself. The balls at the Forest Club House, (to give
gentlemen and ladies an opportunity to return to their homes and so get comfortable lodgings) commenced at three o'clock in the afternoon and closed at
twelve, midnight. Those at Upper Marlborough were kept np to a very late
hour, sometimes till nearly daybreak. We occasionally had very fine actors-
at Marlborough, some of the most eminent in the county at that time. I
remember the names of Warren, Blisset, Wood, Barret, Mrs. Warren, Miss
Western and others. The plays performed were representative ones. When
we had a grand theatrical season or entertainment, the houses at Upper Marl-
| Title | History of Maryland - 2 |
| Creator | Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas) |
| Publisher | J. B. Piet |
| Place of Publication | Baltimore |
| Date | 1879 |
| Language | eng |
| Type | Books/Pamphlets |
| Title | 00000111 |
| Type | Books/Pamphlets |
| Transcript | 86 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. common to the fashionable society of the whole country; the club, introduced probably by the many law students sent from the State to study in the Temple and the other various Inns of Courts was certainly a peculiarity of society in the peninsula south of the Patapsco, which is generally known as the "Western Shore." No traces of these clubs are to be found on the Eastern Shore, where there was a society quite as refine I, though perhaps less mobile, and as rich as in Anne Arundel and Prince George's. Later in the day there were clubs in Baltimore, especially after the opening of the present century, but these were rather literary than social, and their meetings were illuminated more with wit than with the glow of the blazing punchbowl. Amongst the papers of the late George L. L. Davis, we have found some minutes of a conversation which he had some twenty-two or three years ago with Colonel Richard Burgess, of Washington City, apropos of the old Marlborough Assembly balls, once so famous. " I retain," said Colonel Burgess, " a vivid recollection of the state of society during my youth in Prince George's County, and I attended many of the horse-races, balls, plays, and other diversions of that period. They were then under the management of the oldest and most distinguished gentlemen of the county; the strictest order and decorum were observed, and a special regard was paid to the nicer points of etiquette. There were many horse-races in Prince George's, and it was very much the practice of the gentlemen and ladies of the county to attend the races near Georgetown, at Upper Marlborough and elsewhere. The planters laid aside their spare money, and, with the savings thus secured, they made up a purse. Many of the horses were very fleet. Drunkenness and disorder of every kind were severely frowned down. The ladies were delighted to attend, and nearly always a handsome ball was given to wind up the festival. The ruins of the old assembly rooms at Upper Marlborough are still conspicuous. It was used for a variety of purposes—for plays, balls, recitations by a musical class, of which I was a member, and which Bishop Claggett sometimes attended, and anniversary dinners on the Fourth of July. You call it the club house. There was another club house in the forest, not far from the residence of the Bowies, and about six miles from Westphalia, the family seat of the Burgesses. I frequently attended the balls given there.. The crowd was very great, and I remember that, upon several occasions, I slept in the ball-room myself. The balls at the Forest Club House, (to give gentlemen and ladies an opportunity to return to their homes and so get comfortable lodgings) commenced at three o'clock in the afternoon and closed at twelve, midnight. Those at Upper Marlborough were kept np to a very late hour, sometimes till nearly daybreak. We occasionally had very fine actors- at Marlborough, some of the most eminent in the county at that time. I remember the names of Warren, Blisset, Wood, Barret, Mrs. Warren, Miss Western and others. The plays performed were representative ones. When we had a grand theatrical season or entertainment, the houses at Upper Marl- |
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