Page:The New Yorker 0002, 1925-02-28.pdf/4

tion in fuent Italian, French, Spanish and English it of the Army, Navy or National Guard, there is often was obvious that she was vivacious, charming, and a lack of that precision which characterizes the march- toujours gai or very nearly. They couldn't do much ing of our West Point cadets. But the magnificence about the wrinkles in her hands. of uniform more than makes up for any slight tech- nical lack, and it would indeed be a captious critic who would find fault with the appearance of the Guard. Having held its ninety-ninth annual reception and Back in the early days, the organization was known ball the Old Guard has at once subsided into that as the Light Guard and began its career on the Bow- lethargy which it maintains between these annual ery. In the '30s it was merged with the City Guard functions. However, it is not quite fair to the Old and as such both continued until the Civil War when Guard to intimate that it does nothing but give a they were absorbed by larger commands. After that ball each year, though to do even that steadily for war the veterans of each got together and in 1868 the ninety-nine years requires a certain amount of tenacity. Old Guard was chartered by the State of New York. In addition, the Old Guard has become a standard For many years the annual ball was held in the old part of any New York parade. Academy of Music, and I believe, was also at one time Lined up in their towering bearskin shakos, wearing held in the Madison Square Garden. Still later it their famous uniform of blue trousers and swallow was transferred to the Metropolitan Opera House. tailed coats of white decorated with blue, red and In those days it was classed as one of the "wine gold facings, these doughy warriors are one of the few balls," a slang term applied to the large public dances links connecting New York with its past. From to which the wine merchants of the city would send the gold tassels topping off their prodigious shakos to representatives to give away quantities of wine and the tips of their impressive boots the members of the champagne as advertisements for their products. Natu- Old Guard have not altered for a century. rally, balls in those days were gayer and more lively While the call to duty at parades or for the mass- affairs, but the Old Guard has managed to withstand ing of the colors at the ball never finds the members even the rigors of prohibition, though many of the lacking in alacrity there is not the same enthusiasm older members aver that the annual gatherings are for drills, which are not compulsory. Thus, although not what they used to be. all members of the organization were once members Theodore Roosevelt was a member of the Old Clifton Webb and Digitized by Google