It
was headed "The Saint Cecilia Ball," and ran as follows:
We carried on yesterday a full account of the famous Saint Cecilia
Ball. From the foundation of Charleston until the present moment it
has been regarded as an unwritten law that the annual events of
this ancient society shall not be touched upon.
Of course it was permissible for the thirty-five thousand poor
white people of Charleston to talk about the Saint Cecilia, and to
indulge in the thrilling sensation that comes to the proverbial cat
when she looks at a queen. Some of them, moved by curiosity, even
ventured within half a block of the Hibernian Hall to observe from
afar the gay festivities.
The press being forbidden to cover Saint Cecilia events, there grew
up in the vulgar mind weird stories of what went on behind the
scenes. While the Saint Cecilia has enjoyed the happy privilege of
journalistic silence, it has, therefore, correspondingly suffered
on the tongue of gossip. The truth is that we always knew that the
Saint Cecilia was just about the same as every other social
collection of human beings--a little gaiety flavored with a little
frivolity; nothing more, nothing less.
There was a time when this society was the extreme limit of social
exclusiveness.
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