y he was as sturdy a patriot as any farmer who
blazed away at the Red Coats from behind the Lexington hedges. Stoutly
he defended the "saddle" of venison instead of the "haunch." Our
tenderloin steak was quite as good as the English rump. Of Madeira he
once said, with the spirit of Nathan Hale, "You have none to liken unto
ours."

That Prince of Wales who afterwards became George the Fourth, in the
vigour of his youth, and the prime force of his invention, invented a
shoe-buckle. The crowning work in the life of Ward McAllister was
probably the institution of the F.C.D.C.'s, abbreviation for the Family
Circle Dancing Class. The Patriarch Balls, of which the first were given
in the winters of 1872 and 1873, were growing too large and were being
monopolized by the married women. The new association was for the _jeune
fille_, and was to be more limited and intimate. Its dances were held
at Dodworth's, later Delmonico's, and in the _foyer_ of the Metropolitan
Opera House. The arbiter paid the price of his greatness. "From the
giving of the first to the time of my giving them up, I had no peace
either at home or abroad. I was assailed on all sides, became in a sense
a diplomat, committed myself to nothing, promised much and performed as
little as possible....

"My mornings were given up to being interviewed of and about them;
mothers would call at my house, entirely unknown to me, the sole words
of introduction being, 'Kind sir, I have a daughter.' These words were
cabalistic; I would spring up, bow to the ground, and reply: 'My dear
Madam, say no more, you have my sympathy; we are in accord; no
introduction is necessary; you have a daughter and want her to go to the
F.C.D.C.'s. I will do all in my power to do this for you; but my dear
lady, please understand, that in all matters concerning these little
dances I must consult the powers that be. I am their humble servant; I
must take orders from them.' All of which was a figure of speech on my
part." The arbiter would then diplomatically suggest the possibility of
a friend of social influence, and make some allusion to family. That
always started the fair visitor. The family always went back to King
John and, in some instances, to William the Conqueror. "'My dear
Madam,' I would reply, 'does it not satisfy any one to come into
existence with the birth of one's country? In my opinion, four
generations of gentlemen make as good and true a gentleman as forty. I
know my English