For Charity's Sake
All Helena Society Mingles in the Maze of the Dance at the Elks Ball.
SOCIAL EVENT OF THE SEASON.
Decorations on a Scale of Magnificence Seldom Surpassed -- Concert by the Twenty-fifth Infantry Band and Military Drill by Soldiers from Fort Harrison.
Helena society danced last evening to the strains of an orchestra of 28 pieces from the Twenty-fifth Infantry band. The auditorium was well filled with the merry company that gathered to enjoy the ball of the winter season and incidentally to contribute to the well-being of others, for the affair was a charity ball and the proceed, which will amount to a considerable sum, will be given to the Associated Charities for distribution among the worthy and needy poor of the city. The purpose of the event did not detract from its attractiveness, but rather added to it, and the problem before the association will be materially simplified when the returns are all in, for not only was the attendance large, but many tickets were disposed of that were not taken in at the door.
The decorations were in charge of a committee of ladies, and were tasteful and appropriate. Winter was typified in the colors and arrangement of the greenery that predominated. The columns that supported the gallery were hidden in bank of evergreens, and there were festoons of lacopodium and smilax everywhere. The orchestra was screened behind a curtain of vines and flowers. The front of the stage was banked in cedars covered with flakes of snow.
A grand march was dispensed with. The programme began with a waltz and continued through a series of numbers that gave pleasing variety to the chief attraction of the evening, the volume and rythm of the large orchestra making dancing an added pleasure. There was a programme of concert music before dancing began. The following numbers were rendered:
March and chorus from Tannhauser ..... Wagner
Overture to William Tell (morning, the Storm) Alpine Scene, the Chase ...... Rossini
Selections from Faust ...... Gounod
Intermexxo, Cavalleria Rusticana for violin and string quintette ...... Mascagni
Medley of Popular Southern Plantation Songs ...... Boettger
Between the second and third numbers 30 picked men from Fort Harrison gave an elaborate musical calesthenic drill with arms, for which the music was furnished by two clever cornetists from the fort. The drill was completed with precision and skill. The men were under the leadership of Sergeant Shaw, and were drilled by Lieut. F. P. Van Liew, who has direct charge of that work at the post.
The assemblage was a brilliant one, marked by the presence of Helena's prettiest society girls in their newest gowns. It was long after midnight before the last waltz was played and the dancers went to their homes.