National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior

Historical Overview
It must have been a long weekend because my husband worked in New York; and if we
hadn't gotten away until 5:00 o'clock on a Friday, it would have been a very short weekend . .
. to cover the amount of things . . . we did. 275
They arrived at Hyde Park late Friday afternoon, and after a rest, they dressed for dinner with
their hosts at the small table in the Dining Room. As guests, the next morning they had the
choice of coming down to breakfast or calling for a breakfast tray in their room. Mrs. Worcester
came down to breakfast in order to get an early start on the day. Frederick joined her at least
once during the weekend for breakfast at the small dining room table. After breakfast, Frederick
gave the couple a tour of the estate on horseback, and following lunch, Mrs. Worcester
remembered spending most of the day "outside doing things" including visiting the gardens.
The Worcesters were joined by other guests for afternoon tea by the lit fireplace in the Elliptical
Hall. The casual tea was served in the hall because they were in riding togs and had been at
athletic pursuits. Mrs. Worcester was also served a more formal tea in the Reception Room
during the weekend. 276 She noted:
You'd come in for tea and then you were expected to rest before dinner. You were expected
to have time to get yourself all dressed up, you know. 277
The second evening a dinner party was held for about fourteen people. Worcester described the
dinner "protocol":
all the dinner parties in those days were run by the hostess, who, when she talked to the
person on her left, so did you. Then when she would swing to talk to the other [side] you
would swing, too. Usually the conversation was limited to the two people who sat on either
side of you, unless the party was small enough so that she could make it a general
conversation. General conversation wasn't usual for a dinner party. It was full of protocol,
so to speak. You did what everybody else did. 278
In the diary of Florence Adele Sloane, the Vanderbilts' niece, Miss Sloane refers to the
conversational mode of society, its hostesses, and its men as limited in their ideas and
conversation. She laments the possibility of marrying within society and leaving behind the
stimulating conversation with other sorts of men whom she had met since her debut in society.
I love to meet new people . . . who are totally different from society men. If I marry a society
man, it will narrow my life down to that set tremendously, and I will probably be very little
thrown in with the sort of people whom I thoroughly enjoy talking to. I like discussions and
good arguments. I like talking of books and a hundred other things, and I would miss it
fearfully if I would not have it. 279
Eleanor Worcester's recollections continue after dinner as the ladies moved to the Living
Room and were joined shortly by the men for music, a game of charades, and a little dancing.
Each guest took a turn at the piano. Frederick invited some of his guests into the Den for quiet
conversation and perhaps a game of Bridge. At other points in the weekend, Mrs. Worcester
also remembered being invited into the Reception Room and into Louise's bedroom to sit and
talk with her hostess. During the day when Frederick was not with his guests, he was often in his
275
Worcester, 3.
276
Worcester, 21-22.
277
Worcester, 37-38.
278
Worcester, 8.
279
Sloane, 135.
60