Mrs. Taft, like the famous Dolly Madison, the queen of the ball of a century before her, was attired in a high-waisted empire gown. It was extremely simple, depending for its effect upon the fabric and the style of the cut. Made of white chiffon, it was embroidered in silver lace and crystal beads in a goldenrod design that reached to the waistband in front and extended thickly around the train. The waist was also simply trimmed with the embroidery and rich lace, and the whole mounted over a white satin slip. A pearl and diamond dog collar and a spray in her hair completed her costume. Miss Taft was becomingly attired in white silk muslin with touches of blue, while Mrs. Sherman was radiant in white satin. Though taxicabs and carriages were at a premium, and the keen March wind penetrated the thickest furs, the ballroom was so packed that dancing was possible only in spots until toward the last, when the crowd had thinned out. It was estimated that ten thousand people attended, and they brought their enthusiasm along, for they constantly applauded the new President long after the Grand March was completed. In Mrs. Taft, the White House had a mistress of marked individuality, strong character, and independence of belief. From the time of her marriage, she made her husband’s career and their home her chief interests. She is a college woman and a great believer in higher education for women, not to make them competitors with men, but to round out their femininity. On this subject she allowed herself to be interviewed: “Higher education for women? My daughter has elected to take a full college course and is now studying very diligently at Bryn Mawr to equip herself for entrance into college, probably next autumn. I believe in the best and most thorough education for everyone, men and women, and it is my proudest boast that all my children are studious. My idea about higher culture for women is that it makes them great in intellect and soul, develops the lofty conception of womanhood; not that it makes them a poor imitation of a man. “I am old-fashioned enough to believe that woman is the complement of man, and that what is most feminine about her is most attractive to man and therefore of the greatest utility to the world. No fundamental superiority or inferiority between the two appears plain to me. The only superiority lies in the way in which the responsibilities of life are discharged.