Ward McAllister

“Dinners are the milestones in a man's life.”

“There are only about four hundred people in fashionable New York Society. If you go outside that number you strike people who are either not at ease in a ballroom or else make other people not at ease.”

“The secret of success in society is a certain heartiness and sympathy.”

“A man with a million dollars is as well off as if he were rich.”

“A host should be one's best friend. He should not be able to do enough for one's comfort.”

“Fashion is a potency in art, making it hard to judge between the temporary and the lasting.”

“Hospitality is a divine instinct.”

“We are parvenus. We are nouveaux riches. We are not... we have no traditions. We have no leisure. We are too busy.”