The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1874-04-17
SOCIAL usAGEs.

everybody desires to be relieved
OF them, and all seem to be pow
erless to reform them. Their bur
densomeness forms a serious bal
to social intercourse, and theil
only tendency is to drive some
men and women out of society al
together, and to worry and weary
those who remain subject to them
A person is invited to an sin
formal reception. Special pain:
may be, and often are, taken tc
impress him with the idea thai
such a reception is, indeed, sin,
formal" The idea is very good
The proposition is to bring to
gether circle of friends in IA
miliar way, without expensive
dress on the part of the guests
or an expensive entertainment on
the part of the hostess. 1t IS an
attractive sort of invitation, but
woe to the man or woman who &C.
cepts it according to its terms.
The man and the woman who at
tend in anything but full evening
dress will find themselves singular,
and most uncomfortable. They
have taken their hostess at her
word, and find, instead of q party
of familiar friends, who can sit
down and enjoy an hour of social
Intercourse, highly dressed
"jam," which comes late and de-
parts late, and which finds itself
treated to an elaborate supper.
People have, at last, learned that
if there is anything that must be
dressed for deliberately, it is an
"informal reception" and that
there is really no greater cheat
than the invitation which called
them together. The consequence
is that we have no really informal
gatherings Of men and women in
what we call society
Again, when we invite a guest
to dinner at six, we expect him to
come at, or before, that hour. 1t
is counted the height of impolite-
ness for guest to keep q dinner
waiting q moment. This is just
as it should be; but when we in
vite a guest at eight o'clock, to a
reception or a party, what then?
Why, we do not expect him until
nine, we do not ordinarily get him
until half-past nine, and are not
surprised at his entrance at any
subsequent hour before the com
pany breaks up. Why the rule
should be good for the dinner that
is not good for the assembly does
not appear, except that in the case
of the dinner it is a question of
hot or cold soup that is to be de-
cided. At eight the host and
hostess are in their vacant rooms,
be-gloved and waiting. They are
there for an hour, wishing their
guests would come. At last one
makes Lis appearance, and with a
guilty look whips up stairs. Then
he waits until another joins him,
and another, and another, and so
at last he descends. All have lost
the only opportunity they will
have for q pleasant chat with those
who have invited them-lost, in
deed, the only chance they will
have of a look at the flowers, at
the pictures, and the enjoyment
of an undisturbed chat, with COM
Portable seats and surroundings.
All dread to be first, and so all
wait, and thus thrust far into the
night their hour of departure.
The company that should be at
home at eleven, and in bed at half
past eleven do not find their beds
until one the next morning.
To the man of business such
hours as mingling in social life
imposes are simply killing. They
are the same to women who have
family duties to perform. They
wipe the bloom of youth from the
cheeks of girls in from one to
three seasons; and thus social life
in the great cities, instead of be-
ing a blessing and delight, as it
should be, becomes a burden and
a bore. Many are driven by con-
siderations of health and comfort
out of social life altogether, and
those who remain rely upon the
rest of summer to restore them
sufficiently to stand another cam
paign. We submit that this is an
exaggerated representation of the
present state of things, and pro-
test that it demands reform.
Every hour that man spends
out of his bed after half-past ten
at night is a violence to nature.
They have learned this in Ger
many, where, in many towns, their
public amusements terminate at
half-past nine, and, in some cases,
even earlier than this. 1t is in
this direction that reform should
be affected in America, so far as
every variety of public and social
assembly is concerned. An in
vitation ut eight should mean
what it says, and be honored in
its terms. In this way social life
would be possible to many to
whom it is now practically denied,
and become a blessing to all.
1t is not hard to institute a re-
form of this kind. Ali it wants is
leading; and half a dozen of
our social queens could do the
work in a single season. 1t used
to be deemed essential to a social
assembly that huge, expensive
supper be served at its close and
this at an hour when no man or
woman could afford to eat a hearty
meal. We have measurably out
lived this in New York. 1t is
"quite the thing" now to serve
light and inexpensive refresh
ments. The man who dimes at
six needs no heavier supper before
he goes to bed. He not only does
not need it, but he cannot eat il
without harm. Its expensivenes;
is q constant bar to social life:
and let US be thankful that this
abuse, at least, is pretty we'll re
formed already. Other abuses
and bad habits can be reformed
just as easily as this, because re
form is in the line of common
sense and the common desire
The leading, as we have said, is al
that is wanted, and when we com
mence another season such lead
ing ought to be volunteered
Something surely ought to b
done to make social life a recres
tive pleasure. and not q severe tn
upon the vital forces as it is g
} present.-Dr. j. G. Holland, Scril
ner's for April.
SMALL Boy ON A HoG.-The 70
lowing is a composition of
schoolboy on a hog:
a. - :. I. L.. -. IL l.Aal