The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1881-09-02
Hospitality.

must be remembered that things in gen
eral have changed very materially dur
ing the last one or two generations. In
former days people lived in much more
isolated way than they do now, the ia
ciiities for getting from place to place
were restricted, the daily newspaper
was not brought to the door of every
ones house, and the arrival of stran'
ger in the village was noticeable event
In those times the visit of q friend from
q distance was hailed with delight,
bringing, as he was supposed to do, a
new fund of information to be talked
over, new ideas to be discussed, the
freshest gossip from abroad, and posi-
bly, the latest fashion from the metropo-
lis. He could not come by a train in
the morning and depart by another in
the evening; when he came he came to
stay, for a journey then was some
what formidable affair, and nobody
wanted him to leave in a hurry.
There was more leisure time to be
given to visitors than there is now; men
and women were not so much in a hur-
ry; business was conducted with more
elaboration; there were fewer letters to
write and fewer books to read, and few
er amusements to fill up the vacant hour.
The entertainment of guests was not as
expensive as it is in these days, persons
In moderate circumstances were not eX-
pected to make any special change in
their mode of living because they had
company, and everything went on after
the usual fashion. And SO the villagers,
when they felt as if they would like a
change, would pack up a bundle of clean
clothes, harness old Dobbin in the wag-
or, and drive off to make a visit, which
might last for days or weeks, according
to circumstances. In mid-winter, the
country cousins would take the public
stage-sleigh and go down to see their
city relations embroidered to this by
the certain prospect of having their city
friends return the visit, with interest,
when mid -summer should come. The
parish minister never thought of going
to the tavern, but deposited himself and
his well-worn valise, and possibly some
two or three of the younger scions of the
family, in the domicile of his brother
parson, with as little consciousness of
intrusion as if he expected to pay full
board for the whole concern, as long as
it might be convenient for them to re-
main.
do not mean to say that this broad
hospitality was never abused; guests
would sometimes take undue advantage
of the kindness of their entertainers
end drop down at the wrong time and
wear out their welcome. and, it might
be, make themselves offensive by their
exactions and criticism and excessive
freedom. Persons of an economical turn
ofmindmight impose theircompanyupon
acquaintance, who could not afford to
furnish provender for their beasts nor
food for their raveneus children; and if
these intrusive visitors happened to be
particularly dull and stupid, as well as
greedy and @rasping, it required great
amount of Christian virtue to "use hos
pitality without grudging." Iwell re-
member how, in my boyhood, we al
ways shuddered when we saw certain
familiar old vehicles stop at the door
and deposit their weary load of dusty
and hungry visitors-we knew that
"they came to stay" and what this
meant we also knew by frequent and sad
experience. When you are tOlerably
certain that your unlimited guests are
simply making convenience of your
establishments and come there, instead of
going to a hotel, merely to save expense,
and then do nothing to make themselves
agreeable, it is not easy to treat them
with civility. To have visitor of this
sort planted down before your eyes,
morning, noon and night-hearing sv-
erything that is said, and seeing every
thing that is going on-perhaps inter-
rupting you every few minutes with
some insignificant remark, when you
are trying to read your evening paper
commenting upon the furniture and
suggesting this or that Eastlake inn
prOvement, a Harlequin here and a bit
of red to break up the monotony of col
or there-compiaining of the general
want of tone'' in your favorite picture;
then, after little pause, and just when
you are absorbed in some interesting
article, breaking in with the inquiry,
"whether it is your general custom to
allow your dog to enter the parlor?''-
or, still worse, proposing to read to the
family circle speech delivered by Esq.
Langtalk at the last town-meeting at
Boreville, ON 'the expediency of opening
a new road to Centreblast, and which,
she can assure you, put an effectual
estoppee upon any further movement in
that direction"-O how you wish that
an effectual estoppel might arrest the
movement of his weary tongue, and that
something might happen to call him
back speedily to Boreville.
We are not to infer, because of the
change of custom that we have noticed,
that true hospitality has ceased to exist.
Good people are as glad to see their
friends as they ever were; and there is
scarcely house, in the city or country,
that has not one extra room for visitors.
There are few obvious rules, which,
if they were universally observed, would
greatly enhance the comfort and pleas
ure of both host and guest.
Every visitor is bound to do his best
to make himself agreeable. If he
chances to know or suspect that there is
skeleton somewhere about the prem
Uses, something which it is desired to
keep out of sight, he should be careful
to make no allusion to the fact. It's not
expedient for him to make an effort to