St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-01-18

brilliancy of her guests. She was young
and pretty, and a number OF young men
were present, one OF whom was the hon
of the evening; much to my amaZement,
l saw the hostess select this gentleman
for tete-a-tete early in the evening,
and kept him at her side during the
greater part of the entertainment, while
several ladies sat together in a distant
part of the room entirely left to their
own devices and the thoughtfulnesS OF
other guests for entertainment.
AS two late-arrivin2 gentlemen APP
preached the hostess to give her greet
ings, she invited them to seat near
her and her companion. They sat
down, at which the first gentleman took
occasion to rise, and was on the point
of bowiug and passing on to chat with
the guests.
Il will not tax you with three gentle
men TO entertain" he said politely, but
the hostess fastened to answer, Il
assure you l could entertain dozen;
no. don't move away or | shall think
YOU are bored" So the gentleman was
obliged to reseat himself beside her,
while her neglected guests, many OF
them young ladies, moped in corners.
This was thoughtlessness which
amounted to seltiShness; but it is not
often hostess SO flagrantlY fails i'll her
duty.
However much she may enjoy talking
with any one of her guests, as rule
the most selfish of women realize the
necessity of Self-Sacrifice in the position
of hostess, though few seem to realize
to the extent needed for pleaSurable
evening. The necessity of constantly
devising some suitable plan whereby to
change about the position of guests, 50
that all may mix together and no two
remain vlS-a-yiS the whole evening.
But it is of guests who are making. a
visit of some days or weeks, IN the
home of some friend, to whom L wish to
speak in this article.
Suppose you are cordially invited to
pass week in friends house. Now,
at the expiration of that week, If all the
kings of all the nations are to assemble
in that place on exhibition, you must
not suggest to your hostess that you
would like to remain another day If 1T
would not inconvenience her. No mat
ter if she's your own sister. you must
remember that she has a husband whom
it is her duty to please before all others,
and you may not know what plans be
has formed for the use of his home
after the expiration of your visit.
Nothing can be more embarrassing for
hostess than to have guest say: IF
| thought 1t would not inconvenience
you would stay over until after the
concert" or after this or that occur
renee.
Naturally she is obliged to be polite,
and to tell you to remain. while she
may have arranged her time i'll an en-
tirely different manner. The hostess
should always be the one to suggest the
proIongation of guests visit, and a
guest should be slow in accepting such
a suggestion even then, as it may be
done from mere politeneSs.
While to you it may seem that your
visit adds no trouble to the household,
at the same time the hostess may be
feeling annoyed by the ill-natured serv-
ants who render her role as hostess a
difficult one.
If you are visiting in large city never
ask your hostess to go shopping with
you. Ask her the name and location OF
the stores, and assure her that you can
find your way about with the help OF
policemen, and you can easily determine
whether or not she really wishes to &C
company you. Nothingis more fatlg-
uing than shopping expedition in the
ldISG SlOlC0s dIlu dNiuCO W GHO oQtiOo VI
a hostess they are doubly wearying, and
YOU should not inconsiderately ask such
a favor of any friend, however near.
If you have any accomplishment
which can give pleasure, it is your place
to exercise 1t while you are visiting
your friends. You should sing, play,
recite or dance, if you are able to do so,
without being urged. 70 must seek to
give pleasure to your hosts, as well as
to receive it from them.
Never tax your entertainers with
your presence all day long, when you
are passing some days under roof not
your own.
No matter how fond they are of you,
your occasional absence-in your room
or out for walk-will be a relief to
them; quite likely they will not know
it is relief, but at the same time they
would know that they we're taxed if
you remained constantly in sight and
sound. A taetful guest will know just
when to be absent.
If you are visiting wife whose nus
band is absent, never prolong your stay
till his return, as few men care to find
guests in the house to entertain when
they return tined and nervous from a
wearisome railroad journey. If your
visit is only half-iniShed, it would be
tasteful to make some excuse to be alb
sent for day at least on the hus-
bands return.
Rob yourself of some pleasure rather
than fail to make the servants some
kind of a gift. The presence of a
stranger in any house adds materially
to the work, and servants do not get the
pleasure out of entertainment which
the host and hostess find. A little
money, or gift of some kind, will
render servants gracious and obligine
to guest and employer.
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