St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1895-03-30

7OL. XX.-NO. IA.
HOUSE PARTIES m ENGLAND.
Whas ID Deee anA what = Ensss-A vnsoe
Lasss Rser - 1lvs Daye
With the opening days of 6eptemb4f
tho country-house PARTIES nominally
commence. August gatherings do n0e
amount to parties" in the strict sense
Of the word, being principally com
posed of relativas and intimate friends
asked for pleasant ten days srather
than for smart i've days visit; but i
Il sduring these friendly visits thAs
ceremony II put ON ono side - M .
may be, and everyone allowed % DO
pretty much as he or she Ikea EveA
1t the smartest countTy-housa paEties
the modern hostess takes up thts line !
q against the strict discipline former
~ in force.
do you like paying visits7 10 .
question frequently put BY those who
distinctly dislike doing %. On the
ground that the restraints Of each day
are irlsome to them They Do not
like the method BY which they are -
be amused-the fixed hours for pas-
times, for meals, for riding, driving.
shooting and the rest. There = . good
deal in this from tho point Of view of
. jaded and tired individuals seeking
perfect quiet and repose. and also from
that Of an idle man who likes his own
way and to take his own time Tor
amusing himself. The generality OF
men feel very much the same ON this
head-viz., 'sthe liberty Of the sub
ject"-although they. nevertheless.
conform to the rules Of the house ut
which they are staying, and allow
themselves to be taken, say. to lunch
con at the houses Of people
they only know by nans
in the meekest manner il their
hostess SO wills, when they would TAR
rather be left at home to amuse them
selves in their own way. whatever that
may be, with favorite pipe for . cum
panion. Ladies. on the contrary. are
not so averse to plans being made and
carried out for their benefit They
readily fall into their hOstesses' prof.
ects, and expect to 60 somewhere and
to do something most days, but hostess
knows from experience that these plans
must include the company Of one or
two Of the men of . party or the expe-
dition will fall very dat. and the lsdies.
left to themselves. will not return in
the most cheerful Of spirits The mod
ern hostess invites the guests with due
regard to these exigencies. 80 - not to
/ h. IL NJ H~
| the demands Of the other.
| The writer Of recent article In .
daily contemporary charscterizes
country-house breakfast ~ first in
stallme mt Of q day Of Rorgina." It -
| quite true that many men do make .
good breakfast" !" but . good breakfast
appetite is . sign Of . clear conscience
and . good digestion. and II . man eats
two eggs, half . partridge. two OF thres
rashers of broiled bacon, . mufan, and
some marmaladc, and passes by the
numerous other breakfast dishes set
before him-dressed fsh. broiled fowl.
omelette, cold ham, outlets. etc.-he
does not consider he has dome him
self" too we'll, taking into account the
walking exercise that II before him
A looker-on at . country-h0use break
fast would notice that . lady general
ly eats fish, either dressed or fried, and
either . wing of . partridge or broiled
fowl, or Q slice Of cold ham or tongue,
breakfast rolls or dry toast and butter,
. little honey or jam. and one cup OF
coffee or tea. In these days Of early
rising, walks before breakfast, and the
greater portion Of the day passed In
the open air gQlfing, playing tennis On
croquet, rowing and riding, breakfast
appetite Is . natural result; and the
question 50 rife at the present moment.
rs to whether ladies do or do not eat
too much, answers itself in any case 1t
q country-house party, where late hours
are kept in the smoking-room- Again,
punctuality 1T this meal is the rule in
some houses; not so in others, whore
great latitude is allowed. Al 10
guests shaking hands with each other.
this ceremony takes place only in the
evening when good-nights are said
In the morning . nod. . smile, or .
good morning" il all that il said or
done b. way Of greeting. The next
general meeting is at luncheon-half
past one o'clock-on non-shooting days
or = meeting Of the ladies only, and,
though = choice Of dishes il offered,
ladies generally prefer to eat of one
dish in the meat course-say cuNet
or q help Of chicken, or . slice Of roast
mutton, followed by . sweet Men
who have been ont shooting eat quito
q spare luncheon, and neither touch
meat or sweets, cake, biscuit,
or cheese being the extent OF
the requirements 1t this hour.
On the other hand, after . long
morning spent in walking over stubble
in search of partridges. men are
tial luncheon out OF doors, and do not
despise Irish stew. mutton pies, cold
beef, pigeon pie, sausage. rolls and the
like. to say nothing Of bitter beer,
whisky and soda water. and not sell
dom champagne. this latter being
more frequently given by bachelor
hosts. II is well-known fact that the
ladies of house party are more than
pleased to join the shooters 1T their
outdoor luncheon; but It is whispered
that the company Of ladies il not
equally appreciated by keen sports
men ON these occasions, ON the ground
of loss of time and vexatiOus delay in
resuming sport, the afternoon hours
being all too short in which TO shoot
the willy partridge.
, Five o'clock tea in the country IN not
..4:s0 tea" as in town, and amounts tp
almost . meal in itself, with its hot
cakes, rich cakes and sandwiches. In
September the shooters seldom return
in time to join the ladies 1T ten, while
in November their presence is general
ly to be counted upon, ~ daylight
wanes, by 4:s0. and within doors = fax
pleasanter than without dOe0 - thia
hour: but even then IT, n0n&fnG,
room, joined to genuiDess11tiN1G T. {
formidable rival to the drawing sU6U,
however fascinating the tea gowns and
the wesrers thereof may Be.
The dinner hour, however. b the
signal for the whole Of the company tc