The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-04-13
COUNTRY HOUSE PARTIES.
Lady Cclin Campbell Does Not Think
Much of Such Gatherings.


The Cosmopolitan.
No one who will honestly examine his
soul this question will not find the
answer come out unhesitatingly and pat,
Country house parties are deadly bore.
The cloud already appears, bigger than q
mans hand. when you arrive at the emo
prof. ably In closed carriage. which Is al
reaCy bad enough, for some miles In COM
pam with fellow-victims upon whom you
make conversation dive for points of con-
tact 1t is horribly depressing. You talk
abon she state of the roads, the landscape
df it ~ summary, the fineness of The trees.
the last new play, the new woman, any or
the trite subjects which language was in
vented to avoid. and you feel your brain
becoming sensibly more pulpy every mo-
ment, III YOU look forward to the goal OF
time before with chill distaste. as haven
of raliel.
agingly conscious that in spite OF your best
efforts. your greeting must wear forced
and pincht,eck air; and after tea, during
ent greet you with an intimacy which
you probably resent. and the strangers
this-turn-out-t air which stiffens your
already rising bristles, you are glad to
get to the solitude OF your room and gather
your forces for the series of trials which
posed at 10 O'Clock in the morning with
y yoe iiR Se to do Under pains of appearing
rude and unsociable you cannot insist too
much sr,h 10 save yonr Ynp accent any pro-
posal that is put forward. Such propos-
ais are generically similar: 1.-THE their result r
to do nothing in which employment you
are to be aided by companions in slavery.
as much as yourself and are equally en-
gagged in the endeavor to appear as II there
was nothing they liked SO much. ON 1ccst
Irresistible inclination to do anything TO
prove that have not lost my individual
or roll in the nearest flower bed; but for
tunately for my reputation for sanity, I
s nafe far enough to avoid such open
breaches of civilized decorum.
But to rey e to r 1ne
this and the morning is that you are frank
ly and openly constrained to do the will or
your hosts and not your own. You are one
of a certain number of pawns in their
hands, to be moved as they please. VIII
take, as being the more usual nos sat es
being driven to places of interest. THIS,
to begin WITH entails haphazard grouping
Of the pawns which may turn out quite
contrary to their taste. Even the morn
ing experiences are better, for II, during
them, you find yourself chafed BEYOND en-
durar1ce you can always, as last resort.
invent some plausible excuse for leaving
your companions and making your way to
in welcome solicitide. But it is quite inn
possible for you to stop the carriage anu
insist upon getting out. ,.s b.
,adistribution Of the pawns Unless. how
ever. YOU have extraordinary luck, this
will produce no amelioration Of your lot.
and you will reach the 5-o'clock tea table
tired out nerves exhausted, depressed.
Dinner time, which follows, is perhaps
the least trying of your country-house So
cial experiences. 1t IS not better, ana, on
the whole, it is PROBABLY not worse than
the usual dinner party. True, there Is
often imported into the conversation an
undue mixture of horsy and doggy talk;
and not unfrequently, also. there is dispro-
portionate discussion, among country PEG,
pie who may be present, OF people anu
questions of merely county or local impor-
lance, in which it is really beyond the pow
or of visitors from other parts of the coun-
try to beat up any interest. Still, the din
ner and the after dinner is less trying
than the rest of the day.