The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1895-01-12

canons of good taste on the part of
guests. At a dinner party. either in
town or country. a host and hostess
" to submit to the inevitable and
wait with what patience they can for
tardy arrivals; but guests under the
of hosts and hostess have no such
latitude allowed them, and at the Sec
ond sound of the gong they are expect
ed to assemble and await with their
entertainers the announcement of
dinner, which follows within five to
ten minutes after the gong has sound
ed through the house. Early rising is
so much of a characteristic of the
times, that to be punctual to breakfast
is scarcely a merit, and il is no longer
considered ultra-fashionable to appear
long after the recognized breakfast
hour. Ten minutes grace is
tacitly conceded, not that the
host and hostess wait for
these guests at this meal, but that no
excuse is needed for so slight 4 delay.
Again, at luncheon guests are ex-
pected to obey the call of the gong to
h minute, Y il they have not
already found their way to the draw
ing before the luncheon hour has
struck. Afternoon tea demands only
semi-punctuality, but guests seldom
take advantage of this, and are pro-
verbally true to the tryst. The gentle
men of a party, on the other hand, are
seldom in ut luncheon time, and their
appearance at the tea hour is not to be
pntnfasi rtnnu late un%n-- 49,.
shooting in a grimy and muddy condi-
ton often induces them to hide and
rest in the smoking rather than
to array themselves for conquest.
There are men, however, who would
not miss the tea hour with the ladies'.
and SO make q hasty toilet after a days
shooting to join them.
As with the meals of the day, So
with every engagement throughout it;
guests are expected to be ready at the
hour named for whatever expedition is
set on foo ard not to keep their host
ess and "%'i:ere 1T a party waiting their
tardy apneHralce. Providing that
guests take the trouble to be punctual,
their individual idiosyncrasies do not
strike their hostess unplessantly If any
such come to the front. They are part
of a party, and their individuality inn
presses itself more upon their fellow
guests than upon their hostess; the re-
verse is the ~ when q hostess has
but one guest In place Of many. Then
it is that the bearing of a guest makes
a visit q success or q failure, as
far as the pleasure derived from
Il by hostess is concerned.
Almost every hostess has come
across o guest who has proved
somewhat impossible, difficult to amuse
and please, and selfshly inconsiderate,
and who contrasted unfavorably with
some sweet, charming and considerable
one who had Immediately preceded
her and whose departure was felt with
as keen a regret Is that Of her prede-
cessor's was hailed with relief. 1t
might be supposed that ladies when
guests In . house would make the best
OF adverse circumstances, to wit, the
weather; but, q IS o fact, thcy compare
unfavorably with the men of a party,
who. although shut up In a house, and
debarred from shooting by reason OF
weeping skies and wailing winds. yet
find solace when no striking or lovely
female element Is present in the smok.
ing room, where they envelope them
selves in clouds of tobacco smoke, and
give no anxiety as regards what to do
with them, to either host or hostess.
Guests are expected to follow the
lead of their hostess on every occasion
from morning to evening. She gives
the signal and takes the initiative,
whether in the dining room after each
meal, or in the drawing at the
different hours Of the day, and at its
close she makes the move for the gen.
eral dispersal, which rests with her
and not with her guests.
Although it is the rule for q host to
send to the railway station for his
guests, yet when the party is n large
one, he can only convey a certain num-
Der. and not all; should this be the
case, 1ys have to be ordered before
hand by the guests themselves when
made aware that it is not possible to
send to meet the train by which they
travel. but 1t Is principally the single
men Of q party who are thus Obliged to
find their w conveyances. boston
Herald.