The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-11-06

BY far the most enjoyable left to Us, are
little dinners" Snowy banquets and
d~isplay-feeds may possess some interest
as specacles. and various forms of giori-
f~ication, private and public, Individual and
collective; but the real soul of good fell
lowship is In a gathering Of six or a
dozen peopIe-intelligent, ~congeniai,
round the table of a discriminating, ex-
perienced host and hostess, who invite
their friends. not to show the extent of
their wealth and the luxury of their
plate. though there is no objection to the
use of beautiful things if one possesses
them-but whose first thought is comfort
and pleasure little season of unclouded
rational enjoyment. on such a basis as
can be repeated. and made a part in fact
Of the daily life, its milestones and happy
occasions.
Attention to the changing fashions of
table ornamentation is inconsistent with
the motive of genuine hospitality, and
impossible to its successful and regular
exercise. AT the present time the
fashion of table decoration is beautiful,
simple and sensible, but fashion is only
aN%A3 ~ Il 4S @toN oA-A
caprices, and it is impossible to tell
how soon it may restore the high, floral
epergnes which obstruct the sight, or
the absurd floral displays which succeed
them, or replace upon exquisite damask
vulgar strips of snowy red satin or
plush. ard the strings of smilaN which
trip up the salt and the temper of host
and guest.
Just now there is a fashionable revival
of interest in linen, and in the repro
duction of its old designs. and hand or
namentat.on. The luncheon sets of
cloths and napkins are now so hand
some and so moderate in cost that they
can be improved upon only by special
copies of hand work. for which few pos
sess the means or the skill, while the
beautiful white damasks produced by the
looms of Scotland and Ireland can hard
ly be surpassed for beauty and sugges-
tiveness. and are better adapted for
the more formal character which attaches
itself to ceremonious dinners than the in
formal variety, permitted to the linen
service of lnncheons.
Fin linen damask has come to the
front again, and taken the first place,
and nothing can be more appropriate for
these little dinners The low fern bas-
kets. with their dainty maiden hair
ferns and other delicate varieties are
popular for decoration. For color effects
a low wicker basket of Imperial roses
(American Beauties) occupies the centre
of the table, and the same, with long
stems. tied two together with ribbons
matching in tint. are laid here and there
upon the shining surface of the damask
and mingie with gold and silver, opal
escent glass and delicate china, giving
most beautiful co-effects without the eff
feet of overriding It..
1t is Of great Importance to have a
foundation for the damask cloth. and it
is not enough that it is placed over a
desert cloth or luncheon cloth. The
background must be soft. and the usual
method is to lay an under or foundation
cloth of double-faeed canton flannel.
-
Noting the tendency of mothers to es-
cape the care and responsibility of train
ing their own children, resorting to
nurses. governesses, ki~ndergartens, etc.,
Edward w. Box, in the November La
dies Home Journal vigorously contends
that woman should consider her God-giv-
en- duties" to her children vastly para
to every claim that can be
upon her time. 1T IS one of the
most baleful tendencies of the times
writes Mr.. Box, that young children are
placed so much and so entirely in the
of nurses, and so far away from
their mothers. I do not think that women
exactly realize what the early teachings
M f.A,-o.oa1 ~ - -ao+1nr = .
man when he reaches years of maturiay.
time which a boy spends at his
knee IS never forgotten by the
man. Our morality is learned there. Our
are formed there. We are
most impressionable when We are in a
of absolute dependence upon others.
What sort of a recollection is It for a
man to look back to a line of nurses or
governesses? What moral stimulus does
he receive from the recollection of a
mother inevitably reading some move and
resting in a languid stupor with fan and
smelling bottle? What moral fibre is in
stilled into a child who sees his mother
only as she fits before him between morn
calls, luncheons, meetings, teas, drives
dinners and municipalities? What does a
boy learn at the knee of a nurse? Good?
Perhaps? But just as often he learns
that which is not good. = . = Many a
man has stood at the forks of the road in
his life, broken hearted and preplexed.
only to have his mothers words uttered
to him when a child, come before him
and point him the way. 1t is then that
he realizes that the best thing in the
world to a man is to rave had a good
mother, watchful, tender and anxious, as
only a mother can be where her child is
concerned. In these supreme moments
the lesson taught-not by the nurse, not
by the stranger, rot at the kindergarten,
but at the mothers knee-becomes a
precious recollection and a benediction. 1t
means then a man salvation. And in
quiet moment a man thinks of a
good mother as he never thinks Of any
onher woman. A look of tenderness
comes into his eyes, a feeling of soft
ness creeps into his heart, and the atti-
u of his earliest infancy comes to him
as. unconsciously, he looks upward and
to himself the most precious of
all words: Mother 1t remains for the
mothers OF today to determine how much
that word will mean to the men Of to-
morrow"
England is the home of the professional
and Miriam Clements, an actress.