The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1896-10-17


Rsstgui and Interestinx-Fre fron SO
Plague 81 Hurry.
The English home life Is ideal in
many respects, and It would be a good
thing if q bridal trip could Re spent
within its charmed circle by ON 81 orr
young couples. Certainly the English
understand home life better than we
Americans do, and their principles "a
this line could be well adopted among
us, and life would yield q richer harvest
Of love and association. Our days aFe
crowded with the restless preparation
for the coming t~o-morrows, while the
English method is to get all the COM
fort and pleasure out Of each day as i
comes along. The day has its w
life, and he is the wisest man who gets
the most out of its short span. There
is no blind hurry and there is a certain
e~ontented leisure in which to enjoy the
present. I have observed it all through
England. 1t is a lesson for the Ameri-
can to learn ito rest and be thankful"
The home is the center Of love- social
pleasure and comfort. It is not a mere
place to eat and sleep and carry on
the train of business followed all day
in the office. There is a glow from the
family hearth that has a spark that is
akin to divine fire, which binds the
whole family to the home for genera-
tions; and when once the doors have
been opened to the guest every hospi-
tally and kindness is shown him, COM
bined with a genuine home feeling.
At morning prayers, master, mistress,
l nhf1Iva~ on1 ror~.antr 49, ~ Tar-A F~M
once in the day all united. Breakfast
all over England is at nine o'clock. 1t
is set upon the table, the joints Of cold
meat on the sideboard, the bell is rung,
the servant or housemaid goes about
her duties and the ~breakfasters help
one another. The maids of England
are a delight after our independent, inn
pudent, crude Irish servants. There is
a mutual respect maintained between
mistress and maid, and decidedly more
consideration is paid in England to
the servants than here. The slightest
demand is always accompanied by q
pleasant IF you please" and "Thank
you.' 1t is not considered well-bred
to omit this little form. More servants
are employed in the household, as the
Englishman rarely does for himself
what he can get anyone else to do for
him. The master supcrvises the serv-
ants, the mistress the household. Cabs
at cheap rates are always at hand, por-
ters pick up your traps and bundle you
into railway carriages. A cultivated
English woman thinks her time too val
liable to devote it all to housekeeping.
She economies in other ways and gets
a housekeeper or excellent upper maid
Her own time is devoted to her chill
dren, her guests, her reading and her
correspondence. If she entertains much
she must keep abreast of all the topics
of the day. Conversation must embrace
all topics, if her dinner table is to be a
success. The dinner hour is Il from seven
to eight p. M, and even later. This
gives the full benefit for the enjoyment
of the long twilights in summer, when
put-of-door life means SO much. II
seems as if the people wished to get al
the sunshine they could as an offset to
the dreary months of fog.
The important epoch of the day is
dinner. 1t is more or less a meal Of
ceremony, even in the humber house.
holds. The Englishman does every
thing seriously, and his meals are never
hurried over or sighted. At a hotel he
prefers table d'hote to the American
plan of ordering a la carte. Here again
one sees the time for everything an6
everything in its own due time. But
must say the long-drawn-out table
d'hotc is a WEAKNESS to the spirits. Be
tween four and five o'clock all the tea
r and lunchrooms in London are
Z thronged, for "the cup that Cheers
I ETC., is indispensable to the men, womer
and children. I think more tea mus
g be consumed than in any other city o.
the world. Business is set aside ani
8 time taken for a rest and refreshment
Among the poorer classes this custom j.
also observed.-Springield (Mass.) Re
publican.