The sun., 1896-01-26
MISS WINTON.
AT HOME JANUARY THIRTY. ONE
From four until seven,

bearing with 1t come II you like and stay
away II you don't" suggestion Of which Miss
Marianneis most fully aware. II Miss Marianne
goes she finds at Miss Winton. homo the same
absence Of any personal interest In herself that
was indicated In tho notice. She has but o.
ment with her hostess. who seems rather in
doubt as to her name. After that moment she
is completely dropped from her hostess's
memory for the afternoon and Is left
to the mercles Of herself and of tho
hundred or more other guests. II she is
q stranger, there is no ono to introduce
her. and she wanders forlornly past sleeve after
sleeve. II she finds friends In the white gloved.
shrieking throne. she fares better; for the
frequent opportunity to state her opinion Of the
play. or to exp plain why sho was not at Mrs. So
or-So's dinner. not only ministers to her sense
OF being somebody. 1t also gives her a chance to
shrek In her turn, an eardrum protective
measure essential to her comfort at the tea.
Perhaps Miss Marianne is brave spirit and
with flowers and candles to lure her in. Here
she underGoes various trials OF skill. She stands
in one hand. while with the other she receives
and tries to arrange the many offerings that
pour in upon her: WIN Shs have ave tea 1T coffee
She has answ wered. " Chocolate, please" but de-
sdes to mnfe no 1s and merely am
receives clear coffee without sugar. Then come
sandwiches and almonds and chocolates which
s S5ap. ss, s hsn
glove s With With tho Chocolate. now ' metea by the the
coffee. All these incidents occur because it is a
upon pom card hed in and
| yet Miss Marianne must free the other hand for
yanshe no table nean She
helpless tantalized: 1t Is worse than being
handcuffed. for her letters are of the very best
oh I'M and nat n nj hts
oh, yes. being a nineteenth century young
woman. she does at last extricate herself from
room There is no s; good to her hostess They
leaves a card TO remind Miss Mehtable that she
has been present.
all this is the frankness. the sincerity OF it all
| OF course not all hostesses are like Miss Mehit
able. Such sincerity is even yet exceptional., A
| chair offered or an Introduction furnished. a
| sufficient number of walters in the dining
room plate large enough to project beyond
the saucer these things are sometimes found
| and might any one OF them be construed into a
welcome from the hostess to the guest There
| is. however. the wording of tho notice. always
the same making no pretence.
| With what ease, In a less conscientious age.
might a hostess have omitted to ask those whom
| because she knows her duty, and she tells any
for n she ss 5sS %
mob knows its duty, too. these conscientious
folk. and it comes. Tho precise nature of this
1t Is evidently. however. connected in no way
with hospitality: Is hospitality going out OF
psyasps swas @s and
Another sign OF sincerity is furnished by the
present custom Of DAYS" Formerly one was
are permitte less freedom. One has engraved
nss ss Sat rs. s"a
eos asy ss ayn
day is my day. and ! want really to see you.
say "at home" for one has no intention of stay
Ing at home should anything attract one away
most perfect manifestations OF this beautiful
spirit OF sincere conscentiousncss. There is a
more dangerous spirit of spontancity, about
their behavior which is in itself suspicious
They seem really to ike the society OF Their
teas must surely be mere scmhlnnce. Or are we
wrong And is the old time spirit of hospitality
still present among us maufesting itself in new
ways perhaps. but as cords in its friend Illness
us In the former timcsl Is IL not true that In
tho ways In which friend meets friend there il
the same OpSpness and freedom that we read
The demands mad. upon Us are greater thar
those made upon our forrtatlI"rs We art
brought into more kinds of relations and into re-
bly, not expanded quite 50 rapidly n orr rnil
road and telegraph systems which have ~
have upon our stock Exchange hut is there
reason to believe that when the heart i
touched IT is any the less warm W.
fricndincss all OF the seven hundred peopl'
whom we invite 20 our daughters wedding. De
mands have increased npon W. too RAPIDLY. w
cannot meet them all yet, but there can b.
small question TINT we are learning to me"
them. Compare the way in which men OF di
fering political views meet together now will
the receptions that they gave each other in III
free handed days gone by and tell which is III
more hospitabe time.