The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-09-12
FOR FEMININE READERS
FIYE-O'CLOCK TEA AN IMPORTANT
SOCIETY FUNCTION IN PARIS.
One Beauty Element That Is Too Much
NegIected-A Test of the We're de
We're Caste-What to Wear.

A sort of high tea seems to be coming
in fashion again for oclocks on this side
the water, says Paris correspondent of
Harpers Bazaar. Alice and / met at one
IN the country the other day the pretty
Lady NJ, who is so well known in smart
society in London, and she said nowhere
had she ever seen anything better done than
the function we were at, perhaps it is
worth while for me to tell you how it was
managed.
In the first place, this was a charmingly
arranged house, with all of what might be
called the official rooms on the first floor,
after fashion which commend to house
builders. On the right was drst a small
smoking room, next what was officially
known as the boudoir, and next, at the end
of the hall, library that served as parlor
On the left was a large Louis XIV salon.
and down six steps a large ballroom. The
hostess said she had horror of going up
and downstairs at functions, and when she
entertained wanted dressing rooms and ev-
erything else on. the first floor.
This number of rooms, of course, involves
things on rather a large scale, but many
people have two parlors, and why is not it
an excellent idea to have one raised? Mu-
steals, tableaux, private theatricals all sorts
of things, can be arranged in that way
without trouble. Chaperons can chat there
at balls without taking up the precious
space for dancing, and at little dinners the
drawing room is homelike without being
shut off.
At this tea a large table was placed in
the center of the ballroom, with small ia
bes scattered about. Everybody sat down.
at o'clock or so, at the little tables, where
each place was set, and on which were
flowers plates of thin graham bread and
butter, of ham and pate de foie gras sand
witches, of American waf11es, and of little
French gateaux secs. or dry cakes. From
table at the side the servants served tea,
punch ices and dry cakes iced. When /
Use the word dry / do not mean the sort OF
dryness that carries with it a painful sug-
gestion of years. but pound cakes, light
sponge cakes, any sort of cake that has no
filling. All this was an innovation in
France, where the only known manner of
entertaining, so far, has been a buffet. We
were quite charmed with the idea, but it
lresupposes the country, late dinners, and
strong hungry air to give one an appetite.
How fascinating country dinner tables
are, and how easy it is to make them
pretty! A decoration we saw the other
night, of style that one meets constantly
here, and which is as attractive as any,
thing, to my mind, had simply great glass
bowl of pink geraniums in the center of the
table, with four little bowls at the corners
of the ce lterpiece filled with the same
branches of honeysuckle and pink flowers,
while the menus were taken from that de-
1ightful old book. Living Flowers" and
each represented a flower TRANSPORTED into
a certain type of woman. Little Louis
XVI shades were on the candles, dashed
with pink bouquets. The flowers at the
places were roses.
A pretty wooden wedding dinner that we
went to lately, where the table ar
ranged by a French artist, was decorated
with nothing but fagots and shavings. The
centerpiece was made of ten fagots, with
shavings artistically filing up the inter-
stices. At each end of the table was a SIM
5lar piece of five fagots, and shavings in
beautiful curls strayed in what the poet
might call quippy and cranky wantonness
simple and natural in table decoration just
at present.