The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-09-20
ideas for 1Mornen

a - VI 4NS 49, 49,
In fashion again for five o'clocks on this
side the water. 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 bet
ter done than the function we were at, SO
perhaps 1t Is worth while for me to tell
you how It was managed, say "Harpers
Bazaar"
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 a fashion which I commend to
house-buIlders. On the right was first
a small smoking room, next what was
oficially known as the boudoir. and next,
at the end of the hall, a library that
served as parlor. On the left was a large
Louis XIV. salon. and down six steps a
large ball ROOM The hostess said she had
a horror of going up and down stairs at
functions, and when she entertained
wanted -dressing-rooms and everything
else on the first floor. !.
This number of rooms, of course, in
wolves things on rather a large scale. out
many people have two parlors. and why
is not it an excellent idea to have one
raised? Musicals. tableaux. private the
a~tricals, all sorts of things, can be ar
ranged in that way without rouoie.
Chaperons can chat there at balls with
out taking up the precious space TOT
dancing, and at little dinners the draw
ing-room is homelike without being shut
of.
AT his tea a large table was placed IN
the centre of the ballroom. with small
tables scattered about Everybody sat
down, at FIVE 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 sandwiches, of American Waf1les,
and of little French gateaux secs. or dry
cakes. From a table at the side the SER
wants served tea, punch. ices and ory
cakes iced. When / use the WORD ory
1 do not mean the sort of dryness that
carries with 1t q painful suggestion OF
years, but .popnd 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 enter
aiming. &c far, has been a buffet. We
were quite charmed with the idea. but
it -resuppose the country late dinners.
and strong hungry air to give one an ap-
petite.
How fascinating country dinner tables
are. and how easy 1t is to make them
pretty. decoration we saw the other
night yle that one meets constant
ly here, ana which is as attractive as
anything, to my mind, had simply a great
glass bowl Of pink ~seraniums in the centre
of the table, with tour little bowls at
the corners Of the centre-piece filled with
the same flower. Etrewn all over the
table were branches Of honeysuckle and
pink flowers, while the menus were taken
from that delightful old book Living
Flowers" and each represented a flower
TRANSPORTED into a certain type of wom-
an. 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 was ar
ranged by a French artist, was decorated
with nothing but fagots and shavinss.
The centre piece was made of ten fagots,
with s1avIngs artistically filling up the
interstfces. At each end of the table was
a similar piece Of five fagots. and shaw
ings in beautiful curls strayed in what
tho poet might call puppy and cranky
all over the table. Every
thing, you see, is simple and natural In
table decoration just at present.
Furniture of home manufacture IS al
most sure to eshow for ITSELF" and un-
less great care and discrimination are dis
played on the part Of the housewife these
--s-o5 4-,rt11Iif4cfs uyffj rrnra rathar pY-
pe1sivs Injuries.
The woman who fashions dressing-eases
out Of barrels and chairs, and hammocks
from the same doubtful source, and toilet
stands, etc. etc., out of soar boxes, has
been at it again. The other day some
one bought a Chinese sword. which was
sent home in a wooden box four times too
big for it, a foot square and over three
feet long. She Hned the box with tin,
bored a hole in the bottom, painted it
with green enamel and decorated 1t with
sunfowers, and 1t stands on g china plate
in the hall, waiting for a wet day and
umbrellas, a terrible example Of what
fools these women sometimes be-" She
has forgotten to count the cost in time
and money, OF lining and enameling and
decorating, and TO compare this with the
COST Oh Inc neat lille uluuTStt4 St6lfO lDht
can be purchased so reasonably now; and
she Seems to have forgotten to compare
the general effect Of the two.
Pretty littIs sewing chairs are now sold
for less than a dollar. They rave plait-
ed willow seats and rockers, and are
small enough forsthe little girl. Tinted
pink or blue, or white, and ornamented
with dainty cushions to match, they are
1919 ~t~i1 - zn~~to~o11n. x-Itol
cannot be said of the laboriously manu-
factured barrel chair" with its CORES
ponding expense In padding and stuff
ing and covering.
The possibilities OF cretonne are quite
as ~boundless as the ocean, and the other
day q room was displayed In which Gre
tonne has been used for wall covering,
bed spread, table cover, window curtains,
bureau set. and even fer frilly frames
for pictures Y which represented dainty
Vatican men and maids. The whole
room blushed with pink cretonne, over
which tunbled big cream-tfntsd roses.
Was It attractive?
No. and half the exrcnse of thix make
shift" would hxve bought something
really ornamental.
Some of the old Italian canoes cut in
the middle of the eighteenth century, ere
marvellous works of art, and whoever
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