The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-04-13
4 Ideas fnr JMonaen.

an enjoyable guest. Stress is laid upon
the duties of the hostess and her atti-
tude tcward those invited beneath her
roof. but the attitude of The guest is not
less important,
1t is only when hostess and invited
ones are equally well poised that the real
enjoyment is reached.
A woman who is totally without re-
sources for her own entertainment should
never indulge in vhsiting-until at least
she has cultivated tile resources in ques-
tion. For fifteen minutes. half a N hour
or even an afternoon, q good hostess is
able and willing to devote herself 20 her
guest.
These short calls do not near, visiting
the general sense of the term. And
lie hostess WHO for days has upon her
. lnds a guest utterly incapable of being
Vlone and content is an unenviable wom-
an In English country houses, where
long visits and many visitors are the
usual thing. the hostess makes few eff
forts to entertain her guests after the
primal point of bringing together con-
genial souls. And every woman invited
for a long stay should study ways to
avoid monopolizing the private life of
the woman whose guest she is. Books,
&&-AS- = q
thing or another. from leaves and shells
to autographs, are excellent aids in the
art of being a guest, and, above all, a
cheerful temperament and a disposition
to enjoy ones own company.
The really clever hostess has infinite
tact, and needs it. The clever guest
needs it not a bit the less. II love to
nave Miss Edith here chirped a small
~youngster recently. speaking of a favor
tie guest. "She makes things go so
smooth"
Try how she may it is not always in
the power of the hostess to keep the fam
lily skeleton in the closet. Now and
then the ugly creature will show it's
ugly mead and disturb for a moment the
even tenor of domestic affairs. To be a
really comfortable guest a woman must
know how to deal with this visitor.
Whether the management consists in ig-
noring it easily and completely or in fore
ing it back with some tactful m~anoeuvres
she must be capable, as the child said,
of making things go smooth"
If the hostess and family are ma
tutinal of habit, a woman should not be-
come a visitor under their roof unless
she is willing to rise early. Your kind
nodTlcQ uOSleSS Will urge lldt II lSc1ily
mattsrs nothing whether you appear at
the family breakfast at eight O'Clock, or
whether you indulge in a private repast
at eleven. But if few servants are kept
it Inconvenience quite a little to prepare
the table for an individual meal. And
if an entire corps of retainers were kept
it is hardly a hospitable thing to do. If
your hostess will not consent to have
you awakened at a matutinal hour in
dulge in an alarm clock.
In the same way it is announcement for
q hostess to entertain a guest who ad-
lows long walks. rides or other oceupa-
\ tions to interfere with meals or appoint
ments. A golden rule fer a guest re-
lates to carrying a watch and follow
ing the dictates of this unfailing monitor.
There are SO many little arts which
a woman can cultivate in order to make
herself a welcome guest.
There are those small attentions to the
aged members of the Misunderstanding or
talking to the old people, who have a
right to these friendly acts and who are
lonely without them. The children form
another Item for the employment of a
guest. A woman making lengthy visits
might consider it her especial charge to
keep these factors of home life amused
and happy.
There are moments in which the at
tention of the men of the family are to
be diverted from little household per-
plexities. If dinner, through some in
adyertence. is a half hour late, the at
tention of critical members must be
diverted from this distressing fact.
Above all, the guest herself should be
as eyeless as Cupid concerning little
hlunders and distresses which will arise
In the household of the cleverest hostess
living.
The art of making use of all ma
terials at ones hands and of turning
all things to useful account is one in
which the housekeeper must needs ex-
eel, unless she has the purse of Fortu-
natus- 1t is an excellent plan to make
a s~emi-yearly "rummageT' of the prem
ises previous to housecleaning.
Sort out carefully everything in the
way of furniture dishes, clothing and
any belongings of the house which are
not in use. Do not attempt to save any
thing that is not worth 1t. but examine
everything carefully before you reject
1t as yalueless.
Old furniture which has become too
much worn to appear down stairs may
frequently. after having been scraped,
mended well n treated to a coat of
enamel, be made to serve for some cor
ner upstairs in the bedrooms. An old
armchair that has become hopelessly
disabled may become a thing of beauty
If properly mended, scraped and enam-
eled with some of the new forest green
shades, and upholstered with gray-green
velveteen, or with English chintz in
one of the mistletoe patterns designed by
Morris. A wonderful array of useful
footstools may be made from common
small pine boxes with the cover fastened
on with hinges. These footstools should
be painted inside, and covered on the out
side with remnants of decorative stuffs.
The cover should be cushioned, so as
to make a comfortable footrest. Rem
nants of chintz and other materials In
the house. or even of carpets, may be
utilized In this way.
One seldom realizes the possibilities of
materials on hand until ones ingenuity is
tested. These box stools are excellent
receptacIes for Xxi or for dainty