The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1903-03-13
| THE :. ART R | Of ENTERTAINING mi / Al
There Are Moments When Guests
Wish to be Alone.
THE POPULAR HOSTESS,
She Who Finds Pleasure in Dispensing
Hospitality is a Positive Inspira-
tion-Little Points.

The most popular hostess is she who
combines the art Of self-effacement with
the quality Of omnipresence. In other
words she is never obtrusive, yet one
feels her presence in the hundred and
one small comforts and pleasures with
which she surrounds her guests.
This is particularly true of the hostess
who entertains the weekend house par
nothing il not leisurely, restful gather
ings, and the hostess whose tendency is
to fuss over her guests should never
undertake a house party.
She who really entertains visitors, in
the truest sense of the word, prepares fol-.
them with infinite care, then gives them
an opportunity to enjoy the fruits Of this
preparation in peace and comfort. She
makes her guest chamber comfortable,
but does not drop in at lnOppOrtune mo-
ulents to ask whether everything is all
right. She notes signs OF restlessness
and has something ready to suggest, but
she does not interrupt when all signs
point to r~estfulness.
She gives her visitor to understand that
the driving is capital, the cross-country
walks delightful, the billiard room III
readiness. but she does not drive. her
poor, over-entertainod guest from pillar
TO post in endeavoring to perform her
self-imposed role Of the strenuous hostess.
The hostess who asks no questions
when you choose to hut yourself i'll your
room with a nervous headache or for
some less tangible reason, and does not
thrust nOStrumS or unavailable advice
upon you, is a blessing to be appreciated.
livery woman has her pet headache
remedy, and there are moments when the
most social creatures want to be alone.
A good summer hostess may cut a
sorry figure in winter, and vice versa.
A woman who is all sparkle and v~ivacity
in winter may be but a wilted flower in
hot weather; and a woman who is all
froth and 1utter on the summer piazza
may grow heavy eyed and irritable under
the strain Of the winter season. 1t is
the woman Of equable nerves and tenn
per, who entcrtains because it is a
pleasure and not a duty, that makes the
best al-the-year-round hostess.
The hostess who invites you to tea in
summer and then receives o in elah-
trouble in the kitchen. The thought that
she has had to send into town hastily
for refreshments, because there has been
serve as az appetizer. The m who
sits at the head of the table turning a
polite but deaf ear to the man on either
enc maid, is not an ideal hostess. She
makes her guests wish that she had
eaken less pains in preparation and re-
9elved them with more genuine interest.
While the primal motive of dining is to
secure food, in the social code it has a
nlgner status-the% gathering of congenial
The hostess who feels it a pleasure to
entertain is a positive inspiration. She
who elects to entertain as a duty had
better pause. She is starting on a thorny
path which seldom leads to social sue.
cess. Much nonsense is written about
4ne social life being a trade, a profession.
ferhaps there are those who climb for
the sake of reaching the apex, nothing
more. But there are a few sensible
persons left who want to have pleasure
en- route.
The wife who receives a few of her
husbands friends with some such remark
as lust in time for a rubber of whist
aud a rabbit" is cutting one of the links
% his bachelor pleasures and his club.
Ana II she knows how to concoct a rab-
ot without making a great how-de-dC
over it, if she is deft, smiling and grace
full, the men will pronounce her as
charming as if she had invited them to a
state dinner, and nine chances out of
ten; II they be bachelors, they will sigh
dog" '
1t pays to cultivate the chatting dish
haDit, If one wants to entertain simply,
easily and often. There are so many
Jolly little dishes to be evolved from a
fhatn" dish that a small book devoted to
the art is worth buying and using. Re
member always that elaboration in COLI
Another trick which makes a hostess
exceedingly popular is studying the art
Of making light drinks. Or course, there
IS nothing simpler than to send out to
the kitchen for a pitcher of lemonade, or
elaret punch, when one porch is full of
guests, but there's a better method still,
especially il a woman would be the idol
of her men friends. Let her practice in
secret the mixing Of a few standard
drinks, until she is as deft-whisper it
low-as the professional "~artist" in this
line. Let her learn k5w to stir the
shaven ice until it clinks enticingly. Let
ner learn how to pour the claret in a
hong, sparkling stream. Let her twirl
the shaker and the s~trainer like an ex-
pert. Then, with an air of assurance,
she can bid her maid bring out the in
gradients upon a low wicker table, and.
in less time than it takes to tell the tale.
she will have them ali, men and women,
watching her with fascinated interest.
u a word to the woman who dis
e smoking. Never entertain your hus-
bands friends unless you nave a den or
smoking, room for them. If there is one
thing which tries a husbands soul, es-
pecially if he be a newly-wed husband,
it is to apologize to his friends for the
fact that his wife cannot endure the
scent of smoke, even of the best Havanas.
Protect our dainty drawing room by all
means, but have a corner, no matter how
small, where your husband may take the
men after dinner or just before bedtime
for their coy chat and smoke.
A New York man who recently re-
turned from a visit with prim New Eng
land relatives, tells how the men. of the
house have built a shanty, something on
the lines Of a large doghouse, in which
they have installed a small oil stove. and
whittier they retire many times a day to
smoke.
The average man objects to seeing the
women he likes and respects given over
to the cigarette habit. He hates a yell
low stain on the finger Of the woman he.
loves, but he does not object to accepting
a match from those same fair fingers,
and he has a sincere regard for the host
ess who has an ash tray about and
matches within reach.
Another hostess who can depend upon
go