The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-03-12
appearance, on the day and hour set for
your arrival. is nearly as sacred as the

appearance, on the day and hour set for
your arrival. Is nearly as sacred as the
dinner engagement.
Arrive at the time appointed for your
appearance If 1t is humanely possible and
you will stand high in your hostess es-
TEEN. This I know, for have been
hostess In a country home when my tired
ton for the handsome and witty, and al
most brutally selfish woman who arrived
five hours after the, time agreed upon in
our exchange of notes. Her excuse was
that the timetable I sent her was mis-
laid, and she smiled cheerfully as she gave
1t; and tho I smiled. too. and little
grimly, wondered in what school Of man.
ners she had been educated.
Now not less Is 1t sacred promise to
bring your visit to an end at the hour and
on the day agreed upon. In hospitality as
well as in literature, se1uels are rarely
successful, and only when you are very
frequent and a very intimate visitor In a
home can you safely presume to take your
we'll meaning hostess at her word and re-
main a little longer.
The psychologlcally happy moment at
which to retreat Is when your entertainers
are most anxious for you to remain. Even
with very dear and intimate friends find
1T no mistaken rule to go when they press
me most to stay. and especially when a
previous date has been set for departure.
Always. and however familiar you may
be In the house of Mrs. Brown, or the
bachelor hall of Mr. Jones, let the day on
which you purpose to leave be clearly I'M
derstood before you arrive. Even between
old and tried friends there must stand
some barriers Of formality. I have known
of one tried and true friendship strained
almost to the point of rupture by the lack
Of a fixed date Of departure. The guest
was asked to settle the point, and her
neglectfulness in the matter occasioned
the cruelest embarra ssment and 1ncon-
venience for the hostess.
The Vlrture of AdaptabIllty.
This is moro than a virtue, it Is po-
| tent charm and an insurance Of success
when you go visiting. If you have wor-
thy desire to excel. study how to adapt
yourself to all the varied circumstances
Of hospitality, and accordingly your hostess
will highly esteem you.
The highest compliment you can pay
your entertainer is to try and accept the
conditions of her home just as you find
them. In my youthful career as q house
keeper, when one cottage of limited pro.
| portions, q single maid Of all work and g
small income were at my disposal, asked
a school friend to visit me. Frankly !
told her how lived, and when I proudly
drove my pony and wee carriage to the
station she was there to meet me, ant
| her luggage was one big satchel.
| She was an heiress, accustomed to lux
uries, but she bore herself in my little
home tho cottage and one servan
had been her domestic environment al
her life. She fell in at once with famil.
habits. She was up with the lark, and
| excepting the making of her bed, put lle
own room exquisitely to rights. She
came in to breakfast when the hot coffee
appeared; she sat on my veranda anc
sewed and talked: she played with thu
children, took long country walks ant
ate a hot midday dinner with zest, tn,
she was accustomed to an 8 o'clock din
ing and butler to serve her.
She was the ideal guest because sh
knew to a nicely how to adapt herself
and, by way Of contrast, I don't mini
telling of another fair and equally wealth.
friend Of mine who came to visit me late
when my financial situation was but lit
tie improved.
She arrived three trains late and wit
two prodigious trunks. She swept dow
to my modest dinner table in frocks Q
such stately splendor and jewels of sue
glory that we were dazzled. She require
so much ministration at the hands of m
, one housemaid that I was myself oblige
, to turn to and make the beds and dus
She breakfasted in bed, openly objecte
t because she was asked to share a bath
T room with another woman guest, an