The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-03-12

found our simple country amusements an
lntolerable bore. In her high-heeled slip
pers and lowered foulard skirts and tulle
hats she could not, and would not, join
us in our walks. she feared the posi-
bility Of snakes and beetles in the grass;
she dreaded the effect Of the sun on her
complexion, and she demanded the sup
port Of toast and hot bouillon before re-
firing at II o'clock. whereat my sleepy
and overworked servants threatened to
mutiny In body.
I fear that nearly wept with delight
at her departure. She was in other re-
spects a kindly, well-bred, generous
hearted and liberal-minded woman but as
a guest she was an intolerable nuisance.
The Welcome Guest.
If you possess tender conscience to-
ward your hostess. show 1t always by
taking no liberties in her house, with her
belongings, her servants or her children.
To become q welcome guest you must be
keenly observant Of family habits and
little preferences. Come down very, very
promptly to meals, and because you have
owlish tendencies don't make the house
hold smother It's yawns while it heroical-
ly attempts to entertain you. Never dis
place a chair, book or lamp without care
fully replacing it just where you found 1t.
Don't leave your sewing, crochet work,
novel or tennis racket lying about, as i
knew one nice, careless girl to do IN a.
house where the hostess was peculiarly
tidy. Miss Blank eventually left her bag
Of golf clubs near a doorway where the
host stumbled over them in the dark. and
hurt his knee severely. Her balls OF wool
lay in sofa corners half the time, or in a
tangled mass on the parlor floor, and she
appropriated to her own use big, deep
chair in the chimney corner that was the
special property, pride and solace OF the
hnc oil rheumatic sister.
She meant no harm, of course, but her
careless disregard of the particularities OF
others rendered her peculiarly unwelcome
to her hostess and all the family in which
she visited, They were as glad to see her
go as was another hostess knew who in
vited q young man friend of her husband
to stop over the weekend in her dainty
little home. The young man friend was a
good fellow at heart, but the charming
guest room he occupied for but two days
! was a wreck when he left it. He had tied
the fresh muslin window curtains into
hard knots in order to gain more light
upon his shaving glass; he had dropped hot
cigar ashes on the embroidered bureau
cover, and burned two big holes therein.
Trying to move about the room IN the
dark, he overturned a vase Of flowers and
ruined a pretty rug, and he coolly
scratched his matches on the wall. Finally,
he dragged a dainty chintz-covered chair
it there all night in the rain.
Elsewhere I have dwelt in spirit OF
severe criticism with the hostess who over
entertains, but here I must have word to
say apropos of the guest who is singularly
helpless, and who demands entertainment
every moment of his visit. Now. as you
are seeker after both the letter and the
spirit Of the art of agreeability, learn how
to give your busy hostess a respite every
| day. ....,
She will bless you for voluntarily seeking
out, with your book or paper, your cor
respondence or your cigar, a cosy corner
and for a few hours finding your own quiet
amusement She will bless you for not
looking highly discounted over the occa-
sional presence Of the children, and the
sometimes prosy conversation OF grand
mamma. She will be grateful for your ex
preston of real or simulated pleasure II
the entertainment and diversions she ha:
| provided for you and everlastingly will sht
| revere you for keeping in exquisite orde
any Of your own progeny that may come
| a-visiting with you. ->
Take all these precautions and be mind
, full Of your sacred duties toward you
hostess whether she Is your fashionable
millionaire friend whose country hom
boasts thirty five guest chambers, or you
> old school friend who has a modest farm
house home, Adelaide Gordon.