The Topeka state journal., 1905-10-01

leans. and Americans alone, retain and
cherish the old-fashioned grace of hos
pitality, which is 50 rapidly becoming
extinct in Great Britain. I would fain
believe this, but of mYself I do not
know. / have had no experience of
social america, save such as has been
freely and cordially taught me Dy
Americans in London. Some of these
have indeed proved that they possess
the art of entertaining friends with real
friendly delight in the grace and charm
and mutual help of social intercourse,
others, again, by an inordfnate display
of wealth, and a feveriSh yearning for
the DaTagraph-Tnan Cor Woman), have
plainly shown that hospitality is, with
them. a far less concern than notort-
ETY.. However this may be, no sane
person viii allow that it is "hosDita1-
ty'' to ask a number of friends INTO
your house and there keep them all
standing because you have managed
that there shall be no room to sit
down, while strong, half-cold tea ana
stale confectionery. are hastily as
pensed among them. It is not hos
pitality" to ask people to dinner, and
never speak word to them all even
ing, because you, if a man, are en-
gagged upon your own little " business
affair." or, if a woman, are anxious not
to lose hold of your special favOrite
male fiatterer. If friends are invited
they should surely be entertained IN
the manner friendly, and made to feel
at home by the personal attention or
both host and hostess. It is not hos
pitality'' to turn them loose in bew1ld-
cred droves through grounds or gar
dens, to listen to a band which they
have no doubt heard many times be-
fore, or to pack them all into stufty
room to be entertained by profession
al musician whom they could hear to
much more comfortable and inde9end-
ent advantage by paying for stalls at
the legitimate concert hall.
What do we really mean by Hospi-
tality? Surely we mean friendship,
kindness, personal interest, and warm
hearted openness Of look and conduct
and all these are depIorably missing
from the smart functions OF uo-tO-
date society in London, whatever the
state of things may be concerning this
antique virtue in New York and Bos-
ton. It would appear that the ch1e1
ingredients Of Hospitality are manners
for. as Emerson says. Manners are
the happy way of doing things" This
s'happy way is becoming very rare.
Society, particularly the upper Ten
society, is becoming, quite notlceably,
very rude. Some Of the sO-called
"smartest' women are notoriously very
vulgar. Honesty. simplicity, sympathy
and delicacy OF feeling are or seem to
be, as much out of date as the dainty
poems Of Robert Herrick, and the love-
sonnets of Sir Philip Sidney. Time
goes on, say the iconoclaStss and we
must go with tive must, if our hur-
rying civilization requires it. pass
friends by with a cool nod, mock at the
vices of the young, and sneer at the
fai1ings of the old: we are all too busy
to be courteous, too much in a hurry
grabbing gold to be kind, and much too
occupied with ourselves to be thought
full Of others.
So let US bury Hospitality decently
once and for all and talk no more
about it. It was a grand old virtue!-
let US inter it with hon0F-and cease
to hold our funeral feasts and enter
tainments in its name. For. being
dead, it's dead and done with. and
amid all our miserable twentieth cen
tury shans. let US at least drOps for
shame, our base limitations Of the great