The San Francisco call., 1905-05-21

in the gay whirl of society. Not
v only in San Francisco. but all
the world over. from the wilds OF
Australia to the smartest set in New
York, there is the same call for variety
OF entertainment.
It is manifestly not possible, with
the number of entertainments given
by any one set in a season, to arrange
absolutely unique affairs on each oc-
casion, therefore the chief art of en-
tertaining is TO vary the popular forms
Of amusement in some way in order at
least TO give the semblanee of novelty.
The slightest change is often sufficient
10 satisfy the most biase.
The art OF entertaining is taken
quite seriously by the most successful
hoStesses IN London, and a regular
school. which many OF them attend for
course IN the subject, is 1ourishing.
Every branch Of the subject is care
fully considered and taught, and the
students receive a number of notes of
interesting entertainments which may
be used twenty years later.
What can be more monotonous to
the intellectual woman whose life sur
rounds her with a large circle of
reiterat3on Of card parties as has been
the custom of late? Day after day
from 2 TO 6. couple Of hundred
ladies crowd into a small room. slav-
tshly checking tricks. while the ideal
California sunshine is cleaning invit-
ingly without.
7 have been TO twenty-five card
parties this month and I hate cards, -
said a pretty matron the other after
noon. Il hate to be obliged to con-
centrate all my poor faculties on the
uresome game because my highly
strung, angry partner is anxious. by
hook or by crook, TO become possessed
of the celery dish. You may wonder
why 1 go. Well. you see all those
ladies came to my affairs and L had TO
accept their return courtesies in what
ever form they came"
OF course this criticism NAV be said
10 apply more to card parties than TO
any other form Of entertainment, for
at musicales, dances and such affairs
the guest is not chained for hours to
the one unvarying pastime and is free
TO wander among his friends and to
90 home when he pleases.
With regard to social novelties San
Francisco is singularly progressive,
because fortunately many of her lead
ers insist on novelty in entertaining
every gathering under their roof.
There is one lady in this city who
expresses very neatly her ideas of the
duties Of the hostess
I consider" she saws. that any
function at my house has been a dead
failure unless ] have for at least d
moment caught a glimpse of the white
IN my guests eyes l love TO see the
flush of pleasure and to hear the gen
uine expression of oh. what lovely
n 1raf
Now the reason I never give dinners
is that young people really hate them.
They dislike the long drawn heavy
meals, with often a chilly neighbor-
and one never knows how ones
friends are going to take each other
and they find after the usual re-
mrak OF Aren't the decorations sweet Z?
Mrs. Blank is a charming hostess,
isn't she% and Did you see ''Parsi-
falI" thinking up conversation is as
painful as replying to the queries at
scriptural examination. You know
my husband allows me to keep a fair
~ Iull larder and l don't see the force
Of eating every night in somebody
else's house when my own things are
spelling on the fire. Another thing
it is positively impossible to vary a
dinner, unless one serves the soup in
the finger bowls"
Although these remarks may not be
sUlClly uues lnere IS doubtless much
truth in them For what of the freak
and geological dinners and the many
amusing diversions which the modern
hostess Of a versatile turn of mind in
PRODUCES between the courses of the
dinner2
/ know one lady who has a collec-
ton Of wonderfully trained white
mice which do a remarkable circus
like performance half way through
her dinners.
Then there is the gypsy fortune
telling stunt, the melange Ynystique
and hundred and one devices for
giving guests a rest from the brain
tagging ordeal Of unearthing topics of