The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1908-09-05
THE PACE THAT KILLS IN HOSPITALITY.
MALL INCOMES UNEQUAL TO ST
"oung Matrons Sacrifice Health and Happi-
ness Trying to Rival Wealthy
Entertainers.
9y M. W. Mount.

! There are few things more delight
full than to give and receive hospital
ity, and few things more nerve rack
ing than the effort of persons OF linn
tied means to entertain on the scale
of the wealthy who can afford the
best talent procurable to furnish a
feast and its accompanying diver
si0ns.
Must ancient hospitality cease, or
will modern hOstesses consent to Of
fer 1t in sane and simple fashion?
This is question which disturbs
many ranks of society.
No better illustration of a false
standard adopted by many in this re-
spect could be had than is furnished
this season. when little entertaining
Is being done and some have abjured
its pleasures altogether because 1t
has become fad to surround it with
an ostentation as expensive as it is
unnecessary to real enjoyment.
Too frequently one hears Of mat
rons in the heydey of youth and
strength retiring to sanatoriums for
treatment because they have broken
down under the strain of entertain
ing. Many women have abandoned
homes and gone to live in hotels be-
cause they said they could not stand
the constant round of dinners and
luncheons expected them. Brides ere
the wane of their honeymoons have
collapsed from the effort to show suit
able hospitality to friends who had
bestowed attentions upon them at the
time of their marriage. The habit of
foreign travel has grown with num-
only in this way can they escape the
exhausting duties of hostess.
Do any Of us recall time when our
grandmothers were laid up with ner-
vous prostration after dining their
friends? Do any of us remember
seeing them lose their calmness over
the selection of table equipments and
fret themselves into headaches and
nerves. for fear that their table lace,
furbelows and service would not COM
pare favorably with those OF some
weather. acquaintance? Least Of all.
do any of us recollect seeing those
sts:ely danes offer presents to
guest after a repast?
Costly Table Coverings.
1t never occurred to them to pay
their friends for accepting hospital
ity. 1t never occurred to them to COW
er their tables with lace instead of
damask. Flowers did not overload
the board. nor were elaborate place
cards considered necessary among
friends. AS for ribbons and sashes,
they were relegated to the nursery
hospitality was lavish and constant:
their tables as handsome as fine nap
cry, china. crystal. cut glass and sill
yer could make them; their own but
lers were in charge Of the serving
men; their own cooks in charge of
the kitchen. There were no souven-
irs to purchase, no needless adorn-
ments to provide. Hence there was
little to worry about or to induce
nervous breakdown after . success
sion of house parties.
An overdressed table is like an ov-
erdressed mountaineering to the
eye. Were the modern housewife Of
average means to copy the mode of
giving dinners established by her
grandmother she would be able to
afford such chefs and buffers of her
own as to dispense with the neces-
sity of turning half her house over to
hired caterers and their assistants.
And should she prefer hired caterers
at least she would not be burdened
with anxiety lest lace tablecloth,
worth thousands Of dollars and impos-
sible to duplicate, should be injured.
Wealthy New Workers have dined
from lace bedspreads wrought by
royal fingers centuries ago, altar
cloths whose wonderful tracery was
designed by great artists of the past
and wall hangings which once lent a
delicate effect Of GOODNESS to Italian
palaces tapestried with blue; they
have glimpses between china and
crystal of magnificent embroideries
wrought in colors by artistic Orien-
tai fingers and take mental notes as
to whether the work was done in the
Orient or in America. how many
thousands were paid for a rare wall
panel tablecloth of Flemish lace and
whether the hostess often ripped out
its centre and motives for use in
dress trimming.
Souvenirs and Place. Cards.
Many newly married couples to-day
are oppressed with the idea that they
must secure just such costly cover
ings for their tables, and will often
even go into debt and suffer hard