Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-02-10
aAiseellansuus 8eaains.
HOSPITALITY IN MANY LANDS.
Criticism of Different Ways Of Enter.
tanning Guests.

tanning Guests.
A celebrated French lady at home
in every city in Europe recently
wrote a very clever book in which
she criticised the various forms of hos
pitality as practiced by society all
over the continent. In no country In
the world, she finally summed up
Is the difficult art of entertaining sc
thoroughly understood and so well
carried through, says writer in the
London Chronicle, as In our own
right little. tight little island"
Personally I think the Americans
surpass us in the art. They lay their
time, their motors and their INTEL
lects at the feet of any wandering
globe trotter who happens to possess
a letter of introduction. We English
on the other hand only take to our
bosoms those people whom we have
met and tried and not found want
ing: we are not good at promiscuous
good fellowship, whatever one French
admirer may say to the contrary.
It is amazing what a deal Of diff
ference the sea makes between us and
our European brethren. That briny
boundary has indeed made us race
apart in manners, customs and ideas.
Our lavish hospitality when we are
really stirred up to show ourselves at
our best leaves our foreign friends
gaping at our extravaganza.
remember being invited years ago
to pass the evening with an Italian
countessa and her two daughters.
expected dinner. as did the other
members of my party, but no dinner
appeared Apparently our hostess had
dined earlier in the day. At about
half-past nine the folding doors OF
the gilded salon were thrown open
and two magnificent flunkies appear
ed. One bore a tray on which was
an apparently golden goblet and three
small cups Of priceless china. The
other carried a salver on which re-
posed cakes of all descriptions.
Solemnly, in almost regal state, they
advanced to the countessa. while our
fainting spirits slowly revived.
Bowing stifly, these stuffed effigies
of men poured out some thick,
nauseous looking chocolate and
handed it and the cakes exclusively
A. lar fuy do
ignoring our starving presence alto
gether. Then the doors closed upon
them, and we, hungry and half faint
ing. saw them no more. AS soon as
we decently could we quilted this
scene of open handed revelry and has
tened to solace and sustain our droop-
ing bodies at the nearest restaurant
where solid and satisfying food could
be bought.
That example was certainly not
quite what the English nation would
describe as generous hospitality. AS
matter of fact Italians, as rule,
are not given to much social inter-
course in the way Of small or friendly
dinners. One big squash year where
all the world. or at least the world
of their special clique, are invited to
listen to choice music and to discuss
the latest international scandal. Is
about their limit. Their "at home"
days are held in the public gardens
like in the Pincio at Rome, where
carriage calls" are made and the af-
fairs of nations discussed. Thus the
Italians keep themselves "au courant"
of all that Is going on, and no extra
expense is incurred in the way Of
cakes and cream. &c.
In Germany one is invited to Kaffee
Klatsches, where coffee and the most
marvellous cream cakes Of all sorts
are handed round, cakes that melt
creamily in ones mouth. They are
indeed ambrosial But being horribly
absent minded and seldom the person
of greatest consequence In the room
have over and over again caused
terrible hutter in the dovecotes by
marching right away to the sofa and
calmly seating myself and making
myself quite comfortable, only to be
removed, either tactfully or otherwise,
as every one has travelled in Ger
many at all knows that the sofa
seat like the seat facing the horses
in a carriage, is reserved for the chief
guest, or at least for that woman who
has earned her country's appreciation
by the fiery trial of matrimony.
One can imagine the almost BIAS
phemous presumption of an unim-
portant spinster who dares to nestle
down costly into such a seat. I have
given up visiting in Germany, eX-
periences of this kind have completely
destroyed my nerve.
While l was staying in Damascus
the marriage of the daughter Of a
Turk Of the upper classes took place.
An urgent invitation was sent across
the way to our hotel to come. and join
in the fun. We were warned that a
direct refusal would hurt the feelings
of our hospitable host and hostess,
so on the second day Of the feast we
donned our travel spoiled best and
crossed the road to the scene Of the
fray.
We passed through two rooms filled
with chattering crowds and across a
courtyard in which the "tomtoms' or
some analogous instrument of torture
walled and hummed all day long. We
were finally escorted into a room
thick with tobacco smoke and filled
with women most gorgeously dressed
lying around the room on couches.
We bowed vaguely, having no idea
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