“A green lawn, a few trees, a fine day, and something to eat are really
all the absolute requirements of a garden party.” If true, this places
the pleasant mode of entertaining our friends in the power of many
people of moderate means. In remote country localities these parties
are very delightful, particularly if city friends are guests for the
Summer.
When properly conducted, a garden party may be given with very little
trouble, and made very simple and informal, but if desired may be made
elaborate and ceremonious.
When only neighbors are to be entertained, a hasty invitation, so as
to be sure of fine weather, may be sent two or three days in advance,
but when guests are expected from any distance it is customary to send
invitations eight or ten days in advance, as suitable preparations must
be made.
These invitations are usually engraved on handsome, plain note paper,
and may be in this form.
[Illustration: _Mr and Mrs Charles Leigh
Request the pleasure of
Mrs Morton’s
Company on Thursday, the fifth of August,
At three o’clock._
_Garden Party._ _Maple Grove._
]
When guests are to come by rail it is well to send a card stating the
hours at which trains arrive and leave the station. Then if carriages
are to meet the train, on a card enclosed might be printed: _Carriages
will meet the 3.30 train from Union Depot_.
A lady, also, may invite her friends to a garden party by sending her
visiting card with “Tennis” or “Garden Party” written in the lower left
hand corner, and day and hour in the lower right hand corner, or under
her name. It is well sometimes to specify the time of closing.
At a garden party the hostess receives her guests on the lawn, or in
the garden, wearing her hat and gloves. But guests should always be
invited to the house to take off their wraps, or arrange their toilet
if desired. Of course, a maid servant should be in the dressing-room to
attend their wants.
The thoughtful hostess will take care to have everything in readiness
for the comfort and entertainment of the company. Rugs should be laid
on the grass for the accommodation of those not accustomed to standing
on the ground, and easy chairs provided for delicate or aged ladies
who may be present, so all may enjoy the party without fear of the
consequence.
Amusements to be Provided.
Much tact is required to properly entertain guests at a garden party,
and prevent them from wandering aimlessly about the grounds. Ample
amusements must, therefore, be provided.
The lawn tennis ground must be in perfect order, croquet sets in
readiness, archery tools supplied, as well as arrangements for all
kinds of suitable games made. Music is a very delightful addition
to the pleasure of such an occasion, and should always be had, when
practicable.
Ladies wear hats or bonnets at a garden party, and should dress
otherwise appropriately. If a plain, informal affair, the dress should
be simple and becoming, and if games like lawn tennis or archery are
among the amusements, light flannel dresses are suitable. But if
invited to a ceremonious lawn party, where style will prevail, handsome
though simple toilets are required. Picturesque costumes may be made
very effective on the grass and under the trees, and ladies of taste
have a fine field for displaying it upon such occasions.
Many very fashionable people conduct the garden party in the style of
an afternoon tea, receiving and entertaining their guests in the open
air until ready to serve refreshments, when all are invited to the
dining-room to partake of them. This mode is very convenient and quite
pleasant, though it divests the occasion of much of the novelty and
charm belonging to it.
When the refreshments are to be served in the garden or lawn, of course
the dishes must all be cold, and may consist of salads, _patés_,
pressed meats, Charlottes, jellies, ices, cakes, lemonade and iced tea.
A cup of hot tea should always be in readiness in the kitchen for those
ladies desiring it.
[Illustration: A LAWN PARTY.]
Servants should be well trained when in attendance to prevent
confusion. Dishes, knives, forks and spoons should be removed when
used, and put in baskets or trays in readiness for them, and a fresh
supply brought to replace them.
Tables and Refreshments.
Numbers of small tables, with pretty, fancy covers, and colored
napkins, should be set around under trees, near fountains and other
suitable places, with camp-stools for the accommodation of guests when
partaking of refreshments.
Servants should be very careful in going from place to place with
dishes to be served never to spill or drop the contents on ladies’
dresses.
Gentlemen may help the ladies, if they prefer, and wait on themselves,
requiring the servants only to remove the dishes and replenish the
pitchers with lemonade, milk or water.
Fruits, pineapples, strawberries, raspberries, peaches and grapes are
served at garden parties, and should be of the finest quality.
Ices are a very acceptable addition to an outdoor entertainment, being
light and refreshing for warm weather; they are served in fancy paper
cups, laid on ice plates.
For ladies desiring to give garden parties, the following bill of fare
will be found sufficient:
Cold Rolls. Mixed Sandwiches. Brown Bread. Pickled Tongue.
Pate de foie gras. Jellied Chicken. Cold Birds.
Lobster Salad. Charlotte Russe. Biscuit. Glaces. Fancy Cakes.
Fruits. Lemonade. Iced Tea. Strawberry Acid.
In England the refreshments are always served in a _marquee_ (large
tent) on the lawn.
For such outdoor entertainments foods that require little use of knife
and fork should be chosen; sandwiches should never be made of sliced
meats as they are awkward to handle. Crusts should be trimmed off, and
the filling shredded or grated to a paste, and highly seasoned. For the
same reason hot drinks should be dispensed with as far as possible.
Glasses are to be filled but two-thirds full. None of these precautions
are necessary when the refreshments are served indoors.
For the out-of-doors feast a number of small tables should be provided;
cover with fancy cloths and on them place piles of plates alternating
with folded napkins, breadbaskets, or trays heaped with sandwiches and
buttered tea biscuit, baskets of fancy cakes, and plenty of reserve
napkins. Have some of the assistants pass these, beginning with the
plates, and to the maidservants leave the service of tea, coffee, cream
and sugar (when these are given) and other drinkables.
By this time the gentlemen who first assisted will have been served and
the maids can turn their attention to the ices. Ice cream can be served
as above, and ices in glass cups; after this the maids can gather up
the dishes in baskets. A caterer may be called upon to furnish the
feast, in which event all trouble will be spared the hostess. Do not
use the best glass and china at these entertainments; the danger of
breakage is too great.
At many gatherings a special table is supplied for the gentlemen, where
soda-water, claret cup, and sometimes wines are served. The men help
themselves, but a manservant is present to supply fresh glasses, etc.
This table depends entirely upon the principles of the hostess. If no
hours are mentioned, the guests usually disperse about dusk, unless
dancing is provided for those who wish to stay and enjoy it.
Seats.
The business of providing seats is a comparatively trifling affair
when there are to be young people present, who prefer clean turf or
the piazza steps to any more luxurious lounging place. For the older
guests, less unconventional accommodations may be devised. Light
rockers, camp chairs, wooden or wicker settees are pretty, and in
harmony with the rustic nature of the reception. It is well, also, to
have rugs or strips of carpet laid about, for the benefit of those who
dread the dampness that some imagine rises from the ground even in the
midst of the most obstinate drought. Cushions are invaluable at such
times, whether used as footstools for the more delicate guests, to
soften porch steps, or to convert stumps and grassy knolls into divans,
for those who like low seats, but yet have a due regard for their bones
or dresses.
A charming, and thoroughly rustic style of seat, can be formed of dry,
sweet hay. Tossed up in generous piles, to make couches, or heaped
against the trunks of trees to simulate arm chairs, they provide
resting places that are not only luxurious, but uncommon. The costliest
upholsterer can furnish no chairs or sofas more softly padded or more
deliciously perfumed than these. With rugs or shawls thrown over them,
to guard the garments of their occupants from any possible injury from
moisture or from crushed insects, they are all that the most fastidious
could demand.
Hammocks, also furnished with cushions, are always comfortable and
picturesque, while screens are valuable additions to the furniture of
this open-air drawing-room. Covered with cretonne, felt or paper of
any shape and size, these are almost indispensable for shielding from
draughts in breezy weather, or sheltering from obtrusive sunlight on a
sultry day.
Lawn Parties for Charity.
In case of a charitable object, the refreshments are disposed of at
reasonable prices. In this case the menu should be restricted to a few
articles. Berries, ice cream and cake are frequently sufficient; coffee
can be added. Dainty button-hole bouquets should also be provided and
sold to the gentlemen for prices in advance of their value. Afterward,
with the piazza for a stage, a little program of music, singing and
recitations can be carried out.
At any garden party, music and singing are in order, and at very grand
affairs, paid musicians of note are engaged. Orchestras also are
frequently somewhere on the grounds.
Breakfasts, Luncheons and Teas.
A breakfast or a luncheon is somewhat less formal than a dinner and,
hence, so much the more delightful.
The breakfast party includes both gentlemen and ladies while, as a
rule, the luncheon is an entertainment given to ladies. The invitations
to a breakfast may be written, engraved or verbal. If a large number
of guests are invited to meet some distinguished stranger, engraved
invitations are issued.
Five days or a week’s notice is usually considered sufficient, but if
distinguished wits and scholars are to be secured, it is well to give a
longer period, since their time, always in demand, should be bespoken
well in advance. A reply to the invitation is a necessity, because the
hostess wishes time, in case of non-acceptance, to secure another guest.
Where the breakfast is less stately in character, an informal note,
written by the hostess, in the first person, is a pleasant method, or
simply written on the lady’s visiting cards under the name in this
form: Breakfast, Tuesday, ten o’clock, February fifteenth.
Artificial light is out of place, and sunshine should flood the
apartment, while a certain airiness and daintiness should pervade the
table appointments, quite the opposite of the elaborate display that
characterizes the dinner party. Flowers should form the decorations
of the table. Breakfast parties are a very convenient mode of social
entertainment for those whose limited means will not admit of a more
extensive display of hospitality.
Ten o’clock is the usual hour, though it may be as late as twelve, thus
differing from the luncheon, which is never earlier than one.
Breakfast parties are a favorite reunion with literary people, who
generally take the morning hours for leisure, leaving brain work until
later in the day. Sidney Smith said he liked breakfasts, “because no
man was conceited before one o’clock in the day.”
In serving breakfast the bill of fare, unless for special occasions,
should never be elaborate, but rather dainty and attractive, as the
appetite usually needs tempting at this early hour; fewer courses of a
more delicate variety should be served than at other meals. The hostess
dispenses the coffee, tea and chocolate from the head of the table; the
substantials are set in front of the host, who may help the plates and
hand them to the waiter to serve; the vegetables and other dishes may
be handed from the side table.
Concerning the Viands.
It is well-bred to serve the breakfast with as little formality as
possible, and with as few attendants; one servant, a maid, or man
servant is sufficient unless the party is unusually large.
If grape-fruit be used for a first course, or orange skins filled with
juice, a wreath of smilax on each plate makes a pretty decoration.
A breakfast should invariably begin with fruit, followed by a course
of eggs. This latter is one of the essentials, and offers a greater
variety than is perhaps known outside of France. A Spanish omelette,
if properly made, is a thing to be treasured among the “pleasures
of memory.” Stuffed eggs, or hard boiled eggs cut in slices, with a
bechamel or white sauce, are appropriate and generally liked. A fish
course, an entrée, one meat, a salad and a sweet course should follow
next in order, concluding with coffee. The entrée and the meat may form
one course, if a slice of duck with olives, fried chicken or some such
dish be selected.
Ices of all kinds are entirely out of place at a breakfast. An omelette
soufflée, peaches with cream, or best of all a fruit salad, are within
the proprieties. This last never fails to call forth enthusiastic
appreciation. It is simply made, and keeps perfectly for two or three
days. Half a dozen oranges should be peeled, leaving no particle of the
white adhering, and then cut in small pieces. Half a ripe pineapple,
broken with a fork into bits and sugared to taste, and four bananas
sliced, are mixed with the oranges, and the whole put on ice for three
or four hours. This will be found a dish rivalling the ambrosia of high
Olympus.
With the first course of fruit, finger-bowls are in readiness, but
are removed at its close. Hot breads and breakfast cakes are always
suitable, and oatmeal, carefully cooked and served with thick cream and
powdered sugar, often follows the fruit. The closing course should be
hot cakes served with honey or maple syrup.
If there are ladies present, or the hostess presides, the coffee,
chocolate, etc., are poured by her, and after the first course she asks
the guests when they will have it served.
The following will be found an acceptable bill of fare for an ordinary
breakfast party. It can of course be varied to suit the convenience and
taste of housekeepers.
Bill of Fare for Breakfast.
Melons. Grapes. Oranges. Fried Perch with Sauce Tartare.
Young Chickens with Cream Gravy. Saratoga Potatoes.
Poached Eggs on Toast. Broiled Quails. Baked Mushrooms.
Tomatoes or Celery. Bread and Butter.
Crackers. Hot Cakes. Coffee. Tea. Chocolate.
If a butler serves at a breakfast he does not wear full dress as at a
dinner.
Wedding Breakfast Menu.
A menu that would be easy to prepare for a wedding breakfast would
be two hot dishes consisting of chicken croquettes, lobster cutlets,
oyster patties or creamed oysters. Everything else might be cold and
as follows: salad, either chicken or lobster, pickled oysters, a small
wedding cake, little cakes for the bridemaids, Charlotte russe and
coffee. The table decorations should either be all white, or the
colors used in the bridemaids’ costumes. Let the waitresses be dressed
in white.
The simplest costume is in good taste for breakfast parties. Men wear
morning dress, and ladies handsome but plain street costumes. Gloves
are removed before going to the table. Bonnets are kept on.
Each gentleman is given the escort of a lady. The host conducts
the lady who is the most distinguished guest to the table, and the
hostess follows last with the gentleman whom it is desired to honor
particularly.
Upon entering the dining-room the ladies are assisted to their seats,
and the gentlemen then follow, and the meal is served. The signal for
rising from the table is given by the hostess, with a smile and simple
bow, and all proceed to the parlor, exchange a few pleasant remarks,
and take their leave.
For informal breakfasts no after-call is expected, but for ceremonious
entertainments of this kind the same observance of the rules of
etiquette are required as for dinners and large parties.
Guests should not remain more than half an hour after leaving the
table, and many do not even return to the drawing-room.
A Bachelor Breakfast.
If a breakfast has been given by a gentleman to ladies and gentlemen,
the lady who chaperones it and presides as hostess, receives all the
attentions of a lady in her own home. The host calls upon her soon
after the event, and also calls upon his lady guests. Gentlemen usually
give their breakfasts at fashionable hotels or restaurants.
A Golden-Rod Breakfast.
This is a pretty country entertainment. It can be given out of doors
under wide-spreading trees. For the one in mind, great roots of
golden-rod were dug up and transplanted into jardinieres (stone jars in
this case) and a hedge of the nodding yellow plumes placed all about.
The carpet was of checkered sunshine and shade, and the green canopy
of the leaves made the scene a perfect one. The guests, arriving at ten
o’clock, were ushered into the rustic breakfast room. Four tables were
used. On one pure white damask napery was enlivened by low baskets of
maidenhair fern, and sprays of the same delicate plant tied with baby
ribbon of green gave a cool look to the whole. The largest table was
resplendent with cut glass vases filled with golden-rod. White asters
gave a hint of autumn’s snow to the third table, and the ingenuity of
the hostess found pleasure in decorating the remaining one with the
delicate grasses and rich-colored small fruits of autumn. Gold-banded
china, cut glass and silver, which had been in the family for three
generations, supplemented the floral charms of the tables.
Choice Blending of Colors.
Autumn and yellow were the main ideas which guided the selection of
the menu for this golden-rod breakfast. Everything possible was in the
yellow tint or rich golden brown. With plenty of cream and fresh eggs
and the fresh fruits of the farm to work with the menu was an easy one
to furnish. Ices served in the shape of tiny melons and cakes decorated
with frosted sugar. As a memento of the feast each guest retained her
name card which bore a spray of pressed golden-rod fastened with narrow
yellow ribbon, and on it in golden script a verse with some thought
suggested by autumn or the flower.
Tiny garden hats of yellow straw, filled with golden-rod, accompanied
the name cards. The golden-rod in itself proved a veritable gold mine
as a help to conversation. Discussions as to whether or not it should
be chosen as the national flower; descriptions by travelers of where
they had seen it growing best, bright quotations of favorite authors
leading to discussions of poems or books by these authors, anecdotes
of travel all followed each other and naturally, led by the clever
hostess who, in her quaint gown of yellow, with golden rod in her belt
and a spray tucked close to the wide tortoise shell comb which held
her golden hair, looked like the personification of the flower she had
honored at her breakfast.
Wine at a breakfast is optional. If used, two varieties are enough,
and should be in keeping with the principal dishes; claret, sherry,
Burgundy are suitable.