Are pleasurable affairs. There is no light furnished except by an open
fire. The guests sit around in a circle and tell stories. Each one is
provided with a bunch of twigs, or fagot to be thrown on the fire, the
guest being expected to sing a song, tell a story, give a recitation,
or otherwise amuse the company while his fagot burns.
Conversaziones.
These gatherings, as the name signifies, are devoted entirely to
conversation, and are supposed to be chiefly gatherings of literary
and scientific people. Where one especially fine conversationalist is
the star of the evening, one or two lesser lights should be invited to
share with him the honors of the occasion.
A Country Dinner.
A summer dinner in the country has many pleasant features peculiar to
itself. Chief among these is its lack of formality, and city guests are
always pleasurably entertained at the country dinner table. A good cook
and a competent waitress are necessities.
The flowers that ornament the table must partake of the field and
forest rather than suggest the city hothouse. Slender, light, glass
vases and rose-bowls are best for the light grasses, field flowers and
garden blossoms. Pretty, modern, inexpensive china is sufficient for a
country dinner, and not too much silverware should be used.
Light, clear soups should form the first course (mock turtle or ox-tail
soup is not in order). The roast should be carved away from the table.
Plenty of fresh vegetables should be prepared, that being one of the
privileges of country life. Delightfully fresh salads are also at
command of the suburban householder; and if the dining-room be cool
and large, and therewith the grace be given of a beautiful view, what
greater gift can the gods grant!
Let the housekeeper forbear to serve hot puddings or heavy pastries.
Fruit tarts, the freshest of fruits with great glass pitchers of
country cream, cold custards, gelatine creams of all kinds and ice
cream are always satisfactory; and many substitute for the heavy roast
the lighter dishes of broiled fish, chicken, or chops. A cold boiled
ham on the sideboard adds another dish to the board.
Etiquette of Card Playing and Games.
There is a certain etiquette to be observed in playing all social
games. In card-playing especially this is a necessity. In the first
place, it is the hostess who proposes the game. In the second, no one
who refuses should be urged to join in the amusement. They may have
conscientious scruples, and respect should be shown their principles.
Unless, however, this be the reason, no one should refuse to play from
mere caprice when their presence is required to make up a table.
New packs of cards should be provided by the hostess. Playing for
money, even the smallest amount, should be strictly avoided. It is
unfit for the home parlor.
Those who do not understand playing should not join a set unless
especially urged, as their ignorance is apt to spoil the pleasure of
the others. The fingers should not be wet to deal the cards. Partners
should never exchange signs. Let every one play his best and not act
indifferent to the game.
Do not talk on all manner of topics; it disturbs those who enjoy the
game.
Do not criticise, nor hurry other players.
Never lose temper over a game.
To cheat is extremely ill-bred.
If you have a poor partner manifest no annoyance.
Never reflect upon the playing of your opponents.
Those who have played together so much that they understand one
another’s play should not be partners in general company.
Never manifest anger at defeat, nor undue exultation at winning.
These rules, many of them, apply to all other social games, both
outdoors and in.
Outdoor Amusements.
Coaching parties are delightful. They give much latitude for gay,
pretty costumes, and there are few brighter pictures than that of a
tally-ho coach as it dashes along the city boulevards and over the
country roads to the music of jingling chains and winding horns.
[Illustration: OUTDOOR SPORTS.]
Appetites are sharpened by the long drive, and hampers must be well
packed with substantial viands. Potted meats, all manner of sandwiches,
game pies, cold birds, and substantial beef and tongue, will be sure of
appreciation.
(See “Dress,” etc., for suitable attire.)
Hunting Parties.
Hunting is very little favored by ladies on this side the water, though
it is occasionally indulged in by a few. The enthusiasm, however, of
a ride to hounds is much dampened by the knowledge that an anise-seed
bag, instead of a fox, furnishes the scent over which the hounds give
eager tongue. Those who attempt to hunt must be at home in the saddle.
(See “Dress,” etc., for appropriate attire.)
Archery, Lawn Tennis and Croquet.
These popular games have their own etiquette, rules, dress, etc., so
thoroughly established that all devotees of these sports understand the
routine without giving it place here.
Never dispute, or show any temper over the outcome of any game.
Boating and Yachting.
Many ladies are quite expert with the oars, and boating, when not
overdone, is a healthful and pleasant amusement. When gentlemen are
with a party of ladies, one of them should step in the boat to steady
it, while another “assists” the ladies in. See that their dress is so
arranged that they will not get wet. Inexperienced rowers should learn
before joining a party.
The stroke oar is the seat of honor. It may be offered to a guest.
Ladies should wear short dresses, free from encumbering draperies,
heavy shoes, and a hat with a broad brim. Heavy gloves, if they intend
rowing, should be worn.
Yachting is a delightful and rather dangerous amusement. Ladies wear
warm wool dresses that water will not injure, made short in the skirt,
and jaunty of cut, with sailor-like emblems for adornment. No young
lady should go out alone with a gentleman either yachting or rowing. In
yachting especially a boat is sometimes becalmed for hours and even all
night. A party composed entirely of young people should have a chaperon.
Children’s Parties.
The celebration of children’s birthdays and other little anniversaries
by means of parties, is a pleasant custom and one worthy of observance.
Such red-letter days are long remembered by the little ones.
The invitations are issued in the children’s own names, and may
be written or engraved. Usually they are written upon small note
sheets and enclosed in small envelopes. If the invitation is for a
Christmas-tree, or an Easter-egg hunt, a tiny tree, or a colored egg,
may ornament one corner of the sheet.
The form varies hardly at all: Miss GERTRUDE HALL requests the pleasure
of Miss CLARA WINSHIP’S company, on Wednesday, June twentieth. From
three until five o’clock. 3 Madison Avenue.
These invitations should be carefully and promptly answered in the same
form as given and in the third person. (See “Invitations,” etc.)
This teaches the little host or hostess the gravity of their position
as entertainers, and impresses the little guests with the importance of
their behavior. Also giving them an early lesson in the etiquette of
social life.
If it is a birthday party, a birthday cake will be the chief feature,
and it is a pretty fancy to have it decorated with as many tiny wax
candles as there are years in the child’s life in whose honor the party
is given. These tapers may be placed around the cake, or put in tin
tubes and sunk into the top of the cake. Light them just before the
little guests are called out to the table.
At the close of the supper the child whose birthday it is, blows out
the candles, and, if old enough, cuts the cake and passes it.
Presents are sometimes brought by the guests, but it is not best to
encourage this fashion.
Dancing or games may follow the supper, and older persons should
constantly superintend the amusements to see that the merriment does
not flag, nor the little folks become too boisterous.
At an Easter party, dainty little egg-shaped boxes, filled with
bon-bons, may be placed at each plate, or else hidden in a room from
which the lighter articles of furniture have been removed, and the
children permitted to search for them. The hunt is the chief pleasure.
If it is a Christmas party the tree is the source of interest, and
often a make-believe Santa Claus adds to the merriment of the occasion.
The refreshments should be simple but fanciful. Make the table bright
as possible—snowballs, cornucopias, lady-fingers, assorted cakes,
love-knots, sandwiches (fancy), crystalized fruits, tarts, sliced
tongue, pressed veal, thin bread and butter, rolled and tied, ice cream
in molds, and one large heavily-frosted cake. A host of flowers, and
the table is complete. Lemonade for a drink, or perhaps hot chocolate.
The good breeding learned, the opportunities of impressing upon
children the beauty of self-denial and politeness, and of teaching
them to dispense, and to receive hospitalities, and to restrain that
tendency toward favoring certain playmates, so strong in childhood,
will more than repay for the trouble of preparing the feast. Never
permit the party to extend to late hours, and never overdress the
little folks. White is always suitable for girls, and jacket suits for
boys under the age for long trousers.
[Illustration: Decoration]