Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 210, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 September 1911 — ENTERTAINING IN COUNTRY CROWING IN POPULARITY [ARTICLE]

ENTERTAINING IN COUNTRY CROWING IN POPULARITY

W/ipn IFe// Managed It Imposes No Heavy Bur-\ dens on Host. EVERY YEAR COUNTRY bouse entertaining becomes more popular Its chief charm l.es in its informality, and any woman whether she be the Chatelain of a splendid country estate or only the mistress of a tiny suburban cottage with its pretty little garden may do her share in making life more pleasant for her less to: lunate friends who, for business or family reasons are obliged to spend the summer In the city. • To most city dwellers the mere fact of getting out into the cool green country away fro mthe sizzling noisy city is a delight, and very little entertainment is necessary to make their visit an enjoyable one. Of course, every hostess feels it Incumbent on her to provide amusements for het guests, and when she does sb they should be of the most informal kind. The woman who intends giving a week-end party should be sure to mention In the letter the train she wishes her guest to take. Usually an afternoon train is best, one that arrives at around 4 or 5 o'clock. This gives them time to partakel of some light refreshments, rest and dress for dinner.

The hostess fe of course, there,to receive her guests, and if there are children in the family they should also be present. In a cool room indoors or ft shady part of the porch have a dainty table arranged with a fancy white cover, tall glasses, cracked ice and some cool, refreshing drink, fruit lemonade or iced tea, for instance. Serve cakes, thin sandwiches or wafers. For serving these dainties there is nothing nicer than one of the stands known as the "curate." This is a small table of wicker or wood made with three shelves on which the plates are placed. It is very light and may be easily moved from place to place. The name of “curate” comes from England, where the curate is the one who does most of the fetching and carrying at tea time. In some houses, especially where there are a number of servants, the maid is given the keys of the guest’s trunk and she unpacks and puts the clothes away. The guest,, however, should bd consulted on this matter as some prefer to unpack their own belongings. * Be sure that everything a guest could possibly want in the way of comforts and conveniences is at her disposal for guests will sometimes hesitate to ask for what is really needed When your guests have chhtted a bit, show them to their rooms, see that nothing is wanting, then before leaving them tell them the hour of dinner and if any amusement for the evening is planned let them know of it so that they may dress to suit the occasion., If your guests^play bridge and you are a party of four it will not be necessary to invite any other friends for the first night, but on Saturday-you should have a dinner for them of from four to eight additional guests, and on Sunday it is well to ask two cr three friends who are musical for dinner and m_ke it aa informal gathering. As for the daytime, you can usually provide them with a game of golf or tennis, a motor drive or a ride, and you should always give them an opportunity to go to church on Sunday, even if they do not care to avail themselves of it. If there is to be a dance th your neighborhood to which you expect to take your guests, it is better to mention it in your invitation, as the women may wish to bring more elaborate gowns than they otherwise would. Sunday afternoon tell them there are such and such trains in the morning to which you can conveniently send them and they will arrange accordingly. Indeed, systemized, the Friday to Monday visit is not only very little trouble but it will be made a great pleasure to the hostess as well as to those invited. It will usually be found more convenient to order all the luncheons and dinners ahead, and breakfast is more of a success if served to each person in hie or her room, for in this way the tedium of breakfast conversation is done away with. The breakfast tray should be attractively arranged with an individual breakfast service, a pretty tray cloth and one flower of sweet ecent. A simple menu is orange juice, chilled, served in a small tumbler, a cereal with cream, coffee, eggs and toast.