The best results are secured by deputing two or more persons to arrange the table, instead of intrusting this task to the whole company. When the feast is ready the gentlemen pass the dishes to the ladies, but it is a part of the fun to have the latter assist in the work. If there are older people present, they are asked to sit still and be waited upon. At formal picnics the table is arranged and the food set out by servants. Impromptu vaudeville, charades, tableaux, or songs with guitar accompaniment make a pleasant ending to the affair, where time permits. Dancing has always been popular on these occasions. They are often held at some place of resort which boasts a hall or open-air platform for the dancers.
In dressing for a trip in a motor-car, a woman should wear a small, close-fitting hat or an automobile bonnet. This and the large veil covering it should be securely fastened down, so that there will be no danger of their blowing away. All superfluous ribbons and streamers should be avoided for the same reason. A dust-cloak of linen or pongee is a great protection in summer. As such a garment affords little warmth, the tourist should provide herself with a cloth coat also. Men wear small caps and dusters or light overcoats. Since there is little room for luggage on a car, a guest who is invited to go for a tour should take as little as possible, packing it in a suit-case or bag, or small automobile trunk, if she has received permission to carry one. Since motoring is extremely dusty business, it is well to take a change of costume to wear in the evening, if this is to be spent at an inn. Foulards and India silks are excellent for this purpose, as they weigh so little and are not easily creased or tumbled. If one has not space for an entire gown, a dressy waist should be carried.
The craze for motoring has developed many wayside inns scattered along the routes most frequented by tourists. Some of these are ancient hostelries, or reproductions of the same, charmingly furnished in ye olden style. Here travelers by automobile stop for lunch, afternoon tea, or dinner, or to spend the night. As inn-keepers sometimes charge the owners of motor-cars extortionate prices, those who wish to avoid great expense should carry lunch-baskets with them. They can then arrange an impromptu picnic by the wayside and so be independent of landlords, should the latter be unreasonable in their charges. Indeed, many people consider these wayside lunches part of the fun of a motor-trip. They start off for a tour of several days, equipped with a large basket containing plenty of provisions. Some picturesque spot is chosen for the daily picnic, the basket being replenished at shops or hotels en route, should this be necessary.
People who wish to go on a motor-trip in Europe now find it better to take over their own car and chauffeur, rather than to hire these on the other side of the water. It is necessary, however, to procure a permit allowing the party to cross from one country into another. Otherwise the traveler is subject to vexatious delays at the frontiers. The owner of a car must always remember that the chauffeur, like the passengers, requires food at regular intervals. Sometimes an allowance is made to him and he gets his meals where he likes; sometimes his employer arranges for his entertainment. As he is usually of a better class than the ordinary domestic, he is not willing to eat with the servants. He prefers to take his meals after his employer, but at the same table. If the latter is visiting at an expensive inn, and there are cheaper ones of a suitable character in the neighborhood, he may request his chauffeur to dine or spend the night at one of these, furnishing him with the money.
Instead of staying at an inn, the automobilist sometimes makes a visit to friends in the country. Where this is by invitation, the host entertains the chauffeur, or arranges to have him cared for in the neighborhood. As the touring party probably consists of two or three people in addition, such a visit, if prolonged, may readily become a tax on the hospitality of the host. Hence the stay should be limited to one or two nights, else it may become a “visitation.”
If a party of motorists stop to lunch or spend the night at a friend’s house without previous invitation, they should endeavor to provide for the entertainment of their chauffeur elsewhere, since it would hardly be courteous to put this additional strain on the hospitality of their host.
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BRIDGE PARTIES AND EVENING RECEPTIONS
Arrangement of the Card-tables—Playing for Prizes—Good and Bad Manners at the Card-table—Why Certain People are not Asked—Duties of Hostess—Card Parties for Charity—Dress and Etiquette of Evening Receptions.
THE extreme popularity of bridge has somewhat lessened since the tango craze invaded society. Card-playing still has many devotees, however, and is likely to have them in the future, as in the past. When not carried on too strenuously, it affords a mild and gentle form of amusement that is especially valuable to elderly persons, or to younger ones of quiet tastes.