Note:
This extract is posted true to text in the Ladies’ Book of Etiquette and
Manners.
When you write to invite a friend to visit you, name a time
when it will be convenient and agreeable for you to receive her, and if she
accepts your invitation, so arrange your duties and engagements that they will
not interfere with your devoting the principal part of your time to the
entertainment of your guest. If you have certain duties which must be performed
daily, say so frankly when she first arrives, and see that during the time you
are so occupied she has work, reading, music, or some other employment, to pass
the time away pleasantly.
Have a room prepared especially for her use, and let her
occupy it alone. Many persons have a dislike to any one sleeping with them, and
will be kept awake by a companion in the room or bed. Above all, do not put a
child to sleep in the chamber with your guest.
The day before your friend arrives, have her room swept,
dusted, and aired; put clean, fresh linen upon the bed, see that the curtains
are in good order, the locks in perfect repair, and the closet or wardrobe and
bureau empty for her clothes. Have upon the bureau a pin cushion well filled,
hair pins, brush and comb, and two mirrors, one large, and one small for the
hand, as she may wish to smooth her hair, without unpacking her own toilet
articles. Upon the washstand, have two pitchers full of water, a cup, tumbler,
soap-dish and soap, basin, brush-dish, and a sponge, wash rag, and plenty of
clean towels.
Have both a feather bed and a mattress upon the bedstead,
that she may place whichever she prefers uppermost. Two sheets, a blanket,
quilt, and counterpane, should be on the bed, and there should be two extra
blankets in the room, should she require more covering in the night.
On the mantel piece, place a few books that she may read,
if she wishes, before sleeping. Have upon the mantel piece a box of matches,
and if the room is not lighted by gas, have also a supply of candles in a box,
and a candlestick.
If the room is not heated by a furnace, be careful that the
fire is made every morning before she rises, and keep a good supply of fuel in
the room.
Besides the larger chairs, have a low one, to use while
changing the shoes or washing the feet.
Upon the table, place a full supply of writing materials,
as your guest may wish to send word of her safe arrival before unpacking her
own writing-desk. Put two or three postage stamps upon this table.
Be sure that bells, locks, hinges, and windows, are all in
perfect order.
Before your guest arrives, go to her room. If it is in
winter, have a good fire, hot water on the washstand, and see that the windows
are tightly closed, and the room cheerful with sunshine, or plenty of candle or
gas light. If in summer, draw the curtains, bow the shutters, open the windows,
and have a fan upon the table. It is well to have a bath ready, should your
guest desire that refreshment after the dust and heat of traveling.
When the time arrives at which you may expect your guest,
send a carriage to the station to meet her, and, if possible, go yourself, or
send some member of the family to welcome her there. After her baggage is on
the carriage, drive immediately to the house, and be certain all is ready there
for her comfort.
As soon as she is at your house, have her trunks carried
immediately to her own room, and lead her there yourself. Then, after warmly
assuring her how welcome she is, leave her alone to change her dress, bathe, or
lie down if she wishes. If her journey has been a long one, and it is not the
usual hour for your next meal, have a substantial repast ready for her about
half an hour after her arrival, with tea or coffee.
If she arrives late at night, after she has removed her
bonnet and bathed her face, invite her to partake of a substantial supper, and
then pity her weariness and lead the way to her room. She may politely assert
that she can still sit up and talk, but be careful you do not keep her up too
long; and do not waken her in the morning. After the first day, she will, of course,
desire to breakfast at your usual hour, but if she has had a long, fatiguing
journey, she will be glad to sleep late the first day. Be careful that she has
a hot breakfast ready when she does rise, and take a seat at the table to wait
upon her.
After the chambermaid has arranged the guest-chamber in the
morning, go in yourself and see that all is in order, and comfortable, and that
there is plenty of fresh water and towels, the bed properly made, and the room
dusted. Then do not go in again through the day, unless invited. If you are
constantly running in, to put a chair back, open or shut the windows, or
arrange the furniture, you will entirely destroy the pleasantest part of your
guest's visit, by reminding her that she is not at home, and must not take
liberties, even in her own room. It looks, too, as if you were afraid to trust
her, and thought she would injure the furniture.
If you have children, forbid them to enter the room your
friend occupies, unless she invites them to do so, or they are sent there with
a message.
If your household duties will occupy your time for some
hours in the morning, introduce your guest to the piano, book-case, or
picture-folio, and place all at her service. When your duties are finished,
either join her in her own room, or invite her to sit with you, and work,
chatting, meanwhile, together. If you keep your own carriage, place it at her
disposal as soon as she arrives.
If she is a stranger in the city, accompany her to the
points of interest she may wish to visit, and also offer to show her where to
find the best goods, should she wish to do any shopping.
Enquire of your visitor if there is any particular habit
she may wish to indulge in, such as rising late, retiring early, lying down in
the daytime, or any other habit that your family do not usually follow. If
there is, arrange it so that she may enjoy her peculiarity in comfort. If there
is any dish which is distasteful to her, avoid placing it upon the table during
her visit, and if she mentions, in conversation, any favorite dish, have it
frequently placed before her.
If she is accustomed to eat just before retiring, and your
family do not take supper, see that something is sent to her room every night.
If your friend has intimate friends in the same city,
beside yourself, it is an act of kindly courtesy to invite them to dinner, tea,
or to pass a day, and when calls are made, and you see that it would be
pleasant, invite the caller to remain to dinner or tea.
Never accept any invitation, either to a party, ball, or
public entertainment, that does not include your guest. In answering the
invitation give that as your reason for declining, when another note will be
sent enclosing an invitation for her. If the invitation is from an intimate
friend, say, in answering it, that your guest is with you, and that she will
accompany you.
It is a mistaken idea to suppose that hospitality and
courtesy require constant attention to a guest. There are times when she may
prefer to be alone, either to write letters, to read, or practice. Some ladies
follow a guest from one room to another, never leaving them alone for a single
instant, when they would enjoy an hour or two in the library or at the piano,
but do not like to say so.
The best rule is to make your guest feel that she is
heartily welcome, and perfectly at home.
When she is ready to leave you, see that her trunks are
strapped in time by the servants, have a carriage ready to take her to the
station, have the breakfast or dinner at an hour that will suit her, prepare a
luncheon for her to carry, and let some gentleman in the family escort her to
the wharf, check her trunks, and procure her tickets.
If your guest is in mourning, decline any invitations to
parties or places of amusement whilst she is with you. Show her by such little
attentions that you sympathize in her recent affliction, and that the pleasure
of her society, and the love you bear her, make such sacrifices of gayety
trifling, compared with the sweet duty of comforting her.
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