are usually favorites behind the scenes, as well as before the footlights, who are more anxious to give pleasure than to display their own accomplishments or attractions, and advancement always comes to those who fill well a little place. A popular form of theatricals is the illustration of a comedy by tableaux. The play or poem is read aloud, and the curtain rises from time to time, as one would turn the page of a book and come upon an illustration. It is a curious fact that rarely is the reader well qualified for the part. To read aloud acceptably he must have an agreeable, well-modulated voice, and be so unconscious of self that no one else will think of him. Attention should be centred in the matter, not the man. has only to read with the same interest, animation, and freshness with which one would naturally relate anything if desirous of pleasing one's hearers. One Jealousy is said to flourish apace in the atmosphere of private theatricals. Now jealousy belongs to the moral sphere or the immoral-but its betrayal is a sin against good manners. Card parties The playthings invented to divert the sixth Charles of France in his moody madness have been favorite toys of every age since his time, so abused a hundred years ago that the drawing-room of almost every fashionable woman in London was a gambling salon, until the reaction set in and cards were banished as the "devil's tools." Being reinstated in respectability, a card party is now one of the informal, simple entertainments that may call friends pleasantly together without entailing much trouble or expense. The drawing-rooms are filled with small tables, their number of course depending upon the number of guests, and the hostess is ready to receive her friends at about eight o'clock. Dressing-rooms are provided. When all are assembled, the hostess or some young girl presents to each guest in turn a basket of loose flowers. Each lady takes a posy from the basket, and each man a boutonnière. Those who happen to get the same kind of flowers play together as partners. Paper flowers may be substituted for natural ones, if desired. The rooms should be so lighted that the players at every table can see their hands clearly and yet no one's eyes be tired by the glare of a light directly in front of him. The winners at each table change their seats at every game, moving on to each table in turn. Prizes are awarded, a light supper is served or simple refreshments are passed around, after which the guests withdraw, or occasionally linger for a little music, if some one present is proficient and obliging. The prizes are not seen until the moment of their bestowal by the hostess. They should not be so handsome as to be coveted for themselves, but only given to make the little victory more con spicuous. It is a distinction with a difference. How glory would be cheapened if a heroic deed were undertaken for some definite reward offered, instead of being prompted by a man's own generous impulse and the reward accepted but as a recognition of the service from those who would. honor the hero. It is always a pity to spoil an innocent pleasure, - which alone brings real recreation. To play for money or for a prize debases the game as well as the players, the honor of winning no longer being sufficient. It is now the custom for all who have not won the first or second prize to draw for the "booby" or " consolation" prize, that the least deserving member shall not be ranked with the winners. Courtesy Athough under the circumstances that we have been considering, there is rarely any exhibition of annoyance at another's mistake - any at cards lapse from courtesy-yet a game of cards sometimes brings about revelations of character that are far from gratifying. Some careless players exasperate the earnest ones who are interested in the result of the game, by continually making mistakes, forgetting to play until reminded, asking periodically what the trump is, dealing the cards in a careless way that offends those accustomed to their deft handling. Such persons are usually thinking of themselves, not the game, and would like to centre general attention upon the same object. Some players are lazy, leaving to others all the little services; others are selfish, claiming all their rights with never a generous refusal to profit by an inadvertence. A loss of temper is the worst fault of all, and any one with any pretence to the name of lady or gentleman would never show anything but the most unruffled amiability. A past mistake made by another should never be referred to, and a criticism must be made very courteously to the person at fault, never to others concerning his play. The principles of Christian courtesy cover all the ground. Chapter Eighteenth-ENTERTAINING A HOUSE PARTY ROSPERITY is not complete until shared with others, and hospitality has its highest impulse in the desire to confer pleasure. One of its most charming forms is the entertainment of several guests under the same roof for consecutive days, for which we have adopted the English name of "house party." Few town houses are capacious enough for such reunions, but in the country we have "all out-doors," and the house seems of seconddary importance. The Chinese have a standard book of etiquette, said to be the first ever published, written at the Emperor's request eighteen hundred and twenty years ago! Its precepts are applicable as though written for to-day. Among them is the following: "As a guest, demand nothing. As a hostess, exhaust hospitality." All invitations are sent as early as possible to avoid disappointment. An incongruous party is sometimes the result of delay, the invitations guests eventually assembled being quite different from those whose pleasure the hostess had sought to further when asking them The |
