house excepting
"on his own" as it were. It is not an exaggerated story, but quite true,
that in many houses of ultra fashion a guest on arriving is told at which
meals he is expected to appear, that is at dinners or luncheons given by
his hostess. At all others he is free to go out or stay in by himself. No
effort is assumed for his amusement, or responsibility for his
well-being. It is small wonder that only those who have plenty of friends
care to go there--or in fact, are ever invited! Those who like to go to
visit the most perfectly appointed, but utterly impersonal house, find no
other visiting to compare with its unhampering delightfulness. The hostess
simply says on his (or her) arrival:

"Oh, howdo Freddie (or Constance)! They've put you in the Chinese room, I
think. Ring for tea when you want it. Struthers telephoned he'd be over
around five. Mrs. Toplofty asked you to dinner to-night and I accepted for
you--hope that was all right. If not, you'll have to telephone and get out
of it yourself. I want you to dinner to-morrow night and for lunch on
Sunday. Sorry to leave you, but I'm late for bridge now. Good-by." And she
is off.

The Newport hostess is, of course, an extreme type that is seldom met away
from that one small watering place in Rhode Island.

=THE ENERGETIC HOSTESS=

The energetic hostess is the antithesis of the one above, and far more
universally known. She is one who fusses and plans continually, who thinks
her guests are not having a good time unless she rushes them, Cook's
tourist fashion, from this engagement to that, and crowds with activity
and diversion--never mind _what_ so long as it is something to see or
do--every moment of their stay.

She walks them through the garden to show them all the nooks and vistas.
She dilates upon the flowers that bloomed here last month and are going to
bloom next. She insists upon their climbing over rocks to a summerhouse to
see the view; she insists on taking them in another direction to see an
old mill; and, again, every one is trouped to the cupola of the house to
see another view. She insists on every one's playing croquet before lunch,
to which she gathers in a curiously mixed collection of neighbors.
Immediately after lunch every one is driven to a country club to see some
duffer golf--for some reason there is never "time" in all the prepared
pleasures for any of her guests to play golf themselves. After twenty
minutes at the golf club, they