l task to fill them with the pick of their
friends, that they could get all the talented and agreeable people they
wanted by simply making a sign. To their astonishment, they discovered
that what appeared so simple was a difficult, as well as a thankless
labor. I remember asking a lady who had owned a "proscenium" at the old
Academy, why she had decided not to take a box in the (then) new opera-
house.

"Because, having passed thirty years of my life inviting people to sit in
my box, I intend now to rest." It is very much the same thing with
yachts. A couple who had determined to go around the world, in their
lately finished boat, were dumbfounded to find their invitations were not
eagerly accepted. After exhausting the small list of people they really
wanted, they began with others indifferent to them, and even then filled
out their number with difficulty. A hostess who counts on a series of
house parties through the autumn months, must begin early in the summer
if she is to have the guests she desires.

It is just here that the "professional," if I may be allowed to use such
an expression, comes to the front. He is always available. It is
indifferent to him if he starts on a tour around the world or for a
winter spree to Montreal. He is always amusing, good-humored, and can be
counted on at the last moment to fill any vacant place, without being the
least offended at the tardy invitation, for he belongs to the class who
have discovered "how to live well on nothing a year." Luxury is as the
breath of his nostrils, but his means allow of little beyond necessities.
The temptation must be great when everything that he appreciates most
(and cannot afford) is urged upon him. We should not pose as too stern
moralists, and throw stones at him; for there may enter more "best French
plate" into the composition of our own houses than we imagine.

It is here our epoch shows its improvement over earlier and cruder days.
At present no toad-eating is connected with the acceptance of
hospitality, or, if occasionally a small "batrachian" is offered, it is
so well disguised by an accomplished _chef_, and served on such exquisite
old Dresden, that it slips down with very little effort. Even this
rarely occurs, unless the guest has allowed himself to become the inmate
of a residence or yacht. Then he takes his chance with other members of
the household, and if the host or hostess happens to have a bad temper as
a set-off t