Warm-Hearted Hospitality.
By Christie Irving
To go into the house of a friend you have not seen for some time and have her meet you with cheery face and commence to untie your bonnet strings before she has got through saying, "How d'e do," and "I am so glad to see you," insisting you are going to stay to tea and part of the evening, supplementing it with, "I haven't a girl, mine has been gone for a week, but you'll have a chance to have one of my suppers, that's all," is proof positive that old-time hospitality isn't dying out, for all so many claim it is. It is far more resting to have such a visit than one you are invited purposely for, and be left in state in the parlor to amuse yourself with the albums, cards, and photographs, while your hostess, too careful for the things that perish, spends most of the time in getting the table in the order she wants it. We all take pride of some kind in our homes; and we all like to be found at our best, I am sure, but, after all, isn't the warm-hearted reception worth more to us than anything else? —Christie Irving.