THE "AT HOME" DAY.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 224, 15 June 1908, Page 5

THE "AT HOME" DAY.

'OLD-FASHIONED COURTESIES FALLEN! .. INTO DISUSE. A young hostess of some originality of disposition, whoso home is in a country town (says a writer in the "Graphic"), has. announced to her friends that she will bo at home on,wet Mondays.' The arrangement is not without advantage to herself, for a wet day does not tempt the average woman to gad about, but she excuses the apparent selfishness' of her plan by urging the desirability of . something tempting to take her acquaintances out in. bad weather and prevent a, fit of tho blues.at home. In a large city like London such a "day" would be of very small; utility in practice, for while it: might be raining in one suburb the sun might bo shining in another, and dis'appointmeht would inevitably ensue either to the, hostess or to her friends. '' " The regulation I 'At Homo"'day is certainly going , out .of fashion'everywhere, and has quite departed from society'circles. The old habit of paying calls has also been banished by the smart ,set from • the programme of social duties. The telephone is to blame, if blaine be deserved. It is so easy for ono friend '■ to. -ring up another and discover, whether a visit will be convenient upon a certain afternoon and; at a certain time, and as for mere acquaintances, they can be met in .other ways, at luncheon parties, restaurant dinners,, and po forth. . ' There'- really'does 'not seem much use in {trying, to preserve tho "At Homo" day, nor in endeavouring V.to.i.resuscitate- -tho fashion' of paying calls:'- Too."often both' observances are synonymous 'with utter boredom, both to the hostess and to, her guests. Numbers of people come to tho 1 houso regarding the affair as an utter'weariness! of'tho flesh;'a few banalities are exchanged, - and their departure takes place after tea 'ill various stages of strength and weakness, heat and chill, has been drunk, and-cakcs of any number of patterns have been eaten. •How much better to invite a few kindred spirits by telephono or letter to a pleasant hour dedicated to , real friendship, than to endeavour to galvanise an old custom that boro a real meaning and a good use once, into a vitality that can never again really, be healthy!'

' Thero was much.more implied by tho. visit in olden days than mere politeness. People would never have met at all if they had waited for telegrams arid telephones, which were not invented, and existence would havo .been very dull if a round of calls had not enlivened the'daily life _of women who knew not the ' enthralling joys of golf, bridge, motoring, or constant shopping. The regulation call_ that'was the hostess after a dinner party or ball was tho outcome of her anxiety to hear whether her. guests had got homo in safety, just as much as attribute on the part of her guests to. her hospitality. .. ' Footpads are happily scarco in these days, and even 1 if. ono!s motor does come to temporary - disaster tho news will be quickly spread , without a formal call being made to announce the fact. 'Wherefore,. it is not needful, as it once, was, to report one's v self in. the land of the living, after the trials of an evening spent outside ono's own 1 home;