Part 27 (1/2)

Croquet or tennis tournaments are frequently the occasion of giving garden-parties, and some very exciting play takes place.

When a tournament is held it takes the form of a garden-party; it usually lasts two days. The arrangements made for holding it depend upon circ.u.mstances, and it takes place, as do archery-matches, in either private or public grounds.

=Amus.e.m.e.nts.=--When a number of children are expected at a garden-party, performances of marionettes, or Punch-and-Judy, or conjuring are given for their amus.e.m.e.nt.

In districts remote from town, these shows are difficult to obtain; therefore amateur showmen come bravely to the rescue, and their kindly efforts to divert the juveniles meet with due appreciation on all sides.

Not seldom a little amateur music is given at a garden-party--not a pre-arranged programme of music, but impromptu performances. These good-natured efforts to enliven the company occupy about an hour, and such performances take place in either the drawing-room or music-room of the mansion.

Garden-parties seldom terminate with a dance, though occasionally dancing closes the afternoon's amus.e.m.e.nts.

The time occupied by croquet or tennis precludes all desire on the part of the players for further exertion in the shape of dancing, and young people apparently prefer playing croquet from 3 to 7 on the lawn to dancing in a marquee or in the drawing-room at that hour.

A host and hostess receive their guests at a garden-party on the lawn; strangers should be introduced to the hostess by those who have undertaken to bring them to her house, and she should shake hands with all comers. It is also usual for guests to shake hands with the hostess on departure, if opportunity offers for so doing.

Garden-parties commence from 3.30 to 4 o'clock, and terminate at 7 o'clock.

In making preparations for a garden-party, stabling for the carriage-horses and motor-cars of the numerous guests should be taken into consideration, and refreshments provided for the men-servants and chauffeurs.

Public afternoon concerts, bazaars, and flower-shows are essentially functions frequented by ladies _en ma.s.se_, and it is the exception, rather than the rule, for gentlemen to accompany them; again, at private afternoon gatherings, ladies usually appear unaccompanied by gentlemen.

When a garden-party is a very large function, it is not unusual to put the words ”garden-party” on the invitation cards in place of the words ”at home”; thus: ”The Countess of A---- requests the pleasure of Mr. and Mrs. B----'s company at a garden-party on ----,” etc.

CHAPTER XXIV

TOWN GARDEN-PARTIES

The first garden-parties in town are usually given early in June, and continue during this and the ensuing month. The garden-parties at Lambeth Palace and Fulham Palace are the pioneers of the garden-party season, and the lead is followed by general society with more or less alacrity.

Town garden-parties resolve themselves into large receptions held out-of-doors, and those who know what crowded drawing-rooms imply in the sultry days of June are particularly glad of this change of _locale_, and willingly spend an hour or more at one of these out-of-door _reunions_, instead of thinking a quarter of an hour's stay all too long within doors, where it is a case of heat _versus_ draught, and difficult to determine where it is the most objectionable, in the drawing-room, tea-room, or on a staircase. Although these functions are designated ”garden-parties,” yet the real style and t.i.tle is ”at homes,” the address being sufficient indication to the invited guests as to the description of entertainment to be given, as the s.p.a.cious gardens and lawns in and around London where these annual parties are held are well known to society at large. A band playing in the grounds where the garden-party is given would appear to be a _sine qua non_, but the excellence of the same is merely a question of expense. Thus guests have the pleasure of listening to the strains of splendid bands, and also the disappointment of hearing others far below the average.

As this fickle climate of ours is not to be counted upon for twenty-four hours at a stretch to remain fine, it is seldom considered advisable to have the whole of the refreshment tables out-of-doors, and thus only ices, strawberries and cream, and ice cups are served out-of-doors; tea, coffee, and the rest, with ices, strawberries and cream, being invariably served within doors.

=Refreshment tables out-of-doors= considerably take off the strain from the tables in the tea-rooms, especially during the first half-hour, when the great rush is made in this direction. Again, should heavy rain set in, the servants can easily remove pails of ice and bowls of strawberries and cream out of harm's way. Even a large tent or marquee is not considered altogether desirable for refreshments, as under a burning sun the air within becomes over-heated and oppressive, while in the case of a downpour the results are almost disastrous.

The popularity of garden-parties is incontestible in propitious weather.

A variety of reasons conduce to this; for one thing, movement is so pleasant an exchange from the almost stationary position guests are compelled to take up in a crowded drawing-room. Again, the number of guests invited is so much greater than to an ”at home,” that the chance of meeting a corresponding number of friends and acquaintances is trebled; or, on the other hand, if but a few friends should be present among the guests, yet the situation does not amount to isolation and boredom; and the alternative of sitting under a shady tree or sauntering about on the lawns listening to the strains of the band, is positive enjoyment in comparison to sitting in the corner of a drawing-room barricaded by a phalanx of ladies, or standing wedged in the midst of the same. It is small wonder, therefore, that invitations to these out-door functions are hailed with satisfaction and pleasure.

=Arrivals at a garden-party= are made almost simultaneously, or if not quite this, they follow in rapid succession, so that host and hostess have a short interval between arrivals and departures; and this offers an opportunity to give more than a shake of the hand to many of the guests, _i.e._ a little friendly conversation; while at an ”at home” the hostess has to be at her post from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., as guests arrive continuously, even close up to the hour named for departure.

The host is expected to be present at a garden-party, and almost always is so; but his presence at his wife's ”at home” is left a little doubtful, and his absence is often accounted for on the ground of its being unavoidable; but the trivial reasons that many men advance to their wives for their non-appearance prove how glad they are to escape from the ordeal on any terms. A man in the open air is at his best, and therefore a garden-party appeals to a host almost as much as it does to a guest.