Reception hall

“ In large receptions, such as those mentioned above, however spacious the reception hall, in a great many instances there is not even standing room for all who attend. It requires but little imagination to understand the condition of the atmosphere when there is no proper ventilation. Now, what always astonished me was, that although the parlor might be crowded with ladies and gentlemen, all the windows were, as a rule, kept closed, with the result that the place was full of vitiated air. ”

“ Ascending the broad flight of steps and crossing the terrace, the house door is entered. A spacious hall, paved with delicately-grained marble, its windows mellowed by the soft tints of stained glass, whose pervading hues are of rose and violet, gives entrance to reception rooms on either side. Those on the right hand are mostly reserved for state occasions; those on the left are dedicated to common use. ”

“ The hooks for wraps should be of polished brass, secured to a natural-wood strip. An umbrella-stand of the same material is attractive. The floor is best of hard wood, all but covered with a heavy rug. This is a pleasant place to stop a moment, with a more beautiful view beyond.
A reception-hall is, from an architectural standpoint, the easiest room in the house to handle; that is, it can easily be made to look well. This is because of its connection with the vestibule, the stairway, the grate, often a window-seat, the large openings into the other rooms, and the portières which go with them. ”

“ When there is no regular reception, the company gather in the drawing-rooms and chat together until the doors are opened into the dining-room. The president and chief guest go first, the other guests of honor follow, each escorted by a member of the reception committee. The remainder of the company do not form in line, but enter as they find convenient. At certain clubs—the National Arts of New York, for instance—the gentlemen give their arms to the ladies, as they would at a dinner in a private house. ”

“ How hideously a man looks in them! I should like to have seen such assemblages as must have gathered in that reception-room, and walked with stately tread to the dining-hall, in times past, the Mayor and other civic dignitaries in their robes, noblemen in their state dresses, the Consul in his olive-leaf embroidery, everybody in some sort of bedizenment,—and then the dinner would have been a magnificent spectacle, worthy of the gilded hall, the rich table-service, and the powdered and gold-laced servitors. ”

“ She thought of long reception halls hung with ancient silk, of the dainty cabinets containing priceless curiosities and of the little coquettish perfumed reception rooms made for chatting at five o'clock with intimate friends, with men famous and sought after, whom all women envy and whose attention they all desire. ”

“ Members of the society should inform their guests beforehand of this custom. If a gentleman has two ladies under his care, and is unable to find an escort for either of them, he should offer his arm to the elder, the younger walking beside her. Occasionally it is arranged at a public dinner to have all go directly from the dressing-rooms to the dining-hall. This saves the rent of parlors; but it is much better to have a reception of some sort precede the banquet. ”

“ It is much easier to get rid of a visitor from the entrance hall or reception room than from an inside office. If he says that he will see him in the reception room the girl reports to the visitor that he will come in a few minutes, offers him a magazine, and asks him to make himself at home. If the president says that he will see the visitor in his office the young man sends one of the messenger boys to usher him through the building. ”

“ All the ladies are in full toilets, and the house is lighted as if it were evening. A table is spread, as if for an ordinary reception or party, in the back parlor or dining-room. A servant opens the street-door and the gentlemen leave their cards in the hall. They enter the drawing-room with hat in hand, or they may leave it in the hall with overcoat and cane. ”

“ The arrangement of a vestibule for hat-rack, umbrella-stand, and other conveniences, changes the hall into an available room. Take, for instance, plan No. 16, page 153. At the right, as one enters, is a little closet; in it are hooks. At one side is an umbrella-stand; on the floor is a place for overshoes. Here one may arrange himself before going into the hall or reception-room. This is altogether better than having to pass across to one side of the hall or room, in order to find a place to deposit overshoes, wraps, umbrellas, etc. It saves work. ”

“ Books, too, lay about in little zigzag heaps; while a bunch of keys, a pair of lady’s gloves, and a skein of coloured wool lay huddled together on the centre of the sideboard. The whole arrangement, or rather disarrangement, of the room bespoke, on the part of the presiding female management, an indifference to those minor details of order and comfort a due attention to which makes home (a genuine English home) the happiest spot in the world.
Opposite to this room, on the other side of the hall, was another of similar size, used apparently as a sort of reception-room. ”

“ The bride and groom remain in their places until all the guests have had an opportunity to greet them. This means that they will stay there during the greater part of the reception, if many persons are present. Where the wedding is not a large one they repair to the dining-room, or refreshments may be brought to them in the drawing-room. In the former case the best man or some near friend proposes their health, all honoring the toast by standing, glass in hand, and taking at least a sip of the wine. ”

“ Sometimes, however, a reception is held in the evening after the family dinner. A good deal must depend on the state of health of the bride and groom. Sons and daughters should remember that to greet and shake hands with many people is in itself fatiguing, especially to those who are no longer young. An afternoon reception is an appropriate way to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of a marriage. The invitations will be much like those of the silver-wedding, except that the lettering should be of gold, or black if preferred. They are usually engraved on a rather large white card. ”

“ A bride and groom may conveniently issue cards for one or more evening receptions when they are settled in their new home. They thus make themselves known to new friends and renew acquaintance with old ones.
A reception in the evening is gayer than an affair in the daytime, yet it need not necessarily be formal. For a large and handsome function, engraved invitations in the names of both husband and wife are issued, the “At Home” form being ordinarily used. If it is in honor of distinguished guests, the phrase, “To meet Mr. ”

“ She enters the hotel by the ladies’ door, if there is one, and proceeds at once to the desk. Here she inquires about rooms and prices, mentions how long her stay is likely to be, and registers her name in the hotel book. If she is a young woman, she receives any gentleman that may call on her in the public parlor or reception-room, and avoids being out late in the evening as much as possible. While all guests have a right to complain of imperfections in service, etc., it is bad form to find fault constantly about trivial matters. ”

“ One of their obvious advantages is that men can attend them, another is that they enable the hostess with limited space at her command to invite a number of guests who would overcrowd her rooms should she attempt to give a dance. The evening reception is a favorite form of entertainment for introducing a distinguished guest to a circle of friends. Certain hostesses in New York still receive on one evening in the week, and succeed in gathering in their drawing-rooms an interesting company of literary and artistic folk—people who know how to talk and who enjoy doing so. ”

“ It is also necessary that the reception rooms and other apartments downstairs should form one common hall for the summer, with chambers to accommodate many persons, while upstairs the parlours and saloons and the various apartments should all open into the largest one. In the same manner should be arranged the kitchens and other places, because if there were not this order and if the whole composition were broken up, one thing high, another low, this great and that small, it would represent lame men, halt, distorted, and maimed. ”

“ The buildings surround two court-yards, or quadrangles, the entrance being surmounted by an embattled tower; the main buildings and large tower are also embattled.
The banqueting-hall is a noble apartment, 42 feet long by 22 feet wide. It has a remarkably fine timber roof, with intersecting arches in its compartments. At the upper end, to the left, the lord’s table stood beneath the bayed window, and opposite to it a doorway leads to the principal staircase. At the bottom of the hall are three doorways, one of which led to the great kitchen, and the other two to the buttery and the cellar. ”

“ The great hall was the most important part of the establishment. Here the general business of the household was transacted, the meals served, strangers received, audiences granted, and what may be termed the public life of the family carried on. It was also the general rendezvous of the servants and retainers, who lounged about it when duty or pleasure did not call them to the other offices or to the field. In the evening they gathered around the fire, built in an iron grate standing in the middle of the room; for as yet chimneys were a luxury confined to the principal chamber. ”

“ The servants never wait in the ante-room,—here called the hall,—which, like the overture of an opera, is designed to express the character of the whole: it is generally decorated with statues or pictures, and, like the elegant staircase and the various apartments, is appropriated to the use of the family and guests, who have the good taste rather to wait on themselves than to have an attendant spirit always at their heels. ”

“ We can only conjecture, that perhaps the king, on hearing so many reports about us, may have become desirous of seeing us himself. At all events it is clear that some alteration in the instructions to the chiefs must have been made, otherwise they would have shewn their usual reserve when the king's name was mentioned, and would on no account have allowed us to talk of visiting him.
At one o'clock we went on shore to look at the place assigned by the chiefs for the reception of the Alceste's stores. ”

“ Each lady has sent cards to her friends and the guests are beginning to flock in. The coloured-tiled corridors and window-ledges are gaily decorated with palms, ferns, and flowers. A hospitable custom prevails. Wherever a hall-door is found open it is a signal that visitors to the other residents are permitted to enter and look round the rooms. Should any lady be unable to receive she "sports her oak." Ample refreshments are provided in the club-room, and as many doors are invitingly thrown open, you take advantage of the implied permission, and are kindly received by each hostess. ”

“ The wide hall is so generous in its proportions that it made a perfect ballroom, its hardwood floor reflecting the charming pageant above its polished surface. Even the delights of dancing paled before the alluring opportunities for tete-a-tetes that invited the soul to loaf in the long library before the baronial fireplace, or in the drawing-room with its deep comfy armchairs, its shaded lamps just made for a sly whisper of pretty nothings all a deux ”

“ The head-table was laid for the lord and principal guests on the raised place, parallel with the upper end wall; and other tables were ranged along the sides for inferior visitors and retainers. Tables, thus placed, were said to stand banquet-wise. In the centre of the Hall was the rere-dosse, or fire-iron, against which fagots were piled, and burnt upon the stone floor, the smoke passing through an aperture in the roof immediately overhead, which was generally formed into an elevated lantern, a conspicuous ornament to the exterior of the building. ”

“ At one end of the hall was an enormous fireplace, with wooden settles on each side; at the other end was a raised platform, or dais, the seat of state, above which was the portrait of a man in antique garb with a long robe, a ruff, and a venerable gray beard.
The whole establishment had an air of monastic quiet and seclusion, and what gave it a mysterious charm was, that I had not met with a human being since I had passed the threshold. ”

“ On each side of the waiting-hall is a dressing room—one for women, one for men. Into these rooms the accident cases are taken one after the other. Here the house-surgeon and his dressers are engaged, and here the many-sided drama of the Receiving Room reaches its culminating point. It is an uninviting room, very plain, and, like the outer hall, bears an aspect of callous unconcern. ”

“ Little things recall us to earth; the clock struck in the hall; that sufficed; I turned from moon and stars, opened a side-door, and went in.
The hall was not dark, nor yet was it lit, only by the high-hung bronze lamp; a warm glow suffused both it and the lower steps of the oak staircase. This ruddy shine issued from the great dining-room, whose two-leaved door stood open, and showed a genial fire in the grate, glancing on marble hearth and brass fire-irons, and revealing purple draperies and polished furniture, in the most pleasant radiance. ”