Chapter XIV: The Art of Entertaining 190

Not as Easy as It Would Seem.—Scarcity of Good
Stories for the Purpose.—Drawing-room Audiences
are Fastidious.—Noted London Entertainers.—They
are Guests of the People Who Engage Them.—London
Methods and Fees.—Blunders of a Newly-wed Hostess
from America.—Humor Displaces Sentiment in the
Drawing-room.—My Own Material and Its Sources.