The Guest Room

...the 'chamber appointed for her nightly rest' 

in which it should be evident that 

the mistress of the house herself must have been here.

With her own hand she must have

placed upon the table the favourite toilet-cushion

worked by a friend who was alike dear to herself

and her guest.

With her own hand she must have selected the snow-white linen,

and laid out, not in conspicuous obtrusiveness

a few volumes calculated for the hours of silent meditation,

when her friend shall be alone.

From The Women of England 

by Mrs Sarah Ellis 1839.

(I shall return to the matter of a well-chosen book trough.
 I know our Japanese guests like William Morris, 
but I am not sure about their reading proficiency.)

One hundred years later the voice is much the same.
It is our firm conviction that...

the touch of the mistress is always distinguishable

from that of the maid.

Even if you do not usually attend to your own house-keeping,

you should examine the guest room before your visitor arrives

and make sure that no detail that can make for convenience

has been overlooked.

From The Pleasure of Your Company 

by June and Doris Langley Moore 1933.

We would almost lay it down as a rule that

a good hostess should occasionally spend a

night or two in her spare room, so as to acquire

a little first hand knowledge

as to the amount of comfort it provides.

It is better to err on the side of excessive consideration

than of negligence.

From Our Loving Duty 
by June and Doris Langley Moore 1936.

A few years into World War II a brisk 
and somewhat bossy tone is adopted.

And here are a few more Do's and Dont's

The four B's - Blankets, Bottle, Books and Biscuit Box.

We repeat again: Remember that other people's beds

are never as warm as your own,

so give them blankets galore and bottles in cold weather.

Give them aspirins too in case they cannot sleep (!) because

a) Your bed is too lumpy

b) Your bed is not as lumpy as the one they are used to at home.

The tin of biscuits is always useful if they cannot sleep.

The chewing of its contents, someone explained recently to us

will change their blood currents, or change something-

-or-other, in case the blood-or-something

is in the wrong part of their body-or-something,

thus preventing sleep.

(We hope this is not too technical for you.)

Give them writing paper in their rooms.

It is very awkward for even the most hardened sinner

to write and abuse you to their friends

if they are eating your salt right under your nose,

or sharing a chesterfield with you in the drawing room.

If you are entertaining older people and have no fitted basin
in the room, do give them a toilet set.
One's mothers and aunties hate rushing along cold passages
to the bathrooms with their teeth out
and their hair screwed up.
It is no romance to them to meet the owner on the way
however beautiful their kimono.

To look in vain for a waste -paper-basket,
to find cigarettes but no ashtray or matches,
to open drawers and wardrobe
and discover that they are filled with
someone else's belongings,
to wake up thirsty in the night
and find the carafe empty,
are common but exasperating experiences.
You will also supply a table or desk
well stocked with writing materials,
a good reading lamp, an armchair
and a small choicely filled bookshelf -
such luxuries are neither elaborate nor costly,
but they give physically and mentally,
a sense of ease.
(They haven't finished yet.)
The inkwell should not be dry, the pens must write,
the blotting paper clean, the rattling window wedged,
the key must lock the door, curtains wide enough
and heavy enough to keep out light, 
a wax candle provided for the wakeful or nervous guest
if your electricity goes off at night.
Place lavender sachets under pillows
and in linen cupboards.


From The Family Weekend Book by Beryl Irving 1941.

And finally from Jane Eyre 
by Charlotte Brontë 1847,
preparations for a house party at Thornfield:


Thursday came: all work had been completed the previous evening;
carpets were laid down, bed-hangings festooned,
radiant white counterpanes spread,
toilet-tables arranged, furniture rubbed,
flowers piled in vases:
both chambers and saloons looked as fresh and bright
as hands could make them.