And the pincushion!  It is more than necessary to see that the pins are usable and not rust to the head.  There should be black ones and white ones, long and short; also safety pins in several sizes.  Three or four threaded needles of white thread, black, gray and tan silk are an addition that has proved many times welcome.  She must also examine the writing desk to be sure that the ink is not a cracked patch of black dust at the bottom of the well, and the pens solid rust and the writing paper textures and sizes at odds with the envelopes.  There should be a fresh blotter and a few stamps.  Also thoughtful hostesses put a card in some convenient place, giving the post office schedule and saying where the mail bag can be found.  And a calendar, and a clock that goes! is there anything more typical of the average spare room than the clock that is at a standstill?

There must be plenty of clothes hangers in the closets.  For women a few hat stands, and for men trouser hangers and the coat hangers that have a bar across the shoulder piece.

It is unnecessary to add that every bureau drawer should be looked into to see that nothing belonging to the family is filling the space which should belong to the guest, and that the white paper lining the bottom is new.  Curtains and sofa pillows must, of course, be freshly laundered; the furniture, floor, walls and ceiling unmarred and in perfect order.

When bells are being installed in new houses they should be on cords and hung at the side of the bed.  Light switches should be placed at the side of the door going into the room and bathroom.  It is scarcely practical to change the wiring in old houses; but it can at least be seen that the bells work.

People who like strong perfumes often mistakenly think they are giving pleasure in filling all the bedroom drawers with pads heavily scented.  Instead of feeling pleasure, some people are made almost sick!  But all people (hay-fever patients excepted) love flowers, and vases of them beautify rooms as nothing else can.  Even a shabby little room, if dustlessly clean and filled with flowers, loses all effect of shabbiness and is “inviting” instead.

In a hunting country, there should be a bootjack and boothooks in the closet.

Guest rooms should have shutters and dark shades for those who like to keep the morning sun out.  The rooms should also, if possible, be away from the kitchen end of the house and the nursery.

A shortcoming in many houses is the lack of a newspaper, and the thoughtful hostess who has the morning paper sent up with each breakfast tray, or has one put at each place on the breakfast table, deserves a halo.

At night a glass and a thermos pitcher of water should be placed by the bed.  In a few very specially appointed houses, a small glass-covered tray of food is also put on the bed table, fruit or milk and sandwiches, or whatever is marked on the guest card.