There is no social duty, which the Supreme Lawgiver more strenuously urges, than hospitality and kindness to strangers, who are classed with the widow and the fatherless, as the special objects of Divine tenderness. There are some reasons, why this duty peculiarly demands attention from the American people.
Reverses of fortune, in this land, are so frequent and unexpected, and the habits of the people are so migratory, that there are very many in every part of the Country, who, having seen all their temporal plans and hopes crushed, are now pining among strangers, bereft of wonted comforts, without friends, and without the sympathy and society, so needful to wounded spirits. Such, too frequently, sojourn long and lonely, with no comforter but Him who "knoweth the heart of a stranger."
Whenever, therefore, new comers enter a community, inquiry should immediately be made, whether they have friends and associates, to render sympathy and kind attentions; and, when there is any need for it, the ministries of kind neighborhood should immediately be offered. And it should be remembered, that the first days of a stranger's sojourn, are the most dreary, and that civility and kindness are doubled in value, by being offered at an early period.
In social gatherings, the claims of the stranger are too apt to be forgotten; especially, in cases where there are no peculiar attractions of personal appearance, or talents, or high standing. Such a one should be treated with attention, _because he is a stranger_; and when communities learn to act more from principle, and less from selfish impulse, on this subject, the sacred claims of the stranger will be less frequently forgotten.
The most agreeable hospitality, to visiters, who become inmates of a family, is, that which puts them entirely at ease. This can never be the case, where the guest perceives that the order of family arrangements is essentially altered, and that time, comfort, and convenience are sacrificed, for his accommodation.
Offering the best to visiters, showing a polite regard to every wish expressed, and giving precedence to them, in all matters of comfort and convenience, can be easily combined with the easy freedom which makes the stranger feel at home; and this is the perfection of hospitable entertainment.