Part 7 (2/2)

640 West Seventy-Second Street March 16, 1920.

Mr. and Mrs. Richard Pearson regret sincerely their inability to accept Mrs. John Evans's kind invitation for Friday evening, March the thirtieth.

These acknowledgments, being formal, are written in the third person and must be sent within twenty-four hours.

_Dinner ”to meet”_

If the dinner or luncheon is given to meet a person of importance or a friend from out of town, the purpose should appear in the body of the invitation, thus:

_Mr. and Mrs. John Evans Request the Pleasure of Mr. and Mrs. Trent's Company at Dinner on Thursday, November the Ninth at Eight o'Clock to Meet Mr. William H. Allen_

_To a formal luncheon_

_Mrs. John Evans Requests the Pleasure of Miss Blake's Company at Luncheon To meet Miss Grace Flint on Tuesday, March the Fourth at One o'Clock and Afterward to the Matinee_ _500 Park Avenue_

_Accepting_

Miss Blake accepts with pleasure Mrs. Evans's very kind invitation for luncheon on Tuesday, March the fourth at one o'clock to meet Miss Flint and to go afterward to the matinee 232 West Thirty-First Street

_Regretting_

Miss Blake regrets that a previous engagement prevents her from accepting Mrs. Evans's very kind invitation for luncheon on Tuesday, March the fourth at one o'clock to meet Miss Flint and to go afterward to the matinee 832 West Thirty-First Street

[Ill.u.s.tration: Specimens of formal invitations ”to meet”]

_For the reception_

Afternoon receptions and ”At Homes” for which engraved invitations are sent out are practically the same as formal ”teas.”

An invitation is engraved as follows:

_Mr. and Mrs. John Evans At Home Wednesday Afternoon, September Fourth from Four until Half-Past Seven o'Clock Five Hundred Park Avenue_

These cards are sent out by mail in a single envelope about two weeks or ten days before the event.

The recipient of such a card is not required to send either a written acceptance or regret. One accepts by attending the ”At Home.” If one does not accept, the visiting card should be sent by mail so that it will reach the hostess on the day of the reception.

Where an answer is explicitly required, then the reply may be as follows:

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