Part 11 (2/2)

Uninvited Guests.

Should it so happen that an uninvited guest finds, accidentally, his way into the festivities, let the strictest politeness mark his reception, neither word nor glance betraying the slightest surprise at the unexpected arrival.

Inviting Married People.

A married man should never be invited to an entertainment without his wife, nor a married woman without including her husband also in the invitation. An invitation erring in this particular should be looked upon as an insult, and should never be honored by an acceptance. This category, however, does not include gatherings, such as ladies'

luncheons or gentlemen's game suppers, that are wholly confined to the members of one s.e.x.

Dinners.

Ladies who give many dinner parties usually keep on hand the engraved invitation cards, with blanks left for the insertion of name and date.

The invitation for a dinner party is always sent out in the name of both host and hostess, and the usual form is as follows:

[Ill.u.s.tration:

_Mr. and Mrs. Grant White_

_Request the pleasure of your company at dinner,_

_On ---- evening, ----,_

_At eight o'clock._

_81 Graceland Court._

_R.S.V.P._]

The letters _R.S.V.P._ are simply the initials of the French words, _Repondez s'il vous plait_, meaning, ”Reply, if you please.”

Some very stylish people now use, in place of these letters, the English phrase: ”The favor of answer is requested.”

Written invitations, or those engraved for a single occasion, would read as follows:

[Ill.u.s.tration:

_Mr. and Mrs. Philip Vance_

_Request the pleasure of_

_Mr. and Mrs. Otis Sullivan's_

_Company at dinner,_

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