trictest 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 sex.

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:

[Illustration:

_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:

[Illustration:

_Mr. and Mrs. Philip Vance_

_Request the pleasure of_

_Mr. and Mrs. Otis Sullivan's_

_Company at dinner,_

_On Tuesday, March 6th, at 8 o'clock._

_34 Ashland Boulevard._

_The favor of an answer is requested._]

_R.S.V.P._ can be substituted for the last phrase, if desired. If the
host be a widower with a young lady daughter, the invitation can be
issued in the name of father and daughter, as: "Mr. and Miss Van
Vleit, etc.," or, a lady and her daughter, under similar
circumstances, would issue invitations in the name of "Mrs. Holt and
Miss Holt."

Persons who make a point of strictly observing the usages of polite
society are extremely careful, having received any invitation, to take
immediate notice of it, according to proper form. This is only a
courtesy due to the one who has sent the invitation, which should be
accepted or declined promptly, in order that the hostess may know what
to depend upon.

If the dinner party is given to introduce either a friend or some
person of distinction, an extra card, inscribed