ay: "I see Mrs. K. coming down the stairs; she is a perfect stranger;
see that she meets a few--Mrs. Blank, especially." She will greet Mrs.
K., chat a second, and quietly draw her to one side continuing the
conversation all the time. Then seeing somebody near she will say: "I
want you to know Mrs. So-and-So; come over here and let me introduce
you." Then she may leave Mrs. K. and look after some other awkward one
near, and, after a few minutes, taking some one else up to where Mrs.
K. and Mrs. So-and-So still stand, make them known. If Mrs. So-and-So
has a kind heart, by this time she will have made Mrs. K. acquainted
with some one else. The lady receiving should keep an eye on Mrs. K.,
particularly if she seems to be afraid to move from one spot, as
strangers sometimes are.

Meantime, another member of the receiving party notices that the
hostess is alone, and she leaves her acts of mercy and returns to her
post, ready to assist in any way. To have such a little group of
friends transform themselves into willing slaves for the moment makes
the art of entertaining no trouble or fatigue at all.

Think of the utter loneliness to the stranger of entering the
drawing-room to be greeted by the hostess and handed down a long line
of the receiving party and then left to "that bath of loneliness
amidst the multitude," which has its terrors for us all. It is over
such strays as this that the receiving party is supposed to have most
careful oversight, since to the hostess comes small leisure for this
duty.

Entertainment.

Before supper, cards, conversation, music are made use of to entertain
the guests. When dancing is a feature, it does not begin until after
supper, and while this amusement is in progress opportunity for
conversation, games, etc., should be provided in other rooms for those
who do not dance. Rules for going out to supper at a large party are
the same as those at a ball.

Duties of the Guests.

If music is one of the features, try and suit its character to the
company. Do not play classical music where it cannot possibly be
appreciated, and, above all, attempt nothing that cannot be executed
perfectly. In singing, let gentlemen remember that if it is an amusing
song they are to render, it must be perfectly unexceptional in
character. Ladies should bear in mind in singing that it is much
better taste in large assemblies to avoid the purely sentimental order
of songs, which, with the large number of b