mercy."

If the number of guests is small the hostess herself frequently
serves, with perhaps her daughter or some friend, to assist.

The Eatables.

The tea, with its pretty equipage, is placed on the table by her side;
sometimes chocolate is provided, and occasionally a crystal pitcher of
milk for any who may desire it. Some very thin sandwiches (rolled ones
are better), a silver basket of sweet biscuit and one of mixed fancy
cakes, form an all-sufficient menu. A small cluster of flowers in a
slender vase and the table is complete.

Friends greet one another, drink a social cup of tea, chat a little,
and that is all. Formal leave-taking is not expected.

Sliced lemon should be at hand for any who prefer the creamless,
sugarless Russian tea with a slice of lemon floating on its amber
tide.

Some ladies invite several young girls to help serve and entertain,
and, in the eyes of the masculine half of creation, this adds greatly
to the beauty of the picture; for ever since tea became famous in our
society, men have found much to admire in a girl who can serve it
gracefully.

A kettledrum and an elaborate five o'clock tea are precisely the same
form of entertainment. The term "kettledrum" is not very frequently
used.

Some of the guests at "at homes" have so little judgment in the matter
of departure that experience never serves them in good stead. They
are nervous and vacillating when they should be neither; they linger
and know not how to get themselves gracefully away, and usually
succeed in making an abrupt exit. They know the right moment at which
to leave, but fail to put this knowledge into practice. "Almost think
it is time to go now," or "I wonder whether I ought to say good-bye or
wait until some one else comes in."

The regulation conventional time for a call on an "at home" day is
about twenty minutes, but this can be lengthened out to half an hour
or forty minutes, circumstances being favorable, or shortened to ten
minutes when the position is distinctly unfavorable to a longer stay.

"Bringing Out" a Debutante.

The "bringing out" of a _debutante_ at an afternoon tea has become,
because of its simplicity, a favorite method. It affords opportunity
to invite a number of young "rosebuds" to cluster about her, and it
does not subject the "bud" to the ordeal of a ceremonious, or large,
ball.

The _debutante's_ name will be engraved below that of her mother, on
at "At Home" card.

If she be