sumption to
invite one of conspicuous prominence until she has first been invited by
her. Nor may the Strangers ask the Oldnames to dine after being merely
invited to a tea. But when Mrs. Oldname asks Mrs. Stranger to lunch, the
latter might then invite the former to dinner, after which, if they
accept, the Strangers can continue to invite them on occasion, whether
they are invited in turn or not; especially if the Strangers are
continually entertaining, and the Oldnames are not. But on no account must
the Strangers' parties be arranged solely for the benefit of any
particular fashionables.

The Strangers can also invite to a party any children whom their own
children know at school, and Mrs. Stranger can quite properly go to fetch
her own children from a party to which their schoolmates invited them.

=MONEY NOT ESSENTIAL TO SOCIAL POSITION=

Bachelors, unless they are very well off, are not expected to give
parties; nor for that matter are very young couples. All hostesses go on
asking single men and young people to their houses without it ever
occurring to them that any return other than politeness should be made.

There are many couples, not necessarily in the youngest set either, who
are tremendously popular in society in spite of the fact that they give no
parties at all. The Lovejoys, for instance, who are clamored for
everywhere, have every attribute--except money. With fewer clothes perhaps
than any fashionable young woman in New York, she can't compete with Mrs.
Bobo Gilding or Constance Style for "smartness" but, as Mrs. Worldly
remarked: "What would be the use of Celia Lovejoy's beauty if it depended
upon continual variation in clothes?"

The only "entertaining" the Lovejoys ever do is limited to afternoon tea
and occasional welsh-rarebit suppers. But they return every bit of
hospitality shown them by helping to make a party "go" wherever they are.
Both are amusing, both are interesting, both do everything well. They
can't afford to play cards for money, but they both play a very good game
and the table is delighted to "carry them," or they play at the same table
against each other.

This, by the way, is another illustration of the conduct of a gentleman;
if young Lovejoy played for money he would win undoubtedly in the long run
because he plays unusually well, but to use card-playing as a "means of
making money" would be contrary to the ethics of a gentleman, just as
playing for more than can be aff