prepared for by stretching a carpet (a red one invariably!) down the front
steps and across the pavement to the curb's edge. At all important
functions there is a chauffeur (or a caterer's man) on the sidewalk to
open the door of motors, and a footman or waitress stationed inside the
door of the house to open it on one's approach. This same servant, or more
often another stationed in the hall beyond, directs arriving guests to the
dressing-rooms.

=DRESSING-ROOMS=

Houses especially built for entertaining, have two small rooms on the
ground floor, each with its lavatory, and off of it, a rack for the
hanging of coats and wraps. In most houses, however, guests have to go
up-stairs where two bedrooms are set aside, one as a ladies', and the
other as a gentlemen's coat room.

At an afternoon tea in houses where dressing-rooms have not been installed
by the architect, the end of the hall, if it is wide, is sometimes
supplied with a coat rack (which may be rented from a caterer) for the
gentlemen. Ladies are in this case supposed to go into the drawing-room as
they are, or go up-stairs to the bedroom put at their disposal and in
charge of a lady's maid or housemaid.

If the entertainment is very large, checks are always given to avoid
confusion in the dressing-rooms exactly as in public "check rooms." In the
ladies' dressing-room--whether downstairs or up--there must be an array of
toilet necessities such as brushes and combs; well-placed mirrors,
hairpins, powder with stacks of individual cotton balls, or a roll of
cotton in a receptacle from which it may be pulled. In the lavatory there
must be fresh soap and plenty of small hand towels. The lady's personal
maid and one or two assistants if necessary, depending upon the size of
the party, but one and all of them as neatly dressed as possible, assist
ladies off and on with their wraps, and give them coat checks.

A lady's maid should always look the arriving guests over--not boldly nor
too apparently, but with a quick glance for anything that may be amiss. If
the drapery of a dress is caught up on its trimming, or a fastening
undone, it is her duty to say: "Excuse me, madam (or miss), but there is a
hook undone"--or "the drapery of your gown is caught--shall I fix it?"
Which she does as quietly and quickly as possible. If there is a rip of
any sort, she says: "I think there is a thread loose, I'll just tack it.
It will only be a moment."

The well-bred maid instinc