doesn't rise for a
gentleman. It is the guest who must go up to the hostess and apologize for
being late. The hostess must never take the guest to task, but should say
something polite and conciliatory such as, "I was sure you would not want
us to wait dinner!" The newcomer is usually served with dinner from the
beginning unless she is considerate enough to say to the butler, "Just let
me begin with this course."

Old Mrs. Toplofty's manners to late guests are an exception: on the last
stroke of eight o'clock in winter and half after eight in Newport, dinner
is announced. She waits for no one! Furthermore, a guest arriving after a
course has been served, does not have to protest against disarranging the
order of dinner since the rule of the house is that a course which has
passed a chair is not to be returned. A guest missing his "turn" misses
that course. The result is that everyone dining with Mrs. Toplofty arrives
on the stroke of the dinner hour; which is also rather necessary, as she
is one of those who like the service to be rushed through at top speed,
and anyone arriving half an hour late would find dinner over.

It would be excellent discipline if there were more hostesses like her,
but no young woman could be so autocratic and few older ones care (or
dare) to be. Nothing shows selfish want of consideration more than being
habitually late for dinner. Not only are others, who were themselves
considerate, kept waiting, but dinner is dried and ruined for everyone
else through the fault of the tardy one. And though expert cooks know how
to keep food from becoming uneatable, no food can be so good as at the
moment for which it is prepared, and the habitually late guest should be
made to realize how unfairly she is meeting her hostess' generosity by
destroying for every one the hospitality which she was invited to share.

On the other hand, before a formal dinner, it is the duty of the hostess
to be dressed and in her drawing-room fifteen, or ten minutes at least,
before the hour set for dinner. For a very informal dinner it is not
important to be ready ahead of time, but even then a late hostess is an
inconsiderate one.

=ETIQUETTE OF GLOVES AND NAPKIN=

Ladies always wear gloves to formal dinners and take them off at table.
Entirely off. It is hideous to leave them on the arm, merely turning back
the hands. Both gloves and fan are supposed to be laid across the lap, and
one is supposed to lay the napkin folde