thirtieth.

These acknowledgments, being formal, are written in the third person and
must be sent within twenty-four hours.

_Dinner "to meet"_

If the dinner or luncheon is given to meet a person of importance or a
friend from out of town, the purpose should appear in the body of the
invitation, thus:

_Mr. and Mrs. John Evans
Request the Pleasure of
Mr. and Mrs. Trent's
Company at Dinner
on Thursday, November the Ninth
at Eight o'Clock
to Meet Mr. William H. Allen_

_To a formal luncheon_

_Mrs. John Evans
Requests the Pleasure of
Miss Blake's
Company at Luncheon
To meet Miss Grace Flint
on Tuesday, March the Fourth
at One o'Clock
and Afterward to the Matinee_
_500 Park Avenue_

_Accepting_

Miss Blake
accepts with pleasure
Mrs. Evans's
very kind invitation for luncheon
on Tuesday, March the fourth
at one o'clock
to meet Miss Flint and to go
afterward to the matinee
232 West Thirty-First Street

_Regretting_

Miss Blake
regrets that a previous engagement
prevents her from accepting
Mrs. Evans's
very kind invitation for luncheon
on Tuesday, March the fourth
at one o'clock
to meet Miss Flint
and to go afterward to the matinee
832 West Thirty-First Street

[Illustration: Specimens of formal invitations "to meet"]

_For the reception_

Afternoon receptions and "At Homes" for which engraved invitations are
sent out are practically the same as formal "teas."

An invitation is engraved as follows:

_Mr. and Mrs. John Evans
At Home
Wednesday Afternoon, September Fourth
from Four until Half-Past Seven o'Clock
Five Hundred Park Avenue_

These cards are sent out by mail in a single envelope about two weeks or
ten days before the event.

The recipient of such a card is not required to send either a written
acceptance or regret. One accepts by attending the "At Home." If one
does not accept, the visiting card should be sent by mail so that it
will reach the hostess on the day of the reception.

Where an answer is explicitly required, then the reply ma