of the
hotel parlor, if others are in the room, unless he has received a
unanimous invitation to do so.

One may greet fellow guests in the parlor or the dining-room without
being thought forward or intrusive, and also may respond to such
greetings without compromise, as such acquaintance does not imply or
demand recognition elsewhere.

A lady, when alone at a hotel dining table, will decide quickly what
dishes she wishes, and order them distinctly but quietly. She will
wait patiently to be served, without any display of embarrassment. It
is allowable to read a newspaper while waiting for breakfast, but not
good taste to bring books to the table at any time. If she desires a
dish which she sees, but the name of which she does not know, she will
not point to it, but will indicate it to the waiter by her glance and
her description.

If she has friends or makes table acquaintances, she will talk with
them in a low tone. She will never talk with some one at another
table, nor laugh loudly. If any civility, such as the passing of food,
is offered her by either a lady or a gentleman, she will express her
thanks, but will not start a conversation.

The usual good manners of cultivated people, emphasized by the
additional restraint which the presence of the public imposes, is a
safe standard of etiquette in a hotel.

CHAPTER VIII

THE ART OF BEING A GUEST

JUST as the host and hostess, in sending out an invitation, obligate
themselves to make everything as enjoyable as possible for their
guest, so a guest, in accepting, obligates himself or herself to meet
the efforts of the host and hostess at least halfway. Success in the
art of being a guest depends more upon the spirit in which one accepts
of entertainment than upon the entertainment offered.

A formal dinner is one of the most solemn obligations of society.
After having once accepted the invitation, only death or mortal
illness is an excuse for not attending.

One may attend a formal reception and not expend more than twenty
minutes of time, if one wishes to be very prompt. The round of social
duty there is brief. A lady removes her wrap, but not her hat or
gloves, in the dressing-room, and thence goes directly to the
drawing-room. The guest here greets the host and hostess, briefly if
the reception is large and the flow of incoming guests constant, then
passes to the room where the refreshments are served. After partaking
of these, the guest may leave