ll invite the
young man for a visit.

_Bridal "Showers"_

The bestowal of engagement presents has of late years taken on a
wholesale aspect. Instead of the occasional receipt of a present from
one or another of her friends and relatives, the bride-elect is often
now the guest of honor at one or more parties called "showers," and
the recipient of numerous gifts which are literally showered upon her.
There are many kinds of "showers," as many as the ingenuity and
financial resources of friends may admit of. When, however, any one
bride is to be made the object of a series of such attentions, it is
well for the girl's friends who have the matter in hand to see to it
that no one person is invited to more than one shower, or, if so
invited, that it be at her own request and because she wishes to make
several gifts to her friend.

These affairs should be purely spontaneous and informal, and occasions
of much fun and jollity. Nevertheless, there is danger of overdoing
the idea, and making the recipient feel burdened rather than gratified
by the zeal of her friends in her behalf.

Effort should be made not to have the articles given at a "shower"
duplicate each other. They should be some simple, useful gifts, which
will be of immediate service, and need not be either expensive or
especially durable, unless the giver so desires. A "shower" is usually
given when a wedding is in prospect, and the necessity of stocking up
the new home confronts the young home-makers. The aim is to take a
kindly interest in the new home and help to fit it out, more in the
way of suggestion than in any extravagant way, which would make the
recipients feel embarrassed or indebted, or overload them with
semidesirable gifts.

The "shower" is usually in the afternoon, and is joined in almost
exclusively by the girl friends of the bride-elect, with perhaps a few
of her older women friends and relatives. If, however, it comes in the
evening, the men of the bridal party are usually also invited. The
refreshments are simple and the style of entertainment informal. The
invitations to a "shower" are usually given by the hostess verbally,
or she sends her cards by post with the words "Linen shower for Miss
Hanley on Wednesday at four."

There is a wide range of possible kinds of "showers," but the only
rational way is to choose for a donation party of this sort only such
objects as will be needed in quantity and variety, and in the choice
of which on