are a friend of the bridegroom he
will present you to the bride, and should say, if such is the case,
"Evangeline," or "May," or "Margaret," or otherwise; or "My dear, let me
present to you Mr. Algernon Smith, who, you remember, is one of my best
friends." And if Mrs. ---- has any tact, she will at once reply, "I am
so pleased to meet any of my husband's old friends, and I must thank
you, Mr. Smith, for the beautiful _bonbon_ dishes. They were just what I
wanted," or words to that effect. Then pass on. Refreshments are served
at a wedding reception from a buffet in the dining room. If you enter
with a lady, ask her what she would like, and get it for her. Then take
your own choice of refreshment, and stand or sit by her as the
accommodations of the room will permit. A half hour at a wedding
reception is sufficient. It is not good form to bid good-by to the bride
and bridegroom, but only to the lady of the house.

If there is no chaperon--for instance, if the bride be a widow or
divorcee and is in her own home--then you must bid her good-by, but in
such cases large receptions are not given.

There is always a breakfast or luncheon set for the bridal party, at
which the bride, escorted by the bridegroom, leads the way. The bride's
father, escorting the bridegroom's mother, the ushers and bridesmaids
and relatives follow. In this country we have no special law of
precedence, and these bridal luncheons are more or less informal. There
are no toasts.

After breakfast the valet, should there be one, must be ready with the
bridegroom's valise, when his master retires to put on a tweed suit for
traveling; otherwise it can be laid out by one of the servants. With the
coachman on the box and amid the usual shower of rice and slippers, as
also the fusillade of a battery of eyes from neighbors' windows, and
perhaps a crowd of street urchins and admiring servants, the happy
couple start out on their wedding journey. I think it is better taste to
wait until dark, almost, so as to avoid all this unseemly publicity, and
I am averse to having the coachman and horses decked with white ribbons;
but, of course, one does not marry every day in the year, and these
little eccentricities are pardonable on such--shall I say?--an
"auspicious" occasion.

At a home wedding, as has been said above, ushers are not necessary. The
same ceremonial is observed as at church, but due allowance must be
made for crowded quarters. Usually very few are as