is beside the question. They go for a short half-hour or so, not for a
three hours' stay. Anyhow, at evening garden-parties, the rule is not
to wear evening dress as far as ladies are concerned. Men, on the other
hand, one and all, are expected to do so, morning dress being looked
upon as out of place on these occasions. A light overcoat is inseparable
from evening dress, therefore it is not considered risky wear for men
even on the chilliest of summer evenings.

* * * * *

=As to the arrangements= for one of these evening garden-parties. It is
usual to have tea and coffee, and light refreshments during the whole of
the evening, from arrival to departure, and to give a light supper a
little before twelve o'clock. The gardens and grounds are illuminated
with coloured lamps and lanterns, extensively or moderately, as the case
may be. A band is considered indispensable, but a good one does not seem
to be equally imperative, to judge from the indifferent performances of
various bands heard on these summer evenings. However, country audiences
are not too critical, knowing that to engage a good band from a distance
entails considerable expense, and that evening garden-parties would be
singularly few if superior music was insisted upon. Thus the local band
is encouraged to do its best, and to allow long intervals to elapse
between each selection.

In the case of an evening turning out decidedly wet, guests invited from
a distance seldom put in an appearance, while the nearer neighbours do
so, and the evening garden-party becomes an evening reception within
doors, shorn of its numbers, it is true, but a pleasant gathering,
nevertheless, especially with those who know how to make the best of a
_contretemps_ caused by unpropitious weather.

CHAPTER XXVI

LUNCHEONS

=Invitations to Luncheon= are very much the order of the day in
fashionable society. Those who look back some few years remark the
importance now accorded to this midday meal, and contrast it with the
past. The lateness of the dinner-hour in a measure accounts for the
position now taken by luncheon in the day's programme, joined to the
fact that it offers another opportunity for social gatherings; and as
the prevailing idea seems to be to crowd into one day as much amusement
and variety and change as possible, invitations to luncheon have become
one of the features of social life.

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