Etiquette   By: Agnes H. Morton

BY

AGNES H. MORTON

AUTHOR OF

"LETTER WRITING," "QUOTATIONS," &C.

GOOD MANNERS FOR ALL PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE "WHO DWELL WITHIN THE BROAD ZONE OF THE AVERAGE"

(REVISED EDITION)

PHILADELPHIA

THE PENN PUBLISHING COMPANY

1919

Copyright, 1892, By the Penn Publishing Company

Contents

INTRODUCTION

I. ETHICS OF ETIQUETTE

II. VISITING CARDS

THE OFFICE OF THE VISITING CARD. STYLE OF CARDS. THE ENGRAVING OF VISITING CARDS. Cards for Men; Cards for Women; Cards for Young Women; After Marriage Cards. THE USE OF THE VISITING CARD. Calling in Person; Card leaving in Lieu of Personal Calls; Cases in which Personal Card leaving is Required; Cards by Messenger or by Post; Card leaving by Proxy. SOME FURTHER ILLUSTRATIONS OF CARD USAGE.

III. CEREMONIOUS CARDS AND INVITATIONS. ETIQUETTE OF REPLIES. THE "HIGH TEA," OR MUSICALE, ETC. WEDDING INVITATIONS. DINNER INVITATIONS. LUNCHEON AND BREAKFAST INVITATIONS.

IV. THE CONDUCT OF A CHURCH WEDDING

V. ENTERTAINING

VI. AFTERNOON RECEPTIONS AND TEAS

VII. THE DINNER SERVICE

REQUISITES FOR THE DINING TABLE. THE FORMAL ARRANGEMENT OF THE DINNER TABLE. THE ARRIVAL OF GUESTS, MEANWHILE. THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF DINNER. THE SERVING OF THE DINNER. MISCELLANEOUS POINTS. DINNER TABLE TALK. INFORMAL DINNERS.

VIII. LUNCHEONS

IX. SUPPERS

X. BREAKFASTS

XI. EVENING PARTIES

XII. THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

XIII. "THE STRANGER THAT IS WITHIN THY GATES"

XIV. "MAKE YOURSELF AT HOME"

XV. "AS THE TWIG IS BENT"

XVI. SOCIAL YOUNG AMERICA

XVII. THE AMERICAN CHAPERONE

XVIII. GREETINGS. RECOGNITIONS. INTRODUCTIONS

XIX. BEHAVIOR IN PUBLIC THOROUGHFARES

XX. IN PUBLIC ASSEMBLIES

XXI. BEARING AND SPEECH

XXII. SELF COMMAND

XXIII. A FEW POINTS ON DRESS

XXIV. PERSONAL HABITS

XXV. SOCIAL CO OPERATION

XXVI. ON THE WING

XXVII. ETIQUETTE OF GIFTS

XXVIII. GALLANTRY AND COQUETRY

XXIX. IN CONCLUSION

INTRODUCTION

As a rule, books of etiquette are written from the standpoint of the ultra fashionable circle. They give large space to the details of behavior on occasions of extreme conventionality, and describe minutely the conduct proper on state occasions. But the majority in every town and village are people of moderate means and quiet habits of living, to whom the extreme formalities of the world of fashion will always remain something of an abstraction, and the knowledge of them is not of much practical use except to the few who are reflective enough to infer their own particular rule from any illustration of the general code.

Though it is interesting as a matter of information to know how a state dinner is conducted, still, as a matter of fact, the dinners usually given within this broad zone of "the average" are served without the assistance of butler, footman, or florist; innocent of wines and minus the more elaborate and expensive courses; and though served à la Russe the service is under the watchful supervision of the hostess herself and executed by the more or less skillful hand of a demure maid servant. Yet, in all essential points, the laws of etiquette controlling the conduct of this simple dinner of the American democrat are the same as those observed in the ceremonious banquet of the ambitious aristocrat. The degree of formality varies; the quality of courtesy is unchanging.