Page:Book of Etiquette, Volume 1, by Lilian Eichler.djvu/187

 or when the hostess is entertaining a very distinguished visitor. But ordinarily, it is all-sufficient to rise when a guest makes a move to depart, offer one's hand in cordial farewell, and say, "Good afternoon, Miss Cary. So good of you to come," or, "Good-by, Mrs. Blank, I hope to hear some more about that wonderful trip to East India."

The hostess continues to stand until the guest turns to pass out of the room. If the guest is a woman, it is a mark of extreme politeness to remain standing until she has left the room entirely. When all the guests have departed, the hostess usually accompanies the last visitor to the hall door; and if it is a special friend, she is privileged to accompany her to the very street door. However, the hostess must be careful not to extend any special courtesies to an intimate friend while other guests are present, nor may she draw a visitor aside to converse in an undertone about some private or personal affair.

On rising to depart, a caller seeks out the hostess and bids her a formal adieu. Prolonged farewells are not the best taste, for they keep the hostess standing and distracted when there are others who are entitled to her time and attention. As soon as one intimates that he or she wishes to depart, a quick but cordial farewell should be taken and the departure made as soon as possible. To bow oneself out of the drawing room is a foreign and wholly undemocratic custom which no well-bred man or woman recognizes. A slight inclination of the head, a cordial good-afternoon to the guests, and a formal farewell to the hostess should be followed by immediate leaving of the room.

In apartment houses it is a pretty little attention for the hostess to accompany her guest to the elevator and ring the bell for her. This she should, of course, not do