Page:Book of Etiquette, Volume 1, by Lilian Eichler.djvu/250

 The above invitation should be engraved in fine script on a large white card of bristol board, and it should be mailed at least ten days in advance of the day set for the entertainment. An acknowledgment is not expected; if the invitation is accepted, the presence of the guest on the day of the reception is sufficient. If one is unable to be present, one's visiting card is sent to arrive on the exact day of the reception—unless an answer is explicitly required on the invitation. Not to be present at the reception, and not to send one's visiting card, is to indicate either that one is ignorant of the correct social laws, or that one desires to discontinue friendship with the hostess.

When a mother and her daughters are to receive the guests at a reception together, the card is in this form:

If the reception is for the purpose of introducing a young débutante daughter, the hostess would issue cards similar to the one above, except that the débutante's name would appear immediately below her own. It would be merely "Miss Harris" with no Christian name or initial. If a second daughter is introduced to her mother's friends by means of an afternoon tea, the cards are also like the one above, except that the name of the second daughter is inscribed in full beneath that of the hostess. Thus invited guests would know that "Miss Harris" is the elder and introduced to society first, and "Miss Meriam