Page:Every Woman's Encyclopedia Volume 1.djvu/396

 LADY OF QUALITY Taking up a visiting-card in her hall one day, and finding it adorned with gilt edges, a lady of position in the country remarked, " These must be impossible people. I shall return the call with cards, and then drop them." The people who had made this mistake turned out to be quite ehgible as neighbours, but, having recently arrived from a certain distant colony, they had followed the fashion of gilt-edged cards prevailing there. The safest thing for them to have done would have been to have gone to a high-class stationer, and put themselves in his hands. Should they not have wished to acknowledge their lack of information even lo him, they could have asked to see some specimen visiting-cards, and could have been guided by them to a correct choice. It is better, however, to be perfectly candid, and to secure expert advice The Young Girl's Cards A young girl has no separate visiting- card. Her name goes under that of her mother, or, if she has no mother, under her father's, in which case his card would be of the size of a lady's. She uses this card in the same way as ordinary visiting-cards. Should she be socially godmothered by a relative, or by a friend of the family, or by a lady who is paid for introducing her to society, her name is printed or pencilled under that of her chaperon. American girls like to have separate cards in such cases, but it is unusual for English girls to do so until they are about twenty-three. True, the American example is occasionally followed, but this is excep- tional. Professional women usually provide them- selves with two sets of cards, one of the usual character for social use, the other giving their business address and any par- ticulars that may be useful to themselves or to their clients. The Uses of Cards We now come to the various ways in which cards are useful. The first and most obvious is in making calls. If the lady called on is at home, the visiting-card of tier caller is laid on the hall-table when the owner of it is leaving the house. It is never sent up to the drawing-room. This used to be the custom, and a very sensible one, and It is stdl observed in some of the colonies but It IS quite obsolete in Great Britain. Should the lady be not at home, the caller hands the servant her card. Should she wish to convey the information that her call has been made in person, she turns up a corner, the idea being that no one but the owner of a card would do so. Another signification of a turned-up corner is that the call IS meant for all the ladies of the family. The two meanings obscure each other m some degree, so it is much better to leave two or more cards when there are- more ladies than one in the family 374 Should the caller be married, she leaves one of her husband's cards with her own when the call is over. If the lady called upon is also married, and her husband is still alive, | then a second card of the caller's husband '] is left for him. In the same way the husband's card, or cards, are left should there be father or brother of the lady called on hving in her house. In high society the husband's card is never left by the caller. It is entirely a middle-class custom, and conveys the idea that the person represented by the card is too much engaged in business, whether professional or otherwise, to be able to spare | time for calls. | The "At-Home" Day The '* At-Home " day is entirely a middle- class custom, quite unknown in high society. When hostesses of the latter grade wish to sec their friends at certain times they often start a luncheon-day, and by degrees it gets known that Lady Dash has Wednesday or Monday or other day luncheons. But the lady of the haute bourgeoisie sets apart an afternoon, and puts the " day " on her visiting-cards. These cards may be sent by post, this being one of the few occasions when it is correct to do so. Sending Cards by Post Wedding-cards are invariably sent by post. They are double the ordinary size of ladies' cards, and are folded over in the centre. On one half the bridegroom's name appears, on the other half the bride's, her previous name occupying a corner and run through by a line. The address of the new- menage is given in the usual corner of the bride's half, and sometimes the date of their first "At-Home" day is also given. Other cards that are generally sent by post are those announcing a birth, combined with thanks for " kind inquiries." Sometimes a tiny card with the baby's Christian name is attached to the top left-hand corner, its dimensions very minute. The exact measure- ments are if by | inches. The date of the baby's birth appears in the left bottom corner. This is tied on the mother's card by means of the narrowest possible white satin ribbon. P.P.C. {Pour prendre conge) cards may be sent by post if the owner is busy preparing for a journey and is prevented from leaving them in person. In the case, too, of thanks for inquiries after illness, or thanks for letters of condolence after bereavement, cards are usually sent by post. In the same way, change of address may be notified by post. Specially printed cards are used for this purpose. Above the name appear the words: Change of Address. The previous address appears in its usual position, the left-hand bottom corner, with a couple of diagonal strokes across it, and in the opposite corner is the new address. To be continued. I