INVITATIONS, ACCEPTANCES AND REGRETS
Project Gutenberg EPUB3 edition
Post, Emily
Mr. and Mrs. Titherington de Puyster
Miss Alice de Puyster
request the pleasure of
Mr. and Mrs. Greatlake's
company on Monday evening the third of January
at ten O'Clock
One East Fiftieth Street
Dancing
R.s.v.p.
The form most often used by fashionable hostesses in New York and Newport is:
Mr. and Mrs. Gilding
request the pleasure of
company at a small dance
on Monday the first of January
at Ought Ought Fifth Avenue
Even if given for a débutante daughter, her name does not appear, and it is called a "small dance," whether it is really small or big. The request for a reply is often omitted, since everyone is supposed to know that an answer is necessary. But if the dance, or dinner, or whatever the entertainment is to be, is given at one address and the hostess lives at another, both addresses are always given:
Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Oldname
request the pleasure of
company at a dance
on Monday evening the sixth of January
at ten o'clock
The Fitz-Cherry
Kindly send response to Brookmeadows
L.I.
If the dance is given for a young friend who is not a relative, Mr. and Mrs. Oldname's invitations should
request the pleasure of
company at a dance in honour of
Miss Rosalie Grey
When And How One May Ask For An Invitation For A Stranger
One may never ask for an invitation for oneself anywhere! And one may not ask for an invitation to a luncheon or a dinner for a stranger. But an invitation for any general entertainment may be asked for a stranger—especially for a house-guest.
Example:
Dear Mrs. Worldly,
A young cousin of mine, David Blakely from Chicago, is staying with us.
May Pauline take him to your dance on Friday? If it will be inconvenient for you to include him, please do not hesitate to say so frankly.
Very sincerely yours,
Caroline Robinson Town.
Answer:
Dear Mrs. Town,
I shall be delighted to have Pauline bring Mr. Blakely on the tenth.
Sincerely yours,