Invitations to evening receptions, lawn or musical parties are informal, but require an answer, as it is agreeable to every hostess to know the number of her expected guests.
To meet their Royal Highnesses,
The Infantes Eulalia
And
Antoine of Spain.
The Spanish Consul
And
Mrs. Chatfield-Taylor.
At Home,
Monday, June twelfth, at nine o'clock.
21 Pearson Street.
If the reception is given in honor of some individual or celebrity the name of the honored guest should appear at the top of the invitation, as above fac-simile of cards issued by the Spanish Consul in honor of the Infanta of Spain during the Columbian Exposition.
Evening Receptions.
Evening receptions being simpler in detail and less expensive than parties, are becoming more fashionable every year, especially among people of literary and artistic tastes.
Guests calling, meet a select circle, among whom are usually poets, artists, and persons of elegant leisure, formality is readily broken, and the occasion is always one of pleasure.
The hour for leaving a reception is varied (anywhere from eleven p.m. to one a.m. being usual). Early hours are usual among those who have other engagements and who go on to other parties, remaining about half an hour at each one: thus, at crowded receptions the departures commence before the arrivals have ceased to be announced.
Morning Receptions or Matinées.
Of all the entertainments given during the daytime, luncheons, breakfasts, afternoon teas, kettledrums, etc., the morning reception, so-called, although it is given in the afternoon, is perhaps the most formal. Some hostesses adopt the French fashion of calling it a matinée, meaning any social gathering that is held before dinner, as any party is called in France a soirée.