The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1883-03-22
CLARA BELLE ON MANNERS.
The --latest Fashions as to Department in
the Best New York Society.

Speaking of the manners of good So
ciety, questions of social usage puzzle
a great many women, Judging by the
letters that are forwarded to me asking
about such matters. Most of them re-
late to cards and weddings, and / may
be instructive generally by answering
several of them. Ii bride has sent
you wedding-cards you should call upon
her in her new relation. If she sent out
no cards. you may call, and leave her
to decide whether she cares to keep up
the social Interchange of visits by re-
turning yours. Ii you do not wish to
continue the acquaintance, that is, to
keep up formal visiting, you can drop
it at this time as appropriately as at
any. 1t is perfectly proper for a young
woman on assuming new social obliga-
tions as wife to revise her own visiting
list and take proper means to retain
only those names to which she may feel
herself able to do social justice. An
unmarried woman who has no other
sister unmarried has ''Mfss" on her
cards, without her initials or her first
name On returning to your home after
long absence send your cards to those
whom you wish to have call upon you.
Ii YOU intend to remain in the town
where You are, send out cards to every
one whom YOU wish to know, mentioning
the day and hour at which you will be
at home to receive them, and offer some
light refreshments, like tea and cake, at
O'Clock It is correct for widow to
have her Christian name on her visiting
cards A card with acceptance"
written or engraved upon it is vulgar.
Write a pnnctilious note in the third
person, accepting or declining. LII
card is turned down in the corner it
means that the visitor called in person.
The man who is stranger to the wo
man should leave card for her as well
as the man who had taken him to call.
Ii is visit whether she is at home or
not Both should leave cards. A girl
about to be married does not put p. T. &.
on her cards Write your regret or ac-
ceptance~of an invitation on a sheet of
note paper and put it in an envelope d1-
rected to the person who invites you.
Unless YOU are to send it by post one
envelope is enough. Do not write re-
gret or acceptance on your visiting
card; that is vulgar. 1t is proper to
send card to the bride if You do not
call in person, bat 1t is better to call,
and especially must you call on her
mother. who invites YOU. The best form
IOE acceptance IL the 4'lAo7
Smith has much pleasure in accepting
the polite invitation of Mrs. Brown for
Thursday, the 18th. The ushers at
day weddings are again wearing pearl
colored kid gloves with a black stitching
on the back The coat is black cloth
Prince Albert frock and the trousers are
dark gray. Their crayats may be white
Ottoman black, or a dark color, but
must be uniform, whatever color is
chosen The bride and groom must
wear gloves, but the groom must mot
wear a dress suit in the daytime, no
matter how the bride is dressed. 1t is
not customary to send acceptances of
invitations to weddings unless the card
contains the request to respond Where
from two to five hundred or more cards
are sent out, the formal response to
each one would be a nuisance. The
proper acknowledgment % a gift and
congratulations if presence on the occa-
sion is impossible OF course, if it is a
small at-home wedding, where provis-
ion is made for a sit-down dinner or
supper, the case becomes somewhat diff
ferent, as oniy intimate friends are in
yited, and it is desirable to know ap-
proximately the number that Will be
present But the cabalistic letters r. 5.
Y. p. were invented as an intimation
that reply is something desired, and
would not have ever been used if life
was hong enough to send and receive
replies to all notes OF invitation. Gin
ct7s9sasi ERq2tirer.