Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1939-04-13
ReSerVing
Room At
A Hotel
Discussion of Price
AndLocatiOn in
Advance Urged
Ry EMILY POST.

DEAR MfO- fOo Tlcdoc u0SSliOc
the conversation between pros
pective guest and hotel clerk dur
ing the engaging of room.
Answer-Prospective guest: I'D
like an outside room with bath,
please. Not too high up Clerk:
It can give you a room on the third
floor, IS a day, or I can give you
somewhat smaller room with a
shower instead of bath for 50 a
day." Prospective guest: May I
see them, please?" Clerk: Ger
tainly." He thereupon hands two
keys to the -bellboy who is waiting,
and the latter takes you up to look
at the rooms. If the clerk had said
nothing about the price of the
rooms, you would ask him how much
they are, whether the hotel is run
on the European plan or American
plan. The former means that you
pay for your meals extra, the latter
that the price of the room includes
the meals.
Dear Mrs. Post: With 16 people
at the dining table it will mean
that We have to seat two at each
end. Where should my husband, as
the host, and myself, as hostess, be
seated, and where do we seat the
guests of first, importance-a man
and his wife?
Answer: Your husband sits in his
own place at the foot of the table
and you sit. either to the right or to
the left of your own place at the
head. The question of which you
choose depends upon whether the
man of honor is so important that
you want to seat him on your right
and also go into dinner with him.
If both, then you have to send an
odd man and woman into dinner
together because you sit on the left
of your partner and every other man
at table is seating his partner on
his right. In order to compensate
for this it is necessary to let the
two least important people-those
seated halfway down the sides of the
table-go into the dining room to-
gether and then part company, one
finding her place card on one side
of the table and the other finding
his ON the other. Of this is not
entirely clear, see diagram. formal
dinner chapter. in my book, avail
able in any public libraryD There
fore. under ordinary circumstances,
it is considered proper that the
hostess go into dinner with the gen.
tleman of honor and seat herself on
his right. The reason why you give
up your place instead of your hus-
band is that the lady of honor, who
sits on his right, occupies the most
important place, which is on the
right of the host.
+
Dear Mrs. Post: If woman
whose husband deserted her several
years ago would like to marry again
but does not herself have the money
to secure divorce, would etiquette
frown too much upon her flance's
idea of paying for this?
Answer: This, like the question
of whether the bridegroom may buy
his fiancee's trousseau, is no, so far
as etiquette goes. However, it is not
so much question of etiquette as to
the effect that this may have upon
your husbands future attitude to-
ward you. 1t may not handicap your
future happiness at all. Yet, on the
other hand, there is something about
such a transaction which suggests
a primitive marriage agreement
when the husband pays for the wife
with SO many head of cattle or sheep,
or whatever it might be. In other
words, from the point of view of the
proprieties, the answer is no; from
the point of view of what you and
your f1ance choose to do, the answer
depends upon him and you.