tration:

_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 Matinees.

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
matinee, meaning any social gathering that is held before dinner, as
any party is called in France a _soiree_.

There are many advantages in a morning party. It affords ladies who do
not attend evening receptions the pleasure of meeting on a semi-formal
occasion, and is also a well chosen occasion for introducing a new
pianist or singer. For a busy woman of fashion a matinee, beginning at
two and ending at four or half-past, which are the usual hours for
these entertainments, is a most convenient time. It does not interfere
with a five o'clock tea, or a drive, nor unfit her for a dinner party
or evening entertainment. Convenient, however, as this hour is for
ladies, it is quite the reverse for gentlemen, since the majority of
them in America do not belong to the leisure class. Hence to avoid
this inequality of the sexes, ladies often give these matinees on some
of our national holidays.

When, as often happe