meaning,
"an answer will oblige." The reply, accepting the invitation, is couched
in the following terms:--

Mr. and Mrs. B---- present their compliments to Mr. and Mrs. A---, and
will do themselves the honour of, [or will have much pleasure in]
accepting their kind invitation to dinner on the 6th of December next.

B---- SQUARE,
_November 18th, 1859._

Cards, or invitations for a dinner-party, should be issued a
fortnight or three weeks (sometimes even a month) beforehand,
and care should be taken by the hostess, in the selection of the
invited guests, that they should be suited to each other. Much
also of the pleasure of a dinner-party will depend on the
arrangement of the guests at table, so as to form a due
admixture of talkers and listeners, the grave and the gay. If an
invitation to dinner is accepted, the guests should be punctual,
and the mistress ready in her drawing-room to receive them. At
some periods it has been considered fashionable to come late to
dinner, but lately _nous avons change tout cela_.

34. THE HALF-HOUR BEFORE DINNER has always been considered as the great
ordeal through which the mistress, in giving a dinner-party, will either
pass with flying colours, or, lose many of her laurels. The anxiety to
receive her guests,--her hope that all will be present in due time,--her
trust in the skill of her cook, and the attention of the other
domestics, all tend to make these few minutes a trying time. The
mistress, however, must display no kind of agitation, but show her tact
in suggesting light and cheerful subjects of conversation, which will be
much aided by the introduction of any particular new book, curiosity of
art, or article of vertu, which may pleasantly engage the attention of
the company. "Waiting for Dinner," however, is a trying time, and there
are few who have not felt--

"How sad it is to sit and pine,
The long _half-hour_ before we dine!
Upon our watches oft to look,
Then wonder at the clock and cook,
* * * * *
"And strive to laugh in spite of Fate!
But laughter forced soon quits the room,
And leaves it in its former gloom.
But lo! the dinner now appears,
The object of our hopes and fears,
The end of all our pain!"

In giving an entertainment of this kind, the mistress should
remember that it is her duty to make her guests feel happy,
comfortabl