tion for_
_Wednesday evening, December the ninth,_
_at eight o'clock._
_December first._

Answers to formal luncheon invitations are written in the same manner,
only changing the hours, etc.

Informal invitations to breakfasts and luncheons will be treated in the
chapter on that subject.

The form of an invitation to a private dance is:

_Mr. and Mrs. de Tompkins request the pleasure of Mr. Algernon
Smith's company on Friday evening, January the ninth, at nine
o'clock._

_R. S. V. P._ _Dancing._

The answer to this would be similarly worded as in case of the formal
dinner. As dance invitations are usually sent out three weeks in
advance, three days' grace is allowed for the answer.

When an invitation is received to a subscription ball, like the
assemblies in various cities, you should acknowledge it, by your
acceptance or regret, to the subscriber sending it; but when an
invitation is received from a ball committee, you should accept as
follows:

_Mr. James de Courcy Peterson accepts with pleasure the committee's
kind invitation for Thursday evening, February the fifteenth._

_January second._

CHAPTER VI.

CARDS.

There is only one visiting card in vogue for a man. It must be of plain
white bristol board, unglazed, about three or four inches in length and
about two inches in width. The name should be engraved, not printed, in
the middle of the card, in small copperplate type, without ornamentation
of any kind. The prefix "Mr." is always used unless the person is a
physician, in which case he can place "Dr." before his name, or a
clergyman, when he may use the "Rev. Mr." or the "Rev. Dr.," according
to his rank. Army and navy men, ranking as captain or above, should put
their rank on their cards. "Mr." is the prefix for subalterns. The
address is placed underneath the name in smaller type and in the
right-hand corner. If an address, however, is that of a man's club, it
should be engraved on the left hand. A man's card should also contain
his Christian as well as his surname. If he possesses two Christian
names, or any distinctive family name, that should also be given, so
that his appellation is shown in full. For instance, "Mr. John William
Jones," "Mr. James Brown Smith," "Mr. Hamilton Hamilton-Stuyvesant."
Visiting cards should be kept in a small case of sealskin or black or
Russia leather and