629 LADY OF QUALITY THE nOSTKSS CoHtiiiHed from fagt si6. Part 4 No. 4. ETIQUETTE OF LUNCHEON PARTIES By Mrs. HUMPHRY ("Madge") Arc We Growing Less Hospitable ?— The Formal Luncheon — Arrangements and Invitations — The 'Informal Luncheon — Husbands need not be Included in the Invitation— Points of Etiquett: and Procedure 'T'he tendency of the time is towards in- formality, and luncheon has always been an informal meal compared with dinner. The latter is encompassed by rules and questions of procedure and etiquette. The highest social honour, in the way of entertainments, is to be asked to a dinner party ; an invita- tion to luncheon is much lower in degree. Are we growing less hospitable as a nation ? Half a century ago an invitation to luncheon would have been regarded as a decided " put-off " by any person of consideration or importance. The correct thing in those days was to entertain a distinguished guest at dinner. Even our civic hospitality has declined since then from banquet at the dinner- hour to banquet at luncheon-time. With regard to etiquette, this change works both ways. At the ceremonious luncheon, where the party is given for the special purpose of honouring one of the guests and complimenting the others by being asked to meet him, strict precedence must be observed. There is considerable punctilio, almost as much as at the later meal. The Formal Luncheon Invitations for a ceremonious occasion of this kind are couched in the third person. " Captain and Mrs. Greene request the honour (pleasure) of 's company at luncheon on Tuesday, April 4, at 1.45, to meet Brigadier-General A. and Mrs. A., who have just returned from Burmah." This would probably refer to some dis- tinguished soldier who had won fame in a recent war. Or the guest of the occasion might be an eminent statesman, a governor- general, a high commissioner of one of our colonies, a traveller whose name has been ringing through the land, or a great scientist whose discoveries had made him famous; cr to some literary lion. On such occasions the guests would pair off, as for dinner, and the places at table would be carefully arranged according to precedence. The guests would assemble in the drawing-room not more than five minutes later than the hour indicated on the invitation, and would go to the dining- room in the same order as at a dinner party. The menu would be worthy the reputation of the great man, and wines would be served as if for dinner. For a less formal function the invitation would be in the first person : " Dear Mrs. Grey, — Will you and Mr. Grey give us the pleasure of your company at luncheon on Tuesday, April 4, at 1.45 ? — Very truly yours, "Alice Greene." Or, still less formal : " Dear Mrs. Grey,— Will you lunch with us on Tuesday, April 4, at 1.45? It will give us great pleasure if you can come. — Yours sincerely, " Alice Greene." The reply is regulated by the form of the invitation. There are two things to note in this par- ticular. It is optional to write " honour " or " pleasure " in a formal invitation, and the question must be decided according to circumstance. Should the person invited be of higher rank than the host and hostess, or distinguished in any special way, " honour " is the more correct. The second thing is that, whereas wives are seldom, if ever, invited to a dinner party without their husbands in middle-class and upper middle-class society, in aristocratic circles there is no rule whatever, except on very ceremonious occasions. It is quite different where luncheon is concerned. Professional and business men can seldom give the time for lunching out. Their wives, therefore, can be asked without them, except when it is known that the husband is not away from home during the day, and has leisure for social pleasures. The Informal Luncheon At an informal luncheon party all meet in the drawing-room, and when the meal is announced (sometimes merely by gong instead of by butler or parlourmaid) ail go downstairs, not in any special order. If any men are present, they follow the women. The hostess sometimes asks her husband to lead the way with Mrs. So-and-So, or, if her husband be not present, she may detail one of the men of the party for that duty. But there is no rule. Men leave their hats, sticks, or umbrellas, also their gloves, in the hall. The footman or maid takes them and puts them in a place where others will not be put on top of them. Some hostesses are criminally careless about the safety of that precious 'and perishable article, a man's silk hat. Women do not remove their hats for luncheon. In winter they may or may not leave their furs in the hall. They usually
