Part 15

HOURS. When no special day for receiving is indicated, calls may be made at any proper hour, according to the custom of the locality. Men of leisure may call at the fashionable hours from two till five in the afternoon, while business and professional men may call between eight and nine in the evening, as their obligations prevent them from observing the fashionable hours.

LENGTH. A formal call may last from fifteen to thirty minutes. Old friends may stay longer.

LUNCHEONS. See LUNCHEON--CALLS.

MEN. AFTER ENTERTAINMENTS. After an entertainment a man should call in person on host and hostess, whether the invitation was accepted or not. If a card is sent or mailed, it should be accompanied with an apology.

To call on an acquaintance in an opera box does not relieve one of the duty of making a formal call in return for social favors.

When calling on the hostess but not on the host, a man should leave a card for him. If the hostess be out, he should leave two cards.

Married men can return their social obligations to women by personal calls, or the women of the family can leave the men's cards with their own.

A call should be made the day following a luncheon or a breakfast; the same after a dinner, or at least within a week. A call should be made within a week after a ball.

After a theatre party given by a man, he should call within three days on the woman he escorted, or leave his card, and should call within a week on the remainder of his guests.

MEN CALLING ON MEN. At the beginning of the season it is usual to leave a card for each member of a family called on--one card for husband, wife, "misses," and guest, or rest of the family. Sometimes two cards answer the purpose.

They may be sent by mail or messenger.

MEN CALLING ON WOMEN. A man should call only on "At Home" days, especially when making the first call, unless specially invited. He should call at the hour appointed.

When no special day for receiving is indicated, calls may be made at any proper hour, according to the custom of the locality. Men of leisure may call at the fashionable hours --from two till five o'clock.

Business and professional men may call between eight and nine o'clock, as their obligations prevent them from observing the fashionable hours.

A business man may call in street dress before six o'clock, and the same dress in the evening, if intimately acquainted.

Informal calls may be made on Sunday after three o'clock by business and professional men, provided there are no religious or other scruples on the part of those receiving the calls.

Evening or other than mere formal calls should not be made, save by special invitation.

The first call should last not longer than ten or fifteen minutes. It is correct to ask for all the women of the family.

At the first call he should give his card at the door. At following calls it is optional whether to give a card or merely the name, asking at the same time for the person one desires to see. When the servant's intelligence seems doubtful, or the name is an unusual one, it is safer to give a card.

When a woman invites a man to call without specifying when, it is not considered as an invitation at all, but merely as a formal courtesy.

It is bad form to solicit by innuendo or otherwise an invitation to call from a woman. It is her privilege to make the first move in such matters; otherwise she would be placed in an embarrassing position.

When an invitation specifies the hour, every effort should be made to be punctual. It is impolite to be too early or too late.

At a formal call, when others are present, a man should not be seated unless invited to do so. He should leave as others come in, and not remain longer than ten or fifteen minutes.

A man having a card or letter of introduction to a young woman should present it in person to the chaperone. If she is out, he should mail it to her, and she should at once notify him whether he may call.

If a caller is a stranger to the young woman's hostess, he should send his card to the latter and ask to see her.

The chaperone may, if desirable, give a man permission to call upon the woman under her charge.

A man should not call upon an unmarried woman until invited by her to do so. He may ask a married woman who has a family for permission to call.

GLOVES. Gloves need not be removed at a formal or brief call.