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.But if your waitress,Get any book for free on: www.Abika.com ETIQUETTE IN SOCIETY, IN BUSINESS, IN POLITICS AND AT HOME167assisted by the chambermaid, perfectly waits on six, you will find that they can verynicely manage ten, even with accompanied dishes.26BLUNDERS IN SERVICEIf an inexperienced servant blunders, you should pretend, if you can, not to knowit.Never attract anyone s attention to anything by apologizing or explaining, unlessthe accident happens to a guest.Under ordinary circumstances least said, soonestmended is the best policy.27If a servant blunders, it makes the situation much worse to take her to task, thecause being usually that she is nervous or ignorant.Speak, if it is necessary to directher, very gently and as kindly as possible; your object being to restore confidence,not to increase the disorder.Beckon her to you and tell her as you might tell a childyou were teaching: Give Mrs.Smith a tablespoon, not a teaspoon. Or, You haveforgotten the fork on that dish. Never let her feel that you think her stupid, butencourage her as much as possible and when she does anything especially well, tellher so.28THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF PRAISENearly all people are quick to censure but rather chary of praise.Admonish ofcourse where you must, but censure only with justice, and don t forget that whetherof high estate or humble, we all of us like praise sometimes.When a guest tellsyou your dinner is the best he has ever eaten, remember that the cook cooked it, andtell her it was praised.Or if the dining-room service was silent and quick andperfect, then tell those who served it how well it was done.If you are entertainingall the time, you need not commend your household after every dinner you give, butif any especial willingness, attentiveness, or tact is shown, don t forget that a littlepraise is not only merest justice but is beyond the purse of no one.Chapter XVI.Luncheons, Breakfasts and Suppers1THE INVITATIONSALTHOUGH the engraved card is occasionally used for an elaborate luncheon,especially for one given in honor of a noted person, formal invitations to lunch invery fashionable houses are nearly always written in the first person, and rarely sentout more than a week in advance.For instance:Dear Mrs.Kindhart (or Martha):Get any book for free on: www.Abika.com ETIQUETTE IN SOCIETY, IN BUSINESS, IN POLITICS AND AT HOME168Will you lunch with me on Monday the tenth at half after oneo clock?Hoping so much to see you,Sincerely (or affectionately),Jane Toplofty.2If the above lunch were given in honor of somebody Mrs.Eminent, forinstance the phrase to meet Mrs.Eminent would have been added immediatelyafter the word o clock. At a very large luncheon for which the engraved cardmight be used, To meet Mrs.Eminent would be written across the top of the cardof invitation.3Informal invitations are telephoned nearly always.4Invitation to a stand-up luncheon (or breakfast; it is breakfast if the hour is twelveor half after, and lunch if at one, or one-thirty), is either telephoned or written on anordinary visiting card:If R.s.v.p.is added in the lower corner, the invitation should be answered,otherwise the hostess is obliged to guess how many to provide for.5Or, if the hostess prefers, a personal note is always courteous:6Dear Mrs.Neighbor:We are having a stand-up luncheon on Saturday, October Second,at one o clock, and hope that you and your husband and any guestswho may be staying with you will come,Very sincerely yours,Alice Toplofty Gilding.Golden HallSept.27.7A personal note always exacts a reply which may however be telephoned, unlessthe invitation was worded in the formal third person.A written answer is moreGet any book for free on: www.Abika [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |
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