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Arrangements for Formal and Informal Theater Parties—The Supper—The Bachelor and His Duties as Host and as Guest—Dress and Behavior at the Theater, Opera, and Concert-hall.
AN informal theater party may be an impromptu affair got up at short notice. It may either be a Dutch treat, where every one pays for himself, or one or more persons may act as hosts and invite the others to go at their expense. If a gentleman and his wife ask another lady to accompany them, they should either call for her or invite her to dine with them. At the conclusion of the performance they should take her home, or the husband alone could do so. It is not necessary to have a carriage if the street-cars are near at hand. If two ladies living in the same house are invited, the tickets may be sent to them, asking them to meet their hosts at the theater. Unless they are very young women, it will be proper for them to go together, whereas for a lady alone it would not be quite pleasant to do so. When the concert or play is over, the host will see them to their carriage or to the street-car. If the hour is late, he will offer to escort them home. If they assure him that they are not afraid to go alone, he will not insist upon doing so, unless he believes this necessary for their protection. Two young and pretty women are liable to annoyance from rude passers-by at a late hour in the evening.
If a man wishes to take a young lady to the theater he must invite her mother or other chaperon to be of the party. This is a safe and excellent rule to follow, and few exceptions should be made to it. In the case of cousins or old friends it is sometimes broken, especially if the lady is not in her first youth. But young women should remember that, as the world is very censorious, one who broke this rule often would be the subject of unfavorable comment. A girl may, of course, go to the theater with her brother. The gentleman may invite a married lady to matronize the party, or he may ask the girl to choose her own chaperon. He calls for both his guests; first for the matron, then for the young lady. At the close of the performance he escorts them both to their houses, leaving the younger woman first at her residence, and then the elder one at hers. Where the chaperon has been provided by the girl, the man may, if he prefers, send them the tickets and meet them at the theater or concert-hall, waiting for them in the lobby. He would certainly offer at least to escort them home, unless they were going in a carriage. In this case he would content himself with asking the man at the door to call it, or going to find it himself, should this be necessary, and putting them safely into their own conveyance. He should endeavor to find a sheltered place for them to stand pending the arrival of the vehicle, and keep a sharp lookout himself lest the carriage lose its place in the line and so make the ladies wait for an undue length of time.