CALLING
Reading edition
CALLING
Bachelors no longer leave or “push” cards. It is considered provincial. After dining at a house, a man may think it policy to give the butler two dollars and his card. In return the butler will, during the next afternoon, discreetly slip the card upon the tray in the hall while the lady of the house is driving in the park.
If you are literally forced to pay a call, merely ask the butler if the ladies are at home. Should he say “No,” hand him your cards, and your work is over. Should he say “Yes,” pretend to him that you have mistaken the house, and that you were looking for the residence of another lady. Slip him a dollar and retire noiselessly down the steps.
It is often well, before starting out on a calling expedition, to have one’s servant telephone to a dozen or so mansions to discover which of the ladies are out. You can then leave cards in these particular houses with comparative safety.