hostess can think of nothing more appropriate than a chummy tea to
introduce them to her friends. So charming a way of entertaining is the
afternoon tea that it has usurped the evening reception almost entirely,
except when the occasion requires special formality.

THE SIMPLER TEA

Then, too, there is the simpler tea so dear to the hearts of our
hospitable ladies of good society. It was George Eliot who earnestly
inquired, "Reader, have you ever drunk a cup of tea?" There is something
undeniably heart-warming and conversation-making in a cup of steaming
hot tea served with delicious cream; it is an ideal prescription for
banishing loneliness. Perhaps it is not so much the tea itself, as the
circle of happy friends eager for a pleasant chat.

As the simple tea does not require very much preparation or planning, we
will discuss it briefly here and take up only the formal tea in detail.
The simple tea may be served for any guest who chances in between four or
six o'clock in the afternoon. Sometimes a hostess devotes a stated time
each day or on certain days in the week which are known to her friends,
to tea, and she lets her friends know just what the hour is and that they
are welcome to join for a bite and a little chat whenever they feel so
inclined. There may be one or several little tea tables which are
brought into the drawing-room when the guests are ready for tea.
Covering each one is a dainty lace or linen doily, or an embroidered
tea-cloth. If tea tables are not available, one large table may serve
the purpose, but it also must be covered with small doilies at each cover
instead of one large table-cloth.

The hostess and one or two of her friends may serve. The tea is made at