FOR a long time there was a felt need for some form of entertainment that would be more general in its character than a dinner or a lunch, less of a full-dress affair than an evening party, and more elaborate than the ordinary kettle-drum or afternoon tea. This want was finally supplied by the introduction of the standing lunch, which is in reality little more than a regular reception, such as usually takes place in the evening, held in the afternoon. To this both ladies and gentlemen are invited.

The hours for which the guests are asked—usually from four to six or seven—preclude the necessity of full dress. The men usually wear morning coats, while the women are arrayed in handsome calling costumes, and do not remove their bonnets. It may be remarked, en passant, that the wearing of the hat or bonnet is, or should be, a rule without exception at a ladies' lunch. Only the hostess or those of the company who are guests in the house appear with their heads uncovered. The others wear handsome dressy bonnets, such as they would assume for the theatre in the evening or for an afternoon reception.

The hostess who desires to entertain her friends or to discharge her social obligations by a standing lunch must issue her invitations some days in advance of the date fixed. They should be formal, and are usually engraved, although they may be written. The former method is preferable.

At a lunch of this kind, as the name implies, the guests are not to be seated at one large table, nor even at a number of small ones. The large dining-room table and sideboard are set out with a repast consisting of some hot and some cold dishes. The guests move about the drawing-room, seating themselves if they have the chance, as they would at an evening reception, and are served with plates containing the successive courses, either by waiters or by their escorts. Not only is there less formality in the conduct of the guests than would be observed at an ordinary luncheon, but there is also less precision in the serving of the refreshments.

For such a lunch the hostess does well when she provides a number of camp-chairs in addition to the seats she already has in her rooms. It is always more agreeable to eat when one is seated than when standing and endeavoring to handle a full plate and a brimming coffee-cup at the same time. Such an effort is severe even for a man, who has been obliged to practise it all his life, but it is doubly distressing to a woman, who is in constant terror lest an unguarded movement on her own or her neighbor's part should cause an upset and a spill that might fatally damage at least one gown, and possibly more.

In preparing for a standing lunch, or for any other large reception, it is prudent for the hostess to clear her parlors of such breakables as statues, tall vases, piano lamps, etc., that rest upon pedestals or easily overturned stands. These, if not taken from the room, should be moved into corners where they will be comparatively safe from injury; while the largest pieces of furniture, such as sofas or lounges and big easy-chairs, should be wheeled back near the wall, so as not to interfere with the movements of people through the rooms. Light chairs should stand about here and there, and the camp-chairs should be stacked in some convenient closet or in the corner of the hall, whence they can be produced at a moment's notice when the refreshments are served.

The floral decorations may be either simple or ornate, according to the wishes of the hostess. Mantels banked with flowers, chandeliers and brackets draped with smilax, a profusion of roses, and baskets of choice cut flowers are very beautiful, but the rooms can be rendered attractive by less costly means. If there is to be a large number of guests, the flowers will be unnoticed by many of them unless judgment be shown in the disposition of vases. These should be placed on the mantels, on brackets, on the top of the piano, or in some other place where they will be seen readily, rather than on low tables, where they are not only hidden, but are in imminent danger of being knocked over. Palms or ferns in pots and other growing plants decorate pleasingly, and can be engaged for the evening from a florist, if the mistress of the house neither owns them nor feels inclined to buy them.

In preparing the dining-room table it should be drawn out to a size that will permit of its holding without undue crowding the dishes and plates that will be required for the lunch. If the refreshments are too numerous to be accommodated here, the sideboard should be cleared for their reception, and even one or two side-tables brought in. The table should be spread with a long white cloth. A bowl or jar or pot of flowers may be in the centre of the board. Very elaborate floral arrangements are unnecessary in the dining-room, unless a good many of the guests are expected to come out here.

At each end of the table and at intervals along the sides spaces should be left for the dishes that are to hold the refreshments. Between these may be the piles of plates and the napkins. These may either be separate or arranged together, a napkin being laid on each plate and all placed in piles, so that they may be easily distributed. Forks and spoons should also be close at hand, with the necessary utensils for serving the different dishes, that there may not be a hurried search for a carving knife or fork or a large spoon just at the last moment, when its presence might have saved delay and confusion.

The side-table should hold the coffee and chocolate cups, the wineglasses, goblets, or tumblers for water, etc. Let it be seen, by the way, that there is plenty of iced water in readiness. Many a guest at a large reception has longed for a drink of it and found it apparently the hardest thing to get which he could have selected.

Unless the hostess has a remarkably well- trained butler, and one or two other servants who understand waiting, she will be wise if she engages hired waiters to take charge of the serving of the dishes, and has her butler and maids confine their services to passing plates in the drawing-room. This is pleasanter than having the outside helpers waiting on the guests, while their skill and practice in serving render them most efficient in the work of filling plates.

The first course of a standing lunch is usually bouillon, served in cups. When these have been removed, a plate is brought to each guest containing oysters in some shape, usually fricasseed or creamed, and accompanied possibly by a lobster croquette or a sweetbread or mushroom pÂtÉ. The third course may comprise chicken croquettes or rissoles, accompanied by lettuce or celery salad. Both with this and the preceding course tiny square or three-cornered sandwiches of thin bread and butter, spread with some potted meat or fish, with sardines, or with lobster mayonnaise, may have been passed. After this course come the sweets—ice-creams or ices in small shapes, biscuit in paper cases, and fancy cakes—followed by coffee or chocolate. Nothing must be served that cannot be easily eaten with a fork or spoon. Light wines or a bowl of punch are always in order.