The scene at a formal or official reception is a brilliant one. The Government officials, the officers of the Army and Navy, and the foreign legations mingle together in uniform, and the ladies are not in full dress but in reception toilettes. Diplomats and attachés wear their court costumes. The President stands at the head of the line, next to him his wife who invites several prominent ladies to assist her in receiving. As the guests enter they pass down the receiving line until they have greeted all of the ladies of the receiving party. The daughters of the household of a state official are not invited to state dinners unless the daughter is the female representative of the family. The general conduct of, and the social observances at these several ceremonies are the same as those which direct social observances elsewhere in good society. The cards of invitation and responses to the ordinary receptions do not differ from those in other American homes; but at the state dinners and official receptions, which are to be regarded in some sense as an interchange of international courtesy, the rules of attendance are very strict and no one would think of neglecting to attend without an eminently satisfactory excuse. End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Presiding Ladies of the White House, by Lila Graham Alliger Woolfall