The invitations to this party read as follows:
_Hello! hello! hello!
A party's on the wire;
And you must surely go
Or else arouse my ire!
Friday evening
Eight o'clock_
The affair was planned by one girl to announce the engagement of a
chum, and of course the object of the party was not revealed in the
invitations.
All kinds of jolly games were played to pass the evening, and one
pleasant feature was "A Telephonic Conversation" by Mark Twain
rendered by a good reader.
The telephone was the keynote of the evening and played a prominent
part in the table decorations. A big blue paper bell such as one
sees in front of telephone booths hung over the center of the table.
Beneath it was a low bowl of forget-me-nots of which the guests did
not see the significance till later.
The candles were white with blue bell-shaped shades, and at each
person's plate as a favor stood one of the tiny glass telephones seen
in candy stores, full of candies.
The place-cards each bore a mock telephone number, such as Sing 1236,
Circle 6320, Joke 5156, Shiver 9315, Groan 231.
The menu was mostly white and served on blue dishes. It consisted of
chicken patties, hot rolls, cream cheese and white grape salad, and
vanilla ice-cream in blue frilled paper cases.
Toward the end of the ice-cream course the hostess asked the guests to
announce their telephone numbers, in turn. Whereupon, each person was
requested to rise from the table and act out his number. This was
comparatively simple and made everyone quite hilarious.
When it came the turn of the hostess, she said that her number was
Springit 42. The two (2), she said, were Elizabeth and John, and
this was the time she had chosen to spring the announcement of their
engagement.
Another way in which the announcement could be made is to prepare
telephone messages of the news and tie them to the ends of blue
ribbons hanging from the tongue of the bell. The hostess may announce
that the "bell tolled" when the guests are allowed to open and read
their messages.