When  the  name  of  the  husband  and  wife  is  on  one  card,
as  "  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Blank/^  the  reception  day  is  of  course
omitted,  and  the  reading  of  the  surname  is  easier  if  the
leftr-hand  end  of  the  card,  where  the  "  Mr.  and  Mrs. "  are
placed,  is  turned  down.  But  its  signification  is  the  same
in  either  case ;  it  shows  that  the  card  was  left  in  person,
and  that  the  owner  would  have  come  in,  had  the  one  upon
whom  it  was  left  been  receiving.  There  is  absolutely  no
other  general  meaning  attached  to  the  turning  of  a  card,
across  either  the  right  or  the  left  end  in  America,  which
leaves  it  optional  with  all  to  do  as  they  choose.  Not
to  turn  a  card  causes  the  leaver  of  it  to  be  liable  to  the
suspicion  of  having  sent  it  by  a  servant.  In  countries
where  great  stress  is  laid  upon  such  trifles,  even  those  who
send  their  cards  by  servants  turn  them  across  one  end,  as
if  they  had  left  them  in  person.
