Past Pastime

Discover Victorian leisure: afternoon visits and calling cards!

How did wealthy people spend leisure time in the late 1800s? One fascinating pastime was to exchange afternoon visits. At each house, a visitor would leave a calling card. These printed cards included the person’s name, much like a business card of today. The cards would be placed on a tray and taken by a servant to the lady of the house. The hostess would then decide to accept the visit, decline the visit, or postponethe visit. After World War I, telephones and cars led to the end of this quaint social custom. 1. Which phrase best reflects the writer’s point of view? shocked by the custom distressed by the custom intrigued by the custom 2. In this paragraph, the word postpone means: get ready for make a decision answer put off until later