The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1873-09-18
Company Manners.

-hOEL4A4z AE Ill
difference between the thoroughbred
and the half bred, than the fact tina
the latter have company manners
and the former have not. Or ratbel
that the company manners OF thl
/ former go all through-their own fire
sides and their friends drawing room.
4 seeing no difference between then.
while with tho latter they are tenn
I pOraTy and removable, put on witt
I the company clothes, and Ike them
unaccustomed in the cut, and uneasy
in the fit -
The first thing that dresses itself fol
company after the body, is the voice
The company voice is thing slti-qen.
eris, and quite as easy to understand
as company clothes. With women
of the intense feminine kind, it is apt
to be rendered thin in quality or pine-
ing in method or both, when pitch
ed in true company key. Grit may
be presented simply smooth, level,
waxen, with as little variety Of emo
tion as there is in the tinkling of a
musical snuff-bOx. With others 0l
the man-aping kind-it is sent to the
lowest depths of the chest, IN imita-
ton of the bearded baritoDes. Some
have lisp when they are seeing
friends; and some have the daIntiest
little dash Of accent. Some, " 10 are
of the arch and playful order of fem
inalities, fling their voices up to the
top of the throat, whence it issues in
piping treble, as from a highly
attenuated flute. AthOme these voic-
es are comfortable. round, common.
place; coming from a natural point,
and neither dug out of cavern nor
jerked from q smsll.holed fiute, like
tfe wind through q key-hole. And
at hCme The liSper sounds all hers
clear and sibiland, aud the pretty ac-
cent has vanished and left not trace.
One person-iet Us suppose lady
for the Oeeasi0n--assumes, as the CON-
pany manner that which best becomes
her, exuberant gayety. She has been
mplimentedo on nherbrightness, on the
vivaeity OF her face, conversation and
bearing; on the enormous amount OF
vitality she must have to float her, as
it has done, over her troubles, perhaps
over her forty years old; on the de-
lightful sparkle of her eye; on her ex-
quisitely ripDlipg, delicious, hearty,
or jocund laugh. HeneefoTth bright
ness is put on with the pearl neck
lace and the pink bows. At home
she may be as gloomy as the duliest
old crow that ever eroaked; but no
sooner does company appear than she
dresses her face and demeanor in
smiles and brightness and only those
who know her. understand the real
meaning of her show. Another in
vests in grace and sweetness; another
in sympathy. Another, puts on the
presence Of sorrow. ETHEREAL and re-
fined melancholy goes as part OF The
dress which marks company.
The company manner or some is 10
pose as statues. You won der how
they would act if the house was on
fire; whether they would lose their
classic graees then in the wild demon
strations Of fear, or pass between the
the smoke aud flame like Dido de-
serted, or Ipheeguia on the way to
sacrifice. AS 1t is, they put on the
slightly parted lips, the bended brow,
the curved arm, the three-quarters
face as trimmings to their long, limp
robes which simulate the flow OF
Phidian draperies; when they move,
they move FythmetiealIy; every atti-
tude is studied so as to fail into har-
moniCus lines; and they know the
exact value of each position and all
the best views. The whole of it is
company manner, without one shred
of spontaneity or natural loveliness.
At home, behind the protecting cur
tains of their privacy, theX sit cross
legged, coil tnemselveS ungracefully
in the easy chair, slope without re-
gard to line against the chimney
piece, lean their elbows ON tile table
neither gracefully curved or nobly
posed and when they walk in safe
places, not expt citing to meet their
friends, they bowl along just as any
unclassic vulgarian might, without a
thought of their usual role, which is
to look like a figure out of the Pana-
thenaic frieze, or the last discovery at
Pompeii. One girl glides about with
scarce lifted feet, like naiad floating,
rather than a woman walking, when
she has adorned herself in low frOcB
and artificial flowers in her hair. An.
other makes q few short steps forward
with a curious little art of balancing
herself on one foot If she is arrested,
never seen in private life, and always
reserved for company. A third has a
pretty, puzzled air when you go up ia
speak to her; then laughingly apollo
gizes as she pities herself for her stu
pid shOrt-sightedness, which she has
put on with her white muslin and
satin shoes. This short-sightedness,
by the way, is q common form Ol
company manners with both women
and men. To the one it gives a touch
ing, appealing kind of grace; 4 sug
gestiOn of helplessnesS that needs
carefully guiding; OF innocence that
could be so easily deceived. To tire
other it allows certain cool impu-
denee that cannot be resented even 10y
the most fiery.
The whole theory of good breeding
is artificial; and Nature is against cur
plueking grapes from bramble busht ;.
What we SOW, that We must general
ly reap; and having determined that
society is not to be composed of men
and women, but of dolls, pictures and
uneovenanted actors, we need not be
surprised when We unmask The DUN
mics and come down to the wood.
The code of company mNnners t0ler-
ates no approach to natIs- Alness. Nei-
ther passion nor piety, neither entlu-
siasm nor condemnation, nothing but
the grace and pretense, is allowed in
that arbitrary Kingdom of the drawing
room. The only thing which can rec
oncile US to this Decentralization is its
thoroughness. The best bred people
have no company manners because
they are always in company at home
or abroad. In all technical subtleties
they are educated from the beginning;
hence are always at ease. From the
beginning, too, they are taught self
suppression, pOliteness, personal grace;
and their self-cOnsciousness is that
drs eeLdTe drtenl which manifests it.
self only in the most courteous atten-
ton to others, one consequence of
which is, that their lives are all art,
and that their art, as such, is perfect.
No broad lines here, no bold daubs
there, to distress ones sense of deliea-
cy or harmony. Everything exactly
modulated, deliciously toned. Wheth-
er the end is worth the means en-
ployed, is lot question to be settled
Off-hand. One thing, however, is GER
tain; it is best to have our company
manners with as little afiectation as
possible, and to retain just enough OF
our real selves as is sufficient for nat
ural dignity and selfrespect, when we
put on our drawing-roOm clothes, and
shake hands with the host we despise
and the gue-ts we dislike--LORCtOE
Saturday ResTe5o.
The Old Stage Preachers.