Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1874-12-11
WHOLE NO. 21O.
gaoies department.
FoRMALITY.
by ELIZA y. ANTHONY.

If there is anything perfectly detest, it
is the don't-speak eak.to-me.until-I I-know-who-
you-are manner of some would-be ladies.
You meet them in church, the street-cars,
shopping, in fact, here, there and every.
where. Eight out Of ten women will stare
at you from head to foot, can tell within five
cents Of how much your costume is worth
and you can easily discover by the curled
lip or raised eyebrow the result of their 81.
lent criticism. But think you that one of
those eight would open conversation with
| you unless she had an introduction2 Not
bit of it.
have belonged to the library for about
eighteen months, visiting it as often az five
or six times week, aud during that period
spoke to one lady, who actually had the
courage to speak without either Of US know
ing who the other was.
Dreadful wasn't it2 In the course of
our conversation she said she had often no.
ticed the same thing that l had, namely, the
coldness Of one woman towards another, and
that she often felt tempted to speak to
strangers, when they would draw
themselves up so stiay and look so forbid
ding that she didn't know who would be
contaminated the most were they to speak.
One afternoon, as | was reading in the
library, there sat down beside me a young
lady-evidently gotten up for effect-and
alter watching me for about ten minutes
over the top Of her paper, l ventured to
break the ice, and said "Have you ever
read Middlemareh She looked at me q
full minute and then answered shortly,
Nj al. th
you play checkers p and was not surprised
when she answered coldly, mo, never away
from home Oh, D" and she rushed
to meet another young lady, upsetting a
chair on her way, and to judge from the
looks directed toward me, they found some-
thing infinitely amusing in the fact that
had dared to speak without an introduction
| supposed that | would be met half way in
a pleasant, lady-ike manner; but it only
proves that fine dress does not make the
lady.
A man will shake hands, and be "hai-fel-
low well met" with an individual he never
saw before-little difference to him whether
he is introduced or not but woman dare
not act fearlessly and break the shackles Of
custom, simply because she doesn't want to.
But if we speak to strangers, how do we
know they are respectable" ?" you ask. Are
you so immaculate that you think it would
contaminate if you spoke to some one who
was not respectable? l think l see you
shrug your shoulders and curl your lip at
the thought. But, pray tell me- does the
mere introduction make an individual re-
spectacle? If so, it is sham respectable
ty.
Reader, make friends and speak to stran-
gers, and if you should come across one who
is not respectable, instead Of holding your
musk-scented handkerchief to your face and
crossing to the other side Of the street, step
down from your pedestal of pride, leaving
some of your excusivcness behind you. You
won't miss it. Speak kindly to the unfortu-
nate and erring, and endeavor to lead them
back into the right path, and you will feel
far happier than if you waited for an intro
duction. Try it, and let me know the re-
sult.-Caly0rnia AgriculturiSt.