Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1879-07-09
London Etiuuette.
From Lippincott's Magazine.

If q dlnner-party be given in honor of
any lady, she it is that must make the
move after dinner in obedience to bow
from the hostess, and she takes a pre-
cedence over all the other guests on
leaving the room, for in London quit
ing the dinner-table is quite as solemn
and formal an affair as is the going to
it. The gentlemen are left at table to
take their wine while the ladies chat
and drink tea in the drawing-room If
the dinner Is given to no special per-
sonage, tie question of precedence is
settled, as usual, by rank. The knotty
point as to what foreign Ambassador
shall take precedence over any other is
settled by giving the pas to the one
that has been longest accredited to the
court of st. James. These minute
formalities are the bane Of social exist
ence in London. so far as an American
resident Is concerned. And an Amer
lean living in London, must perforce
visit among the natives if he or she
wish for society at all. There is no
American colony, as there is in Paris.
Such Of our country people as dwell in
London rapidly become affiliated with
the English, and many Of them become
imbued with the peculiar weakness of
the nation-namely, snobbery. Some
Americans who reside in London
shrink from being considered Amer
leans at all, and strive to ape the En-
glish in all their peculiarities and their
defects far more than in their finer
qualities. But this class of our coun-
try people abroad is unfortunately not
confined to London.
A very onerous popularity of English
society is the universal custom of fee
ing the servants at any house at which
an entertainment is given. After din
ner party gentleman will find a liv-
cried servant at his elbow to aid him in
putting on his coat. When tie custom
airy shilling has been offered and &C
cepted, turnkey No. disappears, and
turnkey No. appears with the victims
hat. Another shilling and another re-
treat; and up comes No. 3 with the
guests umbrella to be succeeded by
No. 4. who rushes out to Gail cab or
look after the carriage. At balls the
tariff is less severe, as only the
functionaries sin the dressing-rooms
claim to be paid. But visitor at an
English country house has his purse
pretty we'll depleted before departing.
In that case half crown is the small
est dOuceur that can with prOpriety
be rendered, and as all the personnel Of
the establishment is on hand to wish
the departing traveller goodbye, there
are always some six or seven at least to
claim fee. So important is this out
o,l Of, Lo
English servants that a very common
question to be asked by s. footman of
his future master, when in treaty for
an engagement, is: "Do you entertain
much?" An answer in the negative is
pretty sure to put stop to the neotia-
tons.
The visiting hours in London are the
same as in Paris-namely, from 3 to
6-and i every lady vino has
any pretensions whatever to mingle
in society has her reception-day.
Bread and butter, cake, tea and coffee
are usually offered to guests on these
occasions. AS a genaral rule, ladies
dress much less, either to receive calls
Or to pay them, than they do in Paris,
where an elegant toilet for the hostess,
and for her visitors as we'll, is ode riguer.' %
In fact, English ladies generally dress
far less than do either the Americans
or the Parisians. They are fond Of
cheap fnery, of odds and ends put to-
gether in rather startling fashion, of
appearing in breakfast-caps Or brown
undressed kid gloves at grand dinner
parties or balls, and such like excen-
tricities. AS in Paris, nobody ever
wears handsome dresses while walking.
Of late there has sprung up among a
certain set in London a fashion Of So
called artistic dressing with results
dreadful to contemplate.