The Sentinel. [volume] (Trenton, N.J.) 1880-1882, 1882-05-13
Bowing on the Continent.

Perhaps one of the most agonizing
incidents of foreign travel is the prac-
tice of universal MISUNDERSTANDING
with ones hat off out of doors, when
addressing lady, or in the presence
government f1unkies, Gaping people
you never knew because they happen
to know the friend you are walking
with, bowling to the shoeblack ut your
hotel, to the scullion in the yard, to
the chambermaid on the stairs, to the
secretary, to the shop-girl, to the in
definite female character seated at the
desks in all the cafes, to the people at
the table d'hote, in the railway or
omnibus, and know not where be-
sides! Well, / thought all this was
understood abroad; went about say
ing, "How beautiful is this custom!
how much we have to learn in polite
nessW did little of it with great
difficulty myself, and pretended 10
like 1t, and looked surprised and
shocked when anyone voted the whole
business bore! Judge, then, of my
establishment upon reading the fol-
lowing note in the Paris Figaro:
fought one to salute ON entering
railway, omnibus, etc ? This question
which we have submitted to our
readers, has been answered differently
by many correspondents. Out of
twenty, eight are affirmative, twelve
are negative we select the following
replies. Affirmative: When you get
into train, you enter private or a
public place, whichever you may
choose to consider it. In raising your
hand to your hat, you simply actin a
polite manner to strangers who will
do the like to you when they alight;
tits a simple rule of good company
Here is the negative:
"'Never whilst live! have paid
for my place, 1 take it, and occupy it
like the rest; they are prepared to
growl at me the instant get in, it is
needless to salute them
"Here is another negative:
No; no more need to bow in q
railway than at cafe or restaurant;
you might as well bow on entering a
circus notice the people who bow;
they either look nervously timid, silly
or like people afraid of the police"
But the most remarkable sentence Is
this closing opinion of the editor of
the Figaro i: "This last negative opin-
ion is on the whole our ownW Now
upon this truly awful and complex
subject of Continental bowling I almost
hesitate to pronounce an opinion, but
one of two things is clear. Either
bowling is essential to politeness, or it
is not; if it is, the influence of the
crude Briton is rapidly corrupting the
polite Frenchman, who evidently
won't go on bowling without return,
in which case the Briton is an i'm
porter of bad manners; or if all this
bowling is not essential to politeness,
why then the Briton is public and
courageous benefactor, a model of
good sense, and the Frenchman ought
to be thankful for being corrected.
should like to believe this, but I
have some qualms. AS naturally
practised abroad, certain almost uni
versal grace of manner, of which this
bowling is part, seems to me to add
sweetness and dignity to life. don't
think it can be imported into Eng
land, but confess / should be sorry
to see the Frenchman or italian give
up his bow in imitation of the Eng
lishman las the editor of the Figaro
seems to propose), as should be an
noyed to see the English shopkeeper
adopt the foreign practice of haggling
over the price of his goods. Alas how
truly has someone said, "When ma
tions meet, they exchange their vices
not their virtuesW Personally, as to
bowling at home, I intend to err
steadily on the wrongside; but when
| am in France and Italy, intend
to doas much like the foreigner
as can, short of wearing out my hat
or wagging off my head!