Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1884-02-22
} How :to Make Acq quaintances,

] Z s &
ii most large towns residents call
FIRST oli newcomers, j. q rule laid down
by a writer in the Bus1r.* In. Washing-
ton thissetaduette is reversed, and new
coners call first On the residents.
Every one, from the highest officials
down, returns these, mad after this
ceremony the caller. generally finds him
self invited TO the receptions of the
President and his Cabinet, the houscs
Of the officers ;of the army and navy.
the Judges of the Supreme Court, and
those Of Senators and Representatives.
Formerly no etiquette was necessary at
the Whita-House; every one rushed in
to- q reception without the formality OF
| cards. ~ l,2". %...>. j = i
The social arrangements ofWashing-
ton are SO Convenient that it is athousand
Ipities that this vtisuette does not 90 into
practice Ill over o,if land, as no resi-
|; dent Of g Large city can possibly know
IsWh ether her dearest friend is in town
unless informed Of that fact. This does
mot, as some might feaI, expose society
to the entree of unwelcome intruders.
Tact, which is the only guide through
the raazes OF society, will always
enable anyone to avoid ain unWelcome
intimacy or q doubtful acquaintance,
should such person call first. Now
! tors disagree-wher may a lady call by.
fproxy, OF when nnay she send her card?
| and when must she caA in person?
After dinner-party q lady must call
in person and inquire If the lady OF the
house is at home. For other entertain
ments it is allowable former to send her
,, daughter, her governess, or her maid
wluE,S her card, or she may send her
card by ,2ail. In sending to inquire
for {. persons health. cards may be
sent BY servants with Kindly message,
No FIRST visit, however, should be re-
turned by card only, This would be
lowed by an invitation. But the size Of
New York, the great distances, the busy
life of a woman of charities and large
family, and an imm ense circle Of fricnds
often render personalyisit impossible.
She may be considered to haye done
her duty if she in her turn ask ner new
acquaintance to'call on her on q spcci-
fed day. We have thus far looked at
the question from the, standpoint of a
lady who has an assured position and
too many friends. We will now look
upon it from the light OF a person who
has no (or very few acquaintance and
no introductiosis. We have considered
the question negatively. We are all
more Ur less newcomers in this new
land; we are al carpet -oaggers, or may
be; SO we will look at it af1irmativelv.
We will suppose that q young couple
marry and go to Milwaukee; they do
not know anybody; they are alone.
The husband makes his business friends;
they take q scat in !; church; they have
house, The young bride feels lonely.
She would like to know Mines. A, B.,
and C; but they do not call upon her;
she is afraid to call upon them; she is
unhappy: She asks what shall she do.
Undoubtedly did. Mines. A, B, and G
know this they would so and call.
Certainly the ly.rge-minded and kind
hearted would. But they are preoccu-
pied; they know nothing of her; they
are busy. It is a hard position, and
| one which is the cause Of much social
strife.
The Court Grrowski, in his book on
America, mentions the fact that ''every
American woman is afraid Of every
other.' He was an old aristocrat, and
he look ed upon our attempts at exclu~
! siveness with a derisiye scorn. He
| said '1hat the habits of American life
were those of the burgers Of prosperous
towns like Hamburg and Antwerp, that
they seldom, ii ever, rose much above
q contracted Hlegance, with no entour.
age OF nobility, but that he would hear
the wife Of one respectable doctor talk OF
keeping the wife OF another respecta-
| BILE doctor ''out of society,"" as the
Countess Ida might speak Of the pre-:
sumption of her former dressing-maid.
There is an exclusiveness which is
honorable and right No one can pre-
tend that there is not. No onepretends
that Mrs. Brown or Mrs. Jones IS te
| have an unsympathetic person foisted
upon her, n She is to select her owl
friends, and she may with p5lr;oprriety
say that Mrs. Clark is unsympathetic
and not tosher taste. There are Mrs.
IiClarks in this world who show d very
great want of delicacy. in forcing them
selves upon society, just as. there arc
nervous and! tin1id snobs who are think
ing Of the shadbWy boundarY-line, their
position; both are to be: avoided. 4i4e 81
I We see no less Of caste however, in
business Of first call, even should it
not be returned. A young woman in a
new city who has. not been introduced,
ifshe is sure q, her responsibility and
that Of her husband, may certainly call
on her clergy mans family, that Of h I
doctor $, and her opposite neighbor, il
kind Offices cali for her sympathy. =,