The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1886-12-15
BADEAU AT 4 BALL.
HIS OBSERVATIONS ON THE POLITE
NESS OF ENGLISH SOCIETY"

The Great People Have Very Little
Grace-A Typical Incident-An Amer
lean Lady's suocess-Tbe Example Set
by the Queen.
Mrs. Norton and LorI Houghton knew
most Of the guests and pointed cut the nora-
bic ones. and nearly every enc was nc-cble
Yet there were crowds Of people whom aopar-
emily neither host nor hostess knew by sight,
and doubtless many whom they hated or
deSpised. For certain people have right to
be invited, as they have a right TO 90 10 court
1t IS not society without them; and the great
est magnates, when they open their houses,
want them filed with the world Perhaps
that Is why SO little courtesy Is shown the
guests after they arrive.
The duchess. learned. was in a rage that
night, for her mother had recently died. and
she had been unwilling To Law aside her
mourning, but the duke had some business re-
latlOns in Egypt with the khedive-lshmail
Pasha, the wicked One-and II was important
to his grace TO be civil 10 the African poten-
tate, so he forced the duchess 10 open her
house for the ball, and she could hardly be
courteous 70 her principal guests, far less the
inferior ones.
found this out for myself. for later in the
evening, when royalty had left, Mrs. Motley
saw the duchess apparently disengaged and
took me up TO her. After my name and posi-
ton had been mentioned made some little
comparison Of English balls with American.
complimentary to my hostess but although
there was no one else claiming her attention.
she turned deliberately away from both Mrs
Motley and myself in the midst of my sem
tence and left Us TO ourselves Then Mrs.
Motley explained that the grief Of her grace
had been disturbed, and that we were the
sufferers l hold myself at liberty to relate
this incident because it is typical.
The great people had very little grace
They saluted each other IN the coolest and
most Indifferent way; Offering a hand, it is
true, but with no show of cordialitv, and
without bow or the slightest inclination of
the head, hardly a recognition in the glance
The most intimate friends said How de do"
and How de do" back again, and passed on.
The superior always makes the advance for
the inferior must not presume. There is no
more equality in society than at court, and
those who wish to make themselves acceptable
must be careful to wait for their betters to
notice them; otherwise the rebuff is certain
We have no rank. and the English can not
apply TO US the rules which they enforce 50
vigorously among themselves. \ disposition
Is also increasing to recognize the fact that
distinctions may exist in other countries
ulA-S4 C1lC AIOL1l IilOSc 50 ulSull DTlZt9l IN
England, and, above all, Americans have
lately become the fashion Still, l remember
a countrywOman who had a great success.
She stayed at scores of country houses and
was as generally received as anybody in
England. She told me it was all very well
till it came to dinner, and then she always
had to go in with the doctor
have seen the great English people snubbed
very hard by those still higher than themselves
in the social scale. The queen sets the example,
and is disgracefully rude to any subject whom
she wishes to punish for q fancied misde-
meanOr She hardly recognized her former
favOrite, the Baroness Burdett-C outts. when
she came to court, because that lady married
to please herself instead of her sovereign. In
the same spirit stupid dukes look down on the
greatest authors and soldiers and the most
famous politicians as people whom their notice
raises, and on whom their disfavor inficts a
positive harm The curious part of it is that
the other people concur in the opinion.-Adam
Badeau's Letter