The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1891-09-24
LEAVE TAKING.
TACT AND DECISION MUST BE
BROUGHT TO BEAR.
Stand not Upon the Order of Your
Going. but go at Once When You
Have Paid Your Call.
New York World.

-. ~ N G. E r not over
STS your farewell. Guilt
TS1.Rx vate leaving prompt
lkNsls(I1 ly even if you can't
amIMN II do it in an artistic
Yrs rrlymzENzE6 way, learn to do it
II j. 4 TX somehow.
VNi " Some people seem
to be anchored in the parlor when
they pay call. To the flight of time
and the near approach Of her hostess
dinner hour this sort of caller pays no
attention. Frequently she says, "Oh,
| must co." gets up, sits down again,
and goes on talking. Presently she
again says that she must go, gets up
and continues to talk She gets into
the hall at length, and talks there.
Finally the anxious visitee, who hears
the baby crying up stairs, gets the
door open for her guest, who makes
supplementary call upon the door step,
exposing the other to pneumonia. At
last she descends the steps, and the
hostess precipitately retreats and shuts
the door for fear she will think Of
something else to come back and say.
The writer once heard of woman
who, considerably chagrlned whom she
knew had these staying powers just as
she was preparing for keeping an lm-
portant engagement, decided to go
into the parlor with her bonnet on and
explain her hurry. She even arranged
with Eer husband to come into the
room and remind" her at the end of
a quarter of an hour.
The guest did not take hint from
the bonnet beyond saying that she
would stay only few minutes, but
when the reminder came she exclalm
ed, ooh, then | must go, of course -
stood up and remained talking several
minutes more, walked to the door and
stopped again. At last Mrs. r., i'll
desperation, suggested that they should
walk along together as far as they
could. The visitor agreed, but even at
the corner where they parted she stood
talking long enough for Mrs. r. to
lose her train and her appointment.
Shy and nervous young people have
the hardest time in leaving, and are
more to be pitied than blamed. Their
suffering is often great. They are i'm
pressed with the idea that the how is
of more consequence than the what,
and they keep trying and trying to
lead the conversation up to what they
think will be graceful departure. They
are wishing themselves away a great
deal more desperately than any one
else can. They watch for pauses in
the conversation and clear their throats
to Introduce some variation upon
Lemue's "I guess I'd better be
going.' but they are never quick
enough. Somebody else begins to
speak, and they resign themselves with
sinking hearts to waiting another ten
minutes.
Still, it is not always the callers
fault that she does not go. Sometimes
it is the hostess who is the fluent per
son, who ends every sentence with a
rising infection, indicating that it Is
only suspended, and that she is going
right on. In such case it may appear
to the caller as if it would be rude to
interrupt, though she may have heard
the muff1ed tiptoeing OF the rest of the
family past the parlor door and the
subdued clatter of china from some
where, and have a painful suspicion
that dinner or tea is ready and they
don't want to ring the bell.
But there is one golden rule at least,
that the caller may stick to. When
you once get up to go, never sit down
again.