Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-01-31
Shirley Dare on Etiquette.

1 have received the following Interesting
note from Pittsburg, the name alone being
fictitious.
When calling on two sisters and address,
ing the younger as Miss Brown in presence
Of the older one. is it proper, or called for,
or polite, that the lady should call a gentle
mans attention to the fact that she wished
to be addressed, Miss Pansy and not Miss
Brown. Quite an argument was the result.
We decided to take your opinion for granted
and say no more. The gentleman is not at
Pansy Brown is II and the older 20, and the
gentleman is "a years of age. To the best
OF our knowledge the gentleman has never
attempted to correct Miss Pansy Brown in
quaint you with the above circumstances in
order that you may be able to give correct
opinion.
Here is coil A very nice young man
who wants his manners irreproachable as
the gloss of his high hat, makes the mistake
of calling a younger sister Miss Brown in
presence of the elder girl, who alone has q
right to the dignity of the title, he gets
nettled when corrected, and makes matters
worse by holding an argument, and it is
safe to judge . warm one, with the hostesses
of the hour on the subject.
The Rights of Elder Sisters.
Uutil girl is long past % she wants sll
honor of her eldership, and the buds of the
family likewise hardly care to be taken for
their elders. If there is any point on which
any one has an undoubted right to decide, it
is upon his or her own name and style of
address. To argue the point only empha-
sizes the error. The young man should have
gracefully accepted Miss. Pansy's correction
and made his mistake forgotten by being
interesting on another subject.
A man who wishes to be a gentleman,
with or without capital G, does not hold
serious arguments with women in society.
He goes to debating club for that amuse-
ment. Argument is one of the things in
which men usually have the best of women,
and only boor or the great American ami
NAL takes pleasure in showing off his
strength against women's natural weakness
of arm or intellect. That Mr. X has never
presumed to correct Miss Pansy on any
point makes no difference. He does not
seem to understand that in civilized society
women have privileges, and it is quite
within the right of man or woman to correct
a mistake in the form of address the first
time it is made. "Miss Pansy' may be
spoken quite as respectfully as "Miss
Brown" and would save uncertainty as to
which lady was spoken to. Very possibly
Miss Pansy grew tired trying to determine
whether Mr.. rs last remark was for her
elder sister or herself, and reminded him
that she had a Distinguishing name of her
own.
.sg.r A Matter of Serious Annoyance.
A young man must expect to be set right
on more points than one in society. A man
who never makes mistakes, Chauncey De-
pew saws, never makes anything. It is
very much better to be set right promptly
than be allowed to run up an account of
blunders.
1t is presumed Miss Pansy ventured her
correction with kindness and tact Girls
sometimes criticise men in way meant to
cut their feelings, and "take them down."
a most unwomanly and ill-bred thing. A
correction may be right in itself and wrong
in manner, which stamps the critic worse
than the offender. A sensible person counts
a correction a favor, however, no matter
how 1ll-naturedly given. and is thankful to
shed fault, even at cost of a Craze to his
self-loye