Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1894-08-30
ABOUT ,nTRoDucTIons.

slippery Ground Where Good Feeling and
Common Sense Are the Best Guides.
sufficient sympathy. for the man who
did not save another from drowning
because he had not been introduced
has never been aroused. Quite possible
he was victim of the etiquette books,
which have stuffed his head full of di-
rections for every possible emergency,
save that of addressing an entire
stranger with a view to saving his life
To some of the people who earnestly
study How" and Don't this depart
ment of social amenities remains an
uncharted ocean, and you need only
pretend to little, very little knowl-
edge, to be taken privately aside every
now and then and anxiously asked:
what is the etiquette of introduce
tions?'
Much mental peace and prosperity
would follow the digestion of this one
fact-that etiquette has very little to
do with it. Imitators of our ill-man-
nered step-relatives across the sea
have endeavored to make hard-and-
fast rule in the matter, but in most
quarters the simple old-fashioned idea
still prevails that an introduction is
simply making known of two peo-
pie who ought to know each other. for
one of only two reasons, 'either because
they are mutually congenial or because
they are about to be thrown together
into an extent which non-introduction
would render embarrassing. This is
in nutshell the etiquette or ethics,
whichever you please to call it, of the
occasion. There is only one other
guide necessary, and that to re-
member that since no amount
of custom or social rule can
make an intrinsically ill-bred
action anything but ill-bred, an intro
duction or non-introduction which is
likely to make anyone uncomfortable
is to be avoided in the face of any
thing one may be told by men or
angels, or more terrible still-Mrs.
Grundy.
Subject to this exception, it is wisest
not to introduce people at casual meet
ings in public places, street cars, stores,
or in the street. Many people do this
and the result is invariably that one
person remembers the introduction
afterward and the other does not with
innumerable contingent unpleasant
nesses. 1t is bad enough for dancing
acquaintance to have the bother of an
always unmutual decision as to
whether future recognitions is or is not
desira BILE; and when it comes o meet
ing the same problem with people
whom one has seen for one minute on
a street corner or in a railway station,
it is too much.
Aside from these instances, however,
''when in doubt, introduce" is very
good rule. An ever-mooted question on
which everyone has her opinion, is
whether or not the hostess shall intro
duce callers in her drawing room. Com
mon sense and the good feeling would
seem to indicate that it is best to do SO.
The fact that sit is done" need not,
however. carry any consolation to the
woman who does that rudest of rude
things-brings a friend with her to
small gathering or outing and intro
duces her to no one. At large affair
the thing is permissible, though trifle
snobbish; at a small one, where people
re supposed to entirely mix, both the
friend and the rest of the party have a
perfect right to feel insulted, and not
the sanction of a princess could redeem
the act. A princess wouldn't do it,
though, for observation shows that the
''thoroughbreds' have usually far less
fear of introducing acquaintances than
those who are on the social anxious
seat; fact which calls for Capt. Cut
ties advice: when found, make note
f.'-Philadelphia Press.