The Dupuyer acantha. [volume] (Dupuyer, Mont.) 1894-1904, 1896-07-16
MYsrEnrEs OF ETIQUETTE.
The Mind Tottcrs I'm over
One Of Its


Few things are more mysterious in
this riddlcsolnc world than etiquette.
1t even bothcrS some women, and as
for the men. as Il class, they make ne
pretcnse OF understanding it's fine
points or sensing it's siihtelitieS. They
leave that to their sisters, swecthearts
and wives. and they don't always
keep out of trouble. a man can man
& to fiud out whether gloves are
worn at parties or not this ear. and
lie knows that IL dress suit is proper
after 6 O'Clock. But there are many
nicer and smaller details than these
which give him q sense of uncertain
ty and introduce an element of worry
into his social experiences. There Is
Il story about Mark Twain. apocry-
phal or otherwise, that on n evening
occasion, he ahsentnlindedly failed to
wear a necktie, and neXt morning
sent it around by messenger with
apologies. 1t would be we'll If we
could all make u slips of etiquette
right in hat ann
One of the chief difficulties about ct
iquette Is the fact that it displays
local variations. A new book which
lies before lis is an illustration. 1t is
entitled "Ofhcial. Diplomatic and So
cial Etiquette of Washington" COM
piled by Katherine e. Thomas. with
an Introductory note by Mrs. John A.
Logan. The very appearance of such
a volume implies that while n may
be nu fat with social usages in New
York or Boston or Hartford. one has
still much to learn in connection with
the gay and glittering life in the cos
mOpolitan capital. A glance at the
book confirms the impression. The
reader is indoctrinated into the matter
of calls, for example: and learns that
the wife of ar eXpresident should do
one thing, the wife of a defeated pres
idential candidate another. the wife Of
a vice president still another, and so
on through the cabinet. the supreme
court, the senators and representa-
tives. Ones head fairly spins in just
reading about this part of the general
subject; one would rather learn to
) play chess than get up the etiquette of
calls in Washington.
Then the extremely import
ant matter of cards-which is much
harder to grasp. You do one thing
when you leave a card at q hotel. an
other thing when it is a private house;
there are wheels within wheels until
you can't rest. Take this: "In max
ing calls after an entertainment, a
daughter can leave a card for a moth
er, but in so doing p. reason should be
given for the failure of the mother to
make the call in person." What a
vista of intrigue. mendacity and
household disruption this opens to the
gaze. How can any daughter be sure
of rearing a good mother? And this
is only n minute instance. Dinners,
~introductions. letters of various kinds.
receptions are taken up in turn, and
the authoress dismisses the bewild-
cred male seeker after social wisdom
with a few miscellaneous pointers
the proper time for decollette gowns
when, how and to whom to courtesy,
when to shake hands, and the like
which serve to round out his despair
One of the effects of reading the pref.
ty little volume will be the registra.
ton of an oath not to take a spring
trip to the capital this year. There are
too many rules to break. AS this
guide to etiquette is an inexpensive
affair. and the Southern trip would in.
evitably cos much. it would be mon.
ey in his pocket for a man to read it
Hartford Courant,