The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-02-05

Etlquette for Americans" By G
Woman of Fashion. Herbert S. Stone
& Co., Chicago and New York.
Undoubtedly there are crises in the
lives of even the most Indifferent OF
self-sufticient of people when they eth.
err fall back on a book of etiquette in
their dilemma what to do and how tc
pehaVe, or else. have recourse to the
greater social experience of a friend tt
eXulcate them from their quandary
There come moments in existence Wher
we perceive that our mastery over al
gepra or our skill in manipulating the
STOCK market viii not aid US, and wher
without being either frivolous or vain
we would gladly surrender them fol, the
sake OF knowing which fork to use On
what TO say next. In the older coun-
trles they manage these things better
mere they teach manners Just as they
teetch geography or arithmetic-only
rather better, and ones social duty tc
society is held TO be as important as
ones moral sometimes more So
On the other side of the Atlantic they
go upon the plan that the earlier one
learns these things the less they have
70 leafn later and the more hard and
unpleasant experiences they escape,
ana VINO will say that this is not The
iiSnl view OF it?
me book under consideration is Ia
Ken Ken al in all, quite the best thing of its
=, Mitiu ~ ,tilal mas appeared Within a decade
, = woman OF Fashion is evidently d
person Of both SAVIOR faire and tsayoir
NINfe' VINO has observed intelligently
ana noted accurately, and who Joins
10 the true zeSt of living for III o5,.,
adke a touch of shreWd pllilosonhv and
more than hint Of cvDjcism 60
knows how to discourse wittilv mon
the technicalities of calling. invitations
S ulutleis' weddings, funerals. letter
ba, 1.iis,. conversation, ehaperonage the
Nlor OF unmarried women, dress
ana the treatment of servants
upon most matters her dlcta are
wise, OFTEN they are amusing. For in
stance, anent the subject of dinner If
Is Is amusing to read: Soup. it NAV not
ne necessary to state, is taken uD bv
me spoon turned away from the eater
ana slpped from the side of the imnle,
ment with as little noise as possible ,,
How Ruth Ashmorian that soundsr
BUY sensible number of boots shoes
ana stockings; and don't Law in rein
as if you never expected TO
see see another cent. AS for household
it'll ana those things, most girls are
PROVIDED with those by their PARENTS
and they are considered part Of re
legltlmate kit" is part of her advica
10 tue prlde-elect. To the giver Of small
entertainments she SAYS: mo one can
Follow up everybody's likes. dislikes, or
quarrels, If two persons sit beside
each other who do not speak. they must
speak Tor the occasion, that is all, and
the ulsclpllne will do them good"
The chapters on "Telephoning /"
Sports" and Treatment of Report
ers,' Indicate the extreme modernness
Oh the book. The last-named
chapter is, however. full of
mlsapprehensions and misstate-
menus. The gist of it is that the "in-
is an Acknowledged evil".
that the reporter who comes to the
mouse of death insults the mourners:
but that 1t is best to be civil to re.
porters who call at other times. for
one reason, because he Cor she) is a
poor devil any way; for another, be-
cause tne Item about you, when it APP
pears, IS likelier to appear straight;
and for still another, because "a news
paper grudge often crops out unexpect-
eddy and does damage
The real reason for being
civil is that the reporter is. like
yourself, human being, and that to
treat him otherwise when at work he
is only asking you harmless or unne-
cessary questions, is to make a fool of
your self. The man or woman who
admits a reporter to his or
her house, and then foams and busters
at him, is cad On the former hand.
any reporter who under pretence- of he
ing something else gains admittanee to
A house generally Observation-Disclosures ne
gets in the W1V Of snIjhS
To say that there are very decent,
kindly and even civil interviewers, as
'AWoman of Fashion does, is to be
silly; most reporters are decent; as
class they are as kindly disposed as
other people; and they are always civil
unless you oblige them to be rude out
Of self-respect. "A Woman of Fash
on also talks nonsense when she rep
resents the reporter as a person sent
to wiring hearts at moments of agony"
and when she advises the bereaved
family to deal summarily with him
n order to teach him that he must get
MS facts elsewhere than from the
house of death, and from other lips
han those of writhing mourners." st.
Paul knew better than that when he
said, mo man liveth to himself alone.
md no man dieth to himself alone
Death, like birth and marriage. is an
went that concerns the state. one
which the public has a right to know.
The policy of slamming the door i'm
he reporters face and letting him
browse around, picking up the ma.
erial for his story" as best he can, |.
S responsible for most of the mis- |
statements and contretemps in the pa- |
,ers that exasperate people. one would |
hink that death at least merited pro-
ection from journalistic vagaries of |
his sort. The only way to protect it |
s to take the business into your own
lands by telling the reporter clec. Y |
md pleasantly what he wants to kr %
f instead of raving about the inner |
inence Of the press, people would fol-
ow this simple precaution, there would |
re less for writing mourners" to
vrithe over. And this holds true of |
ther things-dinners, teas, and the
ike.
But the reporters duties neither be-
lin nor end with funerals-they in
Jude much that women of leisure and
ashton are directly interested in, such I
$ fairs entertainments, charity
yhists, and the like-functions which
heir promoters almost universally re-
Y upon the press 70 assist. Most
women have conscientious scruples (
gainst paying newspapers to adver-
Use their shows, but they are never
by about demanding free advertising
or them. The amount of gratuitouS
dvertising of this sort which is done
ven in small city, is enormous. AS
fact, there are few philanthropies
hat do not depend upon the good will |
nd generosity Of newspapers, and the
hurch or club or committee of women
hat pays it's way honestly and does
OF sponge when it comes to a matter
( getting its interests before the pub
ie, |