Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-12-20

ward Whether as prince or sovereign
you ought to write your name on the reg
lister Of the British embassy. And II you
have not It still looks well. Folks may
think that you have been presented. There
fore almost every Englishman in Paris SOL
EMMY walks up and signs his name on New
Year day.
The same thing happens at our embassy.
General Porter likes to have US register; so
we register early and often. One point of
etiquette is even joyous. When husband
brings his wife upon the registering expe-
dition. the latter does not sign. but leaves
her card. The explanation of the 'naunce"
Is that ladies are supposed to come in their
own carriagesi Even an ambassador can
not ask the fair creatures to do more than
send UP their cards by their footman,
While these things are transporting all the
officials Of the capital are receiving each
other. And in Paris, where you cannot
throw stone without hitting a functionary
or his wife, this means much Here one
voter In every ten Is a government clerk
of some kind, with superiors, equals and in
feriors. with their tenure secure, their du-
ties fixed, but all depending for advance
ment on the favor Of the next just above
them.
On New Year day this mighty army
turns itself loose in a frantic effort to ac-
complish two unvarying rules. "a Every
Immediate inferior must call upon his i'm
receive his immediate inferior That is to
say. after hurrying to call upon your
chief. you must hurry back to receive the
cali of your assistant
In business houses and COMBINATIONS (as
apart from retail shops managers. head
bookkeepers, confidential clerks and 50 on
make their first call or leave their first call
on members of the firm. Then they scatter
CARDS upon each other like a snow storm
until the office boy leaves his card on the
lady typewriter and the floor polisher leaves
his card on the janitor.
A Family Day.
In the social world it is considered indis-
Greet to present yourself where you are not
expected New Year day is very much re-
served to the family. and in particular to
the grandparents and the children. The
Future salutes the Past. 1t Is a sad thing
when 1t must be done by letter.
When you are intimate enough with
family to make a call on New Year day
you are generally aware of the fact In
Paris you are also aware of the fact that
you should bring a gift.
There are gentlemen who never dine at a
house without bringing flowers or sending
bonbons the day after. But this is an ex-
ception. In place of it, every one should
send some kind of souvenir. at least flow
ers to the mistress of the house where he
has been received with any kind of in
timacy. If the intimacy be great you pre-
sent yourself on New Year day itself. with
your gift in your hand. If the intimacy be
trifie less you present yourself on the day
after New Year. If it be not so much as
this You leave your card tied to the present
with the janitor.
There is one special reason, apart from
the SacrednesS of the day and the rights of
the family. which makes it indiscreet to
pay hit-and-miss calls on New Year day in
Paris. The mistress and the master of the
house alike are extremely likely to be vexed
or,6 frnt I'D &c
and gloomy and in real Mysteries 1t is the
season for settling accounts with the whole
world. The week has been passed in get
ting In money, scrutinizing bills, arranging
lists The credit system Is much more in
vogue in France than in America, and ev-
erything piles itself up at the New Year
season.
Partisan usage therefore, demands that
visits OF simple polteness should begin on
January 2, and last throughout the month
Formerly only the first week of January
was permitted. 1t led, first, to an unde-
sirable frequency in the substitution of
cards for calls, and secondly in the even
worse abuse of sending cards by mail Ten
years ago 1t was called abuse, and a
great effort was made to curb 1t. The eff
fort failed. The prolongation of the time
for visits and cards was accepted, but the
mail continued to be used.
Very correct people still pretend to leave
turned cards in person. In the hurry It
will not be noticed, however, II you send
your Ndltl OT d Cierk-Or the young gen
tlemen of distinguished manner and correct
dress supplied you by one of the adver-
Using agencies. When Emile Zola, as a
young man, was starving in the Paris
streets, doctor who wished to hefriend
him without seeming to give aims thus in
trusted him with the distribution of his go
New Year visiting cards, for which the fu-
ture millionaire author, received the hon
orarium of 81.
A Bad Day for lola.
1T never forgot it, lola said when telling
the story to a friend of mine, a few months
before his death. Going from house to
house and street to street In my frayed
overcoat, half frozen. made an experience
painful beyond description"
From the experience of late years 1t may
be estimated that the coming month of jan
uary will see 10,OO0OOO visiting cards pass
through the Paris post Office alone. A spe-
cial service is affected to them. In sub
post offices bushel baskets are hung outside
the counter to receive them. Special enveI-
opes, already stamped and costing one cent
are furnished by the post office authorities
And a whole line of post office rulings regu-
lates what may be written on the cards and
what may mott
Partisan visiting cards sometimes bear
queer additions. The Comte de s. has
for years borne upon his cards these words:
''Comte de S, brother of General L
wounded at Sebastapol"
A grocer of the Boulevard Haussmann has
the following after his name
Candidate for the presidency Of the re-
public"
This follows afar off the example of VII
Tiers de PIsle-Adam, who astonished his
which declared him to be Candidate to the