The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-12-25
of Civilization, Crowded

with which a super-sensitive man
might lift mysterious brown paper
parcel that he finds in the gutter.
The Famous Wax Works stare.
AS we follow the bell boy, and pass
the divans in the corridors, we are
weakly conscious of the stare that is
known so painfully to every Middle
Class person when he enters a pub
lie place. Some of us, after settling
in seat, have tried to cultivate it
ourselves, to use on the next Middle
Class person who enters. But we
always fail. 1t belongs to the Upper
Glasses. 1t is to be seen in prefec-
ton in the st. Regis and the social
halls of the sound steamers when
the Newport season is on. 1t is the
wax works stare-the blighting, chill
ing, horribly fascinating glare that
wax figures emit. If a Middle Glass
persons tries to make wax works of
himself, he will succeed only in pro-
duclng an exceedingly and strikingly
truthful imitation of a fool. Wax
works are born. not made.
Victims of Starers.
We flee the divan review and hide
IN our room. We want lots of things,
but the bells are not labeled. We
can't tell whether any particular push
button will bring a bell boy, a fire
engine or the proprietor himself. We
don't know the way around, and no.
BODY is in sight to tell u.s. We know
too well that if we forget our posi-
tlons SO far as to ask a guest we will
De treated with crushing pity. Only
the Middle Class ever loses its way
in stylish hotel. All others are horn
to it.
AT dinner the walters treat us with
an exaggerated politeness that NAV
De either scorn or the fellow feeling
OF social equals, but certainly isn't
respect. We know that we are not
getting half of the dishes that should
De served. We can see that we are
Seltlhg the poorest portions. All
around us we see how the least sign
OF annoyance from the butterflies near
us brings troop of walters to the
rescue. But we are permitted to LOOK
gloomy and scowi to our hearts con-
tent. The word has gone forth-un-
spoken but none the less plain: Mid
die Glass. Don't mind THEM! What
do THEY want here?"
What Is 1t.
What is it that emanates from us
to expose our true standing SO un-
erringly to conductors, walters. boot
blacks and the world polite and social
generally?
There isn't any difference in clothes
and features. We pay for what we
get. and everybody knows that we
Will. We certainly don't look poor.
Our behaviour at table is as good as,
generally better than, that of the peo-
pie who patronize us. We notice that
we do not make nearly so much noise
in theaters. hotels or anywhere else.
We observe that most of the persons
who, by the unanimous consent of
themselves and us, are in the Upper
Class, have manners that range from
Indifferent to rather bad, bad, worse
and very bad indeed.
We aren't guilty of any of these
things. Then what is it that puts
us so hopelessly into our proper class
at once?
The answer is simple enough. We
are marked people because we can't
carry off our bad manners with such
good manner as they can. And until
we can we shall be Middle Class.
The future will see social revolu-
ton, or rather a lot of succeeding
social revolutions. The bottom will
got on top and the top will become
bottom. But we will always remain
in the middle. And in the next gem
Grafton we will be as unknown as the
pterodacyl-living but unknown, ex-
isting but submerged, totally, hope
lessly, never to see the surface.