The Washington herald., 1908-03-15
ANSWERS TO SOCIAL QUESTIONS

/ Question-At afternoon tea in a vsry smart
| house here some q the men appeared in morning
clothes Is this the latest fashion were the men
present in such attire endeavoring TO establish a
new style. BACHELOR
/ Answer-No; the wearing OF morning
clothes in the afternoon Is not the latest
fashion, but few Of the men in society
have allowed themselves the privilege OF
wearing their business clothes. either be
cause they have not the time or are TOO
lazy after office hours to go home and
change them. The custom. as are all
| customs that mean laxity and license re
garding social rules, is a bad one, and
should not be encouraged.
Question: SAW il noted the other day that
the President had attended dinner az the French
Embassy and IL spoken Of a. an unusual oc-
curence Is there any law or tradition againsf the
President accepting hospitality from diplomats &C
credited 20 this eountr5. II there is II ought 10 be
abolished, for the President should DC able 10 70
where he wants to. whether 10 the house of a
foreigner or a fellow-cumtrman The rulers OF
foreign countries are entertained by the aInhassa
dors accredited 10 them-the Emperor and Empress
n Germany dine with Ambassador Tower IN Ber-
lin every seaSon-then why not the President q
the United states! MEMBER OF CONGRESS-
Answer-There is no law regulating the
social conduct of the President toward
the members OF the diplomatic corps. but
there is a tradition very silly tradition
that since the embassies and legations
are regarded as foreign territory. the
President should not frequent them This
! tradition has been regarded by many
Presidents. disregarded by as many more.
Neither Mr. Mckinley nor Mr. Cleveland
dined at an embassy or legation while
they were in the White House Mr.. Ar
thur. on the contrary. went where lie
listed. and was a constant visitor OF the
foreigners whom ht liked Both Baron
Won EtsendeCker and his successor, Baron
Won Alvensleben, were great favorites
with Mr. Arthur. and he used frequently
TO walk from the White House 10 the
German Legation. which was then in trif-
teenth street on a site now occupied by
business houses. and can upon its occu-
pants, and he was often invited and ae-
eepted invitations TO other legations
} Question-What is meant BY ~fussing'' in the
new sense IN which it seems 10 be used. l asked
friend Of mine If she would 20 out any during Lent
and she replied that she did not intend 10 DO much
fussing' until after Easter.
Answer-The word means. in its slangv
sense, exactly what your friends answer
impied-to do nothing. 10 take no mart
you to dinner" said a young girl in the
West End to an old school friend who
was passing a few days in town. .'but
mamma disapproves OF fussing during
lent Which, translated. means that
mamma disapproves Of entertaining. II
is difficult to trace the source Of this ex-
preston. but it is constantly used by the
midshipmen in Annapolis and the smart
young people everywhere
4. Queston-Which corner Of a card sbn,I5 10
turned up for visit Of coincidence and should IL be
left IN person? If 50, how long after the funeral
should one leave Il!
AnSWer-lt is unnecessary to turn any
corner. The fashion Of bending the cor
ners OF visiting cards. save to denote a
personal visit has quite gone out The
card of coincidence should be left in per
son as soon after you hear OF the death
OF friend or acquaintance as is possible.
II is unnecessary to wait until after the
funeral to comply with this formality.
which women, = your opinion. conTerse the best
EnSlsh, French German. Americanl
ONE OF THE BETTERS.
Answer-YOur question is one that
have heard frequently discussed and. in
answering It, 1 am thinking only Of the
well-bred and cultivated woman. As a
rule the Englishwoman is a better lis
tener than she is talker. for she
is both attentive and responsive.
and she does not forget what Is
said to her, while the topcs she selects
for conversation are apt TO be rather in
sular. She rarely speaks in foreign Ian
guage well, and she is not as adaptable
as the American or the French woman.
but her speech is delightful to listen
to, her voice is so pleasantly pitched and
sweet and low in tone The voice of the
noble German woman has not the same
attraction, possibly because her native
tongue Is so much more cultural. and
her range of subjects is scarcely larger.
but she speaks three or four different
languages and If not brilliant and lack
ing in humor. what she says Is always
acceptable. The French woman is all
wit. all eloquence. ali tact. The minute
she meets one she seems to divine his
favorite hobby, and talks SO enchant-
ingly of it that she never fails to charm.
But her conversation is apt TO be frotbv
until she reaches middle age. when she
becomes the sagest of the sage and
drops pearls of wisdom every time she
opens her mouth. The American woman
is generally widely travelled. speaks al
least three languages fiuently, has a
broad range of subjects. and what she
says is clearly anu logically expressed.
and she is rarely wanting IN wit. but she
lacks the brilliancy Of the French woman
the talent of listening of the English
woman and, perhaps. the sincerity of the
German woman. But l should say, de-