Evening star., 1914-11-22
CHAPERON'S DUTIES
WELL DEFINED. CODE
Best Person to Care for Young Women at Dance
or Other Gay Function Is Matron Who
Does Not Expect to Take Active
Part Herself in Entertainment.

! tender feelings of the young giris
| heart.
The duties of the chaperon at
! dance include even more watchfulness,
| Tor II is her place not only to see that
| the several girls present are all sup
| pied with dancing partners. but that
each girl does not make herself con-
| spicuous by dancing too often with
| one man. or by straying away to talk
| iii hidden corners.
When the house of private entertain
ment is reached. the chaperon presents
heI. charges to the host and hostess
and sees that they greet cordially and
impartially all the other members of
| the family. She also may say that
since she herself does not know many
| of the young men who will be present,
she would like the entertainers to in
troduce the good dancers to her party
! She then seats herself. with her party,
| in the seats ranged against the wall,
and sees that her own girls dance first
with the young men who have accom-
! panied them.
| Between the dances she sometimes
| changes her seat so as to get glimpse
| Of one or the other Of her girls who
| have strayed away, and if there is to be
any premenading on the veranda. or in
the grounds she expects the girls TO
tell her where they are going. IL she
does not think prospective escort en-
tirely trustworthy she gives up her
seat and accompanies the couple on the
airing.
When Leaving Private Home.
When the time comes to go home
| the whole party again make their
adieux to the hostess and her family.
and the chaperon sees each girl safely
to her own door before going home
| herself
| For a maiden to insist upon staying
| at a dance after the chaperon has an
| nounced the moment of departure Is
| to show bad taste. and If the duenna
| is unwise enough to leave her there
! without proper chaperonage for getting
home she would be doing something
entirely against the canons of decorum
and consideration. In this case the
chaperon is open to reproof from the
girls mother, and the dignity of all the
younger generation demands that she
get it-and get it good and hard.
There are moments in her own home
when a girl needs to be chaperoned.
and one of them is when the new
young man calls. Then it is decorus
for him to ask first for, the girls
: mother. who, knowing, of course, that
the daughters society is also expected,
enters the room with the young woman
or soon sends for her. 1t is only with
old friends that a young girl may re-
ceive man callers alone-that is. IL she
expects to do the smart thing. So II the
new young man calls when her mother is
out, she bids the servant tell him this
and stays out of sight herself.
When Enjoying Athletics.
With outdoor athletic sports IT is not
obligatory to hamper the young folk with
a chaperon, for girls and young men eter-
naly play golf and tennis with only The
angels for watchers. But if the club
house is to be visited, there must be
| chaperon or else girls should go in couples
or three. for even another girl is a safe
guard against the bitter tongue of Mrs
| Grundy, for whose prejudices. of course
all the book of etiquette is written.
| The need of a chaperon, then. is really
a concession. in the first instance, to po-
lite convention, and the duenna Is not
expected to interfere in any way with the
simple enjoyment of the young persons
But where the maids are very young the
duties of the chaperon become moral
obligation.
And since the maiden heart Is, atter
all, sealed book, and all folk OF the
older and wiser generation know wf1at
mischief Master Cupid can make some
times, why not save ones self pos
sibe rumpus with a girls family by
keeping eyes well opened when asked TO
play chaperon? The girl will Ike the
cha peron all the better for 1t. and the
man who chooses her for wife will be
all the surer of his happiness.