Evening star., 1939-01-29

has been the adjustment to the de-
pleted incomes of the owners of I'M
portant houses which for generations
have served as the pattern for perfect
appointment.
1t is probable that | realize this
shrinking of incomes more vividly
than most people. The adaptation of
the rules of formality in service to the
practical requirements of smaller
houses. and less formal living, has
made it necessary for me to revise my
book Etiquette" four times - broad
ening the base of its subject, widening
its point of view BY this mean that
the people who dominated the pages
of the original edition were the Gid
ings and the Worldlys - in other
words, 1.-The Joneses" whom so many
tried to live up to.
To put it otherwise, the subject of
etiquette used to be concentrated
upon the formal exactions of party
giving and of out-in-company be-
havior. The particular emphasis fell
upon the hostess in great house,
whose problems of etiquette we're con-
cerned with behavior in diplomatic
circles - particularly questions of
precedence.
In less than ten years. the composite
picture of social life throughout the
world has completely changed. The
Joneses, for example, have been erased
from the picture! Having lost their
fortune, they we're compelled to roll
up their red carpet, dismiss their
servants, and live on a completely
lowered scale. Just where they are
now or what they are doing, no one
seems to know.
1t is hard to believe that anything
so widely distressing as these past few
years of recession, stalking at the heels
of the depression, could possibly have
brought compensating advantages,
especially to any of the phases of
social life, And yet there are number
of credit marks which can be put up
for it. Such are the quickening of
neighborly impulses; the unself- con-
scious sharing of what one happens to
have; the modification of formal
exactions in party preparations; the
emphasis on the spirit of hospitality
and on the contribution of our own
personality
1t has become a proved fact that
living in a simple way banishes fear of
criticism. The simpler our house
or our apartment, the less pretensc
we make in what we attempt - the
less We fear that any one will criticize.
We need never fear that guests will
notice the frayed arms of our chairs or
sofas or the worn-through places in
the carpet. On the contrary, What
pretty china" they say What deli
cious blscults!
At the Joneses' these same people
would have thought to. themselves,
although good manners forbade their
saying it, These terrapins we're never
diamond-backsr' or, This duck is
cooked so much it's ruinedr'
The Joneses' example was bad be-
cause money value was the standard
Those who could compete with them
were considered important; those who
lived on a simpler scale were con-
sidered unimportant, no matter what
their personal qualifications.
But this trend toward simplicity,
and away from trying to do what we
can't afford to do, and being happy
instead to do as we'll as we can, with
out worrying because we can't do
better - this is important.
When the Little-Houses used to go
to formal dinner at which seven
courses had been served by a butler
and footmen, they seriously believed
that they in turn we're expected to
repay the Greenhouses hospitality
nv uettipo hired wa;tarc and r,repar