SOCIETY ETIQUETTE.

Shannon News, 21 June 1927, Page 2

SOCIETY ETIQUETTE.

FINE POINTS EXPLAINED

HOW TO MAKE A HIT

(By Robert Magill.)

Writing in the London Sunday Pictorial, Mr. Magill maintains that, though manners are on the decline, there are some'little courtesies which still count.

One of the tragedies of my young life is that after it has taken my wife such a long time to teach me how to behave, etiquette is rapidly going out of fashion.

If I raL«e my hat nowadays people meiely think 1 am trying to cool my fevered brow, and once when I stooped to pick up a handbag I nearly got concussion of the brain, because its owner, unused to such courtesy, tried to pick it up at the same time. The outward' forms of polite behaviour have lost their original significance. • Now that women are crosscountry runners, and "wear a sort of gymnastic costume all day long, they would feel hurt rather than otherwise at. the offer of any help from a mere man.

Yet it is as well to know the correct thing to do. You get such a delightfullv naughty thrill if vou neglect to do it.

Our parents paid a great deal of attention to their deportment when in the street. The gentleman walked on the outside of the lady, ostensibly to protect her from the mud of passing vehicles, but really so that she should be nearer to the shop windows, and there was less chance of her stepping on him in her excitement when she saw a duck of a hat.

In the same way he allowed her to precede him everywhere, excepting when entering a public room, which gave her an opportunity of having a final'peep into her mirror, and also, if the assembled company saw him first, they knew the worst at once. Then we had that hat trick. Even if you were being blown up. by an explosion, or you met a lady friend on the way falling out of a balloon, yo_u had to raise vour hat. ,

But you were not supposed to do it at all unless she signified her permission by commencing to bow to you, which bow was about the' only physical exercise, apart from swooning, ladies took in those davs. IN LADIES' COMPANY.

But even in these casual days there are time's when,you have to put on your iiest behaviour with your best clothes and one of these is the Call. A man, entering a room where three or four women'are gathered together', usually feels like a mongrel dog that has strayed into a cat show.

Theie is an abrupt end to the conversation, and it seems to him that possibly they have been telling each other some of those little limericks we men fancv on, 1 wiyes do not know.

He blushes, swallows something he didn't know he had in his mouth, and is afraid to move his feet, which have suddenly become enlarged so that they -ouch all four walls.

The coiicct thing to do here is to assume an easy pose, without overdoing it, and behaving-as though you were in the club cocktail bar.

If the strain is too much for you, you can ask where the gasmeter is, or pretend you've come to test the telephone. Otherwise you can disguise your awkwardness' by handing round tea and cakes.

Converse with anybody you know, unless they also know you, and refuse to talk to you. You can a'so drop a light remark here and there to anybody you • lon't know, but keep off any contro vcrsial subject. He or she may be a Socialist, or a Y.M.C.A. Conservative and it looks bad to start throwing teacups ar. each- other. INTRODUCTIONS. ''lt may fall to your lot to introduce people. Remember that a gentleman is presented to a lody, because she is still supposed to be superior to him. A mar ried woman is senior to a single one, but if they are both single, the younger is presented to the elder. Personally, I shouldn't risk this. Don't stay too long, and remember that lie who leaves early gets the? run of the change that will be found in the light pockets of the overcoats. Murmur a few apologetic words to your hostess, who will say, "Oh, do stay a little longer," and then ring for the maid t.> see you off the premises in case you lake her at her word. AT THE DINNER TABLE. Another occasion where there are certain rule's to be observed is when you are invited out to dinner. Allow the ladies to sit down first. You all starteating altogether, so that they won't get more than you. Asparagus should be eaten by being taken between the finger and thumb, poised above the head, and swallowed like a sword. Cheese should not be eaten with a knife. Dab a piece of butter on a biscuit, make the'cheesp.adhere to it, stun the cheese with a sharp rap, and put it in your mouth before it recovers. Stones should be removed from fruit before it is put in the mouth. Only millionaires or very smart people blow the pips onthe table. What is an operation for appendicitis compared-with a social faux pas? Should any unfamiliar • food, like caviare, plovers' eggs, oi: artichokes, bo served,' it looks bad to Refuse it, -or to ask for something you are more used to, like fish and chips,. , Pretend you know all about it, wait for somebody else lo start, and show you the way. ■..-■■- . -

Ten" to' one everybody else will also be. waiting, for' you to start, for the same reason. In this case, select thy implement that looks as though it is least suited for .dealing with the matter. That is ■bound to be the correct one. CODES EOR ALL OCCASIONS. The. host is not supposed to kfeep apologising for the poorness of the spread, especially as everybody knows, he has mortgaged iiis credit for a month in order to provide.it. Finally, don't rush away directly after the meal. It suggests that you are still hungry, and later on.

thcie will be some more drinks, and you may as well get your share. There are separate codes for nearly every occasion., but modern society meets in all sorts of places. When meeting an acquaintance in a three-penny store, it is no longer necessary to pretend that you've popped in merely to see how the poor live. Everybocly furnishes here. Just step aside from the gramophone counter to some less frequented spot, like the saucepan department. It is not yet decided whether it i« permissible to recognise as an acquaintance a person you once ran over in a car, but you can speak without an introduction at the time. It shows a nice feeling if you don't drive off until thf ambulance has gone. You can white awr.y the time by practising the Charleston. To conclude, though it is nowadays pedantic to insist too much on strict formality, always do as you would like others to do. Don't read another man's newspaper in the train. Ask him to lend it to you. Don't talk of those good old limes before the war to a lady who is trying to make people believe she is still twenty-two. And elon't push in a crowd. I> is much more effective to stick your" elbows out.