Social Life Part 5

In conversation never allow yourself to fall into the habit of using constantly such phrases as "You don't say!" "Do tell!" "Did you ever?"

"Is that so?" and many others that will come to mind as you recall your own faults in this respect, and the faults of your friends. An equal avoidance should be cultivated of such interjections as "Say,"

"Well," etc., with which we often begin our sentences. These habits are all to be condemned and should be corrected as speedily as possible.

Voice and Manner.

Let your voice be low and pleasantly modulated and your enunciation clear, distinct and musical. All these things are marks of good breeding, and, if not yours by birthright, may be acquired by patience and perseverance. Avoid high tones and nasal tones. Do not talk rapidly, or in a hesitating, stumbling fas.h.i.+on. A partial course in elocution and voice training will work wonders in this direction, and any one determined to succeed will never regret the time or money so spent.

Cultivate also, if shy and timid by nature, self esteem sufficient to imagine that you are quite the equal of those with whom you are about to meet. This resolution will enable you to say what you wish without fear of mistake, and without showing too much respect of persons. The above-mentioned elocutionary lessons will also be an aid toward acquiring self-possession.

Repose of manner should be a.s.siduously cultivated. Do not fidget or loll about in your chair, or twist your fingers constantly, or play with something while you talk, or restlessly beat a tattoo with fingers or feet. All such faults render your companions.h.i.+p a burden to those about you.

Indulge in no facial contortions, as they rapidly become habits difficult to break and usually leave their traces on the face in lines impossible to efface. Lifting the eyebrows, rolling the eyes, opening them very widely, twisting the mouth and opening it so as to show the tongue in talking, are all disagreeable habits, that, once acquired, can only be broken by ceaseless vigilance. Practice talking without moving the facial muscles but slightly. Do this before your mirror daily, if necessary, and before the same faithful mentor learn to open the eyes less widely, parting the lids only just so far as to show the colored iris without a glimpse of the white portion, or cornea, of the eye above or below it. The time thus spent will result in a change most gratifying to yourself and friends.

Conversational Sins.

Never interrupt a person who is talking. Never take the words out of anyone's mouth and finish the sentence for them. To do this is ill-bred and does not bespeak your superior discernment, but your ignorance of polite society.

Puns, unless exceptionally witty, are to be carefully avoided. Young ladies, especially, should beware of establis.h.i.+ng any reputation for punning. At all events, puns should never be far-fetched.

Do not whisper in company; nothing can be more vulgar. Neither should two in a gathering converse together in a foreign language, not understood by the others present, or talk blindly in a manner unintelligible only to themselves. Should, however, a distinguished foreigner to whom the language is almost unknown be among the guests, it is a mark of courtesy for as many as possible to converse in his native tongue.

Do not immediately break off the conversation upon persons entering the room. It is too apt to leave the impression upon their minds that the discourse was of them. In carrying on a conversation after newcomers enter the room, briefly recapitulate what has gone before, that the thread of the story may be complete for them. Look at those with whom you are talking, but never stare.

Profanity is the last and most inexcusable sin committed against good manners and propriety. The man who will deliberately use profane language in the drawing-room, or before women and children, or aged men, should be considered without the pale of good society.

Language coa.r.s.e in its tendency is open to the same criticism, and remarks and stories that carry a double meaning cannot be too severely condemned. If it is at any time possible for a woman to receive such a story in its innocent sense, let her do it, showing by some remark the light in which it is taken; otherwise, she should be apparently blind and ignorant as to its meaning.

Avoid affectations. In conversation make use of long words as little as possible, and wherever a short and easily understood one is suitable to express your meaning, choose it in preference to one of polysyllabic proportions.

Use of the Lips and Facial Expressions.

Do not cover the lips with the hand, or a fan, while speaking. To do so shows nervousness and a lack of social training. Besides this, much of the expression of the face lies in the mouth. This is shown by all actors, readers and public speakers, who, as a rule, appear before their audiences with closely-shaven faces, that no portion of the varying changes of the lips may be lost.

Never, if you are a man, speak lightly of women. Nothing so surely lowers your own standard in the eyes of all sensible people. Never hurt the feelings of others. Never allude publicly to times when you have known them in less affluent circ.u.mstances than the present.

Be very careful to guard against over much laughing. Nothing gives a sillier appearance than spasms of laughter upon the slightest provocation. It soon grows into a very disagreeable habit. Smile frequently, if need be, but be moderate in laughter. A very little reasoning will serve to do this; and the reflection that few grown people laugh well will aid still farther in curbing the propensity.

Let your greeting of acquaintances be free from boisterousness and familiarity. Do not bring your hand down heavily upon their shoulder, nor emphasize your sentences with pushes and punches of an active elbow, nor fling your arms about their necks or shoulders. To some fastidious persons these boorish acts are a positive insult. An affectation of boisterous familiarity more often betrays a feeling of social inferiority than absolute shyness or timidity does.

Never permit yourself to correct other people in matter or manner, unless it should be absolutely necessary to protect some one else.

Under all ordinary circ.u.mstances do not betray a confidential communication made you by a friend. Set the seal of the confessional upon it. If it should be sorrowful in its nature, do not mention it even to the friend who has confided it to your keeping unless he or she should first refer to it. It may have been confessed in a moment of confidence and regretted almost as soon as spoken, hence, do not revive the memory yourself.

Control Your Temper.

Keep your temper under all circ.u.mstance while in company. Even if some remark has been made with plain intent to injure your feelings, an absolute ignoring of the intended sting will prevent others, and, most of all, the guilty party, from perceiving the depth of the wound. A true gentleman, or lady, is never quick to take offense.

Never ask impertinent or personal questions, unless these latter are called for by the nature of the conversation. Be careful not to give advice unless it is sought, and remember then that it is a commodity of which a very little goes a long way.

And last, but not least, utterly eschew all slang. There are some young ladies who apparently think that a little slang, to spice their remarks, is piquant and saucy, but, in the majority of cases they so soon overstep the mark and fall into the deplorable habit of constantly and copiously interlarding their speech with all manner of slang phrases, that one is forced to advocate total abstinence as the only safeguard.

The too common habit of exaggeration, on the part of so many schoolgirls and young ladies is also to be deplored, a quiet un.o.btrusiveness of speech always marking the true lady.

Do not, in speaking, too frequently mention your hearer by name. To do so implies either great familiarity on your part, or social inferiority on theirs. In this latter case it savors strongly of patronage.

In speaking to people always give them their proper t.i.tles, as: "Colonel," "Doctor Jones," "Professor Gray." Never make a practice of saying: "That is so, Colonel," but, "That is so, Colonel Sharp."

In mentioning a married daughter, unless to a very intimate friend, give her married t.i.tle, as: "Mrs. Miller," or, "My daughter, Mrs.

Miller." In speaking of unmarried daughters, or of sons (unless to servants), give them their Christian name, as Hattie or George, or else mention them, and this is better before strangers, as: "My daughter," or, "My son."

Misuse of Initials.

Never address persons by their initials, as: "Mrs. W.," "Miss C.,"

"Mr. D.;" give them instead their full name. Neither should you call young ladies, "Miss Mollie," or "Miss Jennie;" "Miss Smith," or, "Miss Brown," being in much better taste. Their Christian names should only be used to distinguish them from other sisters. Never address people by their Christian names unless very familiarly acquainted. This practice savors of ill-breeding and is often very annoying to the person so addressed.

In speaking of persons who are absent, mention them by their last name, as: "Mrs. Roe," "Mr. Doe," unless the intimacy is very great; even then care should be taken not to use their Christian names too freely among persons to whom they may be strangers.

A wife in speaking of her husband should rather say "Mr. Smith," than "My husband;" but, above all, let her refrain from referring to her liege lord as "he," as if the whole wide world possessed no other mortal to whom that p.r.o.noun was applicable. Husbands should follow the same rules in referring to their wives.

Be careful not to interlard conversation with "sir," or "ma'am." In Europe these terms are relegated to the use of the lower cla.s.ses.

VISITING CARDS.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Cards are the sign manual of society. Their use and development belongs only to a high order of civilization. They accompany us, as one writer has justly remarked, all the way from the cradle to the grave. They begin with engraved announcements of the birth of a child, then cards for its christening, and, later on, dainty little cards of invitation for children's parties, until, in due time, the girl crosses that line

"Where the brook and river meet Womanhood and childhood sweet,"

sets up a card of her own, and blossoms forth into a young lady.

They announce the gaieties, the pleasures, the anniversaries of life: they inquire for us during our illness and sorrow, they return thanks for our gifts and attentions, and, finally, they commemorate to our friends the last, sad earthly scene and ring the curtain down.

The stress laid by society upon the correct usage of these magic bits of pasteboard will not seem unnecessary when it is remembered that the visiting card, socially defined, means, and is frequently made to take the place of, one's self. It will be seen, therefore, that one of the first requisites for social success is to understand the language, so to speak, of the visiting card. With this end in view the following suggestions on the subject have been carefully arranged with due regard to brevity, accuracy and ease of reference.

Style of the Card.

The card should be perfectly plain, fine in texture, thin, white, unglazed and engraved in simple script without flourishes. Gilt edges, rounded or clipped corners, tinted surfaces or any oddity of lettering, such as German or Old English text, are to be avoided. A photograph or any ornamentation whatever upon a card savors of ill-breeding or rusticity. Have the script engraved always, never printed. The engraved autograph is no longer considered in good taste, neither are written cards as elegant as those that are engraved.