"Mrs. King, do you know Mrs. Jones?" Mrs. King being close at hand
(usually but not necessarily) rises, shakes hands with Mrs. Jones and sits
down again. If Mrs. King is an elderly lady, and Mrs. Jones a young one,
Mrs. King merely extends her hand and does not rise. Having said "Mrs.
Jones" once, you do not repeat it immediately, but turning to the other
lady sitting near you, you say, "Mrs. Lawrence," then you look across the
room and continue, "Miss Robinson, Miss Brown--Mrs. Jones!" Mrs. Lawrence,
if she is young, rises and shakes hands with Mrs. Jones, and the other two
bow but do not rise.
At a very big luncheon you would introduce Mrs. Jones to Mrs. King and
possibly to Mrs. Lawrence, so that Mrs. Jones might have some one to talk
to. But if other guests come in at this moment, Mrs. Jones finds a place
for herself and after a pause, falls naturally into conversation with
those she is next to, without giving her name or asking theirs.
A friend's roof is supposed to be an introduction to those it shelters. In
Best Society this is always recognized if the gathering is intimate, such
as at a luncheon, dinner or house party; but it is not accepted at a ball
or reception, or any "general" entertainment. People always talk to their
neighbors at table whether introduced or not. It would be a breach of
etiquette not to! But if Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Norman merely spoke to each
other for a few moments, in the drawing-room, it is not necessary that
they recognize each other afterwards.
=NEW YORK'S BAD MANNERS=
New York's bad manners are often condemned and often very deservedly. Even
though the cause is carelessness rather than intentional indifference, the
indifference is no less actual and the rudeness inexcusable.
It is by no means unheard of that after sitting at table next to the guest
of honor, a New Yorker will meet her the next day with utter
unrecognition. Not because the New Yorker means to "cut" the stranger or
feels the slightest unwillingness to continue the acquaintance, but
because few New Yorkers possess enthusiasm enough to make an effort to
remember all the new faces they come in contact with, but allow all those
who are not especially "fixed" in their attention, to drift easily out of
mind and recognition. It is mortifyingly true; no one is so ignorantly
indifferent to everything outside his or her own personal concern as the
socially fashionable New Yorker, unless it is the Londoner! The late
Theodore Roosevelt was a brilliantly shining exception. And, of course,
and happily, there are other men and women like him in this. But there are
also enough of the snail-in-shell variety to give color to the very just
resentment that those from other and more gracious cities hold against New
Yorkers.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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