If he gets on a street car and the car gives a lurch just as he is about
to be seated and throws him against another passenger, he lifts his hat
and says "Excuse me!" or "I beg your pardon!" He must _not_ say "Pardon
_me_!" He must not take a seat if there are ladies standing. But if he is
sitting and ladies enter, should they be young, he may with perfect
propriety keep his seat. If a very old woman, or a young one carrying a
baby, enters the car, a gentleman rises at once, lifts his hat slightly,
and says: "Please take my seat." He lifts his hat again when she thanks
him.
If the car is very crowded when he wishes to leave it and a lady is
directly in his way, he asks: "May I get through, please?" As she makes
room for him to pass, he lifts his hat and says: "Thank you!"
If he is in the company of a lady in a street car, he lifts his hat to
another gentleman who offers her a seat, picks up something she has
dropped, or shows her any civility.
He lifts his hat if he asks anyone a question, and always, if, when
walking on the street with either a lady or a gentleman, his companion
bows to another person. In other words, a gentleman lifts his hat whenever
he says "Excuse me," "Thank you," or speaks to a stranger, or is spoken to
by a lady, or by an older gentleman. And no gentleman ever keeps a pipe,
cigar or cigarette in his mouth when he lifts his hat, takes it off, or
bows.
=THE BOW OF CEREMONY=
The standing bow, made by a gentleman when he rises at a dinner to say a
few words, in response to applause, or across a drawing-room at a formal
dinner when he bows to a lady or an elderly gentleman, is usually the
outcome of the bow taught little boys at dancing school. The instinct of
clicking heels together and making a quick bend over from the hips and
neck, as though the human body had two hinges, a big one at the hip and a
slight one at the neck, and was quite rigid in between, remains in a
modified form through life. The man who as a child came habitually into
his mother's drawing-room when there was "company," generally makes a
charming bow when grown, which is wholly lacking in self-consciousness.
There is no apparent "heel-clicking" but a camera would show that the
motion is there.
In every form of bow, as distinct from merely lifting his hat, a
gentleman looks at the person he is bowing to. In a very formal standing
bow, his heels come together, his knees are rigid and his expression is
rather serious.
=THE INFORMAL BOW=
The informal bow is merely a modification of the above; it is easy and
unstudied, but it should suggest the ease of controlled muscles, not the
floppiness of a rag doll.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account