Frost's Laws and By-Laws of American Society: A condensed but thorough treatise on etiquette and its usages in America, containing plain and reliable directions for deportment in every situation in life.Frost, S. Annie (Sarah Annie)
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Frost's Laws and By-Laws of American Society: A condensed but thorough treatise on etiquette and its usages in America, containing plain and reliable directions for deportment in every situation in life.
Frost, S. Annie (Sarah Annie)
Etiquette -- United States
If a gentleman on horseback meet a lady who is walking, and stops
to speak to her, he must dismount until she bows and leaves him.
A gentleman must go forward whenever a gate is to be opened or an
obstruction to be removed, and clear the way for the lady; he must
leap first when there is a fence or ditch to be crossed; he must
pay all tolls; must first test any dangerous-looking place, and
must try to select the most desirable roads.
In dismounting, a gentleman must offer a lady his right hand,
taking her left, and using his own left as a step for her foot,
declining it gently as soon as she rises from the saddle, and
before she springs. To spring from the saddle is not only awkward,
but dangerous, and will often confuse a gentleman who is
accustomed only to the proper mode of assisting the ladies to whom
he offers his services as escort.
No gentlemen will force a lady to ride faster than, she may find
agreeable, by an endeavor to display his own horsemanship.
A gentleman must be careful to protect his lady companion from the
dust and mud, as far as possible; and if there is a choice of side
for shade, he may, with propriety, ride upon her left, or fall a
little behind her, to allow her to take advantage of it.
In riding with an elderly gentlemen, a younger man should extend
all the courtesies of the road, the shady side, the choice of
speed, the choice also of direction, and, if there be a
difference, the best horse.
In a carriage, where a coachman is outside, the seat on the right
hand, facing the horses, is the seat of honor, and should be given
to a lady, an elderly gentleman, or the guest.
In entering a carriage, be careful that your back is towards the
scat you wish to occupy.
The seat facing the horses is always left by gentleman for ladies.
If a lady and gentleman alone enter a carriage together, the
gentleman must take the seat opposite to the lady, unless she
invites him to sit beside her.
A gentleman be should careful, in entering a carriage, not to
trample upon ladies' dresses, shut their shawls in the door, or
commit any other gaucheries. It is quite an art to enter or leave
a carriage gracefully.
In quitting a carriage, a gentleman must go first, even though he
may have to trouble the ladies by stepping across the carriage,
and he should then help the ladies to alight, taking care not to
allow the wheel to soil their dresses. If there be a man-servant
with the carriage, a gentleman will allow him to lower the steps,
and hold the door open; but he must on no account allow him to
help the ladies out while he himself stands by.
A gentleman will always convey the orders of the ladies to the
coachman.
If the carriage is driven by the gentleman himself, there are many
little points of etiquette which demand attention.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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