Humorous stories; Man-woman relationships -- Fiction; Marriage -- Fiction; Single women -- Fiction
1. To regard all men as brothers. 2. Not to keep cats, lap-dogs,
parrots, pages, or other domestic pets. 3. Not to have less than
one birthday per year. 4. To abjure medicine, art classes, and
Catholicism. 5. Never to speak to a Curate. 6. Not to have any
ideals or to take part in Woman's Rights Movements, Charity
Concerts, or other Platform Demonstrations. 7. Not to wear caps,
curls, or similar articles of attire. 8. Not to kiss females.
In addition to these there were the
GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS:
Never refuse the last slice of bread, etc., lest you be accused
of dreading celibacy. Never accept bits of wedding cake, lest
you be suspected of putting them under your pillow. Do not
express disapproval by a sniff. In travelling, choose smoking
carriages; pack your umbrellas and parasols inside your trunk.
Never distribute tracts. Always fondle children and show marked
hostility to the household cat. Avoid eccentricities. Do not
patronize Dorothy Restaurants or the establishments of the
Aerated Bread Company. Never drink cocoa-nibs. In dress it is
better to avoid Mittens, Crossovers, Fleecy Shawls, Elastic-side
Boots, White Stockings, Black Silk Bodies, with Pendent Gold
Chains, and Antique White Lace Collars. One-button White Kid
Gloves are also inadvisable for afternoon concerts; nor should
any glove be worn with fingers too long to pick up change at
booking-offices. Parcels should not be wrapped in whitey-brown
paper and not more than three should be carried at once. Watch
Pockets should not be hung over the bed, sheets and mattresses
should be left to the servants to air, and rooms should be kept
in an untidy condition.
Refrain from manufacturing jam, household remedies, gossip or
gooseberry wine. Never nurse a cold or a relative. It is
advisable not to have a married sister, as she might decease and
the temptation to marry her husband is such as no mere human
being ought to be exposed to. For cognate reasons eschew
friendship with cripples and hunchbacks (especially when they
have mastered the violin in twelve lessons), men of no moral
character, drunkards who wish to reform themselves, very ugly
men, and husbands with wives in lunatic asylums. Cultivate
rather the acquaintance of handsome young men (who have been
duly vaccinated), for this species is too conceited to be
dangerous.
On the same principle were the rules for admitting visitors:
1. No unmarried lady admitted. 2. No married gentlemen admitted.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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