Not long ago a friend drove with us by the house of a man whose society manners, when first seen, call forth admiration. Upon this particular spring afternoon, he sat upon the veranda of his home. As we approached, and he met our glance, he sprang to his feet, bowed low and remained standing until we had passed.
“What a pretty attention to pay to two women!” we exclaimed.
Our friend gave a significant shrug, and called our notice to the fact that the man’s wife had, before we came by, driven up to the end of the veranda, and that she was, unaided, climbing from a high trap in which she and her two little girls had been driving, while her husband lolled at ease in a steamer chair. It took the presence of a woman who did not belong to him to bring him to his feet. Looking back, after we had passed, we noted that he had again resumed his lounging attitude, and that his wife was lifting the second child from the carriage.
Such is adjustable courtesy! It is not an every-day garment, and is, consequently, worn only to impress strangers.
No one can afford to do the injustice to his better self of allowing himself to become careless toward those with whom he lives, or to neglect the small sweet courtesies that should be found in the home, if anywhere. It is the home etiquette that makes the public etiquette what it should be. This reminder can not be repeated too often.
In many houses men forget to show the respect due to wife, mother and sisters. Parents should train their sons to stand when a woman enters the room, and to remain standing until she sits down. The considerate husband rises and offers his wife the easy chair in which he is seated. She, knowing that he is weary after a hard day at the office, will not take the chair, but she will appreciate the little attention, and love him the better for it.
THE BARBAROUS TOOTHPICK