It is expected at parties that the gentlemen present will attend on the ladies, in the old-fashioned word “wait” on them. Yet at many such affairs one sees the men congregated in the hall, eating their salads and ices, while the women are ungallantly left to themselves. Servants may supply them with refreshments if the hostess has so planned, but the attendance is required just the same.
THE WELL-BRED MAN
A well-bred man will not in general society make a marked distinction in the courtesy he shows to a woman who is unusually attractive and her companion who is less fortunate. He will ask the plainer woman to dance and will see that she has ices, and he may find, after all, some unexpected reward in a quality of hidden charm beneath the unpromising exterior. Generosity in social situations is a severe test of character and for that reason it is seen less often than one would wish. The man who joins a woman sitting conspicuously alone and devotes himself to her entertainment if for only a quarter of an hour deserves all the warm unspoken gratitude that is sure to be felt by the woman.
A girl should be careful not to mistake the merely polite attentions of a man for the advances of a lover. Men are afraid of such a girl because of the embarrassments that ensue, while they feel “safe” with a sensible one who can be friendly without becoming sentimental and who does not view every man she dances with as a possible husband.
LUNCHING AT A CLUB
A woman who is invited by a man to take luncheon with him at his club will find a side entrance reserved for the use of ladies, and a parlor where she may be joined by her escort.