The Etiquette of To-day

The Etiquette of To-day is by Edith B. Ordway. The text says that character is the foundation of all true courtesy, for manners are but minor morals, as many a writer has shown. The text names self-control, sincerity, and unselfishness among the minor moral virtues which in social life are of major importance.

There is no place for anger in social life, the text says, and giving expression among a group of people to any strong feeling, no matter how justified it may be, is not courteous. In entering a hotel dining-room the lady always goes first, and a lady never takes a gentleman's arm unless she is blind, infirm, or crippled, or in a turbulent crowd. When the organist begins the wedding-march, two color-bearers of the regiment, carrying one the national flag and the other the regimental colors, precede the bridegroom and the best man from the vestry. The ushers put on their caps, unsheathe their swords, or raise their bayonets, and form an arch, and under it pass the bride and bridegroom.