e is on the
threshold--not half-way in the room. The way _not_ to enter a drawing-room
is to dart forward and then stand awkwardly bewildered and looking about
in every direction. A man of the world stops at the entrance of the room
for a scarcely perceptible moment, until he perceives the most
unencumbered approach to the hostess, and he thereupon walks over to her.
When he greets his hostess he pauses slightly, the hostess smiles and
offers her hand; the gentleman smiles and shakes hands, at the same time
bowing. A lady shakes hands with the hostess and with every one she knows
who is nearby. She bows to acquaintances at a distance and to strangers to
whom she is introduced.

=HOW TO SIT GRACEFULLY=

Having shaken hands with the hostess, the visitor, whether a lady or a
gentleman, looks about quietly, without hurry, for a convenient chair to
sit down upon, or drop into. To sit gracefully one should not perch
stiffly on the edge of a straight chair, nor sprawl at length in an easy
one. The perfect position is one that is easy, but dignified. In other
days, no lady of dignity ever crossed her knees, held her hands on her
hips, or twisted herself sideways, or even _leaned back in her chair!_
To-day all these things are done; and the only etiquette left is on the
subject of how not to exaggerate them. No lady should cross her knees so
that her skirts go up to or above them; neither should her foot be thrust
out so that her toes are at knee level. An arm a-kimbo is _not_ a graceful
attitude, nor is a twisted spine! Everyone, of course, leans against a
chair back, except in a box at the opera and in a ballroom, but a lady
should never throw herself almost at full length in a reclining chair or
on a wide sofa when she is out in public. Neither does a gentleman in
paying a formal visit sit on the middle of his backbone with one ankle
supported on the other knee, and both as high as his head.

The proper way for a lady to sit is in the center of her chair, or
slightly sideways in the corner of a sofa. She may lean back, of course,
and easily; her hands relaxed in her lap, her knees together, or if
crossed, her foot must not be thrust forward so as to leave a space
between the heel and her other ankle. On informal occasions she can lean
back in an easy chair with her hands on the arms. In a ball dress a lady
of distinction never leans back in a chair; one can not picture a
beautiful and high-bred woman, wearing a tiara and