r Millicent Manners is a
friend of yours." Mrs. Worldly at once unbends. "Oh, yes, indeed, I am
devoted to Millicent! And you must be ----?"
"I'm Alice."
"Oh, of course, Millicent has often talked of you, and of your lovely
voice. I want very much to hear you sing some time."
These self-introductions, however, must never presumingly be made. It
would be in very bad taste for Alice to introduce herself to Mrs. Worldly
if her sister knew her only slightly.
=A BUSINESS VISIT NOT AN INTRODUCTION=
A lady who goes to see another to get a reference for a servant, or to ask
her aid in an organization for charity, would never consider such a
meeting as an introduction, even though they talked for an hour. Nor would
she offer to shake hands in leaving. On the other hand, neighbors who are
continually meeting, gradually become accustomed to say "How do you do?"
when they meet, even though they never become acquaintances.
=THE RETORT COURTEOUS TO ONE YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN=
Let us suppose some one addresses you, and then slightly disconcerted
says: "You don't remember me, do you?" The polite thing--unless his manner
does not ring true, is to say "Why, of course, I do." And then if a few
neutral remarks lead to no enlightening topic, and bring no further
memory, you ask at the first opportunity who it was that addressed you. If
the person should prove actually to be unknown, it is very easy to repel
any further advances. But nearly always you find it is some one you ought
to have known, and your hiding the fact of your forgetfulness saves you
from the rather rude and stupid situation of blankly declaring: "I don't
remember you."
If, after being introduced to you, Mr. Jones calls you by a wrong name,
you let it pass, at first, but if he persists you may say: "My name is
Simpson, not Simpkin."
At a private dance, young men nowadays introduce their men friends to
young women without first asking the latter's permission, because all
those invited to a lady's house are supposed to be eligible for
presentation to everyone, or they would not be there.
At a public ball young men and women keep very much to their own
particular small circle and are not apt to meet outsiders at all. Under
these circumstances a gentleman should be very careful not to introduce a
youth whom he knows nothing about to a lady of his acquaintance--or at
least he should ask her first. He can say frankly: "There is a man called
Sliders who has a
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