xalted position is merely
ludicrous.

All thoroughbred women, and men, are considerate of others less
fortunately placed, especially of those in their employ. One of the tests
by which to distinguish between the woman of breeding and the woman merely
of wealth, is to notice the way she speaks to dependents. Queen Victoria's
duchesses, those great ladies of grand manner, were the very ones who, on
entering the house of a close friend, said "How do you do, Hawkins?" to a
butler; and to a sister duchess's maid, "Good morning, Jenkins." A
Maryland lady, still living on the estate granted to her family three
generations before the Revolution, is quite as polite to her friends'
servants as to her friends themselves. When you see a woman in silks and
sables and diamonds speak to a little errand girl or a footman or a
scullery maid as though they were the dirt under her feet, you may be sure
of one thing; she hasn't come a very long way from the ground herself.

CHAPTER XXX

CLUBS AND CLUB ETIQUETTE

A club, as every one knows, is merely an organization of people--men or
women or both--who establish club rooms, in which they meet at specified
times for specified purposes, or which they use casually and individually.
A club's membership may be limited to a dozen or may include several
thousands, and the procedure in joining a club may be easy or difficult,
according to the type of club and the standing of the would-be member.

Membership in many athletic associations may be had by walking in and
paying dues; also many country golf-clubs are as free to the public as
country inns; but joining a purely social club of rank and exclusiveness
is a very different matter. A man to be eligible for membership in such a
club must not only be completely a gentleman, but he must have friends
among the members who like him enough to be willing to propose him and
second him and write letters for him; and furthermore he must be disliked
by no one--at least not sufficiently for any member to object seriously to
his company.

There are two ways of joining a club; by invitation and by making
application or having it made for you. To join by invitation means that
you are invited when the club is started to be one of the founders or
charter members, or if you are a distinguished citizen you may at the
invitation of the governors become an honorary member, or in a small or
informal club you may become an ordinary member by invitation or