at
chance there is of finding him congenial. They must be presented;
nothing else will content them. If you are chatting with a friend you
feel a pull at your sleeve, and in an audible aside, they ask for an
introduction. The aspirant will then bring up and present the members of
his family who happen to be near. After that he seems to be at ease, and
having absolutely nothing to say will soon drift off. Our public men
suffer terribly from promiscuous introductions; it is a part of a
political career; a good memory for names and faces and a cordial manner
under fire have often gone a long way in floating a statesman on to
success.

Demand, we are told, creates supply. During a short stay in a Florida
hotel last winter, I noticed a curious little man who looked like a cross
between a waiter and a musician. As he spoke to me several times and
seemed very officious, I asked who he was. The answer was so grotesque
that I could not believe my ears. I was told that he held the position
of official "introducer," or master of ceremonies, and that the guests
under his guidance became known to each other, danced, rode, and married
to their own and doubtless to his satisfaction. The further west one
goes the more pronounced this mania becomes. Everybody is introduced to
everybody on all imaginable occasions. If a man asks you to take a
drink, he presents you to the bar-tender. If he takes you for a drive,
the cab-driver is introduced. "Boots" makes you acquainted with the
chambermaid, and the hotel proprietor unites you in the bonds of
friendship with the clerk at the desk. Intercourse with one's fellows
becomes one long debauch of introduction. In this country where every
liberty is respected, it is a curious fact that we should be denied the
most important of all rights, that of choosing our acquaintances.

No. 34--A Question and an Answer

DEAR IDLER:

I have been reading your articles in _The Evening Post_. They are
really most amusing! You do know such a lot about people and things,
that I am tempted to write and ask you a question on a subject that is
puzzling me. What is it that is necessary to succeed--socially?
There! It is out! Please do not laugh at me. Such funny people get
on and such clever, agreeable ones fail, that I am all at sea. Now do
be nice and answer me, and you will have a very grateful

ADMIRER.

The above note, in a rather juvenile feminine