THE POLITE ENGLISH.

Dunstan Times, Issue 3143, 13 November 1922, Page 7

THE POLITE ENGLISH.

(Bv Susanno Landais). T have just returned to Paris from a month's stay in England, the first time that I have ever been in that country. Mv friends here prepared me for many things that I might expect to find strange or different from that to which I have been accustomed. One thing they never prepared me for, and tho thing that struck me most of all during my visit, was the politeness of the English people. A Parisienne, born and bred, one thing I had been taught all my life, and one thing in which 1 took a great pride, was that the French were the most polite people in the world. I do not want to make any comparisons; I will only say that never in my life have I experienced such courtesy as I did in England. 1 am not referring to tho politeness of English people to whom I was introduced, or with whom I became friendly—though that was something worth living for—but to the courtesy I experienced in the ordinary walks of life —a politeness that seemed engrained in the national character. I did a' lot of shopping—for oven with the pound at o~) francs 1 found things much cheaper there than in. Paris: I travelled a lot in railway trains, taxi-cabs, and one the top of London omnibuses —what a delightful experience—and 1 met with tho same politeness everywhere, from fellow travellers as well as from the working staffs. It was indeed a pleasure once more to see a man give up his seat to ;i woman, a custom which 1 feel has fallen into desuetude in my own country. Even asking for iuformtaion in a busy post office I met with the same amiability. My friends said they had never been particularly struck with the courtesy of that particular office, but then they have never asked a question in a. Paris post-officc-Indced, the most striking of all was Ihe politeness in shopping and in general business transactions. 1 shopped in some of the largest London stores, in one or two large provincial towns, and in a typical seaside resort, and everywhere I had the same experience. The courtesy of the shop assistants, whether I was buying a large amount of things or just a pound of bacon, made shopping a pleasure. 7 was probably difficult to please, as most Frenchwomen are. but the sellers seemed as sorry as I was that they were unable to supply me with just the thing 1 wanted. No trouble seemed too great for them. J suppose this courtesy was all the more surprising to me because in Paris we have become used to the "take-it-or-leave-it-but-don't-worry-me" air with which we are greeted in so many shops —a- permanent relic of the war, perhaps, when the shopman was king. It was all the more pleasing to me to find this warning, pleasing courtesy in a race. which 1 had always been taught was rather insular and haughty.