ON THE ETIQUETTE OF DRIVING AND WALKING.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXII, Issue XVIII, 6 May 1899, Page 623

ON THE ETIQUETTE OF DRIVING AND WALKING.

‘Keep to the right!' is one of the first things to observe in walking in the streets. Is there anything more exasperating than coming suddenly face to face with another person? You both move the same moment to the left, and then to the right, still face to face, till the situation becomes ridiculous, and this would have been avoided if you had both observed the rule—‘Keep to the right!’ If you are of the male sex, you must always take the outside of the pavement, so as to protect your companion from the mud that is so liberally sprinkled from the passing vehicles—a man’s clothes are easily brushed, whereas a woman’s delicate silk or fresh muslin is often irretrievably damaged by a splash of greasy mud. It is universally the custom for a woman to be the first to recognise a man, and he does not raise his hat till he sees that she has bowed to him.

The reverse is the habit abroad, when a man at once takes off his hat on meeting a lady whom he has already met before.

He also pays this aet of courtesy on entering a shop, which is returned by a pleasant ‘Bon jour, monsieur,’ from behind the counter. Very different manners are in vogue in England, where we walk into a shop ami say abruptly: ‘I want some patentleather boots!’ There are some women who have -t way of behaving in an extremely rude manner in public conveyances, such as omnibuses and tramears. They sit down, square their shoulders, and take more than double their fair share of space, and refrain from making room for another passenger till pointedlyasked to do so; then they gather their skirts around them in a marked manner if some poor person enters the vehicle, and make no attempt to pass the fare of those who are seated a* the end of the omnibus, or to make room for the conductor when he enters to claim his pennies. Such people may be ladies in one sense of the word, and unaccustomed to travelling in public conveyances, but they should remember that it is a distinguished mark of good breeding to la* perfectly at ease ami well-mannered under all circumstances, however novel the situation.

If you are fortunate enough to possess a carriage of your own, there are also certain rules of etiquette to be observed.

A man always places a woman on his right hand,"so that in a victoria or a brougham the woman sits facing the horses on the right side of the carriage, and the man on the left. Should there be four seats in the carriage, and two ladies and one man are out driving, the two ladies face the horses as a matter of course, and the man sits opposite to them, regardless of his age, rank or relationship. If two ladies drive together, the owner of the carriage makes her friend enter the carriage first and take the farthest seat. If three ladies drive together, the owner insists, unless she is very old, upon her friends facing the horses, while she herself takes the back seat, upon the principle that her two friends are for the moment hetguests, and that therefore of course she gives them the best she has to offer.

When a woman is using her victoria which has only a small extempore third seat, she only invites one friend to accompany her; but I have known women of high rank, who, meeting another friend en route and offering her a lift, have insisted upon occupying the small back seat themselves, so that their two friends should have the two best seats.

It is extremely ill-bred for a woman to think that, because the carriage is hers, she must invariably take the seat of honour in the right-hand front place. . When you are requested to take the best seat, don’t enter into voluble protestations while you keep everyone waiting. It is sufficient if you say, ‘1 assure you 1 don’t in the least mind Tiding with my back to the horses.' And then, if you see that your friend is determined to take the back seat herself, it shows better breeding if vou obey- her wishes without further protest. There is a story of a King of France who declared a certain count to-be the best bred man in his kingdom, because when told by his Royal master to enter the carriage first, he obeyed at once without questioning the Royal command.

When you leave a shop for your carriage, don't sail majestically across the pavement expecting the passers-by to make way for you. but wait it someone, however humble, happens to be in your path: they have an equal ri<rht to the pavement with yourself. In” the due observance of such apparent trifles a lady shows that she can lay claim, in the truest sense of the word, to the title of ‘gentlewoman.'