THE ESSENCE OF POLITENESS

New Zealand Tablet, 1 June 1911, Page 1030

THE ESSENCE OF POLITENESS

A Cincinnati commercial traveller happened to be put at a table at Columbus with a number of legislators, and the courtly way in which they addressed each other greatly bored the commercial traveller. It was: ‘ Will the gentleman from Hardin do this?’ and ‘Will the gentleman from Franklin do that?’ They invariably spoke to each other as the gentleman from whatever county they happened to hail from. For ten or fifteen minutes the traveller bore it in silence. Then he suddenly crushed the statesmen by singing out in stentorian tones to the waiter, Will the gentleman from Ethiopia please pass the butter ’