Democratic Sentinel, Volume 15, Number 36, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 September 1891 — GOOD FORM IN ENGLAND. [ARTICLE]

GOOD FORM IN ENGLAND.

Numerous Ways In Which British Customs Differ from American Ones. To adequately indicate the divergences between the ways of English society and our own would require a volume, says the New York Ledger, but some striking examples may be given in a few paragraphs. To.begin with the names applied to servants. In England there is no such thing as a “dining-room girl.” She is called, a “parlor-maid.” What we term an “up-stairs girl” is a “housemaid." There are no “chambermaids” or “waiters” in an English private house. They are found only in hotels and restaurants; TtTspeak of a coachman as a “driver” would be very “bad form.“ Coachmen, butlers, housekeepers, and ladies’ maids are called by their surnames only, never by their Christian names. Americans who ape English usages almost always blunder in the use of crests. In England only men put crests on their paper, silver, clothing, carriages, etc. For a lady, and especially a young lady, to put a crest on anything would be considered bad form. To speak to a man of his wife as “your wife” would not be tolerated; you must say “Mrs. So-and-so.” The use of “sir” in conversation between equals would be thought very bad form. The railway terms in England differ markedly from ours. The “track” is a “line”; a “depot” is a “station” a “ticket-office” is a “bookingoffice"; a “conductor” is a “guard”; the “engineer” is the “driver”; the “car” is a “carriage"; “baggage” is “luggage," and a “baggage-car” is a “van." In English theaters, what we call “orchestra seats" are “stalls," and the “parquet” is termed the “pit." English newspapers you do not “subscribe for,“ but “take in.” An “editorial” is always” a “leader.” It is not good form for a young lady to go to school. She must be educated at home. We may also note that the abbreviation used for “bachelor of arts” and “master of arts" are “B. A.” and “M. A.,” whereas in this country they are “A. B." and “A. M.” What we call “public schools” are termed “national schools” in England. An English “publio school” corresponds to such American institutions as the Phillips Academies at Exeter and Andover. At Oxford and Cambridge the term “graduate” is not used as a verb to express the taking of a university degree. Glancing at games, we may remark that in England billiards is always played on a pocket table. You do not, however, say that you “pocket” a ball; you “hole” it. A “carrom” is a “cannon;” a “scratch” is a “fldke;” a “run” is a “break;” and a “shot” is a “stroke.” Croquet, which once was popular, is no longer regarded as good form. In England shooting is never called “gunning” or “hunting.” The latter term is applied exclusively to fox hunting. A horse good at jumping is called a good “fence.” All Jumps except ditches and “water” (brooks) are called “fences.” On the other hand, what we call “fences” are termed “timber.” All “races" in England are running races. There are no trotting races. All English races are run, not upon a dirt track, but upon grass; hence the expression, the “turf.”

A word about the etiquette of calls and cards. In England it would be the worst possible form for a gentleman to call on an unmarried lady and ask the servant if she is at home. He must always ask for the mother only. A gentleman is never asked to “call again soon,” but he is told: ‘T hope we shall see a good deal of you. “ In England cards are left only when the person called on is out. They are never sent in before the caller if the person called on is at home. For husband and wife to have both names on one card, as “Mr. and Mrs. Jones,” is very bad form. So it is for unmarried ladies to have separate visiting cards of their own. Their names should be engraved tinder the name of their mother or of some other married female relation. In England one’s address should always be on one’s card, in smaller letters, in the right-lower corner. We might enumerate a thousand other peculiarities, but we have cited enough to show that an American citizen could not easily acquire what in England is called “good form” without an expenditure of time that could be put to better purpose.