inexcusable for any youth to fail in this small exaction of polite
behavior. If a young man is talking with some one when an older lady
enters the room, he bows formally from where he is, as it would be rude to
leave a young girl standing alone while he went up to speak to Mrs.
Worldly or Mrs. Toplofty. But a young girl passing near an older lady can
easily stop for a moment, say "How do you do, Mrs. Jones!" and pass on.

People do not cross a room to speak to any one unless--to show politeness
to an acquaintance who is a stranger there; to speak to an intimate
friend; or to talk to some one about something in particular.




CHAPTER IV

SALUTATIONS OF COURTESY


=WHEN A GENTLEMAN TAKES OFF HIS HAT=

A gentleman takes off his hat and holds it in his hand when a lady enters
the elevator in which he is a passenger, but he puts it on again in the
corridor. A public corridor is like the street, but an elevator is
suggestive of a room, and a gentleman does not keep his hat on in the
presence of ladies in a house.

This is the rule in elevators in hotels, clubs and apartments. In office
buildings and stores the elevator is considered as public a place as the
corridor. What is more, the elevators in such business structures are