In writing to a person with whom you have only a slight
acquaintance, it is a sign of proper breeding to attempt to show
the stranger that you are interested in the things in which he is
interested. Thus, for example, if you were to write a letter to a
Frenchman who was visiting your city for the first time, you
would endeavor, as in the following example, to speak to him in
his own idiom and put him at his ease by referring to the things
with which he is undoubtedly familiar. It is only a “boor” who
seeks to impose his own hobbies and interests upon a stranger,
disregarding entirely the presumable likes and dislikes of the
latter.