In order to succeed in the modern ballroom, and especially in the
ballrooms of our exclusive country clubs, a young gentleman or
lady of fashion must today be possessed of the following two
requisites: i. A “Line.” 2. A closed car. The latter of these
“sine qua nons” is now owned as a matter of course by most
families and is no longer regarded as a mark of distinction. The
former requisite, however, is not so common, but it is
nevertheless true that any young person with ambition and a good
memory can eventually acquire a quite effective “Line.” It is a
great aid in this direction if one happens to have spent a year
or more at one of our leading eastern universities or “finishing
schools.” These vary, of course, in degree of excellence, but it
does not pay to be dogmatic on this subject, and to those who
would insist that the Princeton “Line” is more effective than the
Harvard ditto, or that the Westover “Line” flows more smoothly
than that of Farmington or Spence, one can only say “De gustibus
non disputandum est.” “Lines” vary also in accordance with the
different types of girls who happen to be using them, and (to
misquote a rather vulgar proverb) “What is one girl’s food may be
another girl’s poison.” Thus it happens that the “Line” which is
most universally and interminably employed by the “beautiful”
type of girl (consisting, in its entirety, of the three words
“How perfectly priceless”) would never in the world do for the
young miss whose chief asset is a kind heart or a love for really
good books.
[Illustration]
A Word of Warning and Encouragement _The above diagram (one of man),
filling the instructive and refined pages of_ PERFECT BEHAVIOR, _will
serve as a model to any debutante or dancing man who seriously sets out
to achieve social eminence. It is only fair to warn aspirants that
rigid adherence to the formula is essential and that any slight
slackening of the pace is likely to prove fatal. On the other hand, we
confidently guarantee complete success to those who, in reverence and
faith, keep the final goal always in sight. His (or hers) be it to keep
the sacred flame burning and to pass the torch along from father to
son, from mother to daughter till the end of time, or so long as they
do not make any mesalliances, which is just as important in America,
whatever may be said to the contrary, as among our “English cousins.”_