aking her in to
supper at a ball, or when he is an usher at a wedding. Even in walking
across a ballroom, except at a public ball in the grand march, it is the
present fashion for the younger generation to walk side by side, never arm
in arm. This, however, is merely an instance where etiquette and the
custom of the moment differ. Old-fashioned gentlemen still offer their
arm, and it is, and long will be, in accordance with etiquette to do so.
But etiquette does _not_ permit a gentleman to take a lady's arm!

In seeing a lady to her carriage or motor, it is quite correct for a
gentleman to put his hand under her elbow to assist her; and in helping
her out he should alight first and offer her his hand. He should not hold
a parasol over her head unless momentarily while she searches in her
wrist-bag for something, or stops perhaps to put on or take off her glove,
or do anything that occupies both hands. With an umbrella the case is
different, especially in a sudden and driving rain, when she is often very
busily occupied in trying to hold "good" clothes out of the wet and a hat
on, as well. She may also, under these circumstances, take the gentleman's
arm, if the "going" is thereby made any easier.

=A LADY NEVER "ON THE LEFT"=

The owner always sits on the right hand side of the rear seat of a
carriage or a motor, that is driven by a coachman or a chauffeur. If the
vehicle belongs to a lady, she should take her own place always, unless
she relinquishes it to a guest whose rank is above her own, such as that
of the wife of the President or the Governor. If a man is the owner, he
must, on the contrary, give a lady the right hand seat. Whether in a
private carriage, a car or a taxi, a lady must _never_ sit on a
gentleman's left; because according to European etiquette, a lady "on the
left" is _not_ a "lady." Although this etiquette is not strictly observed
in America, no gentleman should risk allowing even a single foreigner to
misinterpret a lady's position.

=AWKWARD QUESTIONS OF PAYMENT=

It is becoming much less customary than it used to be for a gentleman to
offer to pay a lady's way. If in taking a ferry or a subway, a young woman
stops to buy magazines, chocolates, or other trifles, a young man
accompanying her usually offers to pay for them. She quite as usually
answers: "Don't bother, I have it!" and puts the change on the counter. It
would be awkward for him to protest, and bad taste to press the point. Bu