"One part inspiration,"
replied the great inventor, "and NINE parts perspiration." In
other words, etiquette is not so much a matter of "genius" as of
steady application to small details.
TRAVELLING BY RAIL
In America much of the travelling is done by "rail." The
etiquette of railroad behavior is extremely complicated,
especially if one is forced to spend the night en route (on the
way) and many and ludicrous are the mistakes made by those whose
social training has apparently fitted them more for a freight car
than for an up-to-date "parlor" or "Pullman" coach.
GOOD FORM ON A STREET CAR
Let us, first of all, however, take up some of the simpler forms
of rail transportation, such as, for example, the electric street
or "tram" car now to be seen on the main highways and byways of
all our larger cities. The rules governing behavior on these
vehicles often appear at first quite complicated, but when one
has learned the "ropes," as they say in the Navy, one should have
no difficulty.
An elderly lady with a closed umbrella, for example, desiring to
take a street car, should always stand directly under a large
sign marked "Street Cars Do Not Stop On This Corner." As the car
approaches she should run quickly out to the car tracks and
signal violently to the motorman with the umbrella. As the car
whizzes past without stopping she should cease signalling, remark
"Well I'll be God damned!" and return to the curbstone.
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