Page:Book of Etiquette, Volume 1, by Lilian Eichler.djvu/139



The days of gallant cavaliers and courteous knights who bowed profusely and doffed their feathered hats to the very ground when introduced to ladies of the court are over. To-day, simplicity is the keynote in introductions—as in everything else. But the significance of those charming introductions of yore remains. We find that the introduction of to-day is still made and acknowledged with a certain measured grace and courtesy of manner. What it lacks in old-time picturesque gallantry it gains in a new friendliness that is in accord with whole-hearted warmth for which the Americans are famous.

Every day, in the social and business worlds alike, there is the constant need of introducing people correctly. But the correct introduction does not consist merely of making two strangers known to each other—perhaps just temporarily. To create an immediate friendliness between two people who have met for the first time, to do away with all hesitancy and embarrassment, to create smooth and pleasant conversation, to make the strangers want to continue their acquaintance—that is the purpose of the correct introduction. And its achievement rests entirely with the man or woman who is the medium of introduction.

A great many people have the mistaken impression that an introduction is meant solely to make two people