[The Secret of a Happy Home (1896) by Marion Harland]@TWC D-Link bookThe Secret of a Happy Home (1896) CHAPTER XXVII 8/10
But this is not the case.
At my own board, a man of the world, accustomed to excellent society, told me that he saw no mustard on the table, and as he always liked it with his meat he would trouble me to order some; while another man, a brilliant scholar, asked at a dinner party, "Will you tell your butler to bring me a glass of milk ?" With these men the sandpaper of parental admonition or the flowing varnish of early association had evidently been neglected. Intimacy, and even tender friendship may, and do, exist between men and women who are bound to one another by no family tie.
Familiarity can never decently enter into such a relationship.
If you, as a refined woman, have a man friend who slaps you on the back, squeezes your arm to attract your attention, holds your hand longer than friendship ought to dictate, and, without your permission, calls you in public or in private by your first name, you need not hesitate to drop him from your list of intimates.
He is neither a gentleman nor does he respect you as you deserve.
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