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Updated: June 25, 2025
"MY DEAR MR. HOMOS, Will you give me the pleasure of your company at dinner, on Thanksgiving-day, at eight o'clock, very informally. My friend, Mrs. Bellington Strange, has unexpectedly returned from Europe within the week, and I am asking a few friends, whom I can trust to excuse this very short notice, to meet her. With Mr. Makely's best regards, Yours cordially, DOROTHEA MAKELY.
"I supposed we were so European already," returned the gentleman, "that a European landing among us would think he had got back to his starting-point in a sort of vicious circle. I am myself so thoroughly Europeanized in all my feelings and instincts that, do you know, Mrs. Makely, if I may confess it without offence " "Oh, by all means!" cried the hostess.
Makely assented, "I suppose it is. All foreigners find it so. In fact, it is something that you have to live into the notion of; it can't be explained." "Well, then, my dear madam, will you tell me without further question what you understand by a lady, and let me live into the notion of it at my leisure?" "I will do my best," said Mrs. Makely.
Makely rose, and the other ladies rose with her, for the Americans follow the English custom in letting the men remain at table after the women have left. But on this occasion I found it varied by a pretty touch from the French custom, and the men, instead of merely standing up while the women filed out, gave each his arm, as far as the drawing-room, to the lady he had brought in to dinner.
The young man laughed, and his sister with him. Young Camp carried out the plate of victuals to the tramp, and Mrs. Makely said to his mother: "I suppose you would make the tramp do some sort of work to earn his breakfast on week-days?" "Not always," Mrs. Camp replied. "Do the boarders at the hotel always work to earn their breakfast?" "No, certainly not," said Mrs.
"Very well; it will be five dollars for the two. I feel bound to get all I can for the cause. Shall I put your name down?" "Yes," said Mrs. Bulkham, rather crossly; but Mrs. Makely inscribed her name on her tablets with a radiant amiability, which suffered no eclipse when, within the next fifteen minutes, a dozen other ladies hurried up and bought in at the same rate.
Makely put on an air of modest worth, which he carried off with his usual wink towards me. I said, finally, "And if the ladies are not admitted to the men's clubs, why don't they have clubs of their own?" "Oh, they have several, I believe. But who wants to go and meet a lot of women? You meet enough of them in society, goodness knows. You hardly meet any one else, especially at afternoon teas.
They feel that the men are standing on their natural rights, which they could not abdicate if they would. I know this will appear perfectly ridiculous to Mr. Makely, and I confess myself that there seems something binding in a contract which ought to act on the men's consciences, at least.
I never knew anything so perfectly providential." "I envy you the ability to see it in that light, Mrs. Makely," I said, faint at heart. "Suppose Camp crowds the place full of his trainmen, how will the ladies that you've sold tickets to at five dollars apiece like it?" "Pooh! What do I care how they like it! Horrid things!
You can't stop a woman of that kind when she gets started; I had better left it alone. "But," said the Altrurian, "if you are forbidden by motives of humanity from doing any sort of manual labor, which you must leave to those who live by it, I suppose you take some sort of exercise?" "Well," said Mrs. Makely, shaking her head gayly, "we prefer to take medicine."
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