Even if he drinks champagne every night at dinner the Liverpool pickle merchant knows he cannot get into the king’s set; but here the pickle man can not only break into the sacred circle, but he and his fat wife may themselves become the king and queen.  So that a knowledge of how smart society conducts itself is an important matter to every man and woman living in the United States, since each hopes eventually to make a million dollars and move to New York.  With us the fast crowd sets the example for society at large; whereas in England looseness in morals is a recognized privilege of the aristocracy to which the commoner may not aspire.

The worst feature of our situation is that the quasi-genteel working class, of whom our modern complex life supports hundreds of thousands—­telephone operators, stenographers, and the like—­greedily devour the newspaper accounts of the American aristocracy and model themselves, so far as possible, after it.  It is almost unbelievable how intimate a knowledge these young women possess of the domestic life, manner of speech and dress of the conspicuous people in New York society.

I once stepped into the Waldorf with a friend of mine who wished to send a telephone message.  He is a quiet, unassuming man of fifty, who inherited a large fortune and who is compelled, rather against his will, to do a large amount of entertaining by virtue of the position in society which Fate has thrust on him.  It was a long-distance call.

“Who shall I say wants to talk?” asked the goddess with fillet-bound yellow hair in a patronizingly indifferent tone.

“Mr.——­,” answered my companion.

Instantly the girl’s face was suffused with a smile of excited wonder.

“Are you Mr.——­, the big swell who gives all the dinners and dances?” she inquired.

“I suppose I’m the man,” he answered, rather amused than otherwise.

“Gee!” she cried, “ain’t this luck!  Look here, Mame!” she whispered hoarsely.  “I’ve got Mr. ——­ here on a long distance.  What do you think of that!”

One cannot doubt that this telephone girl would unhesitatingly regard as above criticism anything said or done by a woman who moved in Mr. ——­ ’s circle.  Unfortunately what this circle does is heralded in exaggerated terms.  The influence of these partially true and often totally false reports is far-reaching and demoralizing.

The other day the young governess of a friend of my wife gave up her position, saying she was to be married.  Her employer expressed an interest in the matter and asked who was going to perform the ceremony.  She was surprised to learn that the functionary was to be the local country justice of the peace.

“But why aren’t you going to have a clergyman marry you?” asked our friend.

“Because I don’t want it too binding!” answered the girl calmly.

So far has the prevalence of divorce cast its enlightening beams.