19th century etiquette. Sometimes I love my work.

From an 1871 issue of Church�s Musical Visitor, a publication devoted to music reviews, news and gossip:

A REPREHENSIBLE HABIT

There is no breach of that etiquette which should be observed in public places so reprehensible as that of a gentleman leaving ladies sitting alone. It is not only a matter of etiquette, but of the attention and protection due a lady under the charge of a gentleman. How often do we observe at the opera and theater from fifty to a hundred vacant chairs between acts, representing this reprehensible act? Gentlemen should not be guilty of such a disrespectful act toward ladies and ladies should not tolerate it. There are many considerations apart form the etiquette of good breeding in public places to discourage such a practice. A lady is liable to be insulted in the absence of her escort; the difficulty of his returning through the crowded house to his seat, and even the probability of an accident or panic occurring, which would require his immediate care of the lady or ladies under his charge. This breach of good taste and breeding is committed in a majority of instances, not once or twice, but frequently repeated between every act. The most effectual way for a lady to prevent it is to refuse to accompany a gentleman to a public place of amusement who is guilty of this ungentlemanly breach of decorum and neglect of a lady under his charge.

I don�t know about you, but I think I�m much more liable to be insulting than insulted in such a situation.

* * * * * *

My day has been largely governed by the weather. After a wonderfully stormy night � our bedroom has vaulted ceilings and no attic above, so the rain makes a fantastic noise � I was shocked when I ran out to get the paper this morning to discover that it was already 60 by 6 a.m. When I took off for an early morning stroll, it was sunny with a couple of wispy clouds floating scenically through the sky. By the time I was a mile from home, the sky was black as night. I ended up jogging home and even so got drizzled on before I made it inside, whereupon the sky opened up in earnest. The ordinarily lazy stream in our backyard is roaring like the Colorado River. The wind is so fierce that poor AJ can�t stand up without being knocked down. So now we are once again barricaded inside, warm and dry, as water rushes around us from every direction.

AJ also has a cold, which leaves him more defenseless in such a situation than usual. I have to admit, I am not entirely unhappy with the cold. It has slowed him down just enough to let me keep up with him and it doesn�t seem to be making him too unhappy. He�s been running us ragged the last couple of days. We spent a good portion of the morning visiting libraries and bookstores in search of a favorite book that he had a sudden and urgent desire to read (John Agee�s Z Goes Home), but to no avail. AJ nearly had a meltdown about it, but managed to pull himself together with the promise of books to come. His birthday, after all, is in less than three weeks. He knows presents are sure to be arriving soon.

I�m about to sit down and hammer out a paper proposal and then start thinking about this job application in earnest. No presents are likely to be arriving soon for me, so I suppose I�d better work.

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