"
Having, after mature reflection, chosen her guide among the most
exclusive of the young matrons, she proceeded quietly to pay her
court EN REGLE. Flattering little notes, boxes of candy, and
bunches of flowers were among the forms her devotion took. As a
natural result, these two ladies became inseparable, and the most
hermetically sealed doors opened before the new arrival.
A talent for music or acting is another aid. A few years ago an
entire family were floated into the desired haven on the waves of
the sister's voice, and one young couple achieved success by the
husband's aptitude for games and sports. In the latter case it was
the man of the family who did the work, dragging his wife up after
him. A polo pony is hardly one's idea of a battle-horse, but in
this case it bore its rider on to success.
Once climbers have succeeded in installing themselves in the
stronghold of their ambitions, they become more exclusive than
their new friends ever dreamed of being, and it tries one's self-
restraint to hear these new arrivals deploring "the levelling
tendencies of the age," or wondering "how nice people can be
beginning to call on those horrid So-and-Sos. Their father sold
shoes, you know." This ultra-exclusiveness is not to be wondered
at. The only attraction the circle they have just entered has for
the climbers is its exclusiveness, and they do not intend that it
shall lose its market value in their hands.
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