Language of the Fan

We publish this chestnut with a very large caveat: we have not been able to verify its source; we cannot even confirm that it is truly Victorian.  It appears to have been written as a parody of a discourse on etiquette for a 19th century ladies magazine.  Walter Nelson, on his Mass Historia blog, refers to it as a pet peeve.  Nonetheless, it is a clever and amusing trifle and, although it is today ubiquitous on the Internet, we reproduce it once more for your entertainment.