I'm starting back on my weekly blog of etiquette. This is a rather long post but I found it quite interesting.
True to word - From -The Gentlemen's Book of Etiquette and Manual of
Politeness by Cecil B. Hartley
ONE HUNDRED HINTS FOR GENTLEMANLY DEPORTMENT.
1. Always
avoid any rude or boisterous action, especially when in the presence of ladies.
It is not necessary to be stiff, indolent, or sullenly silent, neither is
perfect gravity always required, but if you jest let it be with quiet,
gentlemanly wit, never depending upon clownish gestures for the effect of a
story. Nothing marks the gentleman so soon and so decidedly as quiet, refined
ease of manner.
2. Never
allow a lady to get a chair for herself, ring a bell, pick up a handkerchief or
glove she may have dropped, or, in short, perform any service for herself which
you can perform for her, when you are in the room. By extending such courtesies
to your mother, sisters, or other members of your family, they become habitual,
and are thus more gracefully performed when abroad.
3. Never
perform any little service for another with a formal bow or manner as if
conferring a favor, but with a quiet gentlemanly ease as if it were, not a
ceremonious, unaccustomed performance, but a matter of course, for you to be
courteous.
4. It is not
necessary to tell all that you know; that were mere folly; but what a
man says must be what he believes himself, else he violates the first rule for
a gentleman’s speech—Truth.
5. Avoid
gambling as you would poison. Every bet made, even in the most finished circles
of society, is a species of gambling, and this ruinous crime comes on by slow
degrees. Whilst a man is minding his business, he is playing the best game, and
he is sure to win. You will be tempted to the vice by those whom the world
calls gentlemen, but you will find that loss makes you angry, and an angry man
is never a courteous one; gain excites you to continue the pursuit of the vice;
and, in the end you will lose money, good name, health, good conscience, light
heart, and honesty; while you gain evil associates, irregular hours and habits,
a suspicious, fretful temper, and a remorseful, tormenting conscience. Some one
must lose in the game; and, if you win it, it is at the risk of driving
a fellow creature to despair.
6. Cultivate
tact! In society it will be an invaluable aid. Talent is something, but tact is
everything. Talent is serious, sober, grave, and respectable; tact is all that
and more too. It is not a sixth sense, but it is the life of all the five. It
is the open eye, the quick ear, the judging taste, the keen
smell, and the lively touch; it is the interpreter of all riddles—the
surmounter of all difficulties—the remover of all obstacles. It is useful in
all places, and at all times; it is useful in solitude, for it shows a man his
way into the world; it is useful in society, for it shows him his way through
the world. Talent is power—tact is skill; talent is weight—tact is momentum;
talent knows what to do—tact knows how to do it; talent makes a man respectable—tact
will make him respected; talent is wealth—tact is ready money. For all the
practical purposes of society tact carries against talent ten to one.
7. Nature
has left every man a capacity of being agreeable, though all cannot shine
in company; but there are many men sufficiently qualified for both, who, by a
very few faults, that a little attention would soon correct, are not so much as
tolerable. Watch, avoid such faults.
8. Habits of
self-possession and self-control acquired early in life, are the best
foundation for the formation of gentlemanly manners. If you unite with this the
constant intercourse with ladies and gentlemen of refinement and education, you
will add to the dignity of perfect self command, the polished ease of polite
society.
9. Avoid a
conceited manner. It is exceedingly ill-bred to assume a manner as if you were
superior to those around you, and it is, too, a proof, not of superiority but
of vulgarity. And to avoid this manner, avoid the foundation of it, and
cultivate humility. The praises of others should be of use to you, in teaching,
not what you are, perhaps, but in pointing out what you ought to be.
10. Avoid
pride, too; it often miscalculates, and more often misconceives. The proud man
places himself at a distance from other men; seen through that distance,
others, perhaps, appear little to him; but he forgets that this very distance
causes him also to appear little to others.
11. A
gentleman’s title suggests to him humility and affability; to be easy of
access, to pass by neglects and offences, especially from inferiors; neither to
despise any for their bad fortune or misery, nor to be afraid to own those who
are unjustly oppressed; not to domineer over inferiors, nor to be either
disrespectful or cringing to superiors; not standing upon his family name, or
wealth, but making these secondary to his attainments in civility, industry,
gentleness, and discretion.
12.
Chesterfield says, “All ceremonies are, in themselves, very silly things; but
yet a man of the world should know them. They are the outworks of manners,
which would be too often broken in upon if it were not for that defence which
keeps the enemy at a proper distance. It is for that reason I always treat
fools and coxcombs with great ceremony, true good breeding not being a
sufficient barrier against them.”
13. When you
meet a lady at the foot of a flight of stairs, do not wait for her to ascend,
but bow, and go up before her.
14. In
meeting a lady at the head of a flight of stairs, wait for her to precede you in
the descent.
15. Avoid
slang. It does not beautify, but it sullies conversation. “Just listen, for a
moment, to our fast young man, or the ape of a fast young man, who thinks that
to be a man he must speak in the dark phraseology of slang. If he does anything
on his own responsibility, he does it on his own ‘hook.’ If he sees anything
remarkably good, he calls it a ‘stunner,’ the superlative of which is a
‘regular stunner.’ If a man is requested to pay a tavern bill, he is asked if
he will ‘stand Sam.’ If he meets a savage-looking dog, he calls him an ‘ugly
customer.’ If he meets an eccentric man, he calls him a ‘rummy old cove.’ A
sensible man is a ‘chap that is up to snuff.’ Our young friend never scolds,
but ‘blows up;’ never pays, but ‘stumps up;’ never finds it too difficult to
pay, but is ‘hard up.’ He has no hat, but shelters his head beneath a ‘tile.’
He wears no neckcloth, but surrounds his throat with a ‘choker.’ He lives
nowhere, but there is some place where he ‘hangs out.’ He never goes away or
withdraws, but he ‘bolts’—he ‘slopes’—he ‘mizzles’—he ‘makes himself scarce’—he
‘walks his chalks’—he ‘makes tracks’—he ‘cuts stick’—or, what is the same
thing, he ‘cuts his lucky!’ The highest compliment that you can pay him is to
tell him that he is a ‘regular brick.’ He does not profess to be brave, but he
prides himself on being ‘plucky.’ Money is a word which he has forgotten, but
he talks a good deal about ‘tin,’ and the ‘needful,’ ‘the rhino,’ and ‘the
ready.’ When a man speaks, he ‘spouts;’ when he holds his peace, he ‘shuts up;’
when he is humiliated, he is ‘taken down a peg or two,’ and made to ‘sing
small.’ Now, besides the vulgarity of such expressions, there is much in slang
that is objectionable in a moral point of view. For example, the word
‘governor,’ as applied to a father, is to be reprehended. Does it not betray,
on the part of young men, great ignorance of the paternal and filial
relationship, or great contempt for them? Their father is to such young men
merely a governor,—merely a representative of authority. Innocently enough the
expression is used by thousands of young men who venerate and love their
parents; but only think of it, and I am sure that you will admit that it is a
cold, heartless word when thus applied, and one that ought forthwith to be
abandoned.”
16. There
are few traits of social life more repulsive than tyranny. I refer not to the
wrongs, real or imaginary, that engage our attention in ancient and modern
history; my tyrants are not those who have waded through blood to thrones, and
grievously oppress their brother men. I speak of the petty tyrants of
the fireside and the social circle, who trample like very despots on the
opinions of their fellows. You meet people of this class everywhere; they stalk
by your side in the streets; they seat themselves in the pleasant circle on the
hearth, casting a gloom on gayety; and they start up dark and scowling in the
midst of scenes of innocent mirth, to chill and frown down every participator.
They “pooh! pooh!” at every opinion advanced; they make the lives of their
mothers, sisters, wives, children, unbearable. Beware then of tyranny. A
gentleman is ever humble, and the tyrant is never courteous.
17.
Cultivate the virtues of the soul, strong principle, incorruptible integrity,
usefulness, refined intellect, and fidelity in seeking for truth. A man in
proportion as he has these virtues will be honored and welcomed everywhere.
18.
Gentility is neither in birth, wealth, or fashion, but in the mind. A high
sense of honor, a determination never to take a mean advantage of another,
adherence to truth, delicacy and politeness towards those with whom we hold
intercourse, are the essential characteristics of a gentleman.
19. Little
attentions to your mother, your wife, and your sister, will beget much love.
The man who is a rude husband, son, and brother, cannot be a gentleman; he may
ape the manners of one, but, wanting the refinement of heart that would make
him courteous at home, his politeness is but a thin cloak to cover a rude,
unpolished mind.
20. At
table, always eat slowly, but do not delay those around you by toying with your
food, or neglecting the business before you to chat, till all the others are
ready to leave the table, but must wait until you repair your negligence, by
hastily swallowing your food.
21. Are you
a husband? Custom entitles you to be the “lord and master” over your household.
But don’t assume the master and sink the lord. Remember that
noble generosity, forbearance, amiability, and integrity are the lordly
attributes of man. As a husband, therefore, exhibit the true nobility of man,
and seek to govern your household by the display of high moral excellence.
A
domineering spirit—a fault-finding petulance—impatience of trifling delays—and
the exhibition of unworthy passion at the slightest provocation can add no
laurel to your own “lordly” brow, impart no sweetness to home, and call forth
no respect from those by whom you may be surrounded. It is one thing to be a master,
another to be a man. The latter should be the husband’s aspiration; for
he who cannot govern himself, is ill-qualified to rule others. You can hardly
imagine how refreshing it is to occasionally call up the recollection of your
courting days. How tediously the hours rolled away prior to the appointed time
of meeting; how swift they seemed to fly, when met; how fond was the first
greeting; how tender the last embrace; how fervent were your vows; how vivid
your dreams of future happiness, when, returning to your home, you felt yourself
secure in the confessed love of the object of your warm affections! Is your
dream realized?—are you so happy as you expected?—why not? Consider whether as
a husband you are as fervent and constant as you were when a lover. Remember
that the wife’s claims to your unremitting regard—great before marriage, are
now exalted to a much higher degree. She has left the world for you—the home of
her childhood, the fireside of her parents, their watchful care and sweet
intercourse have all been yielded up for you. Look then most jealously upon all
that may tend to attract you from home, and to weaken that union upon which
your temporal happiness mainly depends; and believe that in the solemn
relationship of HUSBAND is to be found one of the best guarantees for man’s honor
and happiness.
22. Perhaps
the true definition of a gentleman is this: “Whoever is open, loyal, and true;
whoever is of humane and affable demeanor; whoever is honorable in himself, and
in his judgment of others, and requires no law but his word to make him fulfil
an engagement; such a man is a gentleman, be he in the highest or lowest rank
of life, a man of elegant refinement and intellect, or the most unpolished
tiller of the ground.”
23. In the
street, etiquette does not require a gentleman to take off his glove to shake
hands with a lady, unless her hand is uncovered. In the house, however, the
rule is imperative, he must not offer a lady a gloved hand. In the street, if
his hand be very warm or very cold, or the glove cannot be readily removed, it
is much better to offer the covered hand than to offend the lady’s touch, or
delay the salutation during an awkward fumble to remove the glove.
24. Sterne
says, “True courtship consists in a number of quiet, gentlemanly attentions,
not so pointed as to alarm, not so vague as to be misunderstood.” A clown will
terrify by his boldness, a proud man chill by his reserve, but a gentleman will
win by the happy mixture of the two.
25. Use no
profane language, utter no word that will cause the most virtuous to blush.
Profanity is a mark of low breeding; and the tendency of using indecent and
profane language is degrading to your minds. Its injurious effects may not be
felt at the moment, but they will continue to manifest themselves to you
through life. They may never be obliterated; and, if you allow the fault to
become habitual, you will often find at your tongue’s end some expressions
which you would not use for any money. By being careful on this point you may
save yourself much mortification and sorrow.
“Good men
have been taken sick and become delirious. In these moments they have used the
most vile and indecent language. When informed of it, after a restoration to
health, they had no idea of the pain they had given to their friends, and
stated that they had learned and repeated the expressions in childhood, and
though years had passed since they had spoken a bad word, the early impressions
had been indelibly stamped upon the mind.”
Think of
this, ye who are tempted to use improper language, and never let a vile word
disgrace you. An oath never falls from the tongue of the man who commands
respect.
Honesty,
frankness, generosity, and virtue are noble traits. Let these be yours, and do
not fear. You will then claim the esteem and love of all.
26.
Courteous and friendly conduct may, probably will, sometimes meet with an
unworthy and ungrateful return; but the absence of gratitude and similar
courtesy on the part of the receiver cannot destroy the self-approbation which
recompenses the giver. We may scatter the seeds of courtesy and kindness around
us at little expense. Some of them will inevitably fall on good ground, and
grow up into benevolence in the minds of others, and all of them will bear the
fruit of happiness in the bosom whence they spring. A kindly action always
fixes itself on the heart of the truly thoughtful and polite man.
27. Learn to
restrain anger. A man in a passion ceases to be a gentleman, and if you do not
control your passions, rely upon it, they will one day control you. The
intoxication of anger, like that of the grape, shows us to others, but hides us
from ourselves, and we injure our own cause in the opinion of the world when we
too passionately and eagerly defend it. Neither will all men be disposed
to view our quarrels in the same light that we do; and a man’s blindness to his
own defects will ever increase in proportion as he is angry with others, or
pleased with himself. An old English writer says:—
“As a
preventative of anger, banish all tale-bearers and slanderers from your
conversation, for it is these blow the devil’s bellows to rouse up the flames
of rage and fury, by first abusing your ears, and then your credulity, and
after that steal away your patience, and all this, perhaps, for a lie. To
prevent anger, be not too inquisitive into the affairs of others, or what
people say of yourself, or into the mistakes of your friends, for this is going
out to gather sticks to kindle a fire to burn your own house.”
28. Keep
good company or none. You will lose your own self-respect, and habits of
courtesy sooner and more effectually by intercourse with low company, than in
any other manner; while, in good company, these virtues will be cultivated and
become habitual.
29. Keep
your engagements. Nothing is ruder than to make an engagement, be it of
business or pleasure, and break it. If your memory is not sufficiently
retentive to keep all the engagements you make stored within it, carry a little
memorandum book and enter them there. Especially, keep any appointment made with
a lady, for, depend upon it, the fair sex forgive any other fault in good
breeding, sooner than a broken engagement.
30. Avoid
personality; nothing is more ungentlemanly. The tone of good company is marked
by its entire absence. Among well-informed persons there are plenty of topics
to discuss, without giving pain to any one present.
31. Make it
a rule to be always punctual in keeping an appointment, and, when it is
convenient, be a little beforehand. Such a habit ensures that composure and
ease which is the very essence of gentlemanly deportment; want of it keeps you
always in a fever and bustle and no man who is hurried and feverish appears so
well as he whose punctuality keeps him cool and composed.
32. It is
right to cultivate a laudable ambition, but do not exaggerate your capacity.
The world will not give you credit for half what you esteem yourself. Some men
think it so much gained to pass for more than they are worth; but in most cases
the deception will be discovered, sooner or later, and the rebound will be
greater than the gain. We may, therefore, set it down as a truth, that it is a
damage to a man to have credit for greater powers than he possesses.
33. Be ready
to apologize when you have committed a fault which gives offence. Better, far better,
to retain a friend by a frank, courteous apology for offence given, than to
make an enemy by obstinately denying or persisting in the fault.
34. An
apology made to yourself must be accepted. No matter how great the offence, a
gentleman cannot keep his anger after an apology has been made, and thus,
amongst truly well-bred men, an apology is always accepted.
35. Unless
you have something of real importance to ask or communicate, do not stop a
gentleman in the street during business hours. You may detain him from
important engagements, and, though he may be too well-bred to show annoyance,
he will not thank you for such detention.
36. If, when
on your way to fulfil an engagement, a friend stops you in the street, you may,
without committing any breach of etiquette, tell him of your appointment, and
release yourself from a long talk, but do so in a courteous manner, expressing
regret for the necessity.
37. If, when
meeting two gentlemen, you are obliged to detain one of them, apologize to the
other for
38. Have you
a sister? Then love and cherish her with all that pure and holy friendship
which renders a brother so worthy and noble. Learn to appreciate her sweet
influence as portrayed in the following words:
“He who has
never known a sister’s kind administration, nor felt his heart warming beneath
her endearing smile and love-beaming eye, has been unfortunate indeed. It is
not to be wondered at if the fountains of pure feeling flow in his bosom but
sluggishly, or if the gentle emotions of his nature be lost in the sterner
attributes of mankind.
“‘That man
has grown up among affectionate sisters,’ I once heard a lady of much
observation and experience remark.
“‘And why do
you think so?’ said I.
“‘Because of
the rich development of all the tender feelings of the heart.’
“A sister’s
influence is felt even in manhood’s riper years; and the heart of him who has
grown cold in chilly contact with the world will warm and thrill with pure
enjoyment as some accident awakens within him the soft tones, the glad melodies
of his sister’s voice; and he will turn from purposes which a warped and false
philosophy had reasoned into expediency, and even weep for the gentle
influences which moved him in his earlier years.”
The man who
would treat a sister with harshness, rudeness, or disrespect, is unworthy of
the name of gentleman, for he thus proves that the courtesies he extends to
other ladies, are not the promptings of the heart, but the mere external signs
of etiquette; the husk without the sweet fruit within.
39. When
walking with a friend in the street, never leave him to speak to another friend
without apologizing for so doing.
40. If
walking with a lady, never leave her alone in the street, under any
circumstances. It is a gross violation of etiquette to do so.
41. The most
truly gentlemanly man is he who is the most unselfish, so I would say in the
words of the Rev. J. A. James:
“Live for
some purpose in the world. Act your part well. Fill up the measure of duty to
others. Conduct yourselves so that you shall be missed with sorrow when you are
gone. Multitudes of our species are living in such a selfish manner that they
are not likely to be remembered after their disappearance. They leave behind
them scarcely any traces of their existence, but are forgotten almost as though
they had never been. They are while they live, like one pebble lying unobserved
amongst a million on the shore; and when they die, they are like that same
pebble thrown into the sea, which just ruffles the surface, sinks, and is
forgotten, without being missed from the beach. They are neither regretted by
the rich, wanted by the poor, nor celebrated by the learned. Who has been the
better for their life? Who has been the worse for their death? Whose tears have
they dried up? whose wants supplied? whose miseries have they healed? Who would
unbar the gate of life, to re-admit them to existence? or what face would greet
them back again to our world with a smile? Wretched, unproductive mode of
existence! Selfishness is its own curse; it is a starving vice. The man who
does no good, gets none. He is like the heath in the desert, neither yielding
fruit, nor seeing when good cometh—a stunted, dwarfish, miserable shrub.”
42. Separate
the syllables of the word gentleman, and you will see that the first requisite
must be gentleness—gentle-man. Mackenzie says, “Few persons are
sufficiently aware of the power of gentleness. It is slow in working, but it is
infallible in its results. It makes no noise; it neither invites attention, nor
provokes resistance; but it is God’s great law, in the moral as in the natural
world, for accomplishing great results. The progressive dawn of day, the flow of
the tide, the lapse of time, the changes of the seasons—these are carried on by
slow and imperceptible degrees, yet their progress and issue none can mistake
or resist. Equally certain and surprising are the triumphs of gentleness. It
assumes nothing, yet it can disarm the stoutest opposition; it yields, but
yielding is the element of its strength; it endures, but in the warfare victory
is not gained by doing, but by suffering.”
43. Perfect
composure of manner requires perfect peace of mind, so you should, as far as
lies in human power, avoid the evils which make an unquiet mind, and, first of
all, avoid that cheating, swindling process called “running in debt.” Owe no
man anything; avoid it as you would avoid war, pestilence, and famine. Hate it
with a perfect hatred. As you value comfort, quiet, and independence, keep out
of debt. As you value a healthy appetite, placid temper, pleasant dreams, and
happy wakings, keep out of debt. It is the hardest of all task-masters; the
most cruel of all oppressors. It is a mill-stone about the neck. It is an
incubus on the heart. It furrows the forehead with premature wrinkles. It drags
the nobleness and kindness out of the port and bearing of a man; it takes the
soul out of his laugh, and all stateliness and freedom from his walk. Come not,
then, under its crushing dominion.
44. Speak
gently; a kind refusal will often wound less than a rough, ungracious assent.
45. “In
private, watch your thoughts; in your family, watch your temper; in society,
watch your tongue.”
46. The true
secret of pleasing all the world, is to have an humble opinion of yourself.
True goodness is invariably accompanied by gentleness, courtesy, and humility.
Those people who are always “sticking on their dignity,” are continually losing
friends, making enemies, and fostering a spirit of unhappiness in themselves.
47. Are you
a merchant? Remember that the counting-house is no less a school of manners and
temper than a school of morals. Vulgarity, imperiousness, peevishness, caprice
on the part of the heads, will produce their corresponding effects upon the
household. Some merchants are petty tyrants. Some are too surly to be fit for
any charge, unless it be that of taming a shrew. The coarseness of others, in
manner and language, must either disgust or contaminate all their subordinates.
In one establishment you will encounter an unmanly levity, which precludes all
discipline. In another, a mock dignity, which supplies the juveniles with a
standing theme of ridicule. In a third, a capriciousness of mood and temper,
which reminds one of the prophetic hints of the weather in the old
almanacks—“windy”—“cool”—“very pleasant”—“blustering”—“look out for storms”—and
the like. And, in a fourth, a selfish acerbity, which exacts the most
unreasonable services, and never cheers a clerk with a word of
encouragement.—These are sad infirmities. Men ought not to have clerks until
they know how to treat them. Their own comfort, too, would be greatly enhanced
by a different deportment.
48. If you
are about to enter, or leave, a store or any door, and unexpectedly meet a lady
going the other way, stand aside and raise your hat whilst she passes. If she
is going the same way, and the door is closed, pass before her, saying, “allow
me,” or, “permit me,”—open the door, and hold it open whilst she passes.
49. In
entering a room where you will meet ladies, take your hat, cane, and gloves in
your left hand, that your right may be free to offer to them.
50. Never
offer to shake hands with a lady; she will, if she wishes you to do so, offer
her hand to you, and it is an impertinence for you to do so first.
51. If you
are seated in the most comfortable chair in a public room, and a lady, an
invalid, or an old man enters, rise, and offer your seat, even if they are
strangers to you. Many men will attend to these civilities when with friends or
acquaintances, and neglect them amongst strangers, but the true gentleman will
not wait for an introduction before performing an act of courtesy.
52. As both
flattery and slander are in the highest degree blameable and ungentlemanly, I
would quote the rule of Bishop Beveridge, which effectually prevents both. He
says, “Never speak of a man’s virtue before his face, nor of his faults behind
his back.”
53. Never
enter a room, in which there are ladies, after smoking, until you have purified
both your mouth, teeth, hair, and clothes. If you wish to smoke just before
entering a saloon, wear an old coat and carefully brush your hair and teeth
before resuming your own.
54. Never
endeavor to attract the attention of a friend by nudging him, touching his foot
or hand secretly, or making him a gesture. If you cannot speak to him frankly,
you had best let him alone; for these signals are generally made with the
intention of ridiculing a third person, and that is the height of rudeness.
55.
Button-holding is a common but most blameable breach of good manners. If a man
requires to be forcibly detained to listen to you, you are as rude in thus
detaining him, as if you had put a pistol to his head and threatened to blow
his brains out if he stirred.
56. It is a
great piece of rudeness to make a remark in general company, which is
intelligible to one person only. To call out, “George, I met D. L. yesterday,
and he says he will attend to that matter,” is as bad as if you went to George
and whispered in his ear.
57. In your
intercourse with servants, nothing will mark you as a well-bred man, so much as
a gentle, courteous manner. A request will make your wishes attended to as
quickly as a command, and thanks for a service, oil the springs of the
servant’s labor immensely. Rough, harsh commands may make your orders obeyed
well and promptly, but they will be executed unwillingly, in fear, and,
probably, dislike, while courtesy and kindness will win a willing spirit as
well as prompt service.
58. Avoid
eccentric conduct. It does not, as many suppose, mark a man of genius. Most men
of true genius are gentlemanly and reserved in their intercourse with other
men, and there are many fools whose folly is called eccentricity.
59. Avoid
familiarity. Neither treat others with too great cordiality nor suffer them to
take liberties with you. To check the familiarity of others, you need not
become stiff, sullen, nor cold, but you will find that excessive politeness on
your own part, sometimes with a little formality, will soon abash the intruder.
60. Lazy,
lounging attitudes in the presence of ladies are very rude.
61. It is
only the most arrant coxcomb who will boast of the favor shown him by a lady,
speak of her by her first name, or allow others to jest with him upon his
friendship or admiration for her. If he really admires her, and has reason to
hope for a future engagement with her, her name should be as sacred to him as
if she were already his wife; if, on the contrary, he is not on intimate terms
with her, then he adds a lie to his excessively bad breeding, when using her
name familiarly.
62. “He that
can please nobody is not so much to be pitied as he that nobody can please.”
63. Speak
without obscurity or affectation. The first is a mark of pedantry, the second a
sign of folly. A wise man will speak always clearly and intelligibly.
64. To
betray a confidence is to make yourself despicable. Many things are said among
friends which are not said under a seal of secrecy, but are understood to be
confidential, and a truly honorable man will never violate this tacit
confidence. It is really as sacred as if the most solemn promises of silence
bound your tongue; more so, indeed, to the true gentleman, as his sense of
honor, not his word, binds him.
65.
Chesterfield says, “As learning, honor, and virtue are absolutely necessary to
gain you the esteem and admiration of mankind, politeness and good breeding are
equally necessary to make you welcome and agreeable in conversation and common
life. Great talents, such as honor, virtue, learning, and parts are above the
generality of the world, who neither possess them themselves nor judge of them
rightly in others; but all people are judges of the lesser talents, such as
civility, affability, and an obliging, agreeable address and manner; because
they feel the good effects of them, as making society easy and pleasing.”
66. “Good
sense must, in many cases, determine good breeding; because the same thing that
would be civil at one time and to one person, may be quite otherwise at another
time and to another person.”
67. Nothing
can be more ill-bred than to meet a polite remark addressed to you, either with
inattention or a rude answer.
68. Spirit
is now a very fashionable word, but it is terribly misapplied. In the present
day to act with spirit and speak with spirit means to act rashly and speak
indiscretely. A gentleman shows his spirit by firm, but gentle words and
resolute actions. He is spirited but neither rash nor timid.
69. “Use
kind words. They do not cost much. It does not take long to utter them. They
never blister the tongue or lips in their passage into the world, or occasion
any other kind of bodily suffering. And we have never heard of any mental
trouble arising from this quarter.
“Though they
do not COST much, yet they ACCOMPLISH much. They help one’s own good nature and
good will. One cannot be in a habit of this kind, without thereby picking away
something of the granite roughness of his own nature. Soft words will soften
his own soul. Philosophers tell us that the angry words a man uses, in his
passion, are fuel to the flame of his wrath, and make it blaze the more
fiercely. Why, then, should not words of the opposite character produce
opposite results, and that most blessed of all passions of the soul, kindness,
be augmented by kind words? People that are forever speaking kindly, are
forever disinclining themselves to ill-temper.
“Kind words
make other people good natured. Cold words freeze people, and hot words scorch
them, and sarcastic words irritate them, and bitter words make them bitter, and
wrathful words make them wrathful. And kind words also produce their own image
on men’s souls. And a beautiful image it is. They soothe, and quiet, and
comfort the hearer. They shame him out of his sour, morose, unkind feelings, and
he has to become kind himself.
“There is
such a rush of all other kind of words, in our days, that it seems desirable to
give kind words a chance among them. There are vain words, and idle words, and
hasty words, and spiteful words, and silly words, and empty words. Now, kind
words are better than the whole of them, and it is a pity that, among the
improvements of the present age, birds of this feather might not have more
chance than they have had to spread their wings.
“Kind words
are in danger of being driven from the field, like frightened pigeons, in these
days of boisterous words, and warlike words, and passionate words. They have
not the brass to stand up, like so many grenadiers, and fight their own way
among the throng. Besides, they have been out of use so long, that they hardly
know whether they have any right to make their appearance any more in our
bustling world; not knowing but that, perhaps, the world was done with them,
and would not like their company any more.
“Let us
welcome them back. We have not done with them. We have not yet begun to use
them in such abundance as they ought to be used. We cannot spare them.”
70. The
first step towards pleasing every one is to endeavor to offend no one. To give
pain by a light or jesting remark is as much a breach of etiquette, as to give
pain by a wound made with a steel weapon, is a breach of humanity.
71. “A
gentleman will never use his tongue to rail and brawl against any one; to speak
evil of others in their absence; to exaggerate any of his statements; to speak
harshly to children or to the poor; to swear, lie, or use improper language; to
hazard random and improbable statements; to speak rashly or violently upon any
subject; to deceive people by circulating false reports, or to offer up lip-service
in religion. But he will use it to convey to mankind useful information; to
instruct his family and others who need it; to warn and reprove the wicked; to
comfort and console the afflicted; to cheer the timid and fearful; to defend
the innocent and oppressed; to plead for the widow and orphan; to congratulate
the success of the virtuous, and to confess, tearfully and prayerfully, his
faults.”
72.
Chesterfield says, “Civility is particularly due to all women; and, remember,
that no provocation whatsoever can justify any man in not being civil to every
woman; and the greatest man would justly be reckoned a brute if he were not
civil to the meanest woman. It is due to their sex, and is the only protection
they have against the superior strength of ours; nay, even a little is
allowable with women: and a man may, without weakness, tell a women she is
either handsomer or wiser than she is.” (Chesterfield would not have said this
in the present age of strong minded, sensible women.)
73. There is
much tact and good breeding to be displayed in the correction of any little
error that may occur in conversation. To say, shortly,—“You are wrong! I know
better!” is rude, and your friends will much more readily admit an error if you
say courteously and gently, “Pardon me, but I must take the liberty of
correcting you,” or, “You will allow me, I am sure, to tell you that your
informant made an error.” If such an error is of no real importance, it is
better to let it pass unnoticed.
74. Intimate
friends and relations should be careful when they go out into the world
together, or admit others to their own circle, that they do not make a bad use
of the knowledge which they have gained of each other by their intimacy.
Nothing is more common than this; and, did it not mostly proceed from mere
carelessness, it would be superlatively ungenerous. You seldom need wait for
the written life of a man to hear about his weaknesses, or what are supposed to
be such, if you know his intimate friends, or meet him in company with them.
75. In
making your first visit anywhere, you will be less apt to offend by being too
ceremonious, than by being too familiar.
76. With
your friends remember the old proverb, that, “Familiarity breeds contempt.”
77. If you
meet, in society, with any one, be it a gentleman or a lady, whose timidity or
bashfulness, shows them unaccustomed to meeting others, endeavor, by your own
gentleness and courtesy, to place them more at ease, and introduce to them
those who will aid you in this endeavor.
78. If, when
walking with a gentleman friend, you meet a lady to whom your friend bows, you,
too, must touch or raise your hat, though you are not acquainted with the lady.
79.
“Although it is now very much the custom, in many wealthy families, for the
butler to remove the dishes from the table and carve them on the sideboard,
thus saving trouble to the master or mistress of the house, and time to the
guests, the practice is not so general even amongst what are called the higher
classes of society that general instructions for carving will be uninteresting
to them, to say nothing of the more numerous class, who, although enabled to
place good dishes before their friends, are not wealthy enough to keep a butler
if they were so inclined. Good carving is, to a certain extent, indicative of
good society, for it proves to company that the host does not give a dinner
party for the first time, but is accustomed to receive friends, and frequently
to dispense the cheer of a hospitable board. The master or mistress of a house,
who does not know how to carve, is not unfrequently looked upon as an ignorant parvenu,
as a person who cannot take a hand at whist, in good society, is regarded as
one who has passed his time in the parlor of a public house, playing at
cribbage or all fours. Independently, however, of the importance of knowing how
to carve well, for the purpose of regaling one’s friends and acquaintances, the
science, and it is a science, is a valuable acquirement for any man, as it
enables him, at a public or private dinner, to render valuable aid. There are
many diners-out who are welcome merely because they know how to carve. Some men
amuse by their conversation; others are favorites because they can sing a good
song; but the man who makes himself useful and agreeable to all, is he who
carves with elegance and speed. We recommend the novice in this art, to keep a
watchful eye upon every superior carver whom he may meet at dinner. In this way
he will soon become well versed in the art and mystery of cutting up.”
80. Years
may pass over our heads without affording an opportunity for acts of high
beneficence or extensive utility; whereas, not a day passes, but in common
transactions of life, and, especially in the intercourse of society, courtesy
finds place for promoting the happiness of others, and for strengthening in
ourselves the habits of unselfish politeness. There are situations, not a few,
in human life, when an encouraging reception, a condescending behaviour, and a
look of sympathy, bring greater relief to the heart than the most bountiful
gift.
81. Cecil
says, “You may easily make a sensation—but a sensation is a vulgar triumph. To
keep up the sensation of an excitement, you must be always standing on your
head (morally speaking), and the attitude, like everything overstrained, would
become fatiguing to yourself and tedious to others. Whereas, to obtain
permanent favor, as an agreeable, well-bred man, requires simply an exercise of
the understanding.”
82. There is
no vice more truly ungentlemanly than that of using profane language. Lamont
says:
“Whatever
fortune may be made by perjury, I believe there never was a man who made a
fortune by common swearing. It often appears that men pay for swearing, but it
seldom happens that they are paid for it. It is not easy to perceive what honor
or credit is connected with it. Does any man receive promotion because he is a
notable blusterer? Or is any man advanced to dignity because he is expert at
profane swearing? Never. Low must be the character which such impertinence will
exalt: high must be the character which such impertinence will not degrade.
Inexcusable, therefore, must be the practice which has neither reason nor
passion to support it. The drunkard has his cups; the satirist, his revenge;
the ambitious man, his preferments; the miser, his gold; but the common swearer
has nothing; he is a fool at large, sells his soul for nought, and drudges in
the service of the devil gratis. Swearing is void of all plea; it is not the
native offspring of the soul, nor interwoven with the texture of the body, nor,
anyhow, allied to our frame. For, as Tillotson expresses it, ‘Though some men
pour out oaths as if they were natural, yet no man was ever born of a swearing
constitution.’ But it is a custom, a low and a paltry custom, picked up by low
and paltry spirits who have no sense of honor, no regard to decency, but are
forced to substitute some rhapsody of nonsense to supply the vacancy of good
sense. Hence, the silliness of the practice can only be equalled by the
silliness of those who adopt it.”
83. Dr.
Johnson says that to converse well “there must, in the first place, be
knowledge—there must be materials; in the second place, there must be a command
of words; in the third place, there must be imagination to place things in such
views as they are not commonly seen in; and, in the fourth place, there must be
a presence of mind, and a resolution that is not to be overcome by failure—this
last is an essential requisite; for want of it, many people do not excel in
conversation.”
84. “Do not
constantly endeavor to draw the attention of all upon yourself when in company.
Leave room for your hearers to imagine something within you beyond what you
speak; and, remember, the more you are praised the more you will be envied.”
85. Be very
careful to treat with attention and respect those who have lately met with
misfortunes, or have suffered from loss of fortune. Such persons are apt to
think themselves slighted, when no such thing is intended. Their minds, being
already sore, feel the least rub very severely, and who would thus cruelly add
affliction to the afflicted? Not the gentleman certainly.
86. There is
hardly any bodily blemish which a winning behavior will not conceal or make
tolerable; and there is no external grace which ill-nature or affectation will
not deform.
87. Good
humor is the only shield to keep off the darts of the satirist; but if you are
the first to laugh at a jest made upon yourself, others will laugh with
you instead of at you.
88. Whenever
you see a person insult his inferiors, you may feel assured that he is the man
who will be servile and cringing to his superiors; and he who acts the bully to
the weak, will play the coward when with the strong.
89.
Maintain, in every word, a strict regard for perfect truth. Do not think of one
falsity as harmless, another as slight, a third as unintended. Cast them all
aside. They may be light and accidental, but they are an ugly soot from the
smoke of the pit for all that, and it is better to have your heart swept clean
of them, without stopping to consider whether they are large and black.
90. The
advantage and necessity of cheerfulness and intelligent intercourse with the
world is strongly to be recommended. A man who keeps aloof from society and
lives only for himself, does not fulfil the wise intentions of Providence, who
designed that we should be a mutual help and comfort to each other in life.
91.
Chesterfield says, “Merit and good breeding will make their way everywhere.
Knowledge will introduce man, and good breeding will endear him to the best
companies; for, politeness and good breeding are absolutely necessary to adorn any,
or all, other good qualities or talents. Without them, no knowledge, no
perfection whatever, is seen in its best light. The scholar, without good
breeding, is a pedant; the philosopher, a cynic; the soldier, a brute; and
every man disagreeable.”
92. It is
very seldom that a man may permit himself to tell stories in society; they are,
generally, tedious, and, to many present, will probably have all the weariness
of a “twice-told tale.” A short, brilliant anecdote, which is especially
applicable to the conversation going on, is all that a well-bred man will ever
permit himself to inflict.
93. It is
better to take the tone of the society into which you are thrown, than to
endeavor to lead others after you. The way to become truly popular is to be
grave with the grave, jest with the gay, and converse sensibly with those who
seek to display their sense.
94. Watch
each of your actions, when in society, that all the habits which you contract
there may be useful and good ones. Like flakes of snow that fall unperceived
upon the earth, the seemingly unimportant events of life succeed one another.
As the snow gathers together, so are our habits formed. No single flake that is
added to the pile produces a sensible change—no single action creates, however
it may exhibit, a man’s character; but, as the tempest hurls the avalanche down
the mountain, and overwhelms the inhabitant and his habitation, so passion,
acting upon the elements of mischief, which pernicious habits have brought
together by imperceptible accumulation, may overthrow the edifice of truth and
virtue.
95. There is
no greater fault in good breeding than too great diffidence. Shyness cramps
every motion, clogs every word. The only way to overcome the fault is to mix
constantly in society, and the habitual intercourse with others will give you
the graceful ease of manner which shyness utterly destroys.
96. If you
are obliged to leave a large company at an early hour, take French leave. Slip
away unperceived, if you can, but, at any rate, without any formal
leave-taking.
97. Avoid
quarrels. If you are convinced, even, that you have the right side in an
argument, yield your opinion gracefully, if this is the only way to avoid a
quarrel, saying, “We cannot agree, I see, but this inability must not deprive me
of a friend, so we will discuss the subject no further.” Few men will be able
to resist your courtesy and good nature, but many would try to combat an
obstinate adherence to your own side of the question.
98. Avoid
the filthy habit of which foreigners in this country so justly complain—I mean
spitting.
99. If any
one bows to you in the street, return the bow. It may be an acquaintance whose
face you do not immediately recognize, and if it is a stranger who mistakes you
for another, your courteous bow will relieve him from the embarrassment arising
from his mistake.
100. The
following hints on conversation conclude the chapter:—
“Conversation
may be carried on successfully by persons who have no idea that it is or may be
an art, as clever things are sometimes done without study. But there can be no
certainty of good conversation in ordinary circumstances, and amongst ordinary
minds, unless certain rules be observed, and certain errors be avoided.
“The first
and greatest rule unquestionably is, that all must be favorably disposed
towards each other, and willing to be pleased. There must be no sullen or
uneasy-looking person—no one who evidently thinks he has fallen into unsuitable
company, and whose sole aim it is to take care lest his dignity be injured—no
one whose feelings are of so morose or ascetic a kind that he cannot join
without observable pain and hesitation in the playfulness of the scene—no
matter-of-fact person, who takes all things literally, and means all things
literally, and thinks it as great a crime to say something in jest as to do it
in earnest. One of any of these classes of persons is sufficient to mar the
enjoyments of a hundred. The matter-of-factish may do very well with the
matter-of-factish, the morose with the morose, the stilted with the stilted;
and they should accordingly keep amongst themselves respectively. But, for what
is generally recognized as agreeable conversation, minds exempted from these
peculiarities are required.
“The
ordinary rules of politeness are, of course, necessary—no rudeness, no offence
to each other’s self-esteem; on the contrary, much mutual deference is
required, in order to keep all the elements of a company sweet. Sometimes,
however, there is a very turbid kind of conversation, where there is no want of
common good breeding. This, most frequently, arises from there being too great
a disposition to speak, and too small a disposition to listen. Too many are
eager to get their ideas expressed, or to attract attention; and the
consequence is, that nothing is heard but broken snatches and fragments of discourse,
in which there is neither profit nor entertainment. No man listens to what
another has to say, and then makes a relative or additionally illustrative
remark. One may be heard for a minute, or half a minute, but it is with
manifest impatience; and the moment he is done, or stops to draw breath, the
other plunges in with what he had to say, being something quite of
another strain, and referring to another subject. He in his turn is interrupted
by a third, with the enunciation of some favorite ideas of his, equally
irrelative; and thus conversation becomes no conversation, but a contention for
permission to speak a few hurried words, which nobody cares to hear, or takes
the trouble to answer. Meanwhile, the modest and weak sit silent and
ungratified. The want of regulation is here very manifest. It would be better
to have a president who should allow everybody a minute in succession to speak
without interruption, than thus to have freedom, and so monstrously to abuse
it. The only remedy, as far as meetings by invitation are concerned, is to take
care that no more eager talkers are introduced than are absolutely necessary to
prevent conversation from flagging. One to every six or eight persons is the
utmost that can be safely allowed.
“The danger
of introducing politics, or any other notoriously controversial subject, in
mixed companies, is so generally acknowledged, that conversation is in little
danger—at least in polite circles—from that source. But wranglements,
nevertheless, are apt to arise. Very frequently the company falls together by
the ears in consequence of the starting of some topic in which facts are
concerned—with which facts no one chances to be acquainted.
“Conversation
is often much spoilt through slight inattentions or misapprehensions on the
part of a particular member of the company. In the midst of some interesting
narrative or discussion, he suddenly puts all to a stop, in order that some
little perplexity may be explained, which he could never have fallen into, if
he had been paying a fair degree of attention to what was going on. Or he has
some precious prejudice jarred upon by something said, or supposed to be said,
and all is at a stand, till he has been, through the united exertions of a
vexed company, re-assured and put at his ease. Often the most frivolous
interruption from such causes will disconcert the whole strain of the
conversation, and spoil the enjoyment of a score of people.
“The eager
speakers, already alluded to, are a different class from those who may be called
the determinedly loquacious. A thoroughly loquacious man has no idea of
anything but a constant outpouring of talk from his own mouth. If he stops for
a moment, he thinks he is not doing his duty to the company; and, anxious that
there should be no cause of complaint against him on that score, he rather
repeats a sentence, or gives the same idea in different words, or hums and haws
a little, than allow the least pause to take place. The notion that any other
body can be desirous of saying a word, never enters his head. He would as soon
suppose that a beggar was anxious to bestow alms upon him, as that any one
could wish to speak, as long as he himself was willing to save them the
trouble. Any attempt to interrupt him is quite hopeless. The only effect of the
sound of another voice is to raise the sound of his own, so as to drown it.
Even to give a slight twist or turn to the flow of his ideas, is scarce
possible. When a decided attempt is made to get in a few words, he only says,
with an air of offended feeling, set off with a tart courtesy, ‘Allow me, sir,’
or, ‘When you are done, sir;’ as if he were a man whom nobody would allow, on
any occasion, to say all he had to say. If, however, he has been permitted to
talk on and on incessantly a whole evening, to the complete closing of the
mouths of the rest, he goes away with all the benevolent glow of feeling which
arises from a gratified faculty, remarking to the gentleman who takes his arm,
‘What a great deal of pleasant conversation we have had!’ and chatters forth
all the way home such sentences as, ‘Excellent fellow, our host,’ ‘charming
wife,’ ‘delightful family altogether,’ ‘always make everybody so happy.’
“Another
class of spoilers of conversation are the loud talkers or blusterers. They are
not numerous, but one is enough to destroy the comfort of thirty people for a
whole evening. The least opposition to any of his ideas makes the blusterer
rise in his might, and bellow, and roar, and bellow again, till the whole
company is in something like the condition of Æneas’s fleet after Eolus has
done his worst. The society enjoyed by this kind of man is a series of first
invitations.
“While
blusterers and determinedly loquacious persons are best left to themselves, and
while endless worryings on unknown things are to be avoided, it is necessary
both that one or two good conversationists should be at every party, and that
the strain of the conversation should not be allowed to become too tame. In all
invited parties, eight of every ten persons are disposed to hold their peace,
or to confine themselves to monosyllabic answers to commonplace inquiries. It
is necessary, therefore, that there should be some who can speak, and
that fluently, if not entertainingly—only not too many. But all engrossing of
conversation, and all turbulence, and over-eagerness, and egotism, are to be
condemned. A very soft and quiet manner has, at last, been settled upon, in the
more elevated circles, as the best for conversation. Perhaps they carry it to a
pitch of affectation; but, yet, when we observe the injurious consequences of
the opposite style in less polite companies, it is not easy to avoid the
conclusion that the great folks are, upon the whole, right. In the courtly
scene, no one has his ears offended with loud and discordant tones, no one is
condemned to absolute silence. All display in conversation will not depend on
the accidental and external quality of strength of voice, as it must do where a
loud and contentious style of talking is allowed; the soft-toned and the weak-lunged
will have as good a chance as their more robust neighbors; and it will be
possible for all both to speak and to hear. There may be another advantage in
its being likely to produce less mental excitement than the more turbulent kind
of society. But regulation is, we are persuaded, the thing most of all
wanted in the conversational meetings of the middle classes. People interrupt
each other too much—are too apt to run away into their own favorite themes,
without caring for the topic of their neighbors—too frequently wrangle about
trifles. The regularity of a debating society would be intolerable; but some
certain degree of method might certainly be introduced with great advantage.
There should, at least, be a vigorous enforcement of the rule against more than
one speaking at a time, even though none of those waiting for their turn should
listen to a word he says. Without this there may be much talk, and even some
merriment, but no conversation.”
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