Good behavior is an essential element of our civilization. It should
be displayed every day through courteous acts and becoming manners.
Politeness is said to be the poetry of conduct; and like poetry, it
has many qualities. Let not your politeness he too florid, but of that
gentle kind which indicates a refined nature.
In his relations with others, one should never forget his good
breeding. It is a general regard for the feelings of others that
springs from the absence of all selfishness. No one should behave
in the presence of others as though his own wishes were bound to be
gratified or his will to control.
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In the more active sphere of business, as in the larger localities
where there is close competition, the small merchant frequently
outstrips his more powerful rival by one element of success, which
may be added to any stock without cost, but cannot be withheld without
loss. That element is civility. A kind and obliging manner carries
with it an indescribable charm. It must not be a manner that indicates
a mean, groveling, timeserving spirit, but a plain, open, and
agreeable demeanor that seems to desire to oblige for the pleasure of
doing so, and not for the sake of squeezing an extra penny out of a
customer's purse.