"'Tis only man can words create,
And cut the air to sounds articulate
By nature's special charter. Nay, speech can
Make a shrewd discrepance 'twixt man and man.
It doth the gentleman from the clown discover;
And from a fool the great philosopher.
As Solon said to one in judgment weak:--
'I thought thee wise until I heard thee speak.'"
And if we talk with flippancy and exaggeration, load our sentences
with slang phrases, and preface and punctuate them with oft-repeated
expressions of "Say!" "Well!" "You know," "Do tell," and so on, _ad
infinitum_, all wisdom, or propriety of speech will be lost.
It is difficult to believe in the refinement of a girl who permits her
fresh young lips to utter the slang of the bar-room hanger-on, the
gambler and the street gamin.
Equally difficult is it to believe in the absolute truthfulness of one
who declares to you that the heat of a lovely June day is "simply
awful" or "perfectly terrible," from sheer wonder as to what terms
she would use to characterize the intense heat of some sweeping fire.
[Illustration: THE INDUSTRIOUS HOUSEWIFE.]
Again, it is hard to understand the taste of one who informs you
gravely that "the chicken salad was too lovely for anything!" or the
last evening's sunset was "perfectly elegant!" The Websterian
definition of "elegant" being "polished, stylish, refined, etc.," it
is to be wished that all perpetrators of like sins could meet the
punishment a young lady once dealt to a gentleman who remarked with
great effusion: "This moonlight is perfectly elegant!" To this
observation she answered with gravity, "Yes, it really _is_ very
stylish!"
Let, therefore, all who strive for the grace of good breeding, men and
women, boys and girls alike, "set a watch over their lips and keep the
door of their mouth," for "words have wings, and so soon as their
cage, the mouth, is opened, out they fly and mount beyond our reach,
and past recovery."
Some Do's for Girls.
The following hints for girls, each prefaced by the auxiliary "Do,"
will prove a safe guide, not only for the girls but for any of their
elders who may choose to follow them.
Do answer your letters soon after they are received, and do try to
reply to them with some relation to their contents; a rambling,
ill-considered letter is a satire upon your education.
Do, when you talk, keep your hands still.
Do observe; the faculty of observation, well cultivated, makes
practical men and women.
Do attach as much importance to your mind as to your body.
Do be natural; a poor diamond is better than a good imitation.
Do try to remember where you put your gloves and cardcase; keep the
former mended and the latter filled.
Do recollect that your health is more important than your amusements;
you can live without one, but you'll die early without the other.
Do try to be sensible; it is not a particular sign of superiority to
talk like a fool.
[Illustration: THE PRINCESS OF WALES.]
[Illustration: A SOCIETY BELLE--"CALL AGAIN."]
[Illustration: A CALL FROM BABY'S ADMIRERS.]
Do be ready in time for church; if you do not respect yourself
sufficiently to be punctual, respect the feelings of other people.
Do get up in time for breakfast.
Do avoid causes of irritation in your family circle; do reflect that
home is the place in which to be agreeable.
Do be reticent; the world at large has no interest in your private
affairs.
Do cultivate the habit of listening to others; it will make you an
invaluable member of society, to say nothing of the advantage it will
be to you.
Do be truthful; do avoid exaggeration; if you mean a mile say a mile,
not a mile and a half; if you mean one say one, and not a dozen.
Young Ladies, Take Heed.
Do, sometimes, at least, allow your mother to know better than you do;
she was educated before you were born.
Do sign your full name to your letters.