[Illustration: Widower Jones and Widow Smith.]
1. GOOD APPEARANCE.--The first care of all persons should be for their
personal appearance. Those who are slovenly or careless in their habits are
unfit for refined society, and cannot possibly make a good appearance in
it. A well-bred person will always cultivate habits of the most scrupulous
neatness. A gentleman or lady is always well dressed. The garment may be
plain or of coarse material, or even worn "thin and shiny," but if it is
carefully brushed and neat it can be worn with dignity. {85}
2. PERSONAL CLEANLINESS.--Personal appearance depends greatly on the
careful toilet and scrupulous attention to dress. The first point which
marks the gentleman or lady in appearance is rigid cleanliness. This remark
supplies to the body and everything which covers it. A clean skin--only to
be secured by frequent baths--is indispensable.
3. THE TEETH.--The teeth should receive the utmost attention. Many a young
man has been disgusted with a lady by seeing her unclean and discolored
teeth. It takes but a few moments, and if necessary secure some simple
tooth powder or rub the teeth thoroughly every day with a linen
handkerchief, and it will give the teeth and mouth a beautiful and clean
appearance.
4. THE HAIR AND BEARD.--The hair should be thoroughly brushed and well
kept, and the beard of men properly trimmed. Men should not let their hair
grow long and shaggy.
5. UNDERCLOTHING.--The matter of cleanliness extends to all articles of
clothing, underwear as well as the outer clothing. Cleanliness is a mark of
true utility. The clothes need not necessarily be of a rich and expensive
quality, but they can all be kept clean. Some persons have an odor about
them that is very offensive, simply on account of their underclothing being
worn too long without washing. This odor of course cannot be detected by
the person who wears the soiled garments, but other persons easily detect
it and are offended by it.
6. THE BATH.--No person should think for a moment that they can be popular
in society without regular bathing. A bath should be taken at least once a
week, and if the feet perspire they should be washed several times a week,
as the case may require. It is not unfrequent that young men are seen with
dirty ears and neck. This is unpardonable and boorish, and shows gross
neglect. Occasionally a young lady will be called upon unexpectedly when
her neck and smiling face are not emblems of cleanliness. Every lady owes
it to herself to be fascinating; every gentleman is bound, for his own
sake, to be presentable; but beyond this there is the obligation to
society, to one's friends, and to those with whom we may be brought in
contact.
7. SOILED GARMENTS.--A young man's garments may not be expensive, yet there
is no excuse for wearing a soiled collar and a soiled shirt, or carrying a
soiled handkerchief. No one should appear as though he had slept in a
stable, shaggy hair, soiled clothing or garments indifferently put on and
carelessly buttoned. A young man's vest should always be kept buttoned in
the presence of ladies. {86}
8. THE BREATH.--Care should be taken to remedy an offensive breath without
delay. Nothing renders one so unpleasant to one's acquaintance, or is such
a source of misery to one's self. The evil may be from some derangement of
the stomach or some defective condition of the teeth, or catarrhal
affection of the throat and nose. See remedies in other portions of the
book.
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