“O my! no indeed,” chorused the voices.

“Well, then, I don’t see why Mrs. Jones should have all that’s agreeable; why the hats should come off and the tones soften, and ‘please,’ and ‘thank you,’ and ‘excuse me,’ should abound in her house, and not in mamma’s.”

“Oh! that’s very different.”

“And mamma knows we mean all right.  Besides, you are not fair, cousin; we were talking about boys and girls—­not grown up people.”

Thus my little audience assailed me, and I was forced to a change of base.

“Well, about boys and girls, then.  Can not a boy be just as happy, if, like our friend Russel, he is gentle to the little girls, doesn’t pitch his little brother in the snow, and respects the rights of his cousins and intimate friends?  It seems to me that politeness is just as suitable to the playground as the parlor.”

“Oh, of course; if you’d have a fellow give up all fun,” said Wilfred.

“My dear boy,” said I, “that isn’t what I want.  Run, and jump, and shout as much as you please; skate, and slide, and snowball; but do it with politeness to other boys and girls, and I’ll agree you shall find just as much fun in it.

[Illustration:  "It is Burke who brings a glass of water."]

“You sometimes say I pet Burke Holland more than any of my child-friends.  Can I help it?  For though he is lively and sometimes frolicsome, his manners are always good.  You never see him with his chair tipped up, or his hat on in the house.  He never pushes ahead of you to get first out of the room.  If you are going out, he holds open the door; if weary, it is Burke who brings a glass of water, places a chair, hands a fan, springs to pick up your handkerchief,—­and all this without being told to do so, or interfering with his own gayety in the least.

“This attention isn’t only given to me as the guest, or to Mrs. Jones when he visits her, but to mamma, Aunt Jenny, and little sister, just as carefully; at home, in school, or at play, there is always just so much guard against rudeness.

“His courtesy is not merely for state occasions, but it is like a well-fitting garment worn constantly.  His manliness is genuine loving kindness.  In fact, that is exactly what real politeness is; carefulness for others, and watchfulness over ourselves, lest our angles shall interfere with their comfort.”

It is impossible for boys and girls to realize, until they have grown too old, easily to adopt new ones, how important it is to guard against contracting careless and awkward habits of speech and manners.  Some very unwisely think it is not necessary to be so very particular about these things except when company is present.  But this is a grave mistake, for coarseness will betray itself in spite of the most watchful care.

It is impossible to indulge in one form of speech, or have one set of manners at home, and another abroad, because in moments of confusion or bashfulness, such as every young person feels sometimes who is sensitive and modest, the every day mode of expression will discover itself.