Perhaps there will be one “personal” line such as “we all missed you at the picnic on Wednesday—­Ollie made the flap-jacks and they were too awful!  Every one groaned:  ‘If Jack were only here!’” Or, “we all hope you are coming back in time for the Towns’ dance.  Kate has at last inveigled her mother into letting her have an all-black dress which we rather suspect was bought with the especial purpose of impressing you with her advanced age and dignity!  Mother came in just as I wrote this and says to tell you she has a new recipe for chocolate cake that is even better than her old one, and that you had better have a piece added to your belt before you come home.  Carrie will write you very soon, she says, and we all send love.

    “Affectionately,
    “Ruth.”

=THE LETTER NO GENTLEMAN WRITES=

One of the fundamental rules for the behavior of any man who has the faintest pretension to being a gentleman, is that never by word or gesture must he compromise a woman; he never, therefore, writes a letter that can be construed, even by a lawyer, as damaging to any woman’s good name.

His letters to an unmarried woman may express all the ardor and devotion that he cares to subscribe to, but there must be no hint of his having received especial favors from her.

=DON’TS FOR CORRESPONDENCE=

Never typewrite an invitation, acceptance, or regret.

Never typewrite a social note.

Be chary of underscorings and postscripts.

Do not write across a page already written on.

Do not use unmatched paper and envelopes.

Do not write in pencil—­except a note to one of your family written on a train or where ink is unprocurable, or unless you are flat on your back because of illness.

Never send a letter with a blot on it.

Never sprinkle French, Italian, or any other foreign words through a letter written in English.  You do not give an impression of cultivation, but of ignorance of your own language.  Use a foreign word if it has no English equivalent, not otherwise unless it has become Anglicized.  If hesitating between two words, always select the one of Saxon origin rather than Latin.  For the best selection of words to use, study the King James version of the Bible.

CHAPTER XXIX

THE FUNDAMENTALS OF GOOD BEHAVIOR

Far more important than any mere dictum of etiquette is the fundamental code of honor, without strict observance of which no man, no matter how “polished,” can be considered a gentleman.  The honor of a gentleman demands the inviolability of his word, and the incorruptibility of his principles; he is the descendant of the knight, the crusader; he is the defender of the defenseless, and the champion of justice—­or he is not a gentleman.

=DECENCIES OF BEHAVIOR=

A gentleman does not, and a man who aspires to be one must not, ever borrow money from a woman, nor should he, except in unexpected circumstances, borrow money from a man.  Money borrowed without security is a debt of honor which must be paid without fail and promptly as possible.  The debts incurred by a deceased parent, brother, sister, or grown child, are assumed by honorable men and women, as debts of honor.