For manners are not idle, but the fruit
    Of loyal nature and of noble mind.

DUTY TO ONE ANOTHER

    If it is not seemly, do it not; if it is not true, speak it not.

    —­Marcus Aurelius.

1) After dancing with a girl thank her and walk back with her to her seat, to her chaperon, or to her next partner.  Never leave her standing alone in the middle of the floor.

2) Girls, if your partner doesn’t dance well, take it pleasantly—­but not as too much of a joke—­and help him to do better.

3) Avoid looking at a boy with your soul in your eyes.  A girl holds the key to the social situation.  She should keep such a situation at school on a cordial but wholly matter-of-fact basis,—­absolutely free from sentimentality.

4) Base your friendships on good comradeship, not on maudlin emotion, nor on propinquity.  The right kind of girl and boy friendships may give joy for a lifetime; the wrong kind must be a continual menace.

5) Don’t be prudes, girls, but let every boy know that he must keep his hands off from you.  If he presumes, a cool glance on your part will usually restrain him.  If it does not, avoid him; he is unworthy of your friendship.

6) Boys, you can easily tell what girls would have you sit very close to them, and hold their hands, and put your arms around them.  But, be manly.  Always protect a girl; protect her from yourself, even from herself.  If she does not wish to be so protected, avoid her as you would the plague.

7) When you call on a girl, you shouldn’t remain after ten o’clock even though the girl wants you to.  Girls, you should not urge.  And, girls, observe how your boy friends fit themselves into the family group.

8) A gift you should acknowledge at once and cordially.  But, boys, let your gifts to girls be rare, and restricted to candy, books, and flowers.

9) To force your presence upon those who seem not to want you, tends to crystallize their feeling of antagonism.  On the other hand, nothing more quickly disarms this feeling of antagonism than evidence of delicacy on your part.

10) Girls, it is poor policy to call up boys often by telephone, and bad manners to whistle to attract their attention.

11) For you to sit at a social gathering with hat and coat on, girls,—­even though you must leave in a few moments,—­is discourteous both to your hostess and to the other guests.

DUTY TO OLDER PEOPLE

    The mildest manners, and the gentlest heart.

    —­Pope.

1) Show especial deference—­not indifference—­to your superiors in age, office, and the like.  Do this not once, but always.  Watch for opportunities.

2) Rise, when an older person who is standing begins to talk to you.

3) If you wish to become a musician, you seek help from the finest musical instructor within reach.  Just so in the greater art of living effectively, seek help from those who have learned wisdom.  As a rule, your parents and your teachers are your best counsellors.  They have traveled the road before you, and have your highest interests at heart.  Listen to them.  Don’t make your life a wild experiment in blundering; it doesn’t pay.