true gentleman is entirely free from every kind of pretence. He
avoids homage, instead of exacting it. Mere ceremonies have no
attractions for him. He seeks not only to say civil things, but to
do them. His hospitality, though hearty and sincere, will be
strictly regulated by his means. His friends will he chosen for
their good qualities and good manners; his servants for their
thoughtfulness and honesty; his occupations for their usefulness,
or their gracefulness, or their elevating tendencies, whether
moral, or mental, or political. And so we come round again to our
first maxims, _i.e._, that 'good manners are the kindly fruit of a
refined nature.'

"And if this be true of mankind, how still more true is it of
womankind! Granted that truthfulness, gracefulness, considerateness,
unselfishness, are essential to the breeding of a true gentleman,
how infinitely essential must they be to the breeding of a true
lady! That her tact should be even readier, her sympathies even
tenderer, her instinct even finer than those of the man, seems only
fit and natural. In her politeness, prevcyance, and all the minor
observances of etiquette, are absolutely indispensable. She must be
even more upon her guard than a man in all those niceties of speech,
look and manner, which are the especial and indispensable
credentials of good breeding. Every little drawing-room ceremonial,
all the laws of society, the whole etiquette of hospitality must be
familiar to her. And even in these points, artificial though they
be, her best guide after all, is that kindness of heart which gives
honor where honor is due, and which is ever anxious to spare the
feelings and prejudices of others.

"Every mistress of a house, be it remembered, is a minor