It has been said, "Manners are something with every one, and everything with some."

Strangers will judge us entirely by our manners, since they cannot know, as our friends do, what is beneath this outward behavior.

The Golden Rule is the foundation of true politeness, which must spring from kindness of heart. If we earnestly try to do to others what we would have them do to us, though we may through ignorance disregard some points of society etiquette, yet we can hardly be impolite.

Good manners cannot be put on at pleasure, like an outside coat, but must belong to us. We have all seen veneering on furniture. At first the cheap pine article may look as well as if it were made of the costly wood with which it is covered; but in the wear and tear of every-day use the veneering will come off in places, showing the common wood beneath. So it will be with our manners. If they are not solid and real throughout, the thin covering of politeness will break off here and there, especially when exposed to hard usage, and the real stuff we are made of will be revealed.

If we carefully observe persons of fine manners, we shall learn much that can be learned in no other way. We must not think we are too well informed to be taught on this or any subject, but keep our eyes and ears open, and be always ready to learn a "more excellent way." The greatest advantage to young people of being in good society is the opportunity to learn by observation.

We began this lesson with a quotation, and we will close by another worth remembering: "Politeness is like an air-cushion; there may be nothing solid in it, but it eases the jolts of this world wonderfully."