Manners and Conduct In School and Out

This wee book, referenced below, is crammed so full of snippets of wisdom that I feel compelled to start sharing them.

In the "Lunch Room:"

Never laugh at the accidents or misfortunes of others, even if they have a ridiculous side. Nothing shows ill-breeding so surely.

In the "Assembly Hall:"

…[I]t is your nature to feel more satisfaction in cooperating and helping by doing your best, than in hindering and thwarting by doing your worst. (This is the basis of all good manners, and of civic spirit.)

On "Duty to One Another:"

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.

On "Duty To Yourself:"

Try, increasingly, to fit your word to your thought, and your thought to the fact. Being accurate does not mean being dull. Effective speech has much need for imagination, but very little for common slang. You understand and enjoy, —

These growing feathers plucked from Caesar’s wing
Will make him fly an ordinary pitch.

If, however, in slang phrase, a person spoke of "swiping Caesar’s dope"; or of making Caesar "come off his perch," you would see that something fine in the thought had vanished. Practise expressing your ideas as attractively as possible.

Avoid showing your displeasure with an acquaintance by not bowing. To do so is crude. A formal bow should be bestowed even on an enemy.

On "Dancing Requirements:"

Remember, — bobbing and wriggling are taboo. Let the spring come from the ankles and the knees. Imitate the grace of the swallow.