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309
The Ladies' Book of Etiquette, and Manual of Politeness
·
Florence Hartley
124
CHAPTER
XVI.
POLITE
DEPORTMENT,
AND
GOOD
HABITS.
Lord
Chesterfield
says,
"Good
sense
and
good
nature
suggest
civility
in
general;
but
in
good
breeding
there
are
a
thousand
little
delicacies
which
are
established
only
by
custom."
It
is
the
knowledge
and
practice
of
such
"little
delicacies"
which
constitutes
the
greatest
charm
of
society.
Manner
may
be,
and,
in
most
cases,
probably
is,
the
cloak
of
the
heart;
this
cloak
may
be
used
to
cover
defects,
but
is
it
not
better
so
to
conceal
these
defects,
than
to
flaunt
and
parade
them
in
the
eyes
of
all
whom
we
may
meet?
Many
persons
plead
a
love
of
truth
as
an
apology
for
rough
manners,
as
if
truth
was
never
gentle
and
kind,
but
always
harsh,
morose,
and
forbidding.
Surely
good
manners
and
a
good
conscience
are
no
more
inconsistent
with
each
other
than
beauty
and
innocence,
which
are
strikingly
akin,
and
always
look
the
better
for
companionship.
Roughness
and
honesty
are
indeed
sometimes
found
together
in
the
same
person,
but
he
is
a
poor
judge
of
human
nature
who
takes
ill-manners
to
be
a
guarantee
of
probity
of
character.
Some
persons
object
to
politeness,
that
its
language
is
unmeaning
and
false.
But
this
is
easily
answered.
A
lie
is
not
locked
up
in
a
phrase,
but
must
exist,
if
at
all,
in
the
mind
of
the
speaker.
In
the
ordinary
compliments
of
civilized
life,
there
is
no
intention
to
deceive,
and
consequently
no
falsehood.
Polite
language
is
pleasant
to
the
ear,
and
soothing
to
the
heart,
while
rough
words
are
just
the
reverse;
and
if
not
the
product
of
ill
temper,
are
very
apt
to
produce
it.
The
plainest
of
truths,
let
it
be
remembered,
can
be
conveyed
in
civil
speech,
while
the
most
malignant
lies
may
find
utterance,
and
often
do,
in
the
language
of
the
fishmarket.
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