Never do anything that is unpleasant to others.

Any child can be taught to be beautifully behaved with no effort greater than quiet patience and perseverance, whereas to break bad habits once they are acquired is a Herculean task.

The letter we all love to receive is one that carries so much of the writer’s personality that she seems to be sitting beside us, looking at us directly and talking just as she really would, could she have come on a magic carpet, instead of sending her proxy in ink-made characters on mere paper.

Never think, because you cannot write a letter easily, that it is better not to write at all. The most awkward note imaginable is better than none.

The only occasion when the traditions of courtesy permit a hostess to help herself before a woman guest is when she has reason to believe the food is poisoned.

A gentleman should never take his hat off with a flourish.

Manner is personality—the outward manifestation of one’s innate character and attitude toward life.