244 THE HOME, FARM AND BUSINESS CYCLOPEDIA. 



only to listen. You must endeavour to seem interested in the conversa- 

 tion of others. 



It is considered extremely ill bred when two persons whisper in society, 

 or converse in a language with which all present are not familiar. If you 

 have private matters to discuss, you should appoint a proper time and 

 place to do so, without paying others the ill compliment of excluding them 

 from your conversation. 



If a foreigner be one of the guests at a small party, and does not under- 

 stand English sufficiently to follow what is said, good breeding demands 

 that the conversation shall be carried on in his own language. If at a 

 dinner-party, the same rule applies to those at his end of the table. 



If upon the entrance of a visitor you carry on the thread of a previous, 

 conversation, you should briefly recapitulate to him what has been said 

 before he arrived. 



Do not be always witty, even though you should be so happily gifted 

 as to need the caution. To outshine others on every occasion is the surest 

 road to unpopularity. 



Always look, but never stare, at those with whom you converse. 



In order to meet the general needs of conversation in society, it is neces- 

 sary that a gentlewoman should be acquainted with the current news and 

 historical events of, at least, the last few years. 



Never talk upon subjects of which you know nothing, unless it be for 

 the purpose of acquiring information. Many young ladies imagine that 

 because they play a little, sing a little, draw a little, and frequent exhibi- 

 tions and operas, they are qualified judges of art. No mistake is more 

 egregious or universal. 



Those who introduce anecdotes into their conversation are warned that 

 these should invariably be " short, witty, eloquent, new, and not far- 

 fetched." 



Scandal is the least excusable of all conversational vulgarities. 



To dress well requires something more than a full purse and a pretty 

 figure. It needs taste, good sense, and refinement. Dress may almost be 

 classed as one of the fine arts. It is certainly one of those arts the culti- 

 vation of which is indispensable to any person moving in the upper or 

 middle classes of society. Very clever women are too frequently indifferent 

 to the graces of the toilette ; and women who wish to be thought clever 

 affect indifference. In the one case it is an error, and in the other a folly. 



