"MANNERS MAKYTH MAN."

Evening Post, Volume LXXIX, Issue 73, 29 March 1910, Page 9

"MANNERS MAKYTH MAN."

ARE WE DETERIORATING IN GOOD MANNERS? Tlip (juestion demands the* considera tion of nil would-be benefactorx of tlio laco. If we are running downhill, we might as well manipulate the brake and i druce our course to the heights our fciei'athers occupied with distinction. Hnvc not our own live* been toned by their example? Is not ours a responsibility to piiis on to others that which comes lo us as benefit or boon? Why be content with an impoverishment ' whim can only mean loss? Possibly Fome aro in the position of the little 'child who nuked much but gavelex?. Addressing her junior Ly a few months, four-yoai-old Gladys insisted : "You mustn't snatch my doliic from me, little Aggie; you must xay, 'Plea«e, little Gladys, let little Aggio'nurMj your little dollie in her own little arms.' ' A sweet baby lisping voice having carefully oboyed instructions, adding to the whole unvxtia "please" with bewitching carnei-L-nes» of appeal, tho very definite answer of tho would-be teacher of good manners \vn^, to gay the least, a little disconcerting. It was summed up , in the ono word "Sha'n't !" As tho hope of the nation's life and welfaro lies with the children — these wonderful possibilities of days to come — the actions o{ the "up-growns" do far more in the mailing of good manner* for the future generation ot men and women than the most studied teaching by word of mouth. Perhaps tho age in winch we live, the rush for place, tho rnqer gra.«p vi wealth, the clever manipulation of opportunity and circunWapep in making for the one end — personal plc;\«uie and individual profit — perhaps to all this is due the lack of dignity and reticencs which in the fbrys of our forefathers mado it a condition of the cultured to treat even an enemy with a certain measure of courtesy. A noted prelate of onr own times said recently, in nddremng a community composed of the fnir sex, that all such communities had the temptation to be "catty," and should home of their number have higher ideals and nobler purposes in life, 100 often the paw >vhich could be soft ns velvet was extended with definite nim to f-crntrli. He urged upon bis audience the cultivation of good niMitierE as <\n oss-entia' to peisonal well-being, the Inppinesi, of one's neighbour, and the prosperity of ones country. Undoubtedly we lo=e in Fom<? degree n* a people by the very advances of that chilisation upon which we pride ourselves, which "gives to every man his chance," and does not reserve tho choice plums of life to the few who havo been bom to greatness (of possessions), and who claim that "might i* light." j The fact that) many to-day have achieved what in ,>as-l generations had bsen handed down from me to son, with all the af«ociatioris o r inherited lesponsibitilies, may indirectly answer for inuiiij that a lover of liis nation mig'it dc-ploic j a« missing. It was surely a small matter for the chiklien of cultured ho.nep to abound in cointesfca which niu<lo them "little gentlemen and ladies" in the eyes of their subordinates. The rising from the seat when an elder entered the ' room — n respect to age, the opening of a door by which a laden servant might pafs through, the little courtesies of speech which included "sire" when addressing a father — these manners of the high class were not forced upon growing boyhood and giilhood a-> a part of thoir education to much as they were evolved from an inherited conception of what was due and fitting to their position in the body politic of family life. And an influence, whether for evil or good, finds its way from thf higher to the lower, so all claries were included in the benefit to be gained. It is ei>hy from this point of view to ceo that the niv : .tional life would lose tone when the standard o c gor,J manneis began to be set by those who claimed no heiitagc of ancesivy, but (1 5 their ciedit be it ndmitled), with :i nob!* purpose and an iron will, fought their way to the front, impelled by tlio force which h never more contpicnoiM than in the making of nations. Contra«t the youthful manners of today with those of v generation back, and we get "the Governor,' 1 und "Miter"' in plncc of the sweet-sounding "Father" ! and "Mother," and tho unrh'sgiiised con- | tempt too OHOM for nvitttred opinion and judgment, pronounced to be old-fashioned and out-of-date by thore who have net aside ns ve-ikness not to be. tolerated respect and reverence for age. It to be bereft of the gentle courtesiep of life — {lie oil to the hinge which makes rust impossible — if to habitually mi«s the good manners which menu so much in social intercourse tlmt i* pleasant and helpful, had only to be regarded as peisotial nnd individual losses, it weie well to keep tilenco nnd not proclaim^on the howelop si deterioration to be deplored, but, tui a Nation's glory i>> the cause den i 1 to the heart of all true citizens, it behoves us to remember that alil.e with the Home-maker as with the Thinker and Educationalist of the day, it becomes rm imperative ichponsibility to oroiifo the children of onr land to iccognuc the pait good manneis have to nhiy in the uplift of our national life. And m«y there not be just the faintest hope thati n« in othei things of value j nnd importance, the child may become I the teacher, that lessons maj be leainl out of school by those who are in need of the tuition, to whon. it might be an advantage — lacking Iheii own — to copy the manner.* of son>ebodj elsp's forefathers? — M». G. S. Piemey, in Westminster Gaz«tle. The child is heir to impulses and in1 elinatiofis that will sprout like foul I weeds, or Hower out into lovely blooms of kind dispositions and .uenerous affections. Childhood is the time of I learning, and the average child thirsts I for knowledge. Miibic lia3 a wonderful tffpet in helping in the upbringing of children, and every child should be taught music. Neither the cost of the piano nor the cost of the lessons can be icgaided a^ barriers. The piano— a good sweet -toned, well-built durable instrument like the Challen piano — can be purchased from the Wellington Piano Company, Ltd., Lambton-quay, on very easy time payments. If you hear the Challen you'll buy the- Challen. -Advt. Ladies' Costumes are made nt the English Tailoring Rooms, 52, Willis-street. Those who have been gowned by Mr. \V. S. Bedfoid are continually advertis- ' ing him. — Advt. I It la a well-known fact that dainty fabric* require a good soap, and when I Borax Soap is used tio annoyance is caused to ladie<, who require all their laces and line linen to look well. Of coiuse. there are other soaps, but Lewis and Whitty s Boiax boap is by fur the best. Once you use it, its superiority over all other soaps is apparent. In 1 your next drder to your gro< er inciud© Lfiffja pgd VVhitty'fl Borax Span.— Advj*.