The Way to Win Popularity.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXIX, Issue I, 5 July 1902, Page 61

The Way to Win Popularity.

A famous French woman was asked how she had acquired such perfect elegance of bearing and ease of manner, and she replied: “By always behaving when alone as if others were present.” Ah, there is the true secret of thorough breeding! It consists in the small, sweet courtesies of every-day life. First of all, cultivate a well-modulated voice—a pleasant manner of laughing. Nothing can atone for a high-pitched, loud voice. You may have the face of an angel, but if you talk loudly and laugh boisterously, you can never appear well bred. I call to mind one instance where a lady came to a city to live in a handsome home. Her husband became a club-man; they had handsome traps and horses, were fond of entertaining, and they were rich enough to do so on an elaborate scale; but the people never gained a foothold in good society. The difficulty was that the wife was considered unrefined, and yet those who knew her intimately said it was her loud voice and laughter which stamped her as inelegant, and debarred her from the circle she most desired. Thoughtful attention to a few rules adds greatly to one’s personality. We all like appreciation and commendation, even praise and love—they are the spirit-flowers that exhale sweet odours about the soul of every human being. Let us cultivate them, and extend our influence. We hear men and women say: “I don’t care what people think.” This is a mistake, for we all care something for the estimate that is put on our efforts, our abilities, and our characters.