POLITENESS

New Zealand Tablet, 23 August 1906, Page 37

POLITENESS

The reason that the French people, enjoy the wellearned 1 reputation of being the politest' people in the world is because la politesse, or good breeding, is an accomplishment they always acquire at home and in childhood. A Frenchman, his wife, and a couple of children will observe all the most exquisite social amenities in the privacy of their own vine and fig tree, and the family life presents all the social 'advantages they require. A French boy of even the humblest parentage does not wait to go out in the world to learn how .to oiler a woman a chair, give an elderly gentleman his arm, invite you to dine, or discover the topics of conversation that engage your interest. He has lived from his babyhood in an atmosphere of family deference and cheerfully unselfish consideration, and he is charmingly polite by precept and example wherever he may find, himself.