HOME ECONOMIES.

Taranaki Daily News, 12 February 1921, Page 10

HOME ECONOMIES.

GOOD .MANNERS FOR EVERY DAY. MARIS OF GOOD BREEDING. At first isight there may seem little connection between home economics and good manners: but if we take home economics in its widest sense, as having to do with. all that makes those in the home healthier and happier, we shall see there is. a connection between the two. An American, writing on the subject, says:— foundation of good breeding, of good manners, of truest courtesy, must begin in the'home, the place where we naturally, perhaps least, recognise their claims. It is in the- home, above all other places, that the finest tact — another name for courtesy—is necessary, living as we do in closer contact, with less ceremony, and with greater familiarity than elsewhere, and the strongest test of our training comes into practice under these very natural conditions.

“Few of us may ever be called upon to do more than one or two great things our lives, but all of us are almost daily called upon for the smaller sacrifices, the disturbing trifles of life, and it is in the smaller courtesies of this same every-day life that we are apt to fail.' The truest courtesy comes from kindness of heart. All else is an outside

veneer or polish that shows its uncertain foundation under any form of disturbance. “Good manners in the household are like oil on complicated machinery—like cushions spread over rough and wounding ways—but they are more important influence on character. * When elderly people enter your home or your presence, always remain standing until they are seated. This attention may not always be appreciated, but that matters little. The time may come whep we ourselves may be in a position to enjoy many of the small courtesies so often neglected to-day. “Children are taught fine manners quite ns much by .example as by precept, and what a child receives in youth it seldom fails to return at maturity; also, remember that children are not only the life of the home, but the hope of the future! The ease with which one member of a family 7, not always elderlv, will appropriate a certain comfortable chair, shows selfishness and discourtesy that sometimes awaken disgust. ‘•’'ever' fail, be it early or late, to exchange the morning greetings, whether you feel just like it or not. Begin the day in the spirit of Robert Louis Stevenson’s prayer: ‘Give us to awake with smiles, give us to labor smiling. As the snn returns in the east, so let our patience be renewed with the dawn; as the sun lightens the world, so let our loving kindness make bright this house of our habitation.’ “It is a mystery why some otherwise courteous people always feel cross before breakfast; and a still greater mystery why they feel at liberty to show it. Dr. Holmes once truly wrote: ‘The whole essence of gentle breeding lies in the wish and. in the art to be agreeable. Good breeding is surface Christianity.’ ' “Cultivate good table manners. They are qiiite as necessary at home as in public. Carelessness at home will easily lead one into mistakes abroad. “Do not begin the day by finding fault and criticising—always distinguishing features ■of home life. Do not be so anxious to talk as to constantly interrupt others who may he, and often are, better worth listening to. Don’t be selfish and exacting. Don’t fret, even when things go wrong. Don’t be sullen. Don’t be a tease. One bad-mannered person in an otherwise harmonious family can ruin the pftace of the whole. In other words, don’t be a nuisance. If you have not natural tact, cultivate it by thinking first about others, and last about yourself. We must remember that the penseverance of a courteous manner is the test of its sincerity. “Always knock before entering a room with a closed door. Every human being has a right to a certain amount of privacy.’ Always treat with especial .courtesy one who is deaf, or suffering from any infirmity. You may i)e giving a joy that will never be forgotten. “Servants at home or abroad are human beings and appreciate kindly (not necessarily familiar) courtesies more, sometimes, than those of a higher section in life. Always be truthful with them, and with children. They will son lose faith in you otherwise. “Never refuse to receive an apology. Courtesy requires that it be accepted.”