ill breeding. It
would be better to have no lunch than to struggle for the best place and
loudly demand attention, to the exclusion of others. To bring a cup of
tea to an old lady, or to the mother who cannot leave her baby to get it
herself, is a slight thing for us to do, but it may be a great favor to
them.

In an article on the politeness of French children as compared with boys
and girls in America, the writer illustrates what he is saying in this
way:--

"I was travelling in a compartment with a little French boy of twelve,
the age at which American children, as a rule, deserve killing for
their rudeness and general disagreeableness. I sat between him and the
open window, and he was eating pears. Now most boys in our country of
that age would either have dropped the cores upon the floor or tossed
them out of the window, without regard to anybody. But this small
gentleman, every time, with a 'Permit me, sir,' said in the most
pleasant way, rose and came to the window and dropped them out, and then
with a 'Thanks, sir,' quietly took his seat. French children do not take
favors as a matter of course and unacknowledged. And when in his seat,
if an elderly person came in, he was the very first to rise and offer
his place, if it were in the slightest degree more comfortable than
another; and the good-nature with which he insisted on the new-comer's
taking it was delightful to see."

The writer goes on to say that this was not an exceptional boy, but a
fair type of the average French child, and his conduct was a sample of
what might be seen anywhere, even among the ragged boys of the street.
The reason for this state of things is given in the opening sentences of
the article:--

"Politeness, with the French, is a matter of education as well as
nature. The French child is taught that lesson from the beginning of its
existence, and it is made a part of its life. It is the one thing that
is never forgotten, and the lack of it never forgiven."

LESSON XII.

OUTLINE FOR BLACKBOARD.

MANNERS IN BORROWING.

_Care of borrowed articles._
_What not to borrow._
_How to return a book._
_Returning an equivalent._
_Promptness in returning,--anecdote._

LESSON XII.

MANNERS IN BORROWING.

IT is an old saying, "He that goes borrowing goes sorrowing"; but it
might often be more truly said of the one to whom the borrower goes.

We should be more car