bed.[1630] Sapper
says of the Central American Indians that when the white man asks a
question he often gets no answer because he has neglected something
required by etiquette. He once on a journey asked a Kekchi Indian to ask
the way of an Indian whom they saw coming. This was improper, because
not any one in the company might ask that question, according to Kekchi
etiquette, but only the leader of the company.[1631] Schweinfurth[1632]
rates the Dinka above Turks and Arabs in respect to table manners and
decorum of eating. All recline on the ground around a bowl of food, each
with a gourd cup in his hand, but they manage this primitive arrangement
with constant care for propriety.

+492. Etiquette of salutation, etc.+ The modes of expressing good will
and the etiquette of meeting or visiting would be another large section
under this head. What things are possible is shown by the report that a
Tibetan host at a feast "expressed his respect for us and his
appreciation of our remarks by rising to his feet and extending his
tongue at full length."[1633]

+493. Literature of manners and etiquette.+ Denecke[1634] is able to
trace an indigenous cultivation of good manners by literature from the
eleventh century, when there was taught courtesy to women, although not
the woman cult of a later time. He mentions a series of books down to
the nineteenth century, which inculcated good manners according to the
changing notions and standards of the times. In the second half of the
thirteenth century it was taught in von Lichtenstein's _Frauenbuch_, a
manual of manners and morals for women, that a woman should not salute a
knight at his approach lest he infer favor. She was to be covered like a
nun; she did not share in banquets and did not kiss guests whom she
received; she shunned outside festivities and kept a good name. Knights
then neglected women because they cared only for rude pleasures, drink,
and hunting. Later, rules were made for the conduct of men.[1635] The
history of manners shows that what was inculcated in books never became
real practice. The conquest of the art of eating with propriety was
accomplished by the introduction of forks. Before that the bread was a
tool with which to eat, and it required cultivated skill to handle it
properly. Salt and mustard still presented problems,--knife or fingers?
Each one brought his own knife.

+494. Honor, seemliness, common sense, conscience.+ Honor, common sense,
seemliness