ou must never pass before a lady anywhere, if you can avoid it, or
without an apology.

If a lady addresses an inquiry to a gentleman on the street, he will
lift his hat, or at least touch it respectfully, as he replies. If he
can not give the information required, he will express his regrets.

"When tripping over the pavement," Madame Celnart says, "a lady should
gracefully raise her dress a little above her ankle. With her right
hand she should hold together the folds of her gown and draw them
toward the right side. To raise the dress on both sides, and with both
hands, is vulgar. This ungraceful practice can be tolerated only for a
moment, when the mud is very deep." This was written in Paris, and not
in New York.

American ladies dress too richly and elaborately for the street. You
should dress well--neatly and in good taste, and in material adapted
to the season; but the full costume, suitable to the carriage or the
drawing-room, is entirely out of place in a shopping excursion, and
does not indicate a refined taste; in other words, it looks
_snobbish_.

The out-door costume of ladies is not complete without a shawl or a
mantle. Shawls are difficult to wear gracefully, and few American
ladies wear them well. You should not drag a shawl tight to your
shoulders, and stick out your elbows, but fold it loosely and
gracefully, so that it may fully envelop the figure.

II.--SHOPPING.

Madame Celnart has the following hints to the ladies on this important
subject. Having enjoined the most patient and forbearing courtesy on
the part of the shopkeeper,[N] she proceeds:

"Every civility ought to be reciprocal, or nearly so. If the officious
politeness of the shopkeeper does not require an equal return, he has
at least a claim to civil treatment; and, finally, if this politeness
proceed from interest, is this a reason why purchasers should add to
the unpleasantness of his profession, and disregard violating the
laws of politeness? Many very respectable people allow themselves so
many infractions in this particular, that I think it my duty to dwell
upon it.

"You should never say, _I want such a thing_, but _Show me, if you
please, that article_, or use some other polite form of address. If
they do not show you at first the articles you desire, and you are
obliged to examine a great number, apologize to the shopkeeper for the
trouble you give him. If after all you can not suit yourself, renew
your apologies when y