that the article can be bought cheaper at another store, is to offer a
gratuitous insult to the clerk making the sale.

You should never ask or expect a clerk engaged in waiting upon a
customer to leave that person and attend to you. Wait patiently for
your turn.

It is rude to make unfavorable comparisons between the goods you are
examining and those of another store.

Have your parcels sent, and so avoid the fatigue of carrying them.

It is best to buy for cash. You can always buy cheaper in this way. If
you make bills, however, pay them promptly. Make no bill you are not
sure of paying at the time promised by you. Avoid debt as the greatest
curse of life.

Etiquette of the Theatre, Opera and Concert.

A gentleman, desiring a lady to accompany him to the opera, theatre,
or other place of amusement, must send her a written invitation not
later than the day previous to the entertainment. It must be written
in the third person, upon white note-paper of the best quality, with
an envelope to match. The lady must send her reply immediately, so
that should she be unable to accept, the gentleman may secure another
companion.

Should the lady accept the invitation, the gentleman must secure the
best seats within his means. To ask a lady to accompany you to a place
of amusement, and incur the risk of being obliged to stand during the
performance, is to be inexcusably rude to her. Should the demand for
seats be so great that you cannot secure them, inform her at once, and
propose another occasion when you can make this provision for her
comfort.

In entering the hall in which the entertainment is given, a gentleman
should walk by the side of the lady until the seat is reached. If the
width of the aisle is not sufficient to allow this, he should precede
her. As a rule, he should take the outer seat; but if this is the best
for seeing or hearing, it belongs to the lady.

The habit of leaving ladies alone during the "waits," and going out to
"get a drink," or "to speak to a friend," is indicative of bad
manners. A gentleman escorting a lady to a place of amusement is bound
to remain by her side to the end of the entertainment.

Between the Acts.

At the opera it is customary for ladies and gentlemen to leave their
seats, and promenade in the lobbies or _foyer_ of the house during the
intervals between the acts. The gentleman should always invite the
lady to do so. Should she decline, he is bound to remain with he