, by refined society, I do not
mean those whom you find in the ball-room--in the theater--in the
crowded party, or those--however wealthy, or richly dressed--you feel to
be only artificially polite; but I mean those who make you feel at ease
in their society, while, at the same time, they elevate your aims and
polish your manners. What a good style is to noble sentiments,
politeness is to virtue.

IMPORTANCE OF GOOD MANNERS.

There is something in the very constitution of human nature which
inclines us to form a judgment of character from manners. It is always
taken for granted, unless there is decisive evidence to the contrary,
that the manners are the genuine expression of the feelings. And even
where such evidence exists--that is, where we have every reason to
believe that the external appearance does injustice to the moral
dispositions; or, on the other hand, where the heart is too favorably
represented by the manners--there is still a delusion practiced upon the
mind, by what passes under the eye, which it is not easy to resist. You
may take two individuals of precisely the same degree of intellectual
and moral worth, and let the manners of the one be bland and attractive,
and those of the other distant or awkward, and you will find that the
former will pass through life with far more ease and comfort than the
latter; for, though good manners will never effectually conceal a bad
heart, and are, in no case, any atonement for it, yet, taken in
connection with amiable and virtuous dispositions, they naturally and
necessarily gain upon the respect and goodwill of mankind.

You will instantly perceive--if the preceding remarks be correct--that
it is not only your interest to cultivate good manners, as you hereby
recommend yourself to the favorable regards of others, but also your
duty, as it increases, in no small degree, your means of usefulness. It
will give you access to many persons, and give you an influence over
those whom you could otherwise never approach; much less, whose feelings
and purposes you could never hope, in any measure, to control.

"If I should point you to the finest model of female manners which it
has ever been my privilege to observe," says a late writer, in a letter
to his daughter, "and one which will compare with the most perfect
models of this or any other age, I should repeat a venerated name--that
of Mrs. Hannah More. It was my privilege, a few years ago, to make a
visit to the