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 careful of a borrowed article than if it were our own. If we are so unfortunate as to injure or lose it, we should replace it, if it can be done; if not, make the best possible apology. We have no right to lend a borrowed thing to an other without the owner's permission. Perhaps nothing is treated in this way oftener than a book. People who consider themselves honest and just will lend a borrowed book to half a neighborhood, and if it is defaced or lost will give themselves no concern about it.
It is not polite to borrow a garment to wear except of a relative or intimate friend. Neither is it good manners to ask for a garment or pattern to cut one by for ourselves: the owner may prefer not to have it copied. If a person admires a garment or pattern belonging to us, and we are willing to lend it, it is our place to offer it without its being asked for.
If a book or article to read is lent us, we should read it promptly, and when we return it say whatever pleasant things we can of it with truth. To send it back without expressing an opinion, or making acknowledgment of the kindness, is inexcusable.
If we borrow something which is not to be returned itself, but its equivalent, we should be careful to return what is of as good or better quality, and as much in quantity, if not a little more, to make up for the trouble of the one who lends to us.
It is not polite to keep a borrowed article long; and if a time for returning it is specified, we should be careful not to neglect doing it when the time comes. If possible, we should return it ourselves, not give it to the owner to carry home or send it by another; and we should never omit to thank the lender. To compel the owner to send for his property is a gross violation of good manners on the part of the borrower. The owner should not send unless he feels that he can wait no longer, or unless the borrower is habitually careless and needs to be taught a lesson.
"I never ask a gentleman to return money he has borrowed," said one man to another.
"How then do you get it?" asked his friend.
"After a while," was the answer, "I conclude he is not a gentleman, and then I ask him."
This reasoning will apply in case of lending other things as well as money.
When we lend we should do so with cordial politeness and not spoil the favor by the half-hearted way in which we offer or grant it; but borrowing should be regarded as a necessary evil, to be resorted to only when it cannot well be avoided. The habitual borrower is a burden to society.
Young Folks' History of the United States
By Thomas Wentworth Higginson. Illustrated. $1.50.
The story of our country in the most reliable and interesting form. As a story-book it easily leads all other American history stories in interest, while as a text-book for the study of history it is universally admitted to be the best.
Young Folks' Book of American Explorers
By Thomas Wentworth Higginson. Uniform with the "Young Folks' History of the United States." One volume, fully illustrated. Price $1.50.
"It is not a history told in the third person, nor an historical novel for young folks, where the author supposes the chief characters to have thought and said such and such things under such and such circumstances; but it is the genuine description given by the persons who experienced the things they described in letters written home."—Montpelier Journal.
The Nation in a Nutshell
By George Makepeace Towle, author of "Heroes of History," "Young Folks' History of England," "Young Folks' History of Ireland," etc. Price 50 cents.
"To tell the story of a nation like ours in a nutshell, requires a peculiar faculty for selecting, condensing, and philosophizing. The brevity with which he relates the principal events in American history, does not detract from the charming interest of the narrative style."—Public Opinion.
Young People's History of England
By George Makepeace Towle. Cloth, illustrated. $1.50.
"The whole narrative is made interesting and attractive—in every way what a book of this kind should be in its clearness of statement, freshness of style, and its telling of the right ways."—Critic.
Handbook of English History
Based on "Lectures on English History," by the late M. J. Guest, and brought down to the year 1880. With a Supplementary Chapter on the English Literature of the 19th Century. By F. H. Underwood, LL.D. With Maps, Chronological Table, etc. $1.50.
"It approaches nearer perfection than anything in the line we have seen. It is succinct, accurate, and delightful."—Hartford Evening Post.
Young People's History of Ireland
By George Makepeace Towle, author of "Young People's History of England," "Young Folks' Heroes of History," etc. With an introduction by John Boyle O'Reilly. Cloth, illustrated. $1.50.
"The history is like a novel, increasing in interest to the very end, and terminating at the most interesting period of the whole; and the reader lays down the book a moment in enthusiastic admiration for a people who have endured so much, and yet have retained so many admirable characteristics."—N.Y. World.
—————
Sold by all booksellers, and sent by mail, postpaid, on receipt of price
LEE AND SHEPARD Publishers Boston
AN AMERICAN GIRL ABROAD.
By Adeline F. Trafton. 16mo, cloth, illustrated. $1.50.
One of the most bright, chatty, wide-awake books of travel ever written. It abounds with information, is as pleasant reading as a story book, and full of the wit and sparkle of "An American Girl" let loose from school and ready for a frolic.
ONLY GIRLS.
By Virginia F. Townsend, Author of "That Queer Girl," &c., &c. 12mo, cloth, illustrated. $1.50.
"It is a thrilling story, written in a fascinating style, and the plot is adroitly handled."
It might be placed in any Sabbath School library, so pure is it in tone, and yet it is so free from the mawkishness and silliness that mar the class of books usually found there, that the veteran novel reader is apt to finish it at a sitting.
THE DOCTOR'S DAUGHTER.
By Sophie May, Author of "Our Helen," "The Asbury Twins," &c. 12mo, cloth, illustrated. $1.50.
"A delightful book, original and enjoyable," says the Brownville Echo.
"A fascinating story, unfolding, with artistic touch, the young life of one of our impulsive, sharp-witted, transparent and pure-minded girls of the nineteenth century," says The Contributor, Boston.
SALLY WILLIAMS.
The Mountain Girl. By Mrs. Edna D. Cheney, Author of "Patience," "Social Games," "The Child of the Tide," &c. 12mo, cloth, illustrated. $1.50.
Pure, strong, healthy, just what might be expected from the pen of so gifted a writer as Mrs. Cheney. A very interesting picture of life among the New Hampshire hills, enlivened by the tangle of a story of the ups and downs of every-day life in this out-of-the-way locality. The characters introduced are quaintly original, and the adventures are narrated with remarkable skill.
LOTTIE EAMES.
Or, do your best and leave the rest. By a Popular Author. 16mo, illus. $1.50.
"A wholesome story of home life, full of lessons of self-sacrifice, but always bright and attractive in its varied incidents."
RHODA THORNTON'S GIRLHOOD.
By Mrs. Mary E. Pratt. 16mo, cloth, illustrated. $1.50.
A hearty and healthy story, dealing with young folks and home scenes, with sleighing, fishing and other frolics to make things lively.
—————
The above six volumes are furnished in a handsome box, for $9.00, or sold separately by all booksellers, or sent by mail, postpaid, on receipt of price by
LEE AND SHEPARD Publishers . . . . . . Boston
SEVEN DAUGHTERS.
By Miss A. M. Douglas, Author of "In Trust," "Stephen Dane," "Claudia,"
"Sydnie Adriance," "Home Nook," "Nelly Kennard's Kingdom."
12mo, cloth, illustrated. $1.50.
"A charming romance of Girlhood," full of incident and humor. The "Seven Daughters" are characters which reappear in some of Miss Douglas' later books. In this book they form a delightful group, hovering on the verge of Womanhood, with all the little perplexities of home life and love dreams as incidentals, making a fresh and attractive story.
OUR HELEN.
By Sophie May. 12mo, cloth, illustrated. $1.50.
"The story is a very attractive one, as free from the sensational and impossible as could be desired, and at the same time full of interest, and pervaded by the same bright, cheery sunshine that we find in the author's earlier books. She is to be congratulated on the success of her essay in a new field of literature, to which she will be warmly welcomed by those who know and admire her 'Prudy Books.'"—Graphic.
THE ASBURY TWINS.
By Sophie May, Author of "The Doctor's Daughter," "Our Helen," &c. 12mo,
cloth, illustrated. $1.50.
"Has the ring of genuine genius, and the sparkle of a gem of the first water. We read it one cloudy winter day, and it was as good as a Turkish bath, or a three hours' soak in the sunshine."—Cooperstown Republican.
THAT QUEER GIRL.
By Miss Virginia F. Townsend, Author of "Only Girls," &c. 12mo, cloth, illustrated.
$1.50.
Queer only in being unconventional, brave and frank, an "old-fashioned girl," and very sweet and charming. As indicated in the title, is a little out of the common track, and the wooing and the winning are as queer as the heroine. The New Haven Register says: "Decidedly the best work which has appeared from the pen of Miss Townsend."
RUNNING TO WASTE.
The Story of a Tomboy. By George M. Baker. 16mo, cloth, illustrated.
$1.50.
"This book is one of the most entertaining we have read for a long time. It is well written, full of humor, and good humor, and it has not a dull or uninteresting page. It is lively and natural, and overflowing with the best New England character and traits. There is also a touch of pathos, which always accompanies humor, in the life and death of the tomboy's mother."—Newburyport Herald.
DAISY TRAVERS:
Or the Girls of Hive Hall. By Adelaide F. Samuels, Author of "Dick and
Daisy Stories," "Dick Travers Abroad," &c. 16mo, cloth, illustrated. $1.50.
The story of Hive Hall is full of life and action, and told in the same happy style which made the earlier life of its heroine so attractive, and caused the Dick and Daisy books to become great favorites with the young. What was said of the younger books can, with equal truth, be said of Daisy grown up.
—————
The above six books are furnished in a handsome box for $9.00, or sold separate, by all booksellers, and sent by mail, postpaid, on receipt of price.
LEE AND SHEPARD Publishers Boston
Price 30 cents net By mail 35 cents