Always pay a proper respect to your parents, guardians, or masters, and ever be submissive to their commands. Never try to aggravate them, even if they should find fault at trifles; that is, to treat the matter with a kind of indifferency, though you did not care to displease them; for this will only make them more fretful for the future.— But if you are sensible that you have done wrong, you ought to confess it, and endeavour to reform; but if you think you are not to blame let the whole matter pass in silence.
4. You must not only pay the greatest attention to your domestic concerns, but a proper decorum in all your words and actions must be attended to. Your leisure hours should be employed in reading useful books, which will be most likely to furnish your mind with a store of religious and moral improvements. Read the characters of those ladies who have lived virtuous and pious lives, and endeavour to imitate their examples.
And if you should ever happen to read the characters of any profligate women (not to call them ladies) endeavour to make only this use of their characters; that is, to shun their vices, avoid their pernicious practices, and thereby escape the miseries that attend them.
5. Endeavour to treat all persons with civility. Pay a proper respect to your superiors, complaisance to your equals and courteously treat those whom you shall deem to be your inferiors.
Establish in your own mind a certain rule of decency and modesty, to be attended to in all companies, and at all times, whether at home or abroad.
In all companies, give each one an opportunity for their proper share of conversation. Remember that a talkative, loquacious woman, a young woman more especially, often exposes her weakness, and sickens the ear with her babblings. “The torrent of her words overwhelmeth conversation.” Therefore every species of rudeness ought to be avoided as unbecoming your sex. Again, frequent and loud laughter doth not become any person, especially a woman, and a young woman more especially.— Therefore it ought to be avoided on all occasions as not belonging to the rules of decency, and as unbecoming the fair sex.
6. The strictest attention must be paid to the conversation which you may occasionally have with the other sex. Be not forward in beginning a conversation with them; but be always ready to return all compliments that may be given to you with an easy address, and in a becoming manner, without being daunted or even put to the blush.
In order to facilitate this business, endeavour to treasure up in your memory, those addresses and compliments, that by constant observation, you may hear drop from those whom you deem to be your superiors; and endeavor to make them familiar to yourself, so that you may be able to use them on any occasion, with propriety, & without the appearance of affectation or dissimulation.