Flattering pleasures, fountain of delights, fertile in miseries, what do you wish with me? Shameful lusts of the flesh and of the world, why do you not quit me when I have quitted you? Begone honors, pleasures, which war against me; all your happiness, subject to change, falls to the ground in a moment of time; and as it has the brilliancy of glass, it has also its brittleness.—Corneille.
But pleasures are like poppies spread,
You seize the flower, its bloom is shed;
Or, like the snow-fall in the river,
A moment white, then melts forever.—Burns.
[STREET MANNERS.]
The knowledge of being able to do exactly what is done in good society puts its possessor entirely at ease in whatever sphere he may happen to move. Tact and innate refinement do much to assist one unused to society, but do not suffice; a thorough acquaintance with the social observances in force is necessary. If the etiquette of walking and driving contains few rules, they are none the less important; indeed we are very prone to form our opinions of the breeding of persons by their bearing and manners on the street. One of the first rules for everyone in walking is quietness. Loud talking and laughing are never less in good form than on the street. When and where to walk must be decided by the customs of the locality where one lives. In general it may be said that ladies should not walk unattended after nightfall in city or village, and it is not considered good taste for a lady to appear alone, in daylight, in crowded thoroughfares, fashionable promenades, or in parks and other public resorts. In short, a public place is no place for a lady if unaccompanied.