Never, above all, fail in tact. For instance, don’t say that the room is as cold as a barn, even if you think so. Tact and fact may not always go hand-in-hand.
Never interrupt or contradict overbearingly, or with a sort of snort. Either of these faults is directly opposed to the canons of good society.
Never be explosive or pugnacious, accompanying your side of an argument with roaring explosives and furious gesticulations. A lady’s parlor is not a bear-garden.
Never, on the other hand, be cowering and sniveling, as though desirous of some one to kick you as a boon. In deportment, the demeanor of the rabbit is no more to be emulated than that of the famished wolf.
Never, in the midst of a discussion upon solemn topics, retail antediluvian jokes, and then ha, ha! boisterously at them when no one else can see anything to laugh at. In fine, don’t be an unmitigated bore.
Never gape, yawn, “heigh ho,” or stamp your feet disapprovingly, when others are talking. This is blighting, if not fairly irritating.
Never be unduly “stuck up.” Because you are yourself is no reason why you are William H. Vanderbilt or George Francis Train.
Never sulk and growl under your breath, like a bear with a sore head, because you fancy yourself neglected. Brighten up, and even snicker, rather than adopt this gloomy course. Moroseness is dispiriting.
Never even murder a persistent bore until you get outside. To send for the police might cause an inconvenience.
Never, if playing cards with ladies, spit on your hands when dealing, or mark the bowers and aces with pencil-marks or knife-punctures. Englishmen would be especially horrified at such a proceeding.