If we look at the reverse of the picture and contemplate the discourteous girl, be it at home or at school, we cannot fail to observe how many opportunities she loses of giving pleasure. She may come down to breakfast, and just mutter a “Good morning” and omit the morning kiss; during the day she may never notice how often she might fetch something for her mother or mistress, jump up or open the door for somebody with their hands full, or try to subdue her loud boisterous laughing or talking in a room where others are busy reading or writing—she will also pass in and out of a door in front of her elders, pay little attention to the wants of her neighbours at table; in short, she will not increase in any way the pleasantness of her surroundings.
A word of warning, too, must be given to those girls who, with the best of intentions to try and do right and help others, make the mistake through their very excess of zeal of directing or correcting others in a rough, brusque way, and perhaps enforce their words by a not too gentle push or shove! These must read La Fontaine’s fable of _Phoebus and Boreas_, or _The Sun and the Northwind_, and see how the north wind, for all his violent blowing, could not divest the traveller of his cloak, whereas the sun by the influence of his gentle warming rays soon accomplished that in which the rough blasts of Boreas had failed. And if they follow the teaching of this fable, they will soon see how much more the gentle word accomplishes than the rough one.
And now to close, I would like to ask you, who read these few remarks of mine, to endeavour to put more gentleness and courtesy in your dealings with other people than you have done heretofore; for in all of us there is always room for improvement, and there is not one of us surely but must admit that we often leave little courtesies undone and little gentle words unsaid. Courtesy is like the drop of oil that enables machinery to work noiselessly and smoothly, for it lessens the jars and friction of life and the consequent worry and fretfulness. Little things make or mar the peace of life, therefore exhibit courtesy which is “Love in little things,” and you will gain the gratitude and esteem of those around you, and carry away in your minds these lines of Lord Houghton, and never, if you can avoid it, lose an opportunity of putting them into practice—