Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1830-1846, 1836-12-08
From the Philadelphia Commercial Herald.
MANNERS.

Two thing; excite our special wonder
whenever our attention is drawn to them;
first, that in country where every man must,
as a general rule, be the artlfcer of his own
fortuDe, and where eloqucnce is the cure road
to fortune and distinction, so little pains are
taken to cultivate it, and secondly, that
where so much Of an individuals success in
life depends upon his address and manners,
they should be 50 much neglected. On the
subject OF eloqnencc, we may hereafter re-
mark; mt present, onr purpose IS 10 confine
ourselves TO few observations upon MAN
NERs
Affect as we will, to respect MIND and
TALENTS, and to regard DEPoRTMENT as un-
important and not worthy moments consid-
Grafton, there is not n human being in exis-
tence who is not susceptible 10 the influence
OF genlemanly manners, from "the King,
Lords and Commons" down to the "sweep,"
or the "loafer" that perumbulatcs the streets.
Ii we look around among our acqnaintances,
we shall see innumerable instances where
individuals owe their success or failure in
life to their personal address-this is more
apparent among professional men, and es-
pecially physicians, than perhaps any other
class; but It IL more or less the case in all
kinds Of business. An ILL., bred, morose ply
sician or lawyer, must possess tuleBts OF no
common order, or he will find himself without
clients or patients; and even if he possess s,i-
perior abilities, he will only be called on in
very urgent and important cases, when his
crabbedness is tolerated on account Of his
professional skill. With the wholesale mer-
chant the case is somewhat though not mate
rally different. The cheapness of bis goods,
and the skill with which they may have been
selected, may induce customers to overlook
his disaerseahlo- do pertinent. but he will find
II impossible tosecare regular and ATTACH
Ed set Of customers, who will at all times
give him the preference over others, the
price and quality of their goods being the
same.
With the retail merchant, or shopkeeper,
especially in cities; good address is Of the
highest importance, as his customers are
generally those with whom manner is all in
all, the ladies-who are never long in dscoy-
ering whether they are treated with polite
and respectful attention by those who serve
them, or otherwise, and are as sure to avoid
an ll-bred shopkeepcr, as they are to patron
ise polite and agreeable one. Thus we see
the Importance Of good address in a bus.
ness point Of view, which ought to be suf.
ficient motive for parents to take special care
in forming the manners Of their children.
But there is another light in which the i'm.
portance Of cultivating refined manners in
their children, may be presented to parents,
which is more likely to attract their stten-
ton, and to operate upon them with greater
force, though perhaps Of really less conse-
quence. All parents, we believe, are ambi-
tious To advance their children in socicty, and
to settle them well in the word-that is, to
form for them, or to enable them tn form ad-
santageons connexions in life. To do this.
nothing is more essential than refined man
hers, and pleasing, courteous address; they