Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1886-05-13
ORR MANNERS.

No one quality of the mind and heart is
more important as an element OF success IN
this life than good manners. A good man.
ner is the best letter of recommendation
among strangers, civility, refinement and a
manly bearing. History repeats over and
over again, examples showing that it is the
bearing of a maj towards his fellow-men
more than any other quality which pro-
notes or retards his success or advancement
in life. Success or failure often turns upon
the manners of the man. Civility and a
genial bearing is not only one of the essen
tials of high success, but is a small fortune
of itself.
Honesty, refinement and g%entleness Of
character are everywhere worth 100 cents on
the dollar. They are passports to hearts
and homes, while awkwardness, coarseness
and gruffness are met with locked doors and
closed hearts.
Says Emerson: "Give a boy address and
accomplishments, and you give him the
mastery of palaces and fortunes wherever
he goes''; and if to these qualities we add
honesty and integrity Of purpose, we have
a solid foundation for a grand successln lie.
There is no occupation or profession where
good manners are not necessary. Manners
are really minor morals. A rude person is
often assumed to be a bad person. The
manner in which a person says or does a
thing furnishes a better index to his charac-
ter than what he does or says. for it is the
incidental expression given to his thoughts
and feelings by his looks, tones and gestures
rather than by his words. The manner in
which a favor is granted, or a kindness is
done, often effects us more than the deed
itself.
A favor may be granted so grudgingly as
to deprive US of all feeling of obligation,
or it may be so courteously refused as to
awaken a far greater feeling of kindness
than if ungraciously granted. Let us ever
he mindful of the fact that every act of our
own affects in a greater or less degree some
other individual, and it is a binding obliga-
ton to ourselves, our friends and our neigh
bors that we be truly polite and gentle.
True courtesy will oil up the machinery of
life to a wonderful degree, and make many
glad hearts, thus really lengthening our
days and promoting our usefulness in the
world.
DO ANIMALS THINK?
A great deal has been written to show
that animals think and reason, just as man
does, though in a lower degree. Perhaps
some of our readers may notice things IN
animals which show that they have a great
deal of intelligence, even if they do not
reason. Mr.. Paul Brocca, the French au-
thor, devoted much attention to this sub
iect. 1t has been said of animals, writes
Mr.. Brocca, that their actions are mechanl-
cal and without method. This may be true
OF domestic pets, who are influenced almost
entirely by the human being, around them,
but does not the beaver change his plans,
acting now as builder, now as miner accord
ing to circumstances? Besides this, every
one knows that the bee frequently substl-
tutes pentagonal, or five side, for ~hexagonal,
or six-sided cells, and that alteration IN the
work is made only when necessary. 1t has
also been said that animals do not reason.
What then is done by the foxes, which in
Thrace are driven on to the ice to test Its
strength: These animals step earthly and
lightly, with their heads inclined, and turn
back suddenly directly they discover by the
sound of the ice cracking that it is not safe
to proceed farther. A dog which, in follow
ing a scent, arrives at a cross road is seen
to stop, consider for a moment, then plunge
along one of the roads, shifting cautiously,
turn back and try another road in the same
manner, and finally dart unhesitatingly
down the third. 1t is evident that his logic
tells him that as his prey has not taken one