Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1898-12-27
OLD ENGLISH ETIQUETTE
SAGE OBSERVATIONS OF FRANCIS
HAWKINS, AETAT. :.
youths Behavior" and the Light
Thrown by Ii on the Manners
of the Seventeenth
Century.

Century.
From I.,a.suaa- Magazine.
Outside the world of the stage and plat
form. infant prodigirs have ceased to -four
i~h, but N the rcigns of Eliza and our
James ard OF botn the Martyr and the
Younger Charles the forcing house View OF
education obtained, and Uppcr-c.ass Eng
laEd was a nest OF p!ecOcious children. Al
most ds soon as a '.litteli Some" could
20 or speak, ne, was initiated into ''Tudi-
meuts'' and had TO supply his "irtellect-
UaiS' seuu.ously 10 syntaX. l. seemed no
oul-of-the-Way thing Tor cu..Jw boy
theuelm DisbyJ 10 accompany Il political
mission abroad and. on returning. become
at the age Cf la gentleman commoIer
Of Gloucester Hall. In Ike manner, ne
INST Lady Falkland Vas married at j..
and her daughter at i. individually. IS
well as nationally, the seventeenth century
was Il period OF eager Developments and
nasty harvesting. wnen maturity was at
tanned, or assumed 10 be attained, very
much earlier tas,u at present. Judging by
modern a:alosle~, it would be difficult to
brought Sir Thomas Browne the phl.o-
sophie mind OF Re.ig!c Medici. while the
bourEeois purSiness OF fepys tom Of
nothing under -, though. as every ore
X, owS, he was but ~ when his d-lthl-ss
contribution 10 the human comedy was
OF all the carly men Of the seventeenth
/ century rtdred-tor who would cali sucl
rareripeS chiidren?-none outvied little
| Francis Hawkins at the sort OF pathetic
achievement IN which the serious father
| and heavg uncle of the period grotesquely
Sloried. Born in 1t2S, this babe. before he
! was years Old, rendered his renowned
1 Youths Behaviour" from the French Of
grave persons. Roughly deSGriaa3!e as =
| seEenteeIth century Don't Youths
I l.,sFF- #rENFl
Amongst Men" is probably unsurpassed
as an epitomc OF contemporary etiquette
! in its own. time it was hg!d in great, g
| teen, teaching an eleventh addition in
lGi2- To almost every new impression
there WAS added by various hands fresh
matter more or less germane 10 the pri-
mary theme-at one time further hints on
"ArrayinS the Body," or on the ''Iitling
of Persons at another, a Discourse
Iron Son SONG Innovations Of Habits ant and
those words that be- used in naming of any
Art or Science and 80 forth. IL TO-.
"A Gentleman Of Lincoln's Inn" paid The
book the compliment of turning il into
Latin. Finally. one Robert Codriugtou.
who had been rank parliamenteer tand
vas, was sun a shoGkins h3fs,: appended !, a
lounger Sort of Maids anc Boarders at
! Schools
..Youth's BEHAVIOR
We naturally pause to contemplate the
original putter-forth of Youths Bsha-
viour." the small boy, lat whose stiie''
his bookseller begs the reader 10 "connive' -
on the plea of its being wrought by an
uncCuth and rough hle. of one in green
Years Poor ''ingeEiose Sparkle. Did
his green years eaten 50 much n
glimpse Of the bliss of childhood, irre=pon-
sihiiity? Was he ever once crimson with
frclc or unintellgIb!e with laughter? All
internal evidence points the Other way.
We can see an anaenic little person scat
ing himself sedate and toward!y at his
desk TO iDdite.
i
humnain:, 10 thyse.f. unless thou be alone;
in suCh sort as thou canst not b. heard
by others. Strike not UP Il ocum with thy
fingers or thy feet.
And afterward this:
When thou blowest At nose take heed
thou blow not as children do. ,. tot
the further detailed instructions IN this
branch il IS sufficient TO say that they
throw a lurid light on seventeenth ceH-
tury pronenesseS.I
With an aScetic contrayention Of the in
stiLcts of real child the little schoomas-
ter Francis presently exhorts:
Eat hot in the streets. principally in the
town. beest thou alone. nor in company;
nor in the house out of season. and IN the
presence of strangers
AiaXims, however comic, come so tragic
ally from lips but years old" that il is
comforting 10 know that Francis Hawkins
managed to grow up. Considering Youths
Behaviour IL lived. indeed, 20 = fair age.
But what q paStlCIc tine boys entire
manual is of the little ways and manner
isms Of our potter ancestors. Here We
may follow them both to board and bed,
and watch their ,goings-out and their
cOrings-in. with all the minute perpleNi-
ties of ethic and punctilio therefrom de-
pending.
Though hygiene was not unconsidered
among them it was with anotherseSs
consideration from ours. The following
should provoke i board school infants
superCilous smile: Let not thy cham
her Eor thy table whsr. thou studies be
unhandsome. especially in the sight Of an
otter. and II 50 be that thou hast Sne 10
make thy bed, leave il not uncovered when
thou Eosst OUT thence" An assertion
that occurs in Codrington's sequel should
partially allay Johnny Jones contempt
for the seventeenth century, though as i
Nurse and tke Neoterick may pretend
what they please, bat il much dlScour-
ageth and dejecteth the sick Person rot
TO often change his Linen. at US con-
gratuiaJe ourselves that later "NeotsrickS
have all come round 10 the above .r-InaTh-
able opinion,
But beyond 4 warning against drinking
when hot the oriCinal youths Beha-
yiour' leaves its readers sanitation pretty
much il his own hands. and in the hands
Of the ''Ga.enists., whose business Is was
The book certainly goes so far rs 10 lay
10 wash ores hands and face as soon as
one j. UP. and Cas IL somewhat 5rudg-
irgly adds. TO comb ones head N tine
and season, Yet not too curiouSiy. Blt
seldom in those days was l. ANYBODY )
rurn TO be washed all over. Complete I'M
rersion was judged q ticklisr procee ding
and those who committed themselves even
partially to the ordeal dH so at their
iiograuhy of Mrs Alice Thornton tree
Waudesfordt. OF East Newton. HorkS. on
a monumental occasion this il--dTiStd
lady washed her feet. which MI mother
G!t Eel.eiv- was tr- cause Of that tihSer-
oGS T.tt tEs next day