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ABOUT PEOPLE.

as an unchangeable quantity. In spite of effort to be unlike any but one's self, lineage creeps through the Puritan conscience; and energy, though softened, still lingers in many a rough reflexion of kindness, or in unnecessary activity of speech.

Manners should exist as a growth of their own, for they are needed long before complete development of the nature is attained. The foundation of the different varieties of good manners is the same. for "fine manners are the mantle of fine minds," says an old proverb. They must be established on simple, sincere purposes, else their polish will soon vanish. Affectation of every sort destroys its own intent. Any attempt at greatness of thought, extensive reading, or forced wit, which is not true, is a form of hypocrisy.

Yet it will not answer to be merely natural, for that often means having a rough, ungraceful exterior, though a kindly heart. Only polished saints can afford to always act as they

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