Punctuality is a most admirable quality. The man or woman who possesses it is a blessing to his or her friends. The one who lacks it is wanting in one of the first requisites of good-breeding.

The young of both sexes would find it an inestimable advantage through life to cultivate from the outset a clear intonation, a well-chosen phraseology, a logical habit of thought, and a correct accent.

A rich person should be careful how he gives to the poor, lest he hurt their pride, while a poor person can only give to those of greater wealth something that has cost only affection, time or talent.

We should not neglect very young people in our homes. If we wish our children to have polished manners, and to express themselves well, we must lead them to enter into the conversation that is going on.

When walking with a lady, it is etiquette to give her the wall, but if she have your arm it is quite unnecessary to be changing at every corner you come to. After one or two changes the habit becomes ridiculous.

The art of giving and receiving presents is not always an intuition. A generous person may unwittingly wound where he intends to please, while a really grateful person may, by want of tact, appear to deprecate the liberality of his friends.

If a person of greater age than yourself desire you to step into a carriage or through a door first, it is more polite to bow and obey than to decline. Compliance with, and deference to the wishes of others, is always the finest breeding.

If you present a book to a friend, do not write the name in it unless it be requested. By doing so you are taking for granted that your present will be accepted, and also that a specimen of your penmanship will give additional value to the gift.

Learn to make small sacrifices with a good grace; to accept small disappointments in a patient spirit. A little more of self-control, a little more allowance for the weaknesses of others, will oftentimes change the entire spirit of a household.

A well-educated person proclaims himself by his simple and terse language. Good and clear Saxon is much to be preferred to highsounding phrases and long words; it is only the half-educated who imagine such a style is elegant.

In entering an exhibition or public room where ladies are present, gentlemen should always lift their hats. In France a gentleman lifts his hat on entering a public omnibus, but that is not necessary according to the American code of etiquette.

Married people are sometimes guilty of the vulgar habit of speaking of each other by the initial letter of their first name, or the wife of her husband as "Jones," omitting the "Mr." This denotes very ill breeding, and should be strenuously avoided.

We are not to be polite merely because we wish to please, but because we wish to consider the feelings and spare the time of others-because we wish to carry into daily practice the spirit of the precept, "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you."

To yawn in the presence of others, to put your feet on a chair, to stand with your back to the fire, to take the most comfortable seat in the room, to do anything in fact that displays selfishness and a lack of respect for those about you, is unequivocally vulgar and ill-bred.

Never employ extravagance in conversation.” Always employ the word that will express your precise meaning and no more. It is absurd to say it is "immensely jolly," or disgustingly mean." Such expressions show neither wit nor wisdom, but merest flippancy

It is a duty to always look pleased. It is likewise a duty to appear interested in a story that you may have heard a dozen times before, to smile on the most inveterate proser; in short, to make such minor sacrifices of sincerity as one's good manners and good feelings may dictate.

It is in bad taste to undervalue a gift which you have yourself offered. If it is valueless, it is not good enough to give to your friend; and if you say you do not want it yourself, or that you would only throw it away if they did not take it, you are insulting the person whom you mean to benefit.

When in general conversation you cannot agree with the proposition advanced, it is best to observe silence, unless particularly asked for your opinion, in which case you will give it modestly, but decidedly. Never be betrayed into too much warmth in argument; if others remain unconvinced, drop the subject.

Never indulge in egotism in the drawing-room. The person who makes his family, his wealth, his affairs or his hobby the topic of conversation is not only a bore but a violator of good taste. We do not meet in society to display ourselves, but to give and take as much rational entertainment as our own accomplishments and those of others will afford.

A gift should always be valuable for something besides its price. It may have been brought by the giver from some famous place; it may have a valuable association with genius, or it may be unique in its workmanship. An author may offer his book or an artist his sketch, and any one may offer flowers, which are always a delicate and unexceptional gift.

Boasting is one of the most ill-bred habits a person can indulge in. Travelling is so universal a custom now that to mention the fact that you have been to Europe is to state nothing exceptional. Anybody with wealth, health and leisure can travel; but it is only those of real intelligence that derive any benefit from the art treasures of the Old World.

Never refuse a gift unless you have a very good reason for so doing. However poor the gift, you should show your appreciation of the kindness of heart which prompted it. All such deprecatory phrases as "I fear I rob you," or "I am really ashamed to take it," etc., are in bad taste, as they seem to imply that you think the giver cannot afford it.

Always look at the person who is conversing with you, and listen respectfully. In answering try to express your thoughts in the best manner. A loose manner of expression injures ourselves much more than our hearers, since it is a habit which, once acquired, is not easily thrown off, and when we wish to express ourselves well it is not easy to do so.

A good memory for names and faces, and a self-possessed manner, are necessary to every one who would make a good impression in society. Nothing is more delicately flattering to another than to find you can readily call his or her name, after a very slight acquaintance. The most popular of great men have gained their popularity principally through the possession of this faculty.

No lady of good breeding will sit sideways on her chair, or with her feet crossed or stretched apart, or hold her chin in her hands, or twirl her watch chain, while she is talking; nor does a well-bred gentleman sit astride of his chair, or bite his nails, or nurse his leg. A man is always allowed more freedom than a woman, but both should be graceful and decorous in their deportment.

Shyness is very ungraceful, and a positive injury to any one afflicted with it. It is only allowable in very young people. A person who blushes, stammers and fidgets in the presence of strangers will not create a very good impression upon their minds as to his personal worth and educational advantages. Shyness may be overcome by determined mixing in society. Nothing else will have an effect upon it.

A foreigner should always be addressed by his full name; as Monsieur de Montmorenci, never as Monsieur only. In speaking of him, give him his title, if he have one. For example, in speaking to a nobleman you would say, Monsieur le Marquis; in speaking of him in his absence, you would say, Monsieur le Marquis de Montmorenci. Converse with a foreigner in his own language. If you are not sufficiently at home in the language to do so, apologize to him, and beg permission to speak English.

No one can be polite who does not cultivate a "good memory." There is a class of absent-minded people who are to be dreaded on account of the mischief they are sure to create with their unlucky tongues. They always recall unlucky topics, speak of the dead as though they were living, talk of people in their hearing, and do a hundred and one things which, in slang parlance, is "treading on somebody's toes." Carelessness can be carried to such a pitch as to almost amount to a crime. Cultivate a good memory, therefore, if you wish to say pleasant things and to avoid disagreeable ones.

USES OF AMMONIA.

All housekeepers should keep a bottle of liquid ammonia, as it is the most powerful and useful agent for cleaning silks, stuffs and hats, in fact, cleans everything it touches. A few drops of ammonia in water will take off grease from dishes, pans, etc, does not injure the hands as much as the use of soda and strong chemical soaps. A spoonful in a quart of warm water for cleaning paint, makes it look like new, and so with everything that needs cleaning.

Spots on towels and hosiery will disappear with little trouble if a little ammonia is put into enough water to soak the articles, and they are left in it an hour or two before washing; and if a cupful is put into the water in which clothes are soaked the night before washing, the ease with which the articles can be washed, and their great whiteness and clearness when dried, will be very gratifying. Remembering the small sum paid for three quarts ammonia of common strength, one can easily see that no bleaching preparation can be more cheaply obtained.

No articles in kitchen use are so likely to be neglected and abused as the dish-cloths and dish-towels; and in washing these, ammonia, if properly used, is a greater comfort than anywhere else. Put a teaspoonful into the water in which these clothes are, or should be washed every day; rub soap on the towels. Put them in the water, let them stand half an hour or so; then rub them out thoroughly, rinse faithfully, and dry

out-doors in clear air and sun, and dish-cloths and towels need never look grey and dingy-a perpetual discomfort to all housekeepers.

A dark carpet often looks dusty soon after it has been swept, and you know it does not need sweeping again; so wet a cloth or a sponge, wring it almost dry, and wipe off the dust. A few drops of ammonia in the water will brighten the colors.

For cleaning hair-brushes it is excellent; put a tablespoonful into the water, having it only tepid, and dip up and down until clean; then dry with the brushes down, and they will be like new ones.

When employed in washing anything that is not especially soiled, use the waste water afterward for the house plants that are taken down from their usual position and immersed in the tub of water. Ammonia is a fertilizer, and helps to keep healthy the plants it nourishes. In every way, in fact, ammonia is the housekeeper's friend.

Ammonia is not only useful for cleaning, but as a household medicine Half a teaspoonful taken in half a tumbler of water is far better for faintness than alcoholic stimulants. In the Temperance Hospital, in London, it is used with the best results. It was used freely by Lieutenant Greely's Arctic party for keeping up circulation. It is a relief in nervousness, headache, and heart disturbances.

MANAGEMENT OF STOVES.

If the fire in a stove has plenty of fresh coals on top not yet burned through it will need only a little shaking to start it up; but if the fire looks dying and the coals look white, don't shake it. When it has drawn till it is red again, if there is much ash and little fire, put coals on very carefully, A mere handful of fire can be coaxed back to life by adding another handful or so of new coals on the red spot, and giving plenty of draught, but don't shake a dying fire, or you lose it. This management is often necessary after a warm spell, when the stove has been kept dormant for days, though I hope you will not be so unfortunate as to have a fire to coax up on a cold winter morning. They should be arranged over night, so that all that is required is to open the draughts in order to have a cheery glow in a few minutes.

TO DESTROY INSECTS AND VERMIN.

Dissolve two pounds of alum in three or four quarts of water. Let it remain over night, till all the alum is dissolved. Then, with a brush, apply, boiling hot, to every joint or crevice in the closet or shelves where croton bugs, ants, cockroaches, etc., intrude; also to the joints and crevices of bedsteads, as bed bugs dislike it as much as croton bugs, roaches or ants. Brush all the cracks in the floor and mopboards. Keep it boiling hot while using.

To keep woolens and furs from moths, be sure that none are in the articles when they are put away; then take a piece of strong brown paper, with not a hole through which even a pin can enter. Put the article in it, with several lumps of gum camphor between the folds. Place this in a close box or trunk. Cover every joint with paper. A piece of cotton cloth, if thick and firm, will answer. Wherever a knitting-needle can pass, the parent moth can enter.

Place pieces of camphor, cedar-wood, Russia leather, tobacco leaves, whole cloves, or anything strongly aromatic, in the drawers or boxes where furs and other things to be preserved from moths are kept, and

they will never be harmed. Mice never get into drawers or trunks where gum camphor is placed.

Another Recipe. Mix half a pint of alcohol, the same quantity of turpentine, and two ounces of camphor. Keep in a stone bottle, and shake well before using. The clothes or furs are to be wrapped in linen, and crumbled-up pieces of blotting paper dipped in the liquid to be placed in the box with them, so that it smells strong. This requires renewing but once a year.

TO REMOVE INK FROM CARPETS.

When freshly spilled, ink can be removed from carpets by wetting in milk. Take cotton batting and soak up all of the ink that it will receive, being careful not to let it spread. Then take fresh cotton, wet in milk, and sop it up carefully. Repeat this operation, changing cotton and milk each time. After most of the ink has been taken up in this way, with fresh cotton and clean, rub the spot. Continue till all disappears; then wash the spot in clean warm water and a little soap; rinse in clear water and rub till nearly dry. If the ink is dried in, we know of no way that will not take the color from the carpet as well as the ink, unless the ink is on a white spot. In that case, salts of lemon, or soft soap, starch and lemon juice will remove the ink as easily as if on

cotton.

INCOMBUSTIBLE DRESSES.

By putting an ounce of alum or sal amoniac in the last water in which muslin or cottons are rinsed, or a similar quantity in the starch in which they are stiffened, they will be rendered almost uninflammable; or, at least, will with difficulty take the fire, and if they do, will burn without flame. It is astonishing that this simple precaution is so rarely adopted. Remember this and save the lives of your children.

HOW TO FRESHEN UP FURS.

Furs when taken out in the fall are often found to have a mussed, crushed-out appearance. They can be made to look like new, by following these simple directions. Wet the fur with a hair-brush, brushing up the wrong way of the fur. Leave it to dry in the air for about half an hour, and then give it a good beating on the right side with a rattan. After beating it, comb it with a coarse comb, combing up the right way

of the fur.

TO WASH FEATHERS.

Wash in warm soap-suds and rinse in water a very little blued; if the feather is white, then let the wind dry it. When the curl has come out by washing the feather or getting it damp, place a hot flat-iron so that you can hold the feather just above it while curling. Take a bone or silver knife, and draw the fibres of the feather between the thumb and the dull edge of the knife, taking not more than three fibers at a time, beginning at the point of the feather and curling one-half the other way. The hot iron makes the curl more durable. After a little practice one can make them look as well as new feathers. Or they can be curled by holding them over the stove or range, not near enough to burn; withdraw and shake out; then hold them over again, until they curl. When swansdown becomes soiled, it can be washed and look as