Allowing An Unimportant Mistake To Pass Without

Visiting The Sick Is Supposed To Exhibit Such Great Virtue That There Are Some People Determined To Do It Whether The Sick Like It Or Not. ... All Visitors Everywhere Are Supposed To Make Plans To Depart If They Observe Their Hosts Visibly Wilting Or In Pain, But This Is Especially True At Hospitals.

Shame Is The Proper Reaction When One Has Purposefully Violated The Accepted Behavior Of Society. Inflicting It Is Etiquette's Response When Its Rules Are Disobeyed. The Law Has All Kinds Of Nasty Ways Of Retaliating When It Is Disregarded, But Etiquette Has Only A Sense Of Social Shame To Deter People From Treating Others In Ways They Know Are Wrong. So Naturally Miss Manners Wants To Maintain The Sense Of Shame. Some Forms Of Discomfort Are Fully Justified, And The Person Who Feels Shame Ought To Be Dealing With Removing Its Causes Rather Than Seeking To Relieve The Symptoms.

The Etiquette Question That Troubles So Many Fastidious People New Year's Day Is: How Am I Ever Going To Face Those People Again?

Allowing An Unimportant Mistake To Pass Without A Comment Is A Wonderful Social Grace ... Children Who Have The Habit Of Constantly Correcting Should Be Stopped Before They Grow Up To Drive Spouses And Everyone Else Crazy By Interrupting Stories To Say, 'no, Dear -- It Was Tuesday, Not Wednesday.

Smart People Duck When They Hear The Dread Announcement 'i'm Going To Be Perfectly Honest With You.