As I have just cautioned our girls as to their behavior
towards men who are strangers to them on the road, so do
I most earnestly say to you, }roung men, protect the woman-
hood of your race. If a lack of self-respect on the part of a
woman is pitiable and sickening, the attempt of a man
to take advantage of such lack is contemptible and un-
pardonable. Stand ever ready to protect or aid without
presuming on anything great or small that you may be able
to do. Towards women, young or old, whom you meet on
the road, let your behavior be guided by this thought:
" How should I want a man to treat my sister or my mo-
ther ?"
8.o
ON HABITS AND MANNERS.
I do not forget that to colored people in America the
question of manners on the road may involve at times pecu-
liarly difficult and trying positions, and cases where the
courtesy will seem very one-sidevl. But while I understand
and deplore this, and while I admit that there may be cir-
cumstances when it will be right and necessary to make a
stand, in a proper and lawful way, for one's lawful rights, I
believe that, especially in these cases, propriety of deport-
ment on your own part will do more than anything else to-
wards securing for you fair and proper treatment from
others. And trying as are some of the inconsistencies of
treatment, of which you have just cause to complain — the
penumbra of slavery's dark eclipse out of which your race is
passing — I am sure that a glance over the past will encour-
age you by the perception that these very inconsistencies are
on the hopeful side and show what you have gained, not lost,
of rights and privileges. I am sure, too, that you will agree
with me that the improvement has been owing, in a great
measure, to the progress and the proper deportment of your
people. The incidents with which I began this chapter
show you how this is recognized by both North and South.
Thus every one of you can do something to help it on, and
with this inspiring thought I wish you each, wherever you
go. a pleasant journey.
ON HABITS AND MANNERS
81
CHAPTER XIII.
LETTER WRITING,
There are certain well-defined rules in regard to the
arrangement of a letter, its address, date, signature, etc., with
which you ought to be familiar, and you also need to un-
derstand the regulations of general correspondence — that is,
you should know the difference between a business letter and
a note of invitation, between an unceremonious line to a
friend and a polite and careful letter to a stranger. In fact,
there is a good deal to be learned before you can write a
neat, graceful, properly expressed letter, and as the ability
to do so should be one important result of your education,
you must try to familiarize yourselves as rapidly as possible
with the art of letter writing.
Page 35
Presented as published in 1888. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
As I have just cautioned our girls as to their behavior towards men who are strangers to them on the road, so do I most earnestly say to you, young men, protect the womanhood of your race. If a lack of self-respect on the part of a woman is pitiable and sickening, the attempt of a man to take advantage of such lack is contemptible and unpardonable. Stand ever ready to protect or aid without presuming on anything great or small that you may be able to do. Towards women, young or old, whom you meet on the road, let your behavior be guided by this thought: " How should I want a man to treat my sister or my mother ?"
8.o
I do not forget that to colored people in America the question of manners on the road may involve at times peculiarly difficult and trying positions, and cases where the courtesy will seem very one-sided. But while I understand and deplore this, and while I admit that there may be circumstances when it will be right and necessary to make a stand, in a proper and lawful way, for one's lawful rights, I believe that, especially in these cases, propriety of deportment on your own part will do more than anything else towards securing for you fair and proper treatment from others. And trying as are some of the inconsistencies of treatment, of which you have just cause to complain — the penumbra of slavery's dark eclipse out of which your race is passing — I am sure that a glance over the past will encourage you by the perception that these very inconsistencies are on the hopeful side and show what you have gained, not lost, of rights and privileges. I am sure, too, that you will agree with me that the improvement has been owing, in a great measure, to the progress and the proper deportment of your people. The incidents with which I began this chapter show you how this is recognized by both North and South. Thus every one of you can do something to help it on, and with this inspiring thought I wish you each, wherever you go. a pleasant journey.
CHAPTER XIII.
LETTER WRITING,
There are certain well-defined rules in regard to the arrangement of a letter, its address, date, signature, etc., with which you ought to be familiar, and you also need to understand the regulations of general correspondence — that is, you should know the difference between a business letter and a note of invitation, between an unceremonious line to a friend and a polite and careful letter to a stranger. In fact, there is a good deal to be learned before you can write a neat, graceful, properly expressed letter, and as the ability to do so should be one important result of your education, you must try to familiarize yourselves as rapidly as possible with the art of letter writing.