Supposing, then, that you have accepted an invitation to a friend’s abode, be very careful not to miss the train, or other mode of conveyance by which you have appointed to travel, lest your host’s carriage—and perhaps some member of his family also—be kept, through your carelessness, waiting to receive you at your destination. Do not, on arriving at the house, make an unseemly fuss—as some persons do—about the disposal of your luggage; leave the carrying in and arranging of it entirely to the servants; and should anything go wrong, rectify it afterwards. Ascertain as early as possible the hours for meals, and be ready to the moment for such. Also, if it be customary in the household to have family prayer, be prepared always to attend it with punctuality, as nothing is more disturbing than to have droppers-in entering the room when the service is half concluded. Do not come down in the mornings before the shutters are opened or the rooms made up; servants feel much aggrieved by this practice, nor is it fair towards them. If you are, from habit, an early riser, remain in your chamber, where you can read or write without being in anybody’s way; or, if the weather be fine, go out for a walk, quietly, without any slamming of doors or obtrusive noise or bustle. Always remember, when entering the house after walking, to clean your boots well upon the door-scraper and mat. Do not on any account neglect this most important admonition; even though there may not be any perceptible mud upon the soles of your footgear, a certain amount of dust will be sure to cling, and will by no means improve your host’s carpets—or the tempers of his servants. Do not eat immoderately at table, or in a manner to occasion remark. If you are afflicted with an abnormal appetite, satisfy its first cravings in the privacy of your apartment with biscuits, sandwiches, or something else of your own providing. It is dreadful to eat and drink as though one had not for days enjoyed a meal. On the other hand, do not, from a feeling of false delicacy, abstain from eating enough. A healthy, hearty appetite is to be commended; nor is anything more distressing to a hospitable hostess than to see her viands unappreciated, while her guests leave table apparently unsatisfied with what has been provided. It is needless to add that temperance in drinking is all-important.