1. The essential part of good breeding is the practical desire to afford pleasure and to avoid giving pain. Any boy possessing this desire requires only opportunity and observation to become a little gentleman. 2. Never be guilty of what are called practical jokes; that is to say, never place a pin in a chair so that somebody may come along and sit on the pin’s point; never pull back a chair when a person is about to sit down, and in that way cause such a person to fall on the floor. No little gentleman will play such tricks. 3. Whenever a lady enters a room, it is proper for boys to rise, if they are seated, but you must never offer a lady a chair from which you have just risen, if there is another chair in the room. 4. Never engage in conversation while a person is singing. It is an insult not only to the singer but to the company. 5. Always take off your hat when assisting a lady to or from a carriage. 6. If in a public place, you pass and re-pass persons of your acquaintance, it is only necessary to salute them on the first occasion. 7. Do not wear anything that is so conspicuous as to attract attention; and, particularly, avoid the ruffian style. [Illustration: DIRECTIONS FOR LITTLE GENTLEMEN.] 8. Do not lose your temper. Particularly if you are playing innocent games for amusement and happen to lose; avoid the exhibition of anxiety or vexation at lack of success. 9. In all your associations, keep constantly in view the old adage, “too much familiarity breeds contempt.” THE RIGHT TO PLAY. The right to play is one of the divine rights of men and women, of boys and girls, and is just as essential to the peace, happiness and prosperity of the world as is the right to pray. Never be afraid or ashamed, my young friends, of honest, vigorous, healthy play. Dominoes, lawn tennis, baseball, football, ping-pong, golf, foot-racing, leaping and jumping, boxing and wrestling, pole-vaulting, punching the bag, swinging dumb-bells or Indian clubs, and a hundred other things are perfectly sane and wholesome amusements for old or young. To refrain from all forms of amusements is just as destructive of happiness and injurious to character as is the other extreme of indulging too freely in pleasures and pastimes. Puritan austerity and unrestrained excess are alike to be condemned. But a certain amount of play--play of the right kind and within proper limits--is a divine right of young people. Young people must have fun and relaxation, and, if they do not find it in their own homes, it will be sought in other and perhaps dangerous places.