The Ladies' Vase

The Ladies' Vase carries the subtitle Or, Polite Manual for Young Ladies and is credited to American lady. The preface says So many volumes have already appeared before the public, similar in character to this little work, that it is with feelings of diffidence we bring our humble offering. The text says of false politeness that it is, after all, better than vulgarity, calling it the cotton batting, that keeps the glass vases of society from dashing against each other.

One line urges: Let the young polish their manners, not by attending to mere artificial rules, but by the cultivation of right feelings. A section headed IMPORTANCE OF GOOD MANNERS says There is something in the very constitution of human nature which inclines us to form a judgment of character from manners. A narrator in the first person says I had descended to the breakfast-room, at the usual hour, but no one appeared; I looked for a book, but found none but an almanac.