"Manners are of more importance than laws." - Burke.

" What is a gentleman? " a young debutante naively asked of her uncle, a club man and " gentleman of the old school." The world-old query provoked the following reply from the man, who was too wary, however, to fall into the pitfall laid for him.

" My dear, I can't tell you in set terms. It is a condition of being that is no more definable than a woman's charms. Either one is or isn't a gentleman - that's all."

" Has birth anything to do with it?"

" It has - and it hasn't. There are men of the bluest blood who are hopeless bounders and cads, and, on the other hand, some of the most perfect gentlemen I have ever met have come of obscure origin and plain beginnings. The mere fact of not being well-born, however, has never kept a man out of a club or society, nor would a long pedigree necessarily give the entree. Social affiliations are indispensable., however inherited or acquired. No one can tell exactly what makes a gentleman; still, everyone recognizes one the moment he comes upon the scene."

"A man's a man for a' that," says Bobby Burns; and after all, it's the little things that count - that go to show whether a man is a gentleman or no. One who wishes further information upon this interesting subject may do well to read " John Halifax, Gentleman," after which he may brush up on etiquette. But all the dictionaries of etiquette in the world will not make a man a gentleman, if he be not kind, brave, and honorable in love and business, truthful, loyal, and reverent.

Someone has said that courtesy is a good imitation of Christianity, since most rules of etiquette are based upon unselfishness and a proper regard for the feelings of other people.

Most people have heard of the French king who was so well bred that when one of his friends dropped a priceless wine glass, immediately, as though through inadvertence, broke one himself to prove that such a mischance, which might happen to anyone, was of no special consequence.

There is, of course, a distinction between good manners and good form. The one comes to a man through innate good breeding, the other is acquired by careful study and a close observance of the forms of conduct that at the moment are en regie.

" He is gentil," says Chaucer, " who does gentil deeds." And it has been proven that habit is second nature. Courtesy, conciliation, kindliness, forbearance, which are the essence of politeness, were taught by St. Paul, who was the very model of a gentleman. Society has agreed, here and abroad, upon certain conventions which have through countless generations resolved themselves into a code - a decalogue of good behavior. The present social code in America is patterned largely after usages in favor among the English upper classes, although occasions may arise in which a man is a law unto himself. Daniel Webster once said, after a visit in London, " the rule of politeness there is to be quiet, act naturally, take no airs, and make no bustle. This perfect breeding has cost a great deal of drill." Bonaparte studied deportment with Talma, a great French actor, and his court was as carefully drilled in etiquette as was his army in military tactics.

" Good manners inspired by good principles, prompted by goodfellowship, polished by good form, will admit a man to good society anywhere," says Mrs. Burton Harrison, who is one of the highest authorities on etiquette. The cultured manner of to-day is simple, cordial, and free from all affectation.

As it is assumed that the bachelor of to-day is well versed in savoir faire, only a few general rules and a few miscellaneous hints will be given here as to the etiquette of bachelor entertainments.

The American man, because of the exactions of business, is permitted to pay calls in the evening and on Sunday afternoons. In the large cities he may present himself with propriety as late as nine in the evening; in the country, half-after eight is the limit generally set, while one seldom arrives earlier than half-after seven. Sunday afternoon calls may not be made earlier than three o'clock. In the country, morning calls are often made, and a man may always, of course, call on a lady's day at home, if he can arrange to do so. A dinner call is a matter of paramount importance, and a man must also pay a " duty call " after receiving any hospitality, within a fortnight of the invitation, whether the invitation is accepted or not. He must also call upon the bride whose cards he has received, directly after she returns from the honeymoon. A man who has served as pall bearer at a funeral should call upon the bereaved family within three weeks, though this call rarely means more than the leaving of a card with a kindly inquiry. After a man has paid a duty call, he should not call again, unless requested to do so, or unless his hostess extends further hospitality to him. A man may not take another man friend to call upon a lady unless he has first received her permission to do so. A man who wishes to make the acquaintance of a young lady through a friend must call in company of the friend the first time, after which, if she wishes to receive him, he may call alone.

When a woman has been entertained by a bachelor at his apartments, she leaves a card for him, accompanied by that of her chaperone.

In paying calls, a man may take his hat and stick into the drawing-room if he prefers, although the servant generally takes them in the hall.

A man who receives callers at his apartments should accompany each departing guest to the door, and open the door for him; he may with propriety show the ladies to their carnages, although this is not obligatory.

It is the duty of a man when calling to relieve women of empty teacups and to carry refreshments to those who are sitting at a distance from the tea-table. He must rise from his chair when a woman caller enters and when anyone is presented to him. When he rises he should stand beside or behind his chair, and continue to stand as long as the lady on whose account he has risen remains standing.

A man calling on Sunday afternoon should ask for " the ladies " when the mother has extended an invitation for him to call. After the first call he may ask for " the young ladies," or the particular one for whom his visit is intended.

A very formal afternoon call should occupy not less than fifteen minutes and not more than half an hour.

On the hostess' day at home one may linger an hour or longer.

Concerning business calls, in which a woman calls upon a man in his office, he need not offer to shake hands unless she be an old friend. Should his time be limited or other people be in his private office, he may meet her in the public office or even the corridor. He must always remove his hat, and if he wishes her to be brief, may courteously explain that pressing affairs necessitate his immediate attendance. In his office, a man rises also when a woman caller rises to leave, and if the interview has taken place in his private office, convention demands that he open the door for her. He need not go beyond the door with her, although if she is a friend or relative he will doubtless wish to see her safely to the elevator.

A business address should never appear on a visiting card, although his home address or that of his club may appear in the corner, his permanent address appearing in the right-hand corner. Not infrequently his home address appears in the right-hand corner and his favorite club in the corner opposite.

is quite the fashion nowadays for the well-to-do bachelor, even if he has no near women relatives to assist him, to entertain his women friends in his own apartments, at his club, or at a hotel. The city bachelor of to-day is not a homeless man whose life is divided between his house of business and his boarding-house bedroom. If he is prosBACHELOR It HOSPITALITIES perous in his profession, he lives in a suite of pretty rooms in a studio or in a small suite in bachelor apartments, or possibly in a hotel. And even a man of average salary may afford a large, tastefully-decorated room in which to set up his Lares and Penates, where he can entertain in a small way.

Of course he has some matron to act as chaperone, and the easiest and safest form of entertainment is an afternoon reception. At this he may repay some of the many hospitalities which eligible bachelors always receive.

Just a word from a clever hostess of international popularity may not be amiss. Apropos of the prevailing impression - which is generally correct - that the unmarried man is so persistently certain that he is welcome everywhere, and that when he lunches or dines at a house he confers a favor, this grande dame says: " The bachelor is the most ungrateful of guests, as a rule. He will accept my invitation, lunch or dine at my house three or four times in a week all the year round, and still continue to speak of those who liberally entertain him as a mere acquaintance unless they happen to be more than usually prominent - and then reward them with nothing better than a picture post-card at Christmas! "

Possibly this woman's indignation may be well-founded - for it is a fact that bachelors are in such demand that they come to realize their own social importance perhaps better than their hostesses do. A man of tact may express his appreciation of continued courtesies and entertainments by sending an occasional gift, such as a book, or some roses, or even matinee or concert tickets for his hostess and her daughters or some friend whom she may be entertaining.

" Give me a lodge in some vast wilderness. "