ery rude for
groups of three or more to walk abreast without heeding the people whom
they meet, and often crowding the latter off the curbstone. Young
girls are sometimes very thoughtless in this matter. "Turn to the
right, as the law directs" is an injunction that holds good for the
crowded sidewalk.

If one, walking briskly, overtakes slower walkers ahead, and the crowd
allows no space to get past them, one should watch for a chance to slip
through a gap in the phalanx, rather than "elbow through." If no
chance seems likely to occur, and haste is imperative, a polite man has
no recourse but to step outside the curb and walk rapidly ahead,
returning to the sidewalk a few paces in advance. A lady similarly
hurried may slip through a small space, if one offers, with an
apologetic "I beg pardon." But in no case should pushing be resorted
to. It is very unmannerly for a party of loiterers to string
themselves thus across the width of a sidewalk, and then saunter
slowly, regardless of the fact that they are impeding the progress of
busier people. A policeman should call their attention to the fact.

If the sidewalk is "blocked" by an orderly crowd, as it frequently is
on the occasion of parades and other public demonstrations, a man may
push his way through gently, saying, "I beg pardon" to those whom he is
compelled to jostle. The fine breeding of a gentleman never shows more
conspicuously than in his manner of getting through a crowd. The
beauty of it is, or, perhaps, I might say, the utility of it is, that
courtesy in such a case is very much more effective than "bluff," for
the majority in an orderly crowd are inclined to be obliging, and
quickly respond to a good-humored request; whereas, if one aggressive
elbow begins to push, a hundred other elbows are set rigidly akimbo,
and the solid mass becomes ten-fold more unyielding than before.

If accosted by a stranger with a request for information as to streets,
directions, etc., one should kindly reply, and, if not able to give the
desired information, should, if possible, direct the stranger where to
make further inquiries. Cheerful interest in the perplexities of a
bewildered sojourner in the city costs nothing and is always highly
appreciated. Only a pessimist or a snob would dismiss such a question
curtly.

If a lady's dress has been torn, or trimming or braid ripped and left
trailing after contact with the nails in a packing-box on the sidewalk,
or f