Every time we go into society we must step on the scales of each person's opinion, and the loss or gain from our last weight is carefully noted.
Each mentally asks, "Is this person going up or down?
Through how many grades has he passed ?" For example, young Brown enters a drawing-room.
All present weigh him in their judgment and silently say, "This young man is gaining; he is more careful, thoughtful, polite, considerate, straightforward, industrious." Besides him stands young Jones.

It is evident that he is losing ground rapidly.

He is careless, indifferent, rough, does not look you in the eye, is mean, stingy, snaps at the servants, yet is over-polite to strangers.
And so we go through life, tagged with these invisible labels by all who know us.

I sometimes think it would be a great advantage if one could read these ratings of his associates.

We cannot long deceive the world, for that other self, who ever stands in the shadow of ourselves holding the scales of justice, that telltale in the soul, rushes to the eye or into the manner and betrays us.
But manners, while they are the garb of the gentleman, do not constitute or finally determine his character.