Remember that there is a local propriety to be observed in all companies； and that what is extremely proper in one company may be， and often is， highly improper in another. The jokes， the bonmots， the little adventures， which may do very well in one company， will seem flat and tedious， when related in another. The particular characters， the habit， the cant of one company may give merit to a word， or a gesture， which would have none at all if divested of those accidental circumstances. Here people very commonly err； and fond of something that has entertained them in one company， and in certain circumstances， repeat it with emphasis in another， where it is either insipid， or， it may be， offensive， by being ill timed or misplaced. Nay， they often do it with this silly preamble： “I will tell you an excellent thing.” or，“I will tell you the best thing in the world.” This raises expectations， which， when absolutely disappointed， make the relaror of this excellent thing look， very deservedly， like a fool.
If you would particularly gain the affection and friendship of particular people， whether men or women， endeavor to find out their predominant excellency， if they have one， and their prevailing weakness， which everybody has； and do justice to the one， and something more than justice to the other. Men have various objects in which they may excel， or at least would be thought to excel； and， though they love to hear justice done to them， where they know that they excel， yet they are most and best flattered upon those points where they wish to excel， and yet are doubtful whether they do or not.
亲爱的孩子：
惹人喜欢要有必备的条件，但又是一门不易学到的艺术，很难将其归纳成规则。你自己良好的判断力与观察力将使你领悟比我教授给你的还要多的东西。“己所不欲，勿施于人”，据我所知，这是取信于人的最可靠的办法。细心留意别人怎样做让你愉快，那么很可能你做同样的事也会使别人愉悦。如果别人对你的性情、兴趣甚至弱点甚为关心，让你满心欢喜，请相信，你对别人施以同样的热情和关照，也一定会使他们高兴。与人来往时，需顺应其中的氛围，勿矫揉造作，发现同伴的幽默之处时，就诚然开怀一乐甚至调笑一番，这是每个人对群体应具备的态度。在人前不要说瞎话，没有比这更让人讨厌和不悦的事了。如果你恰好有一则很简短而又相当切题的故事，可用最简洁明了的语言叙述一番。即便如此，也要表示出你并不擅长讲述，而仅是因为它实在太简短才使你情不自禁地这样做。