Applewood Pocket Sized Books

George Washington's Rules of Civility and Decent Behaviour: Copied out by hand as a young man aspiring to the status of Gentleman, George Washington's 110 rules were based on a set of rules composed by French Jesuits in 1595. The first English edition of these rules was available in Francis Hawkins' Youths Behavior, or Decency in Conversation Amongst Men, which appeared in 1640, and it is from this work that Washington seems to have copied. The rules as Washington wrote them out are a simplified version of this text. However, much he may have simplified them, these precepts had a strong influence on Washington, who aimed to always live by them. The rules focus on self-respect and respect for others through details of etiquette. The rules offer pointers on such issues as how to dress, walk, eat in public, and address one's superiors.

Paul Revere's Ride: New in Applewood's Books of American Wisdom series is Paul Revere's Ride which includes the 1860 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem of the same name, as well as Paul Revere's own account of the events. The famous midnight ride of April 18-19, 1775 raised the alarm among Massachusetts patriots that the British were on the move from Boston to Concord. Twenty years after the event, Paul Revere wrote a letter telling the true account of the historic ride. Eight-five years after the event, in 1860, Paul Revere and his heroic ride were immortalized by Longfellow in his famous, if not completely accurate, dramatic poem.

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