From “Teen-age Etiquette” by Grace Ramquist (copyright 1953)
Be On Time
You can hardly do anything correctly if you start out “on the wrong foot”. You already have lost much of your composure when you arrive late. I have heard that some people think it is proper to arrive late here and a bit tardy there, but the truth is that if you arrive anywhere at the hour set, you are correct.
It doesn’t take many instances of tardiness for one to get a reputation for “always being late.”
Leave Gracefully
When you once say, “Goodbye,” leave. It is almost as important to know when to leave as it is to know when to arrive!
Sometimes a perfectly wonderful evening is ruined because the guests do not know how or when to leave. It is never proper to stand at the door and hold it open while you think of that last word to say or last story to tell.
Of course, there are times when it is difficult to leave a place even when you want to. Sometimes the host or hostess wants you to stay and look and ‘ah’ over his accomplishments or possessions.
Example: ‘Mary would like to leave. She has a curfew. Bertha wants to tell Mary all about learning how she fixed her hair. Mary excused herself by saying, “I’m so sorry Bertha, but Mother will be looking for me. I mustn’t be late. Will you tell me about the new hair-do tomorrow at school?”
Mary did the only proper and polite thing she could do.