When and How to Talk of One's Self : Page 220

The other way is to say it with a smile. For most urges to self-praise, this is perhaps the safest and most desirable course. The humor of it can perhaps be got across by some obvious exaggeration. If a girl says, "Why, there is no doubt in my mind at all that I am the best dancer of all the girls in Blimpton Street," everybody is invited to dispute it with her, yet carry away the true notion that she can dance quite well. A mother can say, "1 know, of course, that everybody else's children are little imps, but mine, naturally, are different — what with my training, they couldn't but be little angels." Such a statement will not embarrass, but genuinely amuse. The boasting with a smile shows that one recognizes the vanity in it, and instead of trying to palm off some boast as not a boast, we in a manner atone for our self-praise by inviting the company's teasing. This, if done with the always necessary common sense and good taste, is not only a