The Lancaster ledger. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1852-1905, 1857-02-11
WHAT IS RESPECTABLE sOCIETYa

We heard man, otherw ise in,elIiyeu,
enough, lately sn,er at another, because,
said he, 'one never meets him IA resp.ct
ahIe society ! The speaker dId not mean.
however, that the person lie affected tc,
look down upon, WAS immoral, but mere.
~ that his circle of in,mates were no,
composed Of the fashionable or he rich.
This notion OF what constitutes RESPECT
able society. is quite II iavuri'e one with
that class of individuals whom Thacker,
has So significantly called 'sn"bs' EnpIv
pretence ALWAYS making its own clarac.
terlSllcs star dard, by which it srhives 10
measure the respectabiIty Of persons Al
large. In community OF a mere money
getters, wealth is the test of respectaJi!lty
Among the proud, narrow-n,uded, etfet-
nobility of the Fanbuurg ST. German, re-
Srecia hII'ty depends upon beng descen-
danis from ancestors who have married
the" cousins ipr so many centuries. thxr
neither muscles nor brains are left any
longer to degenerate descendants. Wrh
the dandy officers who constitute a con
siderable portion of the American NAVY,
responsibility consists in having spcnged
on Uncle Sam, in wearing gil: buttons,
aud in jIting talors. Every conceitcd
fool thinks himself. in like wav, the ONLY
man really wcigh,y. the only person who
is respectable.
But true respectablity depends on nc
such ndventilious circumstances. To be
respectable is to bc worthy Of respect
and he deserves respect who has most vir
| tue. The humbeSt man whn hro""'.
do's his duty, Ia more worti'. of respec
is more truly respectable, than the covet
Gus millionaire among his money bags
or the arrogant monarch upon his throne
The tiue lady who hack-b.es Lcr neirh
tcr, is less worthy of respect than an
honest washer-w"man. The prohgate
| non!e, though lie NAV wear a dozen or
| derS ~ his button hole, is not often really
AS respectable as the shoe black who
cleans his boots That which is called
the world eNAlts the one aud despses
the other, but it does not make them re.
spectacle according to the real mcanin
Of that word. Their respcctabiity is bat
n hollow sham, as they themselves fe
| qnently feel aud those who worship them
bow down to n Fetish, a thing Of feather.
aud ,iuSel. The selfish idle drone, who
wastes life in his own ratification. and
dSs'pa es the fortune of his progeny, Is
o an C c'nro br'>pec ahle; but the hard
Working, sell denying father, who wears
ont his lie to bring uE his childred is
even though he hut day lnborer. Moth
ing can make Dives fit to Law on Abra
hams bosom while Lazarus is welcomed
there, even with the sores the dogs have
licked.
This false vie W Of life, who would meas
ure respectability bv n conventional stan
derd, is totally at variance with our re-
publican institutions. IL creates an i'm
reriuIn IN lmperio,' fuy while tho law de
e'McS all citizens "quaI, it crccis a sociu
standard which cndeavors to ignore that
great truth. Tie coarse, british, knav;sh
prOtligate criminal-in short, all who Ial
short Of their dltv Themselves and tlc;,
fellow men; ava th,se who are noj re
srcctahic; : ard this, whether 'hay ar,
rich or poor Wine those live honestly
and strive to do what good they can, con.
stitute in reality the respectable class, ir
respective Of the fact whether thev eat
win silver forks or steel ones --PhikadeI
phi0 Lcdge~.