The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1866-03-30
The clown turned Gentleman.

One of the most amusing of Moliere's COM
edies, is that in which he depicts the fantastic
tricks of an elderly tradesman who has be-
come suddenly rich and signally fails in at
tempting to assume the manners which be-
long TO his new station in society. In Ameri-
can society, where SO many men rise from
humble beginnings to conspicuous eminence
of wealth or influence, it is creditable to the
plain common-sense of the people, that so few
examples occur of incongruous estate and
manners.
Men who acquire wealth in a legitimate
business take on insensibly the habits and
manners of gentlemen-are indeed usually en-
dowed by nature with the tact and self-con-
troll which chiefly marks the gentleman. IL Is
the men who become suddenly rich, who Oft
en- become snobs instead of gentlemen-men
who have "struck lie" in Pennsylvania, or
Hmade their pile" in California, or been for
tunate Spectators in stocks, or have contrived
to reap the reward of some useful invention,
not their own, such as Goodyear's india rubber
or the magnetic telegraph. U-s ..-...
These men often carry into their new sta
ton vices which would be less conspicuous and
perhaps more excusable in a humber walk
1t is always misfortune to society, when the
men who should be leaders and examples, are
only examples of warning. The sacredness of
his word is dear to every gentleman: the
sanctity of an oath is for him inviolablc. But
it sometimes happens that liar, or a procur-
nf liac O 0antlaYnon,c ar,
claiming to be gentlemen, are even brought
before the courts, and confess to sins against
chastity. Nobody doubts that these scandals
are injurious to the communities in which
they occur. 1t is adding insult to injury, if
such men undertake to exercise dictation over
their neighbors, .7 5 u1s9d9ssf.l
These however are rare cases. We intend
ed to speak, not of crimes but of offences
against good manners. Boosting of their dis
tinguished acquaintance is weakness to
which these gentry are especially prone
Thus writer in one of our city newspapers
told the other day of certain sums OF money
which he had formerly loaned to Daniel Web
ster, and mentioned the fact that he had new
er received or asked for payment. Of course
the generosity which puts itself on record in
the newspapers and calls upon all the world
to stop and admire, is not the generosity of a
gentleman This talk about money is not
the talk of a gentleman, and we regret to find
in the Advertiser some traces of this purse
proud, snobbish spirit. The Advertiser, which
for long has displayed no responsible name
either of editor or publisher, complains that
no editors name is announced in the Press.
1t is not the practice of the best journals to
publish the editors name, and it is further
more none of the Advertisers business to en-
quire whether the Press has an editor or not /;
the Press will speak for itself when spoken to.
But the Advertiser ventures to say" that the
editor of Press sis some creature of prejudice,
fanaticism, or party hate, ,cho don't pay per-
haps more than poll ta1." This inculpation
is in as good taste as the similar slurs upon
the proprietors of the Press, who in 1862 We're
styled "adventurers" and are now called Gre
sponsible and respectable by the same author
ity. Is it impossible for the Advertiser to un-
derstand that character is an element of re-
.spectability? a.rg3n. 60 -,e, s,fs d ..r..,1.. -.