Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1867-09-17
CONCERNING CHEEK

The impudent man, like the poet, IL born,
not made. As Lever well says: An I'M
pudent man can simulate modesty; but it
is impossible for a modest man TO simulate
impotence" Yet, although the most per-
feet CHECK" must be a natural gift, great
proficiency in this line may be bad by prac-
tice, and Il is a faculty that may be much
improved. For 10 achieve impotence
man has not only TO acquire self confidence,
but 10 get rid Of selEdistTust. He only Is
bashful who is distrustful and uncertain of
his own power TO "act well his part IN the
emergency that is upon him.
As a rule, men Judge Of man at first
sight by his own opinion of himself, as
manifested in his mien. If he be shrink
ing, timid, inclined TO make way for others
and prone to be subordinate, the place they
will assign him will be proportional to has
clans. If he be loud, self-aaserting in
clined to iostle his neighbors instead Of
making room for them, they will set him
down as one who has a title to the position
he claims, and in most cases that position
wilnbe quietly yielded to him.
The London ont has the following dis
QUESTION on this theme 1" OF all the quail
ties with which the beginner in society
can be endowed, impudence is, without
any question, the grandest, the noblest
and the most valuable, both TO its pOssesor
and 10 the rest Of his fellow-creatures.
Known to various men by various names,
such as dignity, homer, self-respect, conh-
dence, ect., il is honored and admired by
all, and may be traced running
like a golden thread through the
whole web Of society, giving it all
its luster, and adding intellectually
to its beauty and splendor Were this
thread to be drawn out the fabric must at
once lose all its value in the markets Of the
world, it, indeed, it did not fall in pieces
altogeth. 1t Is, properly speaking, less
a quality itself than the life and soul Of all
the other qualities A young man may
start in life with the gift Of the tongue, an
undoubted place in the country, a head of
hair and a tenor voice, but though he may
reserve his choicest converse for the dow
ayers, may ask the best men down 10 shoot,
may go to church twice on Sunday, and
may even give his voice to be abused IN
afternoon concerts, yet, unless he shows in
each and all dash Of the sovereign quality
OF impudence, he will not be one whit the
better, but rather worse of, for he will
thenceforth be recognized as a creature TO
be made use of and treated accordingly
For the want of impotence he will be
mortified by seeing better men than him
self preferred before him upon every posi-
bic occasion.
" He will never shine at a dinner table
where there is a brilliant talker; he will
never be introduced to the first flight OF
girls when there are a sufficient number OF
smarter young men to be provided for
them; he will be mounted on a second-rate
hunter whenever there is a better rider to
be put upon the best; in short, he will be
ridden over in a row, looked over in the
streets, and talked over in the drawing
rooms in a manner which will be charac-
terized far more by truth than by compli-
ment, and that solely in consequence Of the
knowledge that he lacks the one defensive
arm Of impudence There are other men
who generally devote their gifts of impu-
dence to the purpose Of pushing and many
may be recognized by an insstiate desire to
bless with their society those who neither
know nor desire them. Let them but meet
YOU at dinner, and they will henceforth let
YOU know that YOU are bound 10 ask for
cards for them, for all the balls to which
YOU 70 yourself, and will insist on being
introduced 10 all the useful people with
whom You may be everso slenderly acqusin-
ted. They will invite themselves to dine
with you at the club, dictate the choice of
LIQUOR, abuse your salad, smoke your
peculiar cigars, and al. last leave you IN con-
tempt for ball to which your want of i'm
pudence has prevented you from being in
vited The spectacle which such great
spirits present cannot fail to be pleasing
and edifying and il is pleasing to find that
it never fails to receive the admiration il
merits