The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-12-21


alas l committed the error of pronouneing
| his patrOnymic after the English manner
instead of the French. When his Huguenot
patience was exhausted he corrected me:-
"Sir, my name is -" giving IL the Galiic
accent.
"I beg pardon" replied "We at the
North habtually angicize foreign names. My
name is French by origin, but we use the Eng
| lish pronunciation"
He picked up the certificate of ofsettement on
which had just indorsed my official approval,
glanced at my signature, and said, with a
half-concealed sneer, 'Oh, see that you put
a De to it ~
Conceive my humiliation, thus charged
with stealing French particle
few days later | had occasion to approve
a labor contract for a lady of another family
but likewise of Huguenot race. Her name |
also apglicized, not in ignorance of the Gallo
form, and not with the purpose of giving Of
fense, but solely because of Northern custom.
Again 1 was corrected: "Sir, my name is ="
Struck with the repetition OF incident,
made the same reply as to the gentleman: 81
beg pardon; we at the North habitually angl-
oize the foreign names; my own, etc. etc."
The lady picked up the now finished con-
tract glanced at the Endorsement, and said,
''Oh, l see-De Forest. | knew a Mr.. De
Forest; that is, he did some work for me. He
was shoemaker !"
Conceive my second humiliation, thus
crushed under this degraded De Forest, who
was a shoemaker.
But before the war, before the days of rage
and ruin, the high-toned was not thus
peevisb; he was, Notwithstanding some
supereiliousness and imperiOusness, our court
lest social figure.
l shall never forget the grace and kindness
of man who must yet be remembered in
Charleston as one of its most finished social
ornaments was at supper of the Literary
Club; we were standing or sitting around a
table which would have pleased Brillat-Sava-
rim; all the others were well-known citizens,
reverend and respectable l was the youngest
and the only stranger. | had dropped out Of
the conversation and Withdrawn q little asidei
when Colonel John Aston observed me and
OWNED my stranded situation. He did not
know me; it was the first time that we had
ever met; but he ms stantly came towards me
and begged leave wait on me. 1t was not
the deed so much as the manner
which was so exquisitely ingratiating.
There was an empreSSenem in his ex-
preston which seemed to ssy:-"Sir, your
mere appearance fills me with respect and in
terest; you are obviously worthy OF my atten-
tons" l have sometimes thought that IL
would be q fine thing 10 be q handsome young
lady; and felt at that moment as if [ were
one. Well, this hospilable act towards per-
feet stranger, this courteous advance towards
wall-hoWer, was characteristic of the man,
and, in general, of his caste.
GENEROSITY.
1t was not that Yankee generosity which
sends pundits to convert HOttentots, founds
school systems, hospitals, sanitary COM
missions, and endoWs colleges with mil
lions. 1t was the old-fashioned sort,
the generosity of the Arab and Of the
feudal noble, feeding every beggar who
came to the door, setting bounteous tables
and keeping full wine cellars. 1t was the pro-
fuseness not of philanthropy, but Of good
fellowship. Even before the war there were
single States in the North which gave more to
missionary, educational, and charitable Or
carnations than the entire South.
But the SOutherDer was more than lavish;
he was good-nstured and easy in his business
transactions; he had such a contempt for small
sums that he would not use pennies he paid
loosely at long credits, and was careless in his
collections. l knew an upright wretch in
Southern town who strictly settled his debts
and sternly demanded his credits, and who was
consequently very unpopular, in spite Of
many virtues and worthy deeds. l knew
jolly fellow who was not much astonshed,
and not at all angry, when another still jOllier
fellow borrowed a hundred dollars of him,
treated him handsomely out of it, and never
repaid him.
''Is that what you call generosityR' o. l
asked, with Vandalc sneer.
"Wel, l like il better than stinginess,"
replied the victim, Gle thought he was
doing what was handsome; he felt as if it were
his own money. If it had been his own he
would have spent it just as freely. 1t was
justa little rough, though, that he should get
all the credit Of the bender wnen it was | who
really paid for it,"
1leum and tuItm were little mixed; people
who lived on negroes felt it right to live on
each other and to help each other; what aman
could borrow or get trusted for was his own
until neighbor asked for it. Happy-go-lucky
planters settled their store bills once in seven
years, or after they we're dead; and the store
keeper settled with his Northern furnisher as
soon after his notes matured as was conve-
nient. When the war opened more than half
the rice and sea-island estates were mOrtgaged
to the verge of bankruptcy; and the personal
debts of Southerner5 to Northerner5 were esti-
mated at eighty-fve millions of dollars. The
virtue OF generosity had been prolonged into
the vice OF Tuinous extravaganza.
HONOR.
Notwithstanding his thoughtless lavishness
there was high sense of honor in the "chi-
valrous Southron." He did not mean to de-
fraud any one. l have known an expensive,
generous fellow TO cut his throat because he
could not meet a note which was coming due.
! have known another bankrupt to put his
wife and children into buggy and drive with
them into the sea, drowning the whole party.
l do not assert positively-I only give it as my
strong impressiOn-that such tragedies OF
wounded honor were more common in Dixie
than in Yankeeland.
The honor of Southern students is not col
legeh0nOr as il is understood at the North, and
perhaps in Europe; IL comes much nearer to