Richland beacon., 1873-06-07
Some Things Americans Are Not.

Some Things Americans Are Not.
The American character is a never
ending source of study and scribble for
certain class of people, usually a fragment
of that rapidly-increasing army of bores
who have "been to Europe" lfOne were
to attempt to imagine the American
character from these descriptions. most
motley impression would result. We are
grim, taciturn and unamiable, quOth one;
mercurial and vivaciOus, quoth another;
silent and speechlcss, saith No. ); given
to eternal CAB, saith No. 4. We observe
that the New York Mail halls with delight
the introduction of postal cards as an
agent of education in teaching this people |
to correct its propensity to diffus
and write more directly to the point.
This is certainly one of the most baseless
criticisms on the American character, ana
it is somewhat related to the frequent
charge of our stolidity and GOODNESS. We
are at bottom people OF business and
practicability. The British were before
us, and as our civilization Oldens, we re-
semble them more and more. we are NOT,
therefore, a people OF CAB Told Scotch for
mOuth). We sometimes say we are, ana
we often lash ourselves. and do penance
that, all things considered, we are not a
very gabsome people. Congress is our
great bugbear in this respect, but if we
examine the speeches in Congress, as they
run, we shall find them quite as compact
and direct as the speeches in Parliament.
The fact is, the subjects which engage the
attention of Congress are great. Iney
REQUIRE immense explanation, objection
and defense. But out of Congress,
speech-making is quite fallen into disuse.
In England. every prominent member OF
Parliament is expected to go home after
the session and talk things over with his
constituents, and very sensible custom
it is; but in this country, it is getting to be
rare for Congressman to address his
neighb0rs, unless he is running for the
first time.
On the contrary. we are impatient OF
! talk. A company of Germans or French
, men would talk all day on topics which
an American would exhaust i'll an hour.
, Any one with German acquaintance
must be familiar with the little inward APP
prehensiOn at starting Il new subject, lest
it should prove too eXhilerating to the
) Teutonic conversational powers. And
here we may speak of another habit char
| acteristic of the contincntals--thatw which
we describe as getting into our faces" In
} conversations; that is, coming right neal
I and talking at one. TO an American,
e home-born and bred nothing can be more
4 offensive. As national sovereignty eX-
: tends a marine league from the shore, SC
an American feels his sovereignty to ex'
tend at least few inches from the end OF
his nose. When another face come.
tumbing in on the pillows of continental
a familiarity, our first impulse is to push up
| an ugly breaker OF fist and let the In
4 truding craft go to wreck upon it. o.
e course we never obey that impulse. We
t merely stand still, grow red about tn,
a eyes and feel disagreeable. But this i
4 parenthetical. The American is self-Oc
: cupied, anu inclined to talk only when he
, has something to say. We speak gener
a ally. of course. for there are garrulOus in
= dividuals enough. For our part, We rath
4 er like reticence. We have the bes,
G authority for saying that ''silence about
' the space of half an hour" is sometime;
4 essential to the celestial happiness. W.
: shall at least not lay it to pie, dyspepsia
e or bearishness when fellOw-bcing holds
Y his tongue. On the contrary, we shall
regard it as a very sensible recreation
n subjectively and effectively.
n AS in talking so in writing. We are
: not as people diffuse, except as we art
S ignorant. Ignorance always occasions
s diffusenes, and the people who bor'
: editors with long communications ant
0 congregations with long sermons, ar
r usually below the common standard o
f intelligence or lunatics. Business cor
e respondence is not diffnse, as everbOd,
il knows, and we doubt if the postal card
l. reform nations style to the extent de
/ sired by the Mail. On the contrary, w
l. apprehend they will not be found so use
S full as many persons suppose for genera
if correspondence. They will fill certain
d place in business correspondence, bu
: they will also afford opportunity for con
o siderable personal annoyance, at least un
d til we have had few convictions for thu
y sending of insulting messages. In news
l. paper style, diffuseness is one of the Jesse
r sins. The style of newspaper writing j
Ear less culpable on the whole than tn
underlying Ignorance of the subject maj
ter.
Americans are not reserved and silen
& and unsocial, more than they were mean
y to be when the Creator first conceived tn
u AnglO-Saxon animal. They are not give
E. to CAB, more than to express the SOY
t, ereign will,-the popular voice" as W
n call it. They are not diffuse writers an
d takers. We have vices and fOiblt
II enough, in all conscience, without spent
Of ing our wits in conjuring up and exOrci
e, ing others which do not exist.-Sringfel
DIT Republican.