The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1874-08-28
WHAT MAKES THE GENTLEMAN.
A Modern English Definition OF the
Term.

H1G was not III JulS NdSu SSH5O tuoo 0AO
word was used by James l., who, when
his nurse entreated him to make her son
gentleman, replied that he could make
him lord, but that it was out of his
-power to make him a gentleman. The
WORD does not now bear the interpreta-
ton it formerly did in England. While
at one time it expressed the idea which
the term Qe7atiIhOnln1e does in France
where it retains its original significance
to designate the members of caste,
distinct and apart-it has, In successive
periods, been applied to degrees more
widely extended. All classes now asso-
ciate more freely than would have been
tolerated in previous generations, and
men no longer dress, either really or
figuratively, in buckles and buckram.
The garb of the Puritan-despised in
the DAVIS when it was the fashion for a
man to bedezin himself in ruffles and
lace-is row the rule, and is apprecia-
ted for its plainness, its comfort and its
practical utility. The ordinary costume
for gentlemen-free, easy, and devoid of
outward show and pretence-is an index
of their mental condition. They eschew
stiffness, they abhOr formality, they des-
pise all seeming. Their manners, though
refined, are simple.
Inc RGullEulau u Il representative
character-a reflection of his era. We
may trace the manners of the times in
their various types in the warlike and
semi barbarous, the chivalrous and
romantic, the effeminate and ornate, the
soldierly and scholarly, down to the
earnest, accomplished, and practical
specimen in our own day. As now UNI
derstood, the term is indicative of con-
IL sz---.- I1lava5o-oh cunracuer
rather than position-of the qualities
that contribute to its formation as much
as their manifestation in the life. A
gentleman is something unique, apart
from any consideration of rank, educa-
ton, or pursuits. There remany men of
plain manners and limited means as
thorough gentlemen as any noble in the
land. The late Justice Talfourd, in
his charge to the jury in an action
wherein it was alleged that the defend
ant had said to the plaintiff, "Do not
speak to me. 1 am gentleman. You
are tradesmGn," took occasion to OBJ
serve: Gentleman is term which is
not confined to any station. The man
of rank who deports himself with dig
nifty and candor. the tradesman who
discharges his duties with integrity,
and the humblest artisan who fulfills
the obligations incumbent upon him
with virtue and honor, are alike entitled
to the name of gen leman, in preference
to the man, however high his station,
who INDUCES in rihaId and offensive
remarks.
We may have correct conception of
the character without being able to en-
ter into an analysis of it. Courtesy and
simplicity are its leading features. The
most highlY-cultivated men are ever the
least conceited, and we generally find
that the pedantic are men of small I'M
Outstanding. Chesterfield embodies its
cdostituent elements in the term "po-
likeness, which he defines as a benevo-
lence in trifles, CT prefer, nee of others
to ourselves in the ordinary occurrences
of life. Gentleness, the foundation of the
character, implies reserved power,
anAi IS to be distinguished from weak
mesa as 1t is from a passive tameness of
spirit and an unreasonable compliance
with the dictates or the viii of others.
1t renOunces no Just right from the fear
of their frown, and yields no important
truth to their hattery. A prominent
feature of the character Is considerable
ness, which may be said to consist in
delicacy in the use OF power-physical,
moral, and social Forbearauce and
wisdom in the exercise of this power
of that which the husband exercises
over the wife, the father over his chill
dren, the teacher over his pupils, the
old over the young, the strong over the
weak, the master over his hands, the
poor, the educated over the ignorant,
the experienced over the coafding-
mark the gentleman. WYNN,
the character, and we are surprised that
so rare a quality is not more highly ap-
preciated. The thoughts and feelings
of the retiring IN disposition are not
less refined, although they may not be
expressed with the gracefulness of the
ready speaker or the impetuosity of the
This disposition frequently
arises from the mind running in chan
nels other than the commonplace OF or
binary conversation, and a consequent
of inferiority in the art
of pleasing. The assumption of the
character Is often but a stimulation of
the more agreeable habits of society, |
and only the veneer which hides de- |
PRAYED tastes aud vicious propensities. |
Nothing more displays frivolous, self |
ish, and vulgar mind than inattentiop |
to Che simple courtesies of life, and |
without this even profound learning is |
no more than tiresome pedantry.. A |
person of this description says he can |
be a gentleman when he pleases. A true |
gentleman never pleases 70 be anything |
els, and never, by any accident, dero- |
gates from this standard. He cannot |
stOop to a mean thing. He never struts /
in borrowed plumage. He never stabs |
in the dark. He is not one thing to |
a mans face and another behind his |
back. Papers not meant for his eye are /
sacred. Bolts and bars, locks and keys,
bonds and securities, and notices to tres
passers, are not for him. He is con-
sistent observer of the second great com
nandment whatever he judges to be
honorable, he practices toward all.
Perhaps it was because of Thacke-
rays keen-sightedness to detect, and
MS readiness to expose and pillory the
mob, that he could the more geniaIly
describe a gentleman. There are many
passages in his writings which bespeak
his appreciation of the character. The
'eader will remember his famous pres
lectus of the Pail Mall Gazette, which,
BEING conducted by gentl, men, was to
De addressed to gentlemen. "Perhaps,"
le says, gentleman is rarer person
ge than some of us think for. Which
# us can point out many such in his
ircle 4: men whose aims are generous
7hOse truth is constant, whose want of
makes them simple, who can
Ook the world honestly in the face with
n equal manly sympathy fer the great
nd the small We all know hundred
hose coats are well made, and a score
Sge h STSeeellR2t es9aaRHR6frSsa az Ta
cry centre and bull's-eye of fashion /;
ut of gentlemen how many? Let us
axe a scrap of paper, and each make
Mt his list. "-7insley's Magazine.