Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1877-07-10
Y. WHITMORE,
Publisher and Proprieto,
THE AMERICAN GENTLEMAN.

We should Create standard OF
AEle lean Character and man.
hOOd.
Senator Bayard's Phi Beta Kappa Address at
Harvard.
| never reflect upon the breadth
and generosity of the underlying
idea Of the system of our govern
ment, with all its manly equities,
its constant demand upon its citi-
zens for the most elevated senti-
ments known to our nature, and
the opportunities afforded for their
exercise, that it does not appear to
me more, and beyond all other
forms of government yet devised,
the most favorable theater for the
exercise of all the qualities that
dignity and adorn mankind, and
that if penetrated with true sense
Of the part which each man among
lis should bear in such a plan, an
American citizen ought to be in the
best sense Of the word a gentleman.
| have had good reason to realize
the exacting nature of the toll and
varied occupation Of our busy strug-
gle in American life, and amid what
a rush of events we have been cary
ing civilization out of the wilder.
ness, emulating with hotimpatience
the results and accumulations OF
centuries Of work and thought
in the older nations. The
graces Of life - those fruits
of repose and well earned
wealth and leisnre-are of gradual
growth, and have been necessarily
postponed until our temple of civil
and religious liberty was erected
upon secure foundations and our
grand experiment of self-control by
a free people shall have been well
tested. Art, its studies and higher
influences, do not underrate, and
the great advantages it can impart
to its disciples, but personal contact
has taught me how much of that
true refinement, delicacy of senti-
ment, and sensitive consideration
for the feelings Of others, which we
Justly regard as the best fruit Of
high breeding and culture, can and
does exist in the simplicity Of Amer
lean society, uninstructed by even
that European example which to
some of our countrymen seems tho
necessary imprimatur of social sue
cess.
The American snob has none OF
the inducements or excuses of his
British brother, and when he fol-
lows in his track and gilds and
veneers his pettiness and vulgarity
in imitation Of rank and distin-
guished station, he sins more against
nature and the honest simplicity
and natural dignity which are akin
to Republican institutions, and
which may well be worn by every
man who lives under them accord
ing to their true and manly spirit.
1t is in our power to create a
standard of American character
and manhood as lofty as that Of
any age or nation, and to compel
our representatives at home and
abroad to conform their conduct to
it. The spirit of true chivalry in
all its gentleness and unselfshnesS,
showing tenderness to the feeble
and resistance to the oterbearing,
mercy to whom mercy is due, and
honor to whom honor, can and does
exist in America to-day, under the
"hodden gray" Of the laborer and
mechanic, the threadbare coat Of
the clerk or the grave garb Of the
hard worked merchant or man Of
the professions, as truly as it ever
did under the helmet and chain
armcr of any knight-errant in the
Olden time. U
The American people can justly
demand from those who are dele
gated to represent them abroad or
at home a punctilious observance
Of honor and delicate pride in their
private and public conduct, and the
moral influence to be obtained by
dignifed self-respcct, intelligence
and high personal integrity will far
outweigh any attempted competi-
ton with the show and glitter Of
] -. ID. .