National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1878-03-09

ih"' W m"h was ever HlNcn.
The grand opening Of the franklin TEMPER
ance Legion hall, iibrary and reading room,
corner Of Sixth and e streets, will occur to-
night, upon which occasion there will be vocal
| and instrumental music, Rotations. and short
addresses by ladies and gentlemen of the city.
The committee Of arrangements are Mcssrs
c. III. Davis, W. H. Towers, and II. J. Kehr.
For the Corner
There are no two words in the English Ian
guage 50 often misappled as lady" and gen
tleman." Almost every man considers himself
gentleman, and likewise every woman thinks
hcrsclfa lady.
Sou read over the advertising columns of tho
New York papers, or the list of wants" In our
Washington papers, and AN advertisement like
the following attracts the eye and provokes .
smile: "a lady wants place rs chambcrmaid
aud waitress; has no objection to assist with
tho washing" or one like this, which | saw .
few days since: "A lady wants offices to clean.
or any kind Of scrubbing to do"
A lady, in the true meaning of the word,
may he so much reduced in circumstances M
TO seek and accept very humble position, but
her good sense would never permit her to ad-
vcrtiso herself Us lady in that connection.
She would leave that for her employers to find
out, which they would, without doubt.
Once was very rudely spoken to by per
son who had an establishment for dying and
cleaning" because | addressed his wife ms
my good wOman." 10 turned upon mo
in an excited manner, and in broken
French said: my wife no woman; she ish
lady" tried to explain that
meant no otcusc; hut il was useless. so lon
the store, in disgrace with its inmates.
What qualities constitute a lady-a gentle
man? Webster says, "a gentleman is one Of
good breeding, politrncss, and civil manners,
rs distinguished from the vulgar aud clown
ish." How many whom we meet daily como
mp TO this standard Yet, the number who
lay claim to these attributes Is very great.
Many men pass for gentlemen who wear we'll
made, neatly-ttting garments Of fine broad
cloth who have pleasant address, make an
elegant bow, dance gracefully, utter agreeable
nOthingS, and 50 forth. But to test the defni-
tiOn you must know the man at home, In pri-
vato life. IL he is kind and considerlte to his
subOrdinatcs and servants; if he Is patient
with the young and crring II he Is tender
and scli.dcnying to the aged IL no deals
gently with the sOrrowing poor; If he gives
his seat in the car cheerfully mot grudgingly)
to the tired woman with the baby, though
she be meanly clad ii he does unto others As
lie would have Others do unto him, he is en-
titled to be called gCntlcman-nay he is
gentleman in the fullest sense of the word,
although his coat may he thread bare, his hat
of last years style, and his manner awkward.
There are many Young women who consider
thCmSClcs ladies, who have good manners for
company and no manners for home. In So
cicty they arc all etiquette and would not DO
guilty Of doing a rude act they are Us pol
shcd rs our Old-hlshiOncd family silvCr, but
ut home they remind one of the plated ware
of the present day; IN public, II they address
4 servant, they prefix their request with
please, and If they receive anything 1t Is al.
ways with thanks" At home. If the maid
Commits
human, they arc severely rcbukcd and some
times II box on tho ear is given. They never
express regret at keeping the poor girl up all
night 10 disrObe them on their return from q
party or ball, neither do they reward her Yn-
firing efforts TO please with u kind word of
praise. They never think how many steps
they might save tho OvrrwOrkCd help by n
little iorcthouGht. It is too much trouble to
amu'c the little ones of the family or gently
'oothc their small gricls and they frown
lwiully ifpapa or mamma have an aged friend
III the paIlor when they expect their bcaux;
il introduced, give half nod and hrt out Of
the room, muttering odd people are so tire
some Should you tell these young womrn
they were not ladies they would open their
eyes very wide, feel very indignant, and cut
you imstautcr.
Men Of education and high position do very
rude, mncyil things, still they consider them
selves gentlemen, and ic the title was denied
them they would be very apt to call for "cof-
fec and pistols for two" man or women
may be the glass of fashion or the mold Of
FORM but unless they show in their daily il.
t"rcOurSe with their tcllOw-man that kind,
sclf-dcnying consideration which hath its
growth IN the heart thoy have no right 10 the
name Of gentleman ar gcntewoman.
There arc very few of the multitude WIN
pass as ladies and gentlemen that have tho
true ring Of tho genuine coin.