The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1881-10-07
MANNERS
The Claims of Men Of Different Nation
alities Upo'nSOclety.


alities Upo'nSOcloty.
The American claims instinctively and
implicitly a natural and Unborn right to the
companionship and, to a certain extent, the
sympathy Of whomsoevor he meets. The
Englishman claims, asinstinctively and i'm.
plictly, right to be left alone whenever
and wherever he pleaSes. The one is very
aggressive, the other ever on the defensive.
When the two meet on neutral ground It Is
not unnatural that they should tread upon
each others toes little, metaphorically
speaking. Go up to an Engishman in the
street and bluntly ask him the way to such
and such building, and he Will reward the
uprovoked onslaughtcr upon his privacy
with the very coolest of astonished Stares.
But1fyon preface your question with an ~
beg your pardon" acknowledging thereby
that You are asking gratuitous tav0r) he
will answer YOU very Cyilly indeed, and even
70 out of his way TO show you yours. In the
dense crowd coming out of one of the CON
certs at birmingham festival well-dressed
American looked into the face OF an equally
well-dressed Engishmnn "a total stranger
TO him), and said jokingly, Pretty tight
piled, with whitening GOODNESS: I'm sure
can't see why you should address me in
this discustingy familiar mannerW A CON
versatiOn abruptly launched into in an En-
gliSh railway carriage will probably be cut
short ut the outset by what strikes us
Americans as very gratuitously rude curt
ness. But ifthe conversation IL introduced
by that unfailing open sesame, 81 bog your
pardon" 1t will flow on very pleasantly and
likely as not end In an invitation to pass u
week or so at country house, Americans
are often shocked at the apparently inso-
lent bearing of German shop-keepers, es-
pecially of German bankers. 1t rarely oc-
ours to them that they themselves have
opened hostilities, as it were, by breaking
the very first rule of German good-brceding
by keeping their hats on. In Germany a
man Just as scrupulously takes Off his hat,
and Keeps it Off, In shop or counting-room
as In lady's pnrlor.
An American Of our acquaintance hap
pened to be one of party Of six who went
10 the top of certain tower In Germany the
view from which is famous. The party
were shown tho way by q daughter Of the
guardian of the tower, comely young girl
OF seventeen or thereabouts. Our friend
treated her with common pOitencss but a
Frenchman, who was one Of the party, was
80 demonstrative and overwhelmingly at
tentive and gallant, that tho American be
gan to feel as II he had been somewhat rude
IN comparison with such pyrotcchnic die
play Of courtesy Well, when the party
had gone tn the top of the tower, they only
fou4 one chair upon which the Fronchman
Immediately seated himself This anthem
tic anecdotc is quite characteristic. II we
'Mericans stand pre.eminent for good
~ \. efficient politencss, certainly we arc
sui FULL ably deficient in manner We
ueploh Neither the dignifcd re-
Iave - the English nor the
posc 'uontal Europeans. Possibly
slaoe .. COM aa 'ry to hide our shynoss UNI
dor an assumed Err. Zines ont ' Of Ton ,s i
tainly, it seems nine 'i,'rs or TGr "i og1' as
an American, even Will, 'J W dnnraSd a W.
polite act, thought himso u, e'I IT, oy
any outward show of court, y, iu .'a y
willingly and cheerhly offer - so s,,n "
lady, and be perfectly content o 'SiJ,u
himself but his manner OF making ia V ,,,,
is almost insulting. He will growl Nv
"Take my seat" in q voice that seems I,
imply, "and he id to yon," Or else he
win make the offer with jovial familiarity
of manner which would be quite in keeping
between two old pot companions in tap
room. We may be rich In tho solid gold
but we are poor indeed in the small change
of politeneSs, "Finc words butter no pars-
nips," say we; this is u mistake; fine words
land manners) butter all sorts or parsnipS;
indeed, as Thackeray says, there arc many
pc Nle whose pn~Snips are buttered in no
o.. Jr way Boston Transcript.