The Canton advocate. [volume] (Canton, D.T. [S.D.]) 1877-1897, 1881-09-29
y
BANNERS.
fhe Claims OF Mcn OF Different M.
tiOMBlitics uuOu society.

The Claims OF Men OF Different M.
tionnlitics unou Society.
Boston Transcript.
The American >..!l:s e.: &&IIiii:ctively'
and implicitly, n natural and Unborn
right to the Gompanlonship, and. to a
certain extent, the sympathy ofwhom-
soever he meets. The FnsHshman
claims, as instinctively and implicitly,
a right to be left alone whenever and
wherever he please. The one is very
aggressive, the other ever on the defen-
slve. When the two meet on neutral
ground 1t is not unnatural that they
should tread upon each. others toes Il
little, metaphorically speaking. Go up
to an EngliShman in the street and
bluntly ask him the way to such and
such building, and he will reward the
unprovoked onslaught upon his priva-
cy with the very coolest of astonished
stares. But if you preface your ques-
ton with an 81 beg your PARDON lac
knowledging thereby that you are
asking gratuitous favor) he will ans
wer you very civilly indeed, and even
go out of his way to show you yours.
In the dense crowd coming out of one
OF the concerts at a Birmingham festi-
val well-dressed American looked into
the face of an equally well-dressed
Englishman Ia total stranger to him),
and said jokingly, "Pretty tight squeeze,
isn't it?' The Englishman replied, with
whitening GOODNESS, ppm sure can't
see why you should address me in this
disgustingly familiar manner" A con-
versation abruptly launched into in an
English railway carriage will probably
be cut short at the outset by what
strikes us Americans as very gratuitous-
ly rude curtness. But if the converse
ton is introduced by that unfalling
open sesame, 81 beg your pardon" it
will How on very pleasantly and likely
as not end in an invitation to pass a
week or so at country house. Amer
leans are often shocked at the appar-
emily insolent bearing of Herman shop
keepers, especially of German bankers.
1t rarely occurs to them that they
themselves have opened hostilities, as
1t were, by breaking the very first rule
of German good-breeding in keeping
their hats on. In Germany a man lust
as scrupulously takes off his hat, and
keeps il off, in a shop or counting-room
as in a lady's parlor.
An American of our acquaintance
happened to be one of q party of six
who went to the top of a certain tower
in Germany, the view from which is
famous. The party was shown the way
by the daughter of the guardian of the
tower, q comely young girl of II or
whereabouts; our friends treated her
with common politeness, but French
man, who was one of the party, was so
demonstrative and overwhelmingly at
tentive and gallant that the Americans
began to feel as if he had been some
what rude in comparison with such
pyrotechnie display of courtesy. Well,
when the party had got to the top of
the tower they only found one chair
there, upon which the Frenchman i'm
mediately seated himself This au-
thentic anecdote is quite Characteristic.
If we Americans stand preeminent for
good, solid, efficient politeness, we GER
tainly are deplorably deficient in man
ner. We have neither the dignified
repose of the English, nor the grace of
continental Europeans. Possibly we
are shy, and try to hide our shyness
under an assumed grufiness of bearing.
Certainly it seems, nine times out of
ten as if All American, even while per-
! fe!n1;n5 d very polite act, ii ought him
self degraded by any outward show of
courtesy. He may willingly and
cheerfully offer his seat to lady, and
be perfectly content to stand himself,
but his manner of making the offer is
almost insulting. He will growl out,
"Take my seat" in a voice that seems
to imply, "and be ID to your Or
else he will make the offer with q jovial
familiarity of manner which would be
quite in keeping between two old pot
companions in q tap room. We may
be rich in the solid gold, but we are
poor indeed in the small change of po-
likeness. Cline words butter no pars-
nips, SAY we; this is mistake; fine
words land manners( butter all sorts of
parsnips; indeed, as Thackeray says,
there are many people whose parsnips
are buttered in no other way.