New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-10-02
VULGIRTTY IN HIGH LIFE.

IF the full history of the recent railway
excursions in the Northwest should ever be
written, some extraordinary incidents would
have to be disclosed to an astOnished world.
A few odd things have already been published.
We hear of foreigners in good social position,
begging for invitations to a free journey and
entertainment, and behaving with such rude
ness to their hosts and their fellow guests as
TO be q nuisance to the whole party. We
hear Of sOme men whose conduct was so bad
that they were expelled from the train. We
hear of unparalleled liberties taken with the
purse and credit of the entertainers, who were
Obliged on several occasions to interfere for
the purpose of keeping the guests within
bounds. Altogether the noble and aristocratic
visitors seem to have regarded the Yellow
stone and Northern Pacific excursions as
public scrambles out of which they were to
get all they could. The smartest man was he
who snatchcd first at whatever he wanted. AS
for the mutual respect and courtesy which are
supposed to prevail between the master of the
feast and his company, of these it is hard to
find any trace.
The worst offenders appear to have becl
English gentlemen. We use the word gentle
man of course in the conventional sense, to
indicate the position which these persons are
supposed to hold in their own country. 1t
might, surprise us to observe such unpardOn-
able breaches Of dccOrum on the part of men
who are never done complaining of the yul-
garity of Americans, and whose newspapers
lament the annual summer migration of
Yankee tourists as an Eruption Of barbanansj
but those who have studied the average
British tourist are well aware that he is one
of the most unmanDcrly Of civilized beings.
Whether he Is a lord or a bagmdn, whether
ne is climbing the Alps or doing the States"
no c1ccls all the rest Of mankind in the
faculty of making himself disagrccable. He is
not offensive ut home but when he goes
abroad he leaves his good behavior behind
him. He puts off conventionality of manners
along with conycntionality of dress. Polite
ness is a duty which one assumes along with
frock-co and silk hats with a suit OF tweeds
comes the liberty to make ones self comfort
able and do as one pleascs.
The origin of this odious habit is the con-
vction, deep-rooted in The breast of so many
Englishmen, that nothing outside of England
il of much account. 1t is not necessary to be
ceremonious in the States, because the Yankees
are not Engishmcn. 1t is no shame to beg
for favors, because this country is not like
England. 1t is no disgrace to abuse liberal
mans hospitality; "of course one wouldn't
edo 1t at home, but here, you know, its differ
tent Most of the offenders probably do not
care for the disapprobation Of the people
whom they have aflrontcd; and we dare say
that even the young men who were put of
the cars in the Rocky Mountains regarded
their expulsion only as piquant Western
adventure which could not possibly hurt their
reputation ut home.
Nevertheless there il considerable section
of English society which cherishcs the idea
that a gentleman at home is also a gentleman
abroad and which will read the accounts from
the Willard and Hatch excursions with NORTH
cation and resentment. And therefore we
are glad that some Of the newspaper corre-
spondcnts in speaking of the scandals to which
we have referred have not hesitatcd to mem
ton certain names.