The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1886-01-07
SNOBS, CADS, AND COCK
News
The Wide Distinctions That Separate These
Sorts Of Persons.

NEYS.
The Wide Distinctions That Separate These
Sorts Of Persons.
ssSnobs, cads, AMI cockneys," said
an authority upon the subject. ''are
terms that, in this country espe-
cially. are often q good deal mixed and
interchauged. The fact is they express
three wholly distinct ideas. 1t may
sound strange to you. but either
snob or cockney may be gentleman.
A cad, of course, eau never be a gem
tleman. inasmuch as in England, where
the term had its origin. it's meaning is
something the very reverse of ali we
understand by the word gentleman
will begin with the snob.
1.-The story has been often told Of
three men who were travelling in a
compartment of an English railroad
carriage. The two more simply-dress-
ed men were dukes, ahd were acquaint-
ed with each other. The most showi-
ly-dressed person was a commercial
traveller, who soon got into conversa-
ton with the other two. At last the
train stopped, and one of the noble
men got out. The manner in which he
was received by the porters and others
on the platform startled the CONNER
cial traveller, and, turning to his re-
manning companion, he hastily asked:
Who is that gcntleman?'
That, was the reply, was the
duke Of
Good Lordp cried the astounded
drummer, what extraordinary conde-
scension on the part Of his grace to be
nf
snobs like you and mel
"Now, that man was not a snob at
all, though he thought he was. He was
only cad. Had he been snob, he
would have seen no especial conde-
scension in any duke chatting with
him, and even had he felt little proud
of the exalted company he was in he
would never have mentioned the fact
10 anybody else.
"A snob invariably has very good
opinion of himself, but he has This ad-
vantage. he does not take the trouble
to point out in one way or another his
| merits to- every one with whom he
comes in contact, for he entertains no
shadow of doubt that they are as ap-
parent to all corners as to himself. He
dresses with q taste that may often be
questioned, but he usually follows his
own Judgment. however faulty that
may be, and when he copies the style
adopted by some other person it Is the
garb he initiates, not the man who is
in it. He is above the latter weakness,
for he is not usually funkey. A sto-
ry is told of a man who went to take a
plunge in large inclosed bath, but
did not go in because he detected dry
salter in the water. He paid for his
bath. and went out without saying a
word about his reason for changing his
mind. He did not wish to offend or
annoy the dry salter; but neither did
he want to bathe with him. He was
not cad, for q cad, had he decided
upon the same course, would have tax
en- care, quite regardless of the feelings
of the dry salter, to boast of his rea-
sons for not bathing, and have made
them as public as possible. Snobs are
| often fayorite members of the highest
and most refined classes of society, for
there is, as rule, nothing cringing, or
| mean, or repulsive about them. They
| draw very rigid rules separating social
| ranks. and place themselves, honestly
believing they are right, well up in the
scale.
''The term 'cad' is not very we'll
| known in America. The person it is
| applied to, however, is familiar OBJ
| ject enough. He may be very clever
man, and a very just and honest man,
| for the blackguard is widely distin-
guished from the cad. But he is an
utterly insupportable fellow. He never
| wearies OF telling his companions what
good company he keeps; how the no.
| bility yearn Tor his society, and often
| yearn in vain. He knows we'll enough
that he is a low-natured and unattract-
i've sort of fellow. When he accident
| ally drifts into the society where he
! processes to move he sinks at once into
| his proper position, and makes no at
tempt to stand on equality with, those
around him, though all that is forgot
ten when he speaks of the event to his
friends on the following day. A cor
ner loafer! Oh, no. The corner loaf
er is a blaekguard, pure and simple,
and much more dangerous than the
cad, who, though a horrible bore, is
comparatively harmless.
.'Of course the cad must occasional
| ly acknowledge that he has been be-
yond his depth, and this generally oc-
| ours When he Is SurprlSed-aS IN the
case of the commercial traveller on the
railroad train, who fancied that he was
a snob, while he was something much
| worse.
''As for the cockney, he is very easi-
ly defined. Long ago the term was
used to signify person very delicately
nurtured, but that meaning has passed
away. The best sailors l have had,
said sea captain to me one day, 'are
cockneys, when they are once broken
in to the work; but not one in a million
| wants to 60 to sea at ALL s.s
| ''Cockney, like cad, is an almost ex-
| clusiTely London term. The cockney
may belong to any grade of society,
high, low, or middle, and in any part
of the world a man of the loftiest
standing, when questioned as to his
nationality, will often say with pride:
i am a cockney,' meaning that he lie a
Loudoner, born and bred in the city,
and thoroughly devoted to it. This
being the meaning OF the term, it may
be and sometimes is applied to people
| Of other cities. A gentleman in Paris
once said to me: i am going back to
New York next week; it Is the only city
in the world worth living in. Certain
| ly he was New York cocxney.-NelU