The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1886-03-26

What iA Lnhv.

lne ucHnltlOn Ot u hlM DIG Idea.
says the Saturday Revietc, 10 The
great difficulty OF lexicOgi nphera
aud treatises on ethics IL u almost.
or, according to some, quite inpOa
sible. But some very complicated
ideas are almost equally incapable
OF exact definitions. Five hundred
years ago Nine. Barnes Of Sopwell
PriOry, or the writer Of the BOke of
st. AlbaUs, whoever she was, en.
deaI ored with singular want OF
success, to tell "hOw gentlemen
should be known from nngentle.
mem" The virtues ut chivaIry aIe
enumerated without giving US u
very distinct idea of knighthood,
aud then We come TO the nine arti.
cIes of ~gentleness, which are these F.
That a gentleman should be lOrdly
of cOuntenallce, treatable In Lam
guagc, wise in his answer, perfect
in governance, cheerful to faithful.
ness, that he should use few Oaths
iu swearing. be "bOxOm 10 Goddis
byddyng," knowing his own birth
and bearing and dreading TO 0ftepd
bis sovereign. No doubt these are
all marks Of "genlleness," but most
enQuilers will waut a httlU more.
DR.. johnson Is not more explicit.
According to him breeding is The
chief thing. A gentleman, he says
is "a man of birth, a man OF ex-
traction, though not noble" bat he
allows, rs . secondary meaning, "a
man raised above the vulgar BY his
character OF post" S:%lne Julians
avoids any attempt TO Tell N ''what
is a lady," althoughin her process
of Hawking" she teaches US that
"there is a merlyOn ; and that hawk
is for lady J" and Informs us, more.
over, that 'gentlemt and honest
persons have great delight in hawk
ing" johnson says u lady is ~
woman of high rank" But neither
the writer of four centuries ago
nor the writer of one could have
anticipated that a time would come
every human female would be
'lady" and when it would be-
as rude to speak of u "wOman0 ms
Of 'a fellow" A modern says, very
stnsibly ri am sometimes inclined
10 wonder whether any disgrace is
supposed to be attached to the word
woman, so entirely has 1t dropped
'ut of The vocabulary of every one
as referring 20 eople Is quite
he poor or labOring classes
wider experience would have taught
he author of u little book on this
question that even members OF the
abOring classes refer to their wives
ladies, and would be shocked TO
Iear the called women. Far be it
any II to grudge them tho
tile ; for, AS tue writer suggests,
he world iS not 10 pure, SO refined,
+ its manners so gracious that wa
u it which contains the most SOFT
ming influence which human kind
las never bowed to-" Nevertheless,
/ cannot be denied that the word
} SO often misnsetl aud misapplird
hat ii is in danger Of being grad.
ally degraded, like "knave," "yil-
lin, y ''bOor," and other expressions
as Archbishop Trench Oh
have ''deteaiOrated and de-
The servant girl who wants to be
quite the lady" would probably
AZ that fine clothes are indispelSa-
le. On this point, however, wo
told, with some emphasis, that
ress "dOes not make u lady il has
al all 10 do With making
This is a hard saying and to
Q received with difficulty, yet it
1nveys a truth. So long as she is
can aud Eeat, ~'tlressiug we'll or
nd has nothing ut all to do with
ladyhOod." Again, the posses.
on OF riches does not, aud never
make "a lady. "TO Judge peo.
not by what they are, but by
hat they have, is one of the COM
onest vulgarisms of the age.o
lnally, rank does not make "A lady,
as the writer observes further on,
good manners r confined to no
nk OF life, or grade of society.
ne wife of a iaborer may have
; a Duchess may be without
en-" Besides good manners, self.
ntrol is one is one of the necessa
rs prescribed. "If your cook has
EN- impertinent, or your trades.
Ople Iiresome, it Ii better, as Il
lie, to keep those facts to YOUR
IT," 1t Is unladylIke to make
de and personal remarks to tsmem-
rs OF your " family and house.
Id, however nearly related they
" be.' Probably every success
generation make the same 2ons.
iinU OF the decay Of family man
We always think we were
IRE respectful to our parents than
r children are to Us. Perhaps
we've; bHt similar complaints
" be found In many old books.
rtainly, however, whether it is a
Od or a bad feature of modern
'iety, the manners of girls in the
sons OF their families are, to put
mildly, very blunt. Sinceritp4fs /
ried to an extreme fauf.
lighters take 1t upon themselves
reprove their mothers with great
ility. The elder folks ara NOT
to know what is nova
rs considered aesthetic or IN vood