The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1886-07-10
THE GENTLEMAN.
"When Adam delved and Even span,
Where was then the gentleman?"


He appears to be man of leisure and
manners. He dresses in the height of
fashion, and sports an enormous dia-
mond ring. 1t is whispered around that
he is a gambler, and that some of our
fast young men have found out, to their
cost, how he gets his money. One of
these ladies was demonstrating with
the other for riding and walking with
this equivocal stranger. And she re-
piled: 81 don't care what you say
about Mr.. Smith, know that he is a
gentleman, for see how soft and white
his hands are" That was her ideal. /
looked at my hands, embrowned and
hardened by honest toll, and began to
wonder if 1 had any right to go even to
a church sociable.
One Of the lacy correspondents of
newspaper wrote of Edwin Booth. the
actor: "He is perfect gentleman. 1
know he is, for 1 have seen him eat.
Only a born gentleman could handle
fork as he does" So here is another
test. Vulgar people use their knives
too much; but those who are thorough
ly genteeI can manage that table imple-
ment, which the Hoosier called ''split
spoo1," as skillfully as the Chinaman
handles his chop-sticks.
Two young ladies were discussing
their beaux. 81 would not let John
Jones wait on me-" said one, "for he is
only mechanic. Peter Prim, my beau,
is gentleman. "Well," said the 9TH
er, II don't see where the great differ
ence is. One sits on bench and makes
the shoes, while the other stands be-
hind the counter and sells them. Why
is it more genteel to sell a thing than
to make it ?" That was poser, but
young lady No. l, though silenced, was
not convinced. She regarded Peter
Prim as a merchant, and of course a
gentleman; while John Jones was only
a workingman.
A owns one of the best farms in this
region. He has fine orchard on it.
He cultivates his trees with his own
hands. He brings in loads Of fruit when
ripe for B to sell. B don't own any
thing but a suit of store Clothes"
which he wears every day, and breast
pin. He rents a room ten feet square,
and there he disposes of AS fruit by
the box or the pound. In the estima-
ton of a good many people, A is a rus
tic, countryman, a clodhopper; while
B is a gentleman. Young ladies
brought up to be mere parlor orna-
ments despise the man who raises the
fruit, and smile upon the man who sells
it.
l stumbled upon an English book Of
etiquette the other day. In it | found
this curious statement: GA gentleman
may carry book through the streets if
it is not wrapped, but if it is done up
in wrapping paper it becomes parcel,
and must be carried by servant. The
wrapping paper makes wonderful diff
ference. And so absurd are the fash
ionable ideas of refinement and gen.
tiiity.
The story about Chief Justice Mar
shall has been told good many times,
but will bear telling again. AS he was
taking morning walk, plainly dressed,
he encountered young man who was
standing at market stall, evidently in
great perplexity. A basket of moder-
ate size was before him, and he was
saying to the market man: 81 wonder
where all the niggers are this morning?
l can't find any to carry my basket
home" The chief justice said: Where
do you live?""No. 200 Avenue A." was
the reply. WE'LL" he said, :" as | am
going your way, will carry your bas-
ket for you" They started, the judge
carrying the basket. The young man
noticed that the people they met all
bowed very politely to his volunteer
porter, and wondered who he could be.
The basket was deposited at the door.
Pay was offered, but refused. What
did it mean? Next day, while walking
with a friend, this young man saw his
volunteer porter in group of lawyers.
He asked: "Who is that plain old fell
low that they are all listening to ?"
"John Marshall, Chief Justice of the
United States" He carried my mar
ket basket home for me yesterday.
Why do you think he did it ?" "To
teach you the difference between
real gentleman and snob," was the
caustic reply.
If some of these modern aristocrats
who consider labor degrading had gone
into the carpenter shop of Joseph about
A. d. 2S or 30, and seen young man
named Jesus at work there, they would
have decided at once that he was no
gentleman. If they had gone into the
rooms of Aquilla, at Corinth, few
years later, and seen Paul sewing on
tents (''for he abode with them and
wrought xvii, 81, they would
have despised him because his hands
ministered to his necessities. They
would not have gone to the synagogue