Clarksville evening chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn) 1886-1890, 1888-10-06
OUR ANGL0MANIAeS.
IN FORMER DAYS FRENCH WAYS
WE'RE THE FASHION.

Anglomania Confined to a Limited Class.
The American Habit OF Mind Is Re
sponsibIe for 1t All - Rot Serious
DTattey.
The newspapers are constantly satirizing n
Tendency to Anglonania, which is said to
prevail just now IN American society, or at
least in few cities and watering places
along tho Atlantic shore. 1t is not habitually
mentioned that this is but swing Of tho
same pendulum which seemed, twenty years
ago, to be swinging the other way, and
carrying us away from everything English
and toward everything French. The same
pendulum has been steadily vibrating, IN
deed, ever since the foundation of our gov
eminent, and its movements have never had
any great or important influence upon the
mass Of the American people Be this as 1t
may, 1t is perfectly certain that the whim in
fashion thirty and even twenty years ago
was quite unlike what it now IS.
Good Americans were said, when they
died, 10 go to Paris, and even the wit OF Tom
4 App1eton never ventuFed to suggest that
they should 60 TO London. At Newport 1t
was for many years held essential TO do
thingsin The French way, not the English
1t wars ut che French ccrTt that fashionable
Americans yearped to be presented; they
uniformly preferred to live on the other sido
Of thu English channel SDd remember 70
have;Aas this explained TO me by man d
some Aashion, on the ground that II an ambi-
RowS American taasly RveA ia PAYk shey
wei@ not vexed W being omitted from this or
tllaA entertainments OF the mobility; wbeFOae
sv,E Il Io,oa
spoShn, thas sort of omission chafed thorn tar
moAa The peasoR tfras assigned may have
been Aimsy, bus the fact recognized was I'm
portant; it indicsted period when FreEch
standards, nob English, prevailed Isl ony
more FASHIONABLE society.
~ K sflAfES CLASS.
tbhnuA be remembered that An8IoRlaRia h
confAed among US to limited class, and 70
certain very limited pursuits and interests N
that class 1t does not exist, for instance,
anloag our men OF science, inasmrch as they
20 to Germany IN shoals for study, and rarely
visit gland since Sic death Of Darwin 1t
IL na~ charged upon our htoraIy men, since
the death Of Richard Grant White, who was,
aoreo~~, ~ sytkntly anti-English in some
dixaettonsss he was vehemently English in
othoa 1t is not found IN our journalism,
whica sspires 30 lead tho English and actually
leadA It In enterprise, while falling behind
in eTtnacSs o6 execution and in the pliDop
prui%vSet!ss Of HE. b ia Not to b. found IN
our public school system o. in our ceilsgs
systssns, for these, where tb0y Gre not Atncr.
can, arc German II Is not found in our
library methods, for In the librarians' con
ventions of tie last Few years Americans
have led and not followed. Even when we
n como on more intimate and domestic ground
limitations still exist. Our standard Of
cookery, so far as we have any, Is French and
not English.
No American Indy would wish TO bocharsed
with dressing like an English woman, and no
American man, when travelling anywhere
hut IN England, would wish to be taken for
an Englishman, for the simple reason that
Americans are everywhere 30 much more
popular. Tho key to this alleged Anglo
MANIA therefore, is simply this: tbat the
American habit Of mind Is essentially cOsno-
politan, and goes to each nation for that
which il finds best of its kind Asuncrringly
Gs it goes to Germany for its scientific in
str,lct.ons or TO France for its cooks so it
goes 10 England for what is not so we'll to he
found in France or Germany--the minor
convcniences and facilities which belong to a
highly trained leisure cnss
BORROWING FEOa ABROAD.
n Itself newly developed, this American class
4 fnrns to England for good standard OF
y fainor essentials, as morse equipments and
coachmen's clothes 1t borrows more than
than these; it borrews those accessories of
high bred life which promote daily comfort
and convenience, the organization Of a large
hutiseholl, the routine OF social ljfc. In these
directions England is very strong, though it
may be doubted if this is the highest sphere,
il il can be set against the dignity Of the best
Spanish or Italian manners, the keenest OF
French wit, and the depth and soldity OF
German knowledge. These also are fully
appreciated among u.s. but their traces do
not lilo so much on the surface. All thesc
things, 50 far rs we can, we borrow; why
not? If older nations borrow from ono an.
other, why not younger from olderi It is no
dlscrcdit to England that her one nigh philo-
logical authority, Max Muller, Is German
and that her one humorous periolicaL-in
America every newspaper is humorous still
bears traces Of its French origin ia tho title
Punch, or The London Chlrivari. Tho ing
= lisl Journals are constantly pointing out that
their own people IRE becoming Americani.cd ;
why, then, should not an American hero or
there be AnglicizedI l. is pretty certain all
the while that vo arc oxertins far more in
ilnaacc than we receive.
Let us not disturb ourselves Dat Of TIE
fifty millions Of Americans tho passing wave
Of Anglomania or Francoulania reaches but
a few thousands, ard merely touches those
on tho surface. Even tho young men whom
it roaches arc ut heart good Americans
From T. w. IIiSsinson's Men and Women
Cash for Her Diamonds.