The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1890-02-16
HOW TO PLAY THE GENTLEMAN.

The Whole Duty Of Man a2d the Ar
of Pleasing" is the title given to
series of fourteen letters addressed e
che g0dson when he was a boy of abOu
eleven years. he desired the boy &c
read over these letters twice and keel
them b. hum. But we can imagine
boy OF eleven and rather stupid beins
bored by them. Ii he read them care
fully for once it was probably as much
ss he could do. The advantages oil
pleasing were insisted on by Chester
field in nearly All the letters. 81 an
very sorry 20 tell you, be wrote n
one ct the first of the whole collection
and hs repeatedly returns % the sub
iecf. as il previous letters had wrought
no change, "that you have not Pair dc
Ia p0it.ho. for YOU have got an odiou'
Urick of NOS looking people ma the face
who speak i0 you or whom you SPEAK
t0 This is q most shocking trick and
implies guilt. fear. or InattentiOn, and
gol must absolutely be cured Of It, OF
nobody Will love you Other points
be makes are these:
Whenever you present yourself OF
are presented for the first time in com
DanY. study TO make the first impress
sion you give of yourself as advan-
ageOus az possible. This you can only
i0 at first by what some people com
monty call tries. which arc air. dress
lld address. Here invoke the assist
luce of the Graces. Even that silly ar
.icle of dress is no triile upon these oc.
,asions. Never be the fret nor the last
iu the fashion. Wear as h1e clothes as
those of your rank commonly do, and
rather better than worse. and when you
are well dressed once day do not
seem t0 know that YOU have any clothes
DO at an. bat leo your carriage aud mo-
ion bee as easy as they could be no your
4ight gowns. Let your adj
lress whom YOU firstco intoany com
1luv Do modest. but without lhe least
0ashlllness or sheepi5hness. steady
without impudence. aud as uuembar-
assed as III you were inyOur own room.
ih3 is difficult point TO bic. and,
therefore,. deserves great attention T,
nothing bnt long usage Of the world
and in the best company can possibly
give 10.
In one E the letters Chesterfield went
SO far as 10 say that "A man who does
l0t generally please is nobody He
added further shat " constant endeay0r
30 please will infallibly please. 20 a GER
ain degree at least. With all this
care for the manners Of hissuccessOr, It
really distressing 90 be reminded Of
Nme. d 'Arblay's remark concerning
aim. She thought in 1890 that Ches-
erhel3 would blush TO- behold his sue
.ess0r. He hasas little breeding. said
she. 81 az any man ever met with. The
Jest chat LOsd ClInarvOn has % say for
aim Is that he was able 20 please George
III. as Master of the Horse and had ac-
.uracy and method TO keep diary and
lu interesting weather record. He says
plainly that the hope of the old states
man was the father of his thought.
Philip S,anh0pe was net the stuff out
Of which high eminence in statesman
ship OK letters could be carved. aud all
tnal can be honestly said of him Is that
ae was % sensible aud kindly If rather
comm lnplace man. whose life was tie
ABSOLUTE opposite 20 that Of his god
iather. and whose qualities were
schpsed by the brilliant memories OF
MS predecessor. The mans nature
really lacked she natural material with
which eminence must be achieved. and
all the external finish that could be
sa0wered on him by fond old man
4vailed tor naught. The result illus
rated. as il the irony of it had been the
result OF design. the ia.al defect in
Chesterfield 8 whole life his oyeresti-
nate of the value OF ihe Outsides Of
hiugs. Accomplished diplomatist that
mo- was. he had q strange inability to
5se what things were real and what
we're not.