The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1894-05-12
SOCIAL PRIVILEGES.
What Gentlemen" Are Permit
ted to Do In Europe.
They Need Not Pay Tradesmen's Ellis.
But They Must Play Cards Fairly
some, Queer Notions OF Honor
Among the I. Hoods"

There are many things which it ap-
pears q rentleman may do nowaday-
in Europe without incurring the loss G
his right to that designation by societ.
or forfeiting what the elatter-reg a.
his 'honor," says writer in the New
York Tribune. Thus he may avoid
paying his creditors, provided they are
tradespeople or friends, who, instead OF
being content with his plighted word,
have accepted the additionalsecurity of
q promissory note. Indeed, the passing
of any paper between creditor and
debtor is held to remove the obligation
from the list of debts of honor and
places it among the so-called trades
mems debts" the nonpayment Of which
involves no loss Of "gentilhommerie"
or Of "honor." Debts of honor, that
is to say, loans based merely upon YER
bal obligations and bets. mnst be paid
at all cost, according to the ethics gov
erning the ''code of honor" even If
the debtor has to obtain the money by
means Of methods which verge not
only upon the dishonorable, but even
on the criminal. It is for this reason
that we sometimes hear Of young men
going to. the length OF stealing their
mothers jewels or forging the name OF
their nearest and dearest relatives, as
did the eldest son Of an English peel
the other day, for the sake Of paying
their debts of honor, falling which.
they can no longer hope to retain the
social status of gentleman. One has
heard of men committing suicide, like
young Count Alloys Hardegg few
weeks since at Vienna. and the last
marquis of Hastings, years ago in Lon
don, because they were unable to pay
their ''debts of honor" but One has
never heard of . gentleman taking
his own life because he could not pay
his tailor. al Il ua ~ ~
Connection with divorce suit, far
from detracting from the ''status of
gentleman" is, on the contrary, rather
q feather in his cap, excepting in
cases where the correspondent pre-
fers to speak the truth and acknowl-
edge his guilt rather than perjure him
self in the witness box tlike a gentle
man." The most mortal of all sins in
the eyes of society, the one that en-
tails above everything else the forfeit
ure of the title of gentleman and Of
all honor is unfair play at cards; and
it is no secret that the majority of the
great families in Europe would init
.nitely prefer to have murderer among
their relatives than man convicted of
the ofcnse which resulted in the SO
cial ostracism Of Sir William Gordon
Cumming, of the duke of Roxcburghe's
son-in-law, George Russell, and Of
Maj or, Hon. Walter Harbord, brother
of Lord Sufield. These perhaps are
the principal things which q gentle
man" and "a man of honor may and
may not do according to the teaets of
old world society. The latter may be
summed mp in brief as the payment of
debts of honor, reticence with regard
to all affairs de coeur'' and playing
fairly at cards. Provided a man does
not break these three commandments
he may commit every other sin with
impunity, and if only he be of gentle
birth his shortcomings will be regard
ed merely in the light Of venal cccen-
tricitieS, --..,~.....