Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1894-05-30
SOCIAL PRIVILEGES.
What Gentlemen Ara Permit
ted to Do In Europa
They Need Mt Try Trsdesmen's Enis.
hut They Must Piay cards Fairly
Som, Queer Soticns ffIouor
Amoag the " u oods-"

There are many things which it up
pears gentleman may do nowadays
in Europe without mourning the loss of
his right to that designation by society
or FORGETTING what the latter regards us
his honor" says n writer in the New
York Tribune. Thus he may avoid
paying hi creditors, provided they are
tradespcople or friends, who, instead of
being content wit his plightcd word,
have accepted the additional security of
pro,.iissory 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 nonpaymcnt Of which
involves no loss of '.gentilhonmcrie
or of honor" Debts of honor, that
is to say, loans based merely upon yer-
bal obligations and bets. must be paid
mt all cost, according to the ethics gov
erning the code of honor" oven IL
the debtor has to obtain the money by
means OF methods which verge not
only upon the dishonorable, but even
on the criminal. 1t is for this reason
that we sometimes hear OF young men
going to the length Of stealing their
mothers jewels or forging the lame of
their nearest and dearest latiyes, as
did the eldest son of an English peer
the other day, for the sake of paying
their debts OF honor, failing ,hich,
they can no longer hope to retain the
social status of n gentleman One has
heard OF men committing suicide like
young Count Alloys H"rdegg 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 n gentleman taking
his own life because he could not pay
his tailor.
Connection with n divorce suit. far
from detracting from the status OF q
gentleman" is, on the contrary, rather
cases where the correspondent pre-
fers to speak the truth and lc8nowl-
edge his guilt rather than perjure him.
self in the witness box like gentle
man." The m at mortal of all sins in
the eyes OF society, the one that en-.
tails above every thing else the forfeit
urc of the title of gentleman AMI of
all honor is unfair play at cards; and
it is no secret that the majority Of the
great families in Europe wouli init
nitely prefer to have n murderer among
their relatives than n man convicted Of
the ofTense which resulted in the no.
cial ostracism of Sir William Gordon
Cumming, Of the duke of Roxeburghe's
son-in-law, George Russell, and Of
Maj )r. Hon. Wslter Harbord, brother
of Lord SufY,cld. These perhaps arc
the principal things which a gentle
man" and "a man Of honor may and
NAV not do ACCORDING to the tcnets Of
old world society. The latter may be
summed up in brief rs the payment OF
debts Of honor, reticencc with regard
to all affairs de occur" and playing
fairly At cards. Provided 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 eccen'
tricities.