The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-03-22
AMERICAN sNOBS IN ENGLAND.
Said to BE quite Up to the duchess
Level of III-Breeding.g

A distinguished Englishman once said
to me: From the few opportunities 1 have
had Of observing. I have been led to be-
lieve thst your countrymen and country
women, while protesting to be democratic
are very anxious to be regarded as aristo-
Gratis. Many of those belonging to your
wealthy class / have met in London soci-
ETY. who in their demeanor are quite up to
our duchess level of ill-breeding. OF
course we understand that all Americans
are not like those we meet in London
houses, but is it not the rule when your
families become rich. they take on new
manners and cut their old acquaintances2
This was an innocently honest expressed
opinion, without an intent to offend, but
construed it into polite way of telling
me that our newly made millionaire class
is made UP of SnObS. From what L have
heard before and since, / am now rather
of the opinion that his question embodies
the belief of large number of the English
who are to be found in the better London
society. 1t goes without saying, among
those who know, that the offensive obser-
VatiOns described applies only TO a COM
paratiVely small number of Americans
who affect the London season, and not to
the great mass who travel for recreation
and observation.
Formerly Americans seeking superior So
cial position in European society made
Paris their headquarters, but since the
had neither season nor court, and those
of our countrymen and untryWomen,
anxious for the recognition of royalty and
nobility, have betaken themselves to Lon
don, where court functions are frequent
and impressive. For the immediate pur-
poses of our ambitious would-be aristoc-
racy, the English court presents a greater
number of available inducements than
either of the others. The Russian court is
too Distant the Austrian too difficult of
access; the Geornan too stiff and unin-
dpmnnrafiCs
Belgian, Dutch and those of Scandinavia
are not of enough social importance to
attract those in search of a social promi-
nence they cannot find in their own coun-
try. For these reasons, and others which
might be enumerated, London is now the
Mecca of a considerable class of wealthy
Americans not satisfied with their home
surroundings.
I am persuaded that by a large majority
of the royalty, nobility and gentry, who
are in the great season swim of London
society, our ambitious worldlings are re-
garded as a parvenu class, aggressive and
not over well bred, in hot pursuit of social
nOtoriety. However, those upper English
classes are very pleased" to accept invi-
tations to partake of the faultless dinners
the parvenu dollars pay for. The noble
guest dimes and Wines while the host and
hostess pay for the hoped-for foothold.
1t has been said that London society IS
composed of two classes, snubbers and
ly one to whom the cold shoulder is pre-
scented. The typical Brummagen pluto
crat, with his ambitious wife and daugh-
tiers, hobbies over very rough road be-
fore reaching the goal, and often after
they have made the entree to the inner
circle, are tolerated rather than weicom-
ed. Among the club smoking-room anec-
dotes illustrative of the yearly crop pass
ed around, for the benefit of the American
English, who think they are in London So
ciety, was one particularly pertinent ana
impertinent. At a swell gathering in a
good house" an American whose wife had
paid a very large sum of money for IT,
IA IL 4 -. Lirner lfgh M
man: Are you acquainted with the,
my son-in-laW?' "Oh, yes" came the quick
reply. II have known him from childhood
and am well acquainted with his detesta-
BILE qualities" l have been Informed that
this was fair specimen of some of the
snubs this particular American has been
subjected to during his many years resi-
dence in England.
There are several well-authenticated in
stances of American heiTesses who had
married into noble English houses having
been informed that their marriage with
titled sons did not necessarily involve
even remote connection with their fam
lilies, and for that reason, upon several
notable brides were not invited to the US
ual wedding breakfasts. Still, the snubS
go on. and still our ambitious (sic) coun-
trymen, and particularly our countryWo-
men, continue to kiss the hands which in
fiict them.
High-Iife associat ions, in Europe gener-
ally, and especially in England, produce
phenomenally abnormal results in the
way of completely revolutionizing Ameri-
can manners and characteristics. l re-
member one incident which is perfectly il
Illustrative of such a change: In PARIS,
few years ago, two Americans walking to-
gether met third who had been educated
in Europe and was then residing in Paris.
He recognized one of the two, but in
marked way failed to notice the other,
and was asked by the one he did notice:
Don't you known my friend - of New
York;" "Oh, have-don't yer know, been
pwesented don't yer see, but you know he
wears a wound hat, wive double-breasted
coat! 1t goes without saying that this
Europeanized American would have been
forever socially coventried by his set if it
had bene known that he recognized in a
public place in large city an individual
wearing a round hat with a double-breast-
Here comes in for solution something of
a problem in sociology, and possibly moral
philosophy. The father of this fastidious
aristocrat commenced his business career
on the Erie canal as a driver and leader
of horses and mules. He was of the usual
sort of such an occupation-strOng, hardy,
pushing, Industrious and frugal, and by
his industry and frugality, as we put it,
made of himself "a self-made man." and
at his demise left a large fortune. AS
we have seen in the example presented
son, it took but one generation to trans
form good, thick, healthy blood into a
thin, colorless sort Of fluid quite impos-
sibe to define. This transition in one
generation changed an entire mental and
physical organization and produced a
sickly sort of weakling, a complete carl
CdIuT6 Oh d. HEdllHy DELL, WnGn We
had the right to expect a man.
The pertinent problem is this: Admitting
the specimen described to be a. fair exam
pie of our aristocracy of the present time,
very much in evidence at home and in
Europe, is it worth while, from a polit-
ical national, or social standpoint, to at
tempt to stem the rapidly increasing cur
rent of apparent decay of a healthy ma
tional spirit and the weakening of the
mental faculties? What will be the result
in another hundred years of the presence
among US of a numerous idle class, a rec
ognized, dominant aristocracy, which,
without wit or education, will rule So
cialy by reason of its wealth alone?
The incident of the son of the toWpath
father proves the degeneration possible in
one generation, and If it takes only one
such period in the history of our race TO
produce such discouraging results, what
may we not expect from our coming
periods? Possibly an anecdote Of the ell
der Dumas, who had African blood in his
veins, may warn us of our inevitable de-
cadence. A dandy said to him: Dumas,
is 1t true that you descended from an
ape?" Certainly" responded the intend
ed victim, my line commenced where
yours is about to end
Reports are again in circulation that