The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1897-10-03

HE SUulNlsoLIS Qkzl4 ! 4
mo ssntlsmaa IN NV = j,un y Il 81
That was H diotnm X GSassv2 ~
Wells. over wtnSs qusst ssst u Az a
Of Lculsiaaa nnaGe0aias ksys Y
nodded for many MINDLESS sumnlsio
belonged to the old rcstmt the eseklI " AZ
shAscn regime. the 40 helinm rseln
the slave holding regime. tic dAnetnjs
singing. nshting regime, tho aristoctatl ~
regime. Fors nan mutat Ren11. ssA1 31 n
I.atin--chance does nut chanGe this hinds
His type exists " IL seuth today. =
Is not anywhere else. and most Of ~
places, not on the stage. Looking a.
times 1t the biaok rnusssrted. sws11of-
ing carlca&ure. who tneada tho mirnAb
boards and says sab and "suh.
long for three things: TO Kick the ~
tor to kick the dran,atist. and TO ma
some man able and willing to tell the
people who and what u Southern Rentle-
man is. He is distinct enough to b
painted. and believe that his pnintinE
as he is--a creature essentially dincrent
from the buffcons Of Hoyt or the sert0-
comic fasco given US by Clay element
The Southern gentleman was. and IL.
man above the middle height with clear
cut features. AS In ninety-nine cases out
OF hundred, he has not drop OF for-
eisn blood in his veins. he looks like =
transplanted Engilshman--an Englishnan
modified by some centuries OF climate and
ctherialized by less commercial mode
of life. Long contact with nature has
made him man with broad views and Of
healthy instincts. He does not know the
value Of u dollar so we'll as he ought but
10 balance that defect. heels utterly unac-
quainted with the many shady ways Of
getting a dollar He a well educated in
a literary way and is not infreqnently a
linguist. He carries himself unobtrusivelv
aud leaves the swaggcr to the negro out
for a Sunday holiday. He and the New
Highlander, who liz his entitheeis In manv
things. speak the best English to be found
ON this side of the Atlantic The accent
Is somewhat soft and slurring. aud there
Is something too much OF vowel elision.
but 1t has a pleasing sound, and he does
not burr his ''rs" until they rattle like
castancts, AS is the case In many parts OF
the West
Tho Southern gentleman comes of agri
cultural stock. He ls used TO woods aud
fields and horses and dogs. He Is devoted
to the chase, and he is a good shot. Ex-
cept In cities he does not bestride the BIZ
cycle, but he slts his saddle with sure
grace: he has the huntsman's seat--tocs
inland he rides from the knee. not from
the stirrup. Woodcraft he esteems as q
noble craft. and the art Of venery as one
of the fne arts. His physical nnd mental
appetitos are born Of the fresh air and
they are sound. He has poetry In him. an
what country bred people have not land
he flnde much OF Il animated nature. The
song OF birds. the clear belling of the deer
the saddening cry Of wild fowl in the night
all speak to the soul OF him Though Its
LIQUID and varied notes have been tired OF
| the hooking bird. music that pours from
green thrones through all tho moonlit
nights Host hostess and guests In
| Southern home will frequently drop all
| conversation and move to the front YER
| andah to listen 10 the Wild trills ana
| roulRdes and bravuras Of the matchless
minstrel in gray.
! Tho Southern gentleman is honest. 1t
| is a boast handed down from father to
son that his word is as good az his bond.
and surely there could he no prouder boast.
All of the recent education in CONNER
cial way has not been able to grind this
out OF him. Instances are not mtrequent
of tho surrender OF homesteads In pay
mcnt OF debts, In proof Of which existed
| only verbal obligations The homestead.
| IL should he remembered 10 protected from
| execution by law IN every State OF the
| South. The Southerner regards an execu-
tl..tx lant & I'D n
| debt one that must be paid at any sacri-
| ice since 1t Is not recoverable by legal
process Where the honor OF a family Is
involved women will sell their jewels to
wipe out the obligation Business In the
South is transacted in great degree BY
word OF mouth. There arc such things 40
promIssory notes, but they are not COM
mon. ! am speaking here OF the country
| communities and not OF the large cities.
There is no marked difference between the
business methods OF Atlanta and Boston.
Indeed, since the close OF the war and the
insetting Of tho immigration tide the South
has been much commercialized. The typo
has not changed That would be a work Of
centuries. But methods OF life and modes
OF thought have undergone modification.
This may be better for the country at
large. We hear much OF the glory and
beauty OF the new South" But doubt
that II is better for the upper classes q
tho people A happier man than the old
Southerner never breathed.
Mark Twain declares that Walter
Scott is responsible for the civil war, He
means that much reading Of "Isanhoe"
and The Taiisman" made the young men
mad. They dreamed OF riding with visor
down and lance In rest for the honor Of
the name and the rescue Of beleaguered
damsels. He is mistaken. The popularity
Of Scott was an effect. not cause. The
poems and prose OF the wizard OF the North
were popular because the Southerner Is Dy
birth and breeding chivalric. He was 20
before Scott was born and will remain 30
while the same blood is In him. AZ least.
l hope he will. This chlvalry finds lis most
noticeable outlet In the Scntherner's atti-
tude toward women. The female OF his
species is on a pedestal. Now and then IL
l ~ II a...~ .hn atrl,~ufaS hravatv IN vat