The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1897-10-03
The Southern Gentleman.

mo gentleman VIII wear inuoe"'HN'
That was the dictum OF General Montiort
Wells. over whose quiet rest In the heart
OF Louisiana magnolias have droWslly
nodded for many MINDLESS summers. ne
belonged TO the old regime-the clean
shaven regime. the ante bellum regime
the slave-holding regime, the dancing
singing. fighting regime, the aristocrauc
regime. Fors non mutat genus, said the
I,atln-chance does not change the klno'
His type exists in the South to-day IL
Is not anywhere else, and, most OF an
places. not on the stage. Looking ouu
times at the lack-mustached, swagger-
ing caricature who treads the mimic
boards and saws "sah" and "suh, long
for three things: 70 kick the actor TO
kick the dramatist and to find some man
able and willing 10 tell the people VINO
and what a Southern gentleman Is. lie
Is distinct enough TO be painted ana
believe that his painting would pay lr
is time that we had him as he iS-a crea-
ture essentially different from the but-
foons OF Hoyt or the serio-comic hasco
given us by Clay Clement
The Southern gentleman was ana IS
man above the middle height, with clear
cut features. AS i'm ninety-nine cases out
OF n hundred he has not drop OF Tor
eign blood I'm his veins, he looks IKE
transpanted Englishman-an Enghshnah
modified by some centuries OF climate
and etheriallzed by a less commercial
mode of life. Long contact with nature
has made him a man OF broad views ana
Of healthy instincts. He does not know
the value Of a dollar so well as he ought
but. 10 balance that defect. he Is utterly
unacqualntod with the many shady ways
OF getting a dollar. Hp Is well educated
I'm a literary way and IS not infrequently
a lngulst. He carries himself unobtru-
sively and leaves the swagger 10 me
negro out for a Sunday holiday. He and
the New Highlander, who is his antithesls
in many things. speak the best English
10 be found on this side OF the atlantic.
The accent is somewhat soft and slurring.
and there is something too much OF vowed
elision. but It has a pleasing sound ana
no does not burr his RS until they
rattle like castanets, as is the case IN
many parts of the west.
The Southern gentleman comes OF aeri~
cultural stock He is used TO woods ana
fields and horses and dogs. He IS devoted
TO the chase and he is good shot. TX
cept IN cities he does not bestrlde the
bicycle. but he sits his saddle with
sure grace; he has the huntman's seat
toes inland he rides from the knee, not
from the stirrup. Woodcraft he esteems
as a noble craft. and the art Of venery
as one OF the fine arts. His physical ana
mental appettes are born OF the fresh air
and they are sound. He has poetry In
him-as what country-bred people have
not2-and he finds much of il in animated
nature. The song OF birds, the clear bell
ing Of the deer. the saddening cry OF wild
fowl in the night all speak to the soul or
him. Though its liquid and varied notes
have been familiar to him since infancy,
he is never tired Of the hooking bird.
music that pours from green thrones
through all the moonlit nights. Host,
hostess and guests in a Southern home
win frequently drop all conversation and
move to the front verandah TO listen 10
the wild thrills and roulades and bravu-
ras of the matchless minstrel in gray.
The Southern gentleman is honest. IL Is
n boast handed from father to son that
his word is as good as his bond. ana
surely there could be no prouder boast.
All OF his recent education in CONNER
cial way has not been able TO grind this
out OF him. Instances are not infrequent
Of the surrender of homesteads In pay
ments OF debts, in proof OF which existed
only verbal obligations. The homestead,
II should be remembered, is protected
from execution by law in every state IN
the South. The Southerner regards an
execution proof debt as he regards a
gambling debt-one that must be paid at
any sacrifice since II is not recoverable
by legal process Where the honor OF a
family Is involved women will sell their
Jewels 10 wipe out the obligation. Bust
ness in the South IS transacted in great
degree by word of mouth. There are SUCH
things as promissory notes, but they are
81 / Of
country communities and not of the large
cities. There Is no marked difference be-
tween the business methods OF Atlanta
and Boston. Indeed. since the close OF the
war and the inserting of the immigration
tide the South has been much CONNER
calized. The type has not changed. That
would be a work Of centuries But meth
DDS OF life and modes OF thought have
undergone modification. This may be bet
ter for the country at large. We hear
much OF the glory and beauty OF the new
South" But / doubt that It is better for
the upper classes Of the people. A hap
pier man than the old Southerner never
'breathed.
mark Twain" declares that Walter
Scott is responsible for the civil war. lie
means that much reading OF "Ivanhoe'
and "rhe Talisman" made the young men
down and lance in rest for the honor OF
the name and the rescue OF beieaguered
damseis. He is mistaken. The popularity
OF Scott was an effect, not a cause. The
poems and prose OF the wizard OF the
north We're popular because the South
erner Is by birth and breeding chivairic.
He was so before Scott was born and Will
remain so while the same blood is I'm him.
At least. / hope he will. This chivalry
finds its most notable outlet i'm the South
erner's attitude toward women. The fe-
male OF his species is on pedestal Now
and then in the old days she struggled
braveiy 10 get down. but he would not let
her He objects 70 the new woman, not
because he fears her competition but be-
cause he thinks she is not true 20 her
self. The Southerners feeling for woman
rs queer mixture OF passion and re-
spcct. He regards her as something 10
be loved 20 be cherished. 10 be protected
He cannot get over the belief that she
* fragile. and he cannot be convinced
that she Is able 20 Withstand hard knocks.
TO him all women are pure until dem
onstrated otherwise and they are 10 be
treated with deep respect. They are made
OF finer clay, and are, in fact, a superior
order OF being.
IL is one OF the strongest tributes 20
the worth OF Southern motherhood that
Southern sons grow up in this belief.
and Il never leaves them. II a man impru-
IDENTIFY attempt to decry womanhood 70
a southerner that southerners mind in
stinctiveiy goes back 10 his mother. and
he Is apt 10 enforce his disbelief with the
strong arm. Marriages are very happy in