The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1903-05-14

Charity and Children
That is a very bright and sensible
article which we copy from the Char
lotte Observer on this subject, and
we recommend it to the careful con-
sideration OF every boy who does US
the honor Of reading Charity and
| Children.
There never was finer name than
gentleman, nor one more sadly
abused. in the days OF duelling the
old time sports who met on the field
! OF dishOnOr and shot their Zoe to
| death thought they were gentlemen,
but they were not They were simply
reckless DULLES, too weak and too
small to rise superior to IL swagger-
inc gasbag who 'insulted' them.
And as tie Observer says, Bishop
thought he was u gentleman when he
shot old man Wilson in his own door
wav. But we all know he was not a
gentleman. II he was, then WetOtally
misapprenend the meaning OF the
word gentle.
Somewhere in the Bible, perhaps in
the Psalms, this striking passage
occurs: Thy gentleness hath made
me great And the greater Il man
is the gentler he becomes. What is
the thing that first enters the mind
when the name OF Robert +. Lee is
mentioned? Why the gentleness OF
the man. There is q gentleman for
YOU, Imagine this mightiest OF gen
erals since Napoleon, doing a rude or
ungentle thing,
Isn't it strange, when you think OF
it, that word could be SO perverted
and twisted out of its original mean-
ing as the word gentleman has been?
The fact that IL man rides i'll Il car
riage and kills time, and wears fine
clothes and despiseS honest toll, gives
him no claim to that honorable
name; nor does his readiness to re-
sent Il supposed insult. In truth Il
real gentleman need not wear fine
clothes, and he is very patient and
fOrbearing in his dealings with his
fellows.
John HALIFAX WAS worthy to Weal
the name. though his hands were
hard ana the clothing hat he wore
in his Young manhood was coarse
and common. He had the inner con
seriousness oiequality with the strong
est and the best OF men; and the test
OF whether II man be q real gentle
man is within and not without.
man may be born poor and have tt
battle for his bread, but lie can be al
much of Il gentleman in his poverty
as a king can be upon his throne.
Reginald Vanderbilt may write
himself IL gentleman, but that vii
never make him one. \ man can Il:
easily write himself Christian. Al
Spencer puts it, "a gentle mind by
gentle deeds is known" and no mat
, ter how rich Il man may be or hoy
luxurious Il life he may live, unless h
is kindly, cOnsiderate, gracious, mil,
and unseltish he can not bear with
> out reprOach the grand old name O
gentleman"
And so when We look below the sur
+ face into the real meaning Of the tern
we find that it is very nearly exact,
the opposite OF what the world ha
commonly held the word to mean
Happy the young man who aims Il
nothing lower than to earn the title
and wear it worthily!
r Following is the Observers article
r Mr. Reginald Vanderbilt is a happ,
man. He was married Tuesday t.
Miss Nelson, Il beautiful and wealth,
young woman. But to be welded h
had to have Il marriage license, an,
; before obtaining this lie had to fl
out Il blank stating his occupation
) and that OF his father. the late Cor
nelius Vanderbilt Mr. Vanderbilt
put his occupation down as that 0
IL gentleman, and that OF his faith
or as a "capitalist.' As the son of ;
! millionaire Mr.. Vanderbilt is not com
! PEELED to work for his living. ant
therefore his definition of million
: aire loafer is interesting. He Seems
to draw Il distinction between a cap
? italist and IL gentleman, enrolling hi
father i'll the one class and himself il
the other, and vet his father is be
, leved to have been IL gentleman
Surely Mr.. Reginald Vanderbilt woul,
not deny this. There is sOmethin.
, that CRATES just a little in hearing
man in this democracy of ours defin
t Il gentleman as q rich man VIII,
doesn't work.
There are professions and probes
, sions, but gentility is hardly anon:
them. Being IL gentleman is some
thing that comes naturally to Il MAJ
i, or doesn't come at all To degre
it is in the blood-yes, but there ar
:. many gentlemen that were low born
And the best proof that IL man is on
Is not always found in his dcclara
ton. In this town, not many month
6 ago, q lewd fellow OF the baser sort.
: married man at that, being Ordere,
8 by the head OF the family out of
house which he had invaded with al
Illicit purpose was ut pains to assur
the landlord, Just before shootin,
him to death, that he, the murderer
was ii gentleman" The term ha
become very cheap. 1t is found thes
days in the mouths of all sorts @
, cattle when they get started talkin!
about themselves. The man who i
, one doesn't need TO proclaim the fact
: and he who lays claim, in words
, upon the title, casts doubt upon hi
right to it. The classification OF Mr.
, Reginald Vanderbilt, for instance
would perhaps never have been il
question if he had not raised sus
plcion by his assertion that it be
, longed to him. AS it is, there ar
, those who will evermore think of hin
, as q snOb.
FOR CATARRH of the nose
! throat, stomach, bowels and NOR