The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1913-02-05
we ARE OUR own
BETTERS"- TREE
Famous englishman In Speech
Strikes 0ui at SnobDery
SAYS WE REVERE BUTTONS,

Declares Most PitiabIe Frame Of Mind
Is That Admitting Social lnferiority.
Says Gentleman 10 One Who Doesn't
Try to Be One.
At the Hudson theater. in New York.
Sir B%eerbohnl Tree talked ON Our
Betters' to an audience which was not
only interested but interesting. On
the stage were Viola Allen, Daniel
Frohman, Bishop Boyd Carpenter,
Francis Wilson. Edwin Markham. Dr.
Henry Leipziger. a. Barton Hepburn.
Henry Clews. William McAdoO. DR..
Z. r. Gould. Louis Il. .A%nspacher. j..
l. G. Clarke and other we'll known
men and women.
1t was the first time that most OF
the audience had seen the distinguish
ed Englishmun III his own uudisguiseu
personality. and it vas apparent that
they decidedly approved of him in the
role Of himself. His commanding fig
ure and erect carriage prepared them
for Il personal reference which he
made in the course of his lecture.
I'm an interview with me printed
in one paper" he said. the statement
was made that l am seventy years old.
Well. | think that must be what is
called being born before ones time"
Sir Beerbohm's ideas about our bet
tiers We're expressed when he declared
there is no more pitiable frame of
mind than that shown in the familiar
utterance of thousands OF Englishmen.
God bless the squire and his rela.
lions and keep us in our proper sta
TONS"
ION that symbol of responsibility. the
frOck coat, there are two buttons" he
said. Nobody knows why they are
there. but 10 one would dare appear
without them. A reverence for but
tons is II of the attributes of our
common humanity. And we put on
II mental clothes. buttons and all.
with the same subservience to custom.
We sing in unison the hymn of respec- /
liability. And to be respectable is to
he what other people are. Being one.
self is the greatest Of luxuries and. |
may add, one of the most expensive.
"Nalor in the weak is always danger
Gus. l heard a story the other day of
a mouse that strayed into a wine Gel
lar and, coming across a pool Of whis-
ky. dipped II foot in and licked it ex-
perimentally.
"'Humph! he said, that's pretty |
good" and forthwith put in two feet. |
then all four. then rolled in it, and lick
ed himself all over. After awhile he
reached the point that he bounded up
the stairs two at a time, and having |
reached the top he exclaimed: Now, |
where's that cat that chased me last
week.!
People imbibe from their betters
habits Of good form they are never
able to shake off.
But what is a gentleman? He is n
man who doesn't care whether he is a
gentleman or not! He is a man whose
courtesy isn't regulated by his interests.
II saw in Munich recently an exhi.
bition Of the cubists and futurists. |
was quite sure of one picture. 1t was a
monk shooting wild duck. But | was
told it was the Dawn Of Buddhism
What l took to be an Egyptian mum.
my floating in green pickles was a cab
accident. BY the way. l notice that
these schools always paint their dogs
green with red spots. That's symbolic
Of something. l am confident it Is.
But l don't know what.
Among our betters are those who |
could show us the right pronunciation
of the English language. The stage
has done a great service in preserving
the language of Shakespeare. wish
there could be established a standard
OF pronunciation for the English
speaking world. There is none now.
Among our Inconsistencies is the drop.
ping of the g. which is vulgarity in
the lower classes and Il sign of smart |
ness in the upper ones And. by the
way, in another local interview | am
represented as saying 'Fawncy!" Now.
an Englishman never says that. We
say Fancy! Say it very often"
Sir Beerbohm summed up by saying
that the boy scout movement is doing
much to break down artificial social
distinctions, In the end mems betters
are themselves.