SOCIAL DISTINCTION.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4513, 7 September 1875, Page 3

SOCIAL DISTINCTION.

_» (From the Saturday Review..) One of the most curious features of modern life is, perhaps, the struggle which goes on between personal comfort and social ostentation. The writer in the last number of the Contemporary Review who signs himself " Etonetisis," and whose identity under any signature would be sufficiently apparent, remarks very truly that English society is just now passing under some very subtle, yet vital, changes. "It must never be forgotten," he says, "that wealth is now in England no longer the possession of a few, but rather what may be termed a ' drug.' That is to say, it is diffused through a circle so much extended, and so fast extending, that to be wealthy does not of itself satisfy; and the keenness of the unsatisfied desire, aspiring selfishly, i not to superiority, but rather to the marks of superiority, seeks them above all in the; shape of what we term social distinction." There can be no doubt that this is an accurate picture of what is now going on on every side ; and it certainly suggests some very painful reflections as to the sufferings which a great many worthy persons, whose only fault is to be very rich, have to undergo as a penalty of their position. It is not enough to have plenty of money, but some means must be found for exhibiting it, so that all the world may see and do homage accordingly. The immense development of various industries in recent years, the increase in the value of land and houses, and the tendency to free expenditure on the part of almost all classes of the population, have led to the accumulation of a vast amount of wealth in the hands of people, many of whom are very ill-qualified to enjoy it. They have for the most part passed thenlives in absorbing occupations of a vulgar kind, which has left them very little opportunity for acquiring' either social or intellectual culture ; and all the higher ideals of existence are consequently beyond them. If they would only contrive to live in an easy natural way, it might perhaps be well with them ; but then they would be hiding thenlight under a bushel, and what is the good of having a light unless you show it, and get credit for it ? And here comes in the misery of the thing, the obligation of display. Unce upon a time wealth was in itself a distinction, but now it is a drug in the market, and there are so many rich 1 people that distinction depends, not on the mere fact of their riches, but on the extent to which they can manage to make a display of them. Where there used to be hundreds of rich people there are now thousands, and there can of course be no distinction in one man ■'in a mob being exactly like the rest. He must do something to mark himself out; and in doing this the man of wealth is exposed to the keen competition not only of people as full' of money as himself, but of others who by a little dexterity are able to make a good show at a more moderate cost;. Superiority is of course not an absolute, but only a comparative thing, and wealth in itself has been levelled by its commonness. There is, however, as "Etonensis" has pointed out, a difference between superiority in any of its genuine forms, such as belong to the nature of the man, and not to the accident of his money, and those " marks of superiority" which enjoy a conventional currency ; and the latter are to a certain extent within the reach of all who can afford to pay for them. Rich folk can compete for anything that finds its way into the market, and most things do so nowadays. Though they may be hopelessly ignorant of art, they can buy colored canvases by the mile, and masterpieces of earthenware rubbish by the hundred. They may knownothingabout books, but thoycangive an order to some dealer to furnish what is known to the trade as a gentleman's library. By a judicious expenditure in local ground-bait they cangenerallygetaseatintheHouscof Commons; and by a devoted attention to parliamentary business on the right side there is always a chance of a baronetcy—for even soap-boilers are turning up their noses at knigthood—or in the end a peerage. All this, however, requires more than mere pocket liberality; and, in fact, it may almost be said that the display of wealth, which for most people alone makes wealth worth having, involves infinitely more drudgery and anxiety than the acquisition of it. It is difficult to imagine a more pitiful existence than that spent by unhappy people of this class in a desperate and tumultuous struggle with each other for artificial badges of social distinction. They feel bound to parade themselves everywhere, to hoist as many marks of distinction as they can purchase or snatch at, and yet there is such a throng of others like themselves that, after all their efforts, they are lost in the ruck. As an instance of the prevailing passion for display at any cost of expenditure or suffering, " Etonensis" takes the growing crush at Court. Going to a levee or a drawing-room is a method of obtaining an official certificate of a certain degree of social standing. It is a "mark of superiority," and there is consequently a rush to claim it. As yet, indeed, it is not quite everybody who has a right to this glorious privilege ; and, so far, the citizens of this country are behind those of the United States, all of whom, without exception, are entitled to walk into the "White House, and not only to take a good look at the President, but to shake hands with him. Judging, however, from the sort of people who now compose a large part of the regular crowd at the court, any traces of the old exclusiveness may soon be expected to disappear. In former days the people who went there formed a comparatively small circle, and were more or less on a footing of personal intimacy with the Sovereign ; and tho rest of the world was content to remain outside the sacred precincts, knowing indeed that it had very little chance of admission.

All this has been changed, and everybody of; an aspiring turn of mind, every—provincial manufacturer who- has set up an estate, and all the small fry of clerks in the public' offices, now swell the mixed gathering at the! Palace gates. " Etoneusis" aigues that this is a mark of respect to the Sovereign ; but it may be suspected that what actuates most of the company 13 mainly a desire to be advertised in The Times: Jones goes to court in order to prove to the world that he is as good as Smith, and better than Eobiuson. And this indeed is very much the reason why Jones, since his lucky hit in pickles, goes into Parliament to sit out wearisome debates till all hours in the morning; keeps a big house which is cou&tantly full of strange company, who do not know, and do not want to know, their host ; takes his wife and daughters to other parties, where they are squeezed and suffocated on the stalls ; and goes to be broiled with them in an open carriage in the dusty block of the afternoon drive. It can hardly be supposed that poor Jones enjoys his way of life, but then it is a mark of superiority.