CURS. (Liberal Review.)

Waikato Times, Volume VII, Issue 351, 13 August 1874, Page 2

CURS. (Liberal Review.)

Oxe gets rather tired of hearing that there it something in tho breed of a gentleman, especially if one hgpptns to come of a common stock oneself. * * * Granted that it is true that a gentleman rau»t be born a gentleman mtiier than manufactured out of tbe raw uiateritl ( of an ordinary roan, they nre rather to be pitied than con* demned becnuso they are just what providence bas been pleased f o make them. It would, as a matter of fact, bo just as sensiblo to decry a> donkey for having been born an as*, as it is to cast slurs on a plebeian for baring entered tbo world in u humble fashion. Probably, the icum of humanity might not so often be reminded that they are scum if they were content to accept, resignedly and uncomplainingly, what their "betters" are pleased to present to them as the inevitable. But they display no disposition to do this. On the contmry, they show an absurd w ish to fight their way upward*, and the most melancholy part of the matter is that they often succeed in placing themselves lide by side with thoso who have been blessed in their birth Further than this, >vhcn they have so risen they frequently prove ' themselves an fait at looking down with a very clever isj sumption of contempt upon those who aie beneath them, i and it is no uncommon thing to hetir them talk as if the i blood of the old Norman nobles flowed unpolluted by any common element in their reins. These are the persons who Me in the habit of declaring that the gentleman cirnes the badgo of his gentility about with htm, and that Le has a certain way of doing everything which he attempts. What his particular way i» it is not ency to c"ecid«>, but, judging by w hat we hear, he does irery by rule, imd, übove all things, avoids startling originality At tho sntne time he neier studies tho laws of etiquette, a knowledge of which comes to him in tamo mysterious fashion that nobody can properly make out. Scientific luminaries teach us that animal* inherit the instincts and the likes and dislikes of thrir progenitor*, I and, this being to, it », perhaps, but natural that well bred 1 folks should take as easily and naturally to all that ts polite [ and proper as a duck docs to water or as a pig does to milking n. mess of itself. It is, no doubt, a pleasant thing to assume that the evidence of good breeding ure hereditary, pupeeinlly to thoso whose ancestors have not relieved the tedium of their lives by indulging in murder and lapme, or a number of insignificant offences ngainst tho genius of culture which tho world is disposed to regard lets kindly and consider more ' contaminating tbivn actual crime, for it tends to tho conclusion thut it might be possible to produce, in time, • perfectly behaved race of men and women. The agreeableneis of the thought, however, is somowhat marred when it it recollected that it is just as likely that vicei are transmitted hereditarily as it is that viitues are. Indeed it i«, alas! rather moro probable, for that whio» is unlovable seems to have a much greater fondneit for clinging to poor humanity than "does that which is the reverse. The testimony to hand, moreover, is on the wrong tide. It is no uncommon thing to meet families whicii have for generation! been distinguished by their vulgarity of demeanor and baseness of mind, but it is somewhat remarkable to encounter one the representatives of which, have all been notioeable on account of their grace of deportment and refinement of feeling. The children of wicked people are wont to display lest natural inclination to desert the ways of their fathers than Arc tho children of exemplary persons to refuse to tread in tbo paths which their parents havo trod before thorn. Some philosopher goes so fur as to maintain that no one family will remain, unless protected agninst itself as are the aristocracy, uniformly prosperous moro than three or four generations, thnt it will, in the ordinary course of events, suffers, gradual decline, or else, when at tho pinnacle of its greatness, some scapegrace will mnkea "spill" with the family coach. On tho other hnnd, families can go on sticking in the mud for generation after generation — for so long, indeed, that it is impossible to keep count of bow many generations they ha^o been there — nnd affright pcoplo by thoir unloveliness of mind and heart for a drear; and almost unending aeries of ycuva. Under theso cireumslnnoc3 people ought not, perhaps, to bo hard on the cursof society, who avo unpleasantly numerous, nnd whose conduct is such, that the contemplation of it is apt to mako a warm-hearted manbecomo an uuchorito in the belief that thpro is littlo that h honest and generous in the world, but much that is tho reverse. Cars may be indigenous to this country, but their character is not that which, in song . and prose, we are wont to declare is characteristic of tho ' good old English race, which ia so much better than any other raco upon tho earth. There is nothing blunt and outspoken about them ; they are by uo meaus of the what I say I mean and what I say I think typo. They have, however, an oily, saponaceous way which does excellent service in helping them on. When they talk, they do so with an object, and that object is to worm out all your »ecret» — winch they will uso ns mott pleases them, without reference to your welfare — and tell nothing moro than they want you to know in return. It tnkes a smart man to successfully fence with them, for unless he is as cunning atd resolute ss they are, they will get at him, sooner or later, and he will discover, when it is too late, that he list said a good deal mo p c fian he intended to do- Tlieir sole aim is, apparently, to get on m life with as great rapidity and as little discomfort ns possible. To this end they do not hesitate to bo decritfnl and cunning, eelfish and merciless. They *eem to caro little how shabby are transactions in which they take part, so long as they do not lead to the g allows or tho gaol. Principle they have none ; to express an opinion is the last thing they think of doing. Certainly, they will hint, in a •limy, half-hearted sort of fusluon, reflections upon the cbnrncti>rs of those whom they flic desirous of injuring, find tho number of these is large, they fceming to have a hatred of mankind in general. They celdom display *rulh openly, but they kindly show their animosity by now nnd then fnap-j-ing at j'ou with an undisguised vicsousness, which indicates what their feelings nro. By meons of on anonymous letter, iy slander so delicately circulated that it is almost itn* | po.« siblo to hold them answerable for the same, and by other [ innocent means they wivak their veugeance upon a foe. ' They rarely quarrel with their bread-aiui-butlor. To » man whom they hate they bow and scrape, and cringe, and snivel, if there is n probability of their making a dulling out of him. Assuming tho correctness of tho theories laid down in the opening of thia article, it is not difficult to account for all this. Probably the progenitois of tho curs under notite had. enouph to do to keep body and soul together, nnd in thenj. J was planted that spirit of close-calculating economy, selfish meanness, and deceit winch in their descendants has become what we have described.

A funny and very charade rietic French story appears in the French Figaro. It runs thus : — "A man enters the frhop of n bftTber to bo shnvrd. 110 sits down, when a big dog comes immrdiutoly afterwards, and, sitting down in front nf him, regards him with a fixed slnrc- 'Ah! what docs tliis nntmol incon ?' ciifs the j:ent!cmnn, who feels fomewhafc uncomfortable, ' I'll tell jou,' replies the barber, meannlule moving tho tlzov about quick!). 'From time to time X chance (U nt 1 arrive) to cut oil an car of a customer — thentho dofi cad it!'" The feelings of the customer a,n iniugiued. ' fjfifs