And it cannot be imputed to them, that they leave doors open for the
sake of ventilation. In short, if strangers were to guess for a hundred
years, they would fail to hit upon the real, true, and particular reason
why the Scotch do not shut the door. One would naturally think, that as
the act of shutting the door is the prerogative of the person who quits
an apartment, it would not by so mindful a people be neglected. And
neither it is. There is no neglect in the matter. The Scotch take a
profound view of the subject. They institute a rigorous comparison
between shutting and not shutting. True, they are not taught to do so,
any more than Frenchmen are taught to make gestures. It is in them. They
are born with a natural proneness to consider, as if it were a question
of algebraic quantities, whether the satisfaction they might impart by
shutting the door would not be more than counterbalanced by the
dissatisfaction that might accrue from distinctly and unmistakably
shutting it. Still, it seems strange how any displeasure could be
incurred by the performance of what all the rest of mankind believe to
be a mark of good-breeding. Strange, indeed! But it surely will be
observed, that much depends on making a principle of a thing. And with
respect to good-breeding, what if it can be placed in a double point of
sight? It may be the etiquette in some countries to shut the door; but
that proves nothing. In Europe, men uncover their heads on entering the
presence of the great; in the East, they uncover the feet. Fashions are
local. When the Scotch do not shut the door, they act conscientiously,
according to ancient national usage. We may be certain that they have
deliberately, arithmetically, and cautiously, weighed the question of
shutting in its various and delicate bearings; and arrived at the clear
conviction that, all things considered, it would be better not to shut!

Of course, the Scotch having, by innate logic, attained to a principle,
they adhere to it as a thing which neither argument nor raillery can