Behavior, however, can be imitated. Therefore, neither the fact of birth
under certain conditions, nor a certain ease and grace and charm of manner,
certify the essential character of gentleman. Lovelace had the air and
breeding of a gentleman like Don Giovanni; he was familiar with polite
society; he was refined and pleasing and fascinating in manner. Even the
severe Astarte could not call him a boor. She does not know a gentleman,
probably, more gentlemanly than Lovelace. She must, then, admit that
she can not arbitrarily deny Lovelace to be a gentleman because he is a
libertine, or because he is false, or mean, or of a coarse mind. She may,
indeed, insist that only upright and honorable men of refined mind and
manner are gentlemen, and she may also maintain that only men of truly
lofty and royal souls are princes; but there will still remain crowds of
immoral gentlemen and unworthy kings.

The persons who abused the generous courtesy of the Northern Pacific trip
were gentlemen in one sense, and not in the other. They were gentlemen so
far as they could not help themselves, but they were not gentlemen in what
depended upon their own will. According to the story, they did not even
imitate the conduct of gentlemen, and Astarte must admit that they belonged
to the large class of ungentlemanly gentlemen.

(_December_, 1883)




THEATRE MANNERS


An admirable actress said the other day that the audience in the theatre