I Saw That Dandy's Curious Game Played Afterward, In Paris,
But Not For Amusement; Not With A Motive Of Any Sort, Indeed,
But Simply From A Selfish Indifference To Other People's
Comfort And Rights.
One does not see it as frequently
in Paris as he might expect to, for there the law says,
In effect, "It is the business of the weak to get out of
the way of the strong." We fine a cabman if he runs over
a citizen; Paris fines the citizen for being run over.
At least so everybody says - but I saw something which
caused me to doubt; I saw a horseman run over an old woman
one day - the police arrested him and took him away.
That looked as if they meant to punish him.
It will not do for me to find merit in American manners
- for are they not the standing butt for the jests
of critical and polished Europe? Still, I must venture
to claim one little matter of superiority in our manners;
a lady may traverse our streets all day, going and coming
as she chooses, and she will never be molested by any man;
but if a lady, unattended, walks abroad in the streets
of London, even at noonday, she will be pretty likely
to be accosted and insulted - and not by drunken sailors,
but by men who carry the look and wear the dress of gentlemen.
It is maintained that these people are not gentlemen,
but are a lower sort, disguised as gentlemen.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 453 of 558
Words from 126826 to 127080
of 156082
