Rensselaer Republican, Volume 16, Number 3, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 September 1883 — AMERICAN MEN AND WOMEN. [ARTICLE]

AMERICAN MEN AND WOMEN.

Mr. Labouchere's Answer to a Snarling English Critic. [From the Lcndon Trnt'.i.l Americans are essentially cosmopolitan, and they adapt themselves far more easily to new surroundings than we English. They are, moreover, more free from prejudices. Of course, among 50,000,000 human beings there are some who are objectionable, but Americans on neutral ground, such as Paris, Switerland, etc., are, as a rule, a very great deal more appreciated than we are, and this not because they are richer, but because they are more pleasant. We; rather than they, are, I am inclined to think, open to the reproach of being unendurable. Among ourselves we get on very well, but with foreigners we are not so popular. Few Americins remain long enough in England to go into society’. Those, however, who do are generally well received, and their manners contrast with considerable advantage with those of a very large number of Englishmen. . ~ I It is rare that an American man is not a good talker. He may have devoted more time to heaping up dollars than to the cultivation of art, science or literature, but he has gained much curious experience in Lis avocation which he, is ready to impart, while on general matters there is a freshness, shrewdness and mental activity, often ..allied with considerable humor, which make his remarks worthy of attention. Although the accumulation of dollars may have been his particular mission, there is nothing mean or paltry in bis mode of thought; he is a stanch friend and a pleasant acquaintance. Whether he lias won his fortune honestly or dishonestly, he knows how to spend it nobly. In this islan dos ours, w here conventionalities are law and gospel, it is a relief to meet with anyone who does not bow down before them, and who has some sort of individuality. To term this individuality vulgarity'is to show ignorance of the meaning of the word, or rather to accept the meaning attached to it by those who are themselves innately vulgar. American women are, in nine cases out of ten, infinitely more agreeable as companions than English women. They are better instructed, they talk better, they dress better and they flirt better. They are neither dolts nor tom-boys d ressed in petticoats, nor bread-and-butter misses. There is, indeed, nothing missish ’r mascuIme about them. There are, however, demoralized and deteriorated Americans who seem to imagine that they will curry favor with us by renouncing all that is good in their own country and accepting all that is silly in ours. Yes, I like Americans, and I believe that in taste, feeling and manners we have much to learn from them.