Notions of the Americans; Picked Up by a Travelling Bachelor (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated.1843 Excerpt: ... COLDNESS OF MANNERS ACCOUNTED FOR. 173 in preceding all his competitors in the enjoyment of its most material advantages. "France has been proverbial for grace of manner. But the manners of France are undergoing a sensible change, under the influence of the new order of things. Her gentlemen are becoming grave as they become thoughtful. Any one may'libserve, in passing through French society, the difference between the two schools. I confess that my taste is for the modern. I have been so much accustomed to the simplicity of American manners, as to find something that is congenial in the well-bred English, that is wanting in the well-bred French deportment, and precisely for the reason that it is still a little more natural. So far as this distinction goes, I honestly believe the Englishman has the advantage. But, with honourable exceptions, it will not do to push English complaisance too far. Perhaps, if we attempt a comparison, I shall be better understood. "The Englishman and the American have, in a great degree, a common manner. I do not now speak of the gentlemen of the two countries, for much intercourse is rapidly assimilating the class every where, but of the deportment of the two entire nations. You will find both cold. There is certainly no great difference in the men, though more may be observed in the women. The English say that our women are much too cold, and we say that theirs are artificial without always being graceful. Of course, I speak of the mass, and not of exceptions in either case. Our women are, as you see, eminently feminine, in air, conversation, and feeling, and they are also eminently natural. You may find them cold, for, to be honest, they find you a little artificial; but, with their countrymen, they are frank, sincere, unreser...