" (4)
The average Frenchman or Irishman excels the average Englishman,
German, or American in courtesy and ease of manner, simply because
it is his nature. They are more social and less self-dependent
than men of Teutonic origin, more demonstrative and less reticent;
they are more communicative, conversational, and freer in their
intercourse with each other in all respects; whilst men of German
race are comparatively stiff, reserved, shy, and awkward. At the
same time, a people may exhibit ease, gaiety, and sprightliness of
character, and yet possess no deeper qualities calculated to
inspire respect. They may have every grace of manner, and yet be
heartless, frivolous, selfish. The character may be on the
surface only, and without any solid qualities for a foundation.
There can be no doubt as to which of the two sorts of people--the
easy and graceful, or the stiff and awkward--it is most agreeable
to meet, either in business, in society, or in the casual
intercourse of life. Which make the fastest friends, the truest
men of their word, the most conscientious performers of their
duty, is an entirely different matter.
The dry GAUCHE Englishman--to use the French phrase, L'ANGLAIS
EMPETRE--is certainly a somewhat disagreeable person to meet at
first. He looks as if he had swallowed a poker. He is shy
himself, and the cause of shyness in others. He is stiff, not
because he is proud, but because he is shy; and he cannot shake it
off, even if he would.
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