Indeed, we should not be surprised to find
that even the clever writer who describes the English Philistine
in all his enormity of awkward manner and absence of grace, were
himself as shy as a bat.
When two shy men meet, they seem like a couple of icicles. They
sidle away and turn their backs on each other in a room, or when
travelling creep into the opposite corners of a railway-carriage.
When shy Englishmen are about to start on a journey by railway,
they walk along the train, to discover an empty compartment in
which to bestow themselves; and when once ensconced, they inwardly
hate the next man who comes in. So; on entering the dining-room
of their club, each shy man looks out for an unoccupied table,
until sometimes--all the tables in the room are occupied by
single diners. All this apparent unsociableness is merely shyness
--the national characteristic of the Englishman.
"The disciples of Confucius," observes Mr. Arthur Helps, "say that
when in the presence of the prince, his manner displayed
RESPECTFUL UNEASINESS. There could hardly be given any two words
which more fitly describe the manner of most Englishmen when in
society." Perhaps it is due to this feeling that Sir Henry
Taylor, in his 'Statesman,' recommends that, in the management of
interviews, the minister should be as "near to the door" as
possible; and, instead of bowing his visitor out, that he should
take refuge, at the end of an interview, in the adjoining room.
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