MR. CORBET.-1 PERSONAL EXPLANATION. [To THE EDITOR OF THE "sesorAros..1
SIB.,—When an hon. Member gets into hot water or into a difficulty of some kind, or is unfortunately misunderstood, the House permits him to make a personal explanation. Can you grant me a similar privilege ? The correspondence in your columns seems to have been of great public interest, for news- papers have copied and commented upon portions, and I myself have had several communications. Two came from antiquarians emphatically endorsing the definition I had quoted and supplying an omission, two from adverse critics, two from wags and wits, two anonymous, and one from an infuriated woman who manifestly knew as much about the question as an infuriated bonnet-box. I respectfully main- tain that my definition of February 2nd was strictly accurate and authoritative, notwithstanding the other side, so admir- ably put by the Spectator at the time, and in the terse and stalwart note to Mr. J. H. Round's letter. Nobody could wish for anything better. I have had no desire whatsoever to
write disrespectfully of trade, and, so far as I know, "tainted by trade " simply means disqualified. You cannot become entitled to the style of "gentleman" if you are in trade. At the same time, if being truly a " gentleman" you enter trade, I do not see how you are to lose any one of your birth qualifi- cations. "A Trader" writes a very scholarly, concise letter, and ventures into etymology, but not quite far enough to dis- cover that "trade" and " tramp " are very closely allied! He strains the meaning of "trade," however, and I should trespass were I to follow him. But I feel quite sure he knows the real meaning, and what the technical disqualification is. The letter of " C. M. D." embodies the thoughts and is the composition of a statesman or of a public man of parts, and is the best bit of reading I have enjoyed for some time. I should like to feel confident there is among the middle classes of Great Britain the gentle blood so skilfully claimed; it is undeniable, however, that it is middle-class folk who have introduced ludicrous nick- names, as, for instance, " young ladies " as the burlesque designation of young women in shops and refreshment rooms, and "young gentlemen" when clerks and assistants are meant. Middle-class folk, too, have made a fool of John Bones, the butcher, by addressing him as "John Bones, Esq." All this does not savour of gentle blood and of all which is meant thereby ; still, one would hesitate before holding " C. M. D." to be in darkness and error. Far be it from me wittingly to offer a "species of insult" to " Llywelin," a man of ancient stock and of a long line of armigeri. He must not let " business," however, obfuscate him, and as for the false gods he thanks, the sooner they share the fate of old iron the better. The " conduct " of men of fine character has helped to make Great Britain and Ireland what these islands are, but conduct has nothing to do with the style of "gentleman." The burlesque quotations of "X." might be made amusing with the aid of a surgical operation : they are ancient history, however, and perfectly respectable. Because one Bishop understood Spanish characteristics, and another had mastered theology; because Professor Ruskin was an expert in wood, stone, and oils; and because Geoffrey Chaucer composed the " Ballad of Gentilesse," it does not quite follow that these four eminent Englishmen carried an ounce-weight of authority in determining " the definition of a gentleman." I see that "J. L. C." mistakes me for the late or present Master of the South Cheshire Hounds, cousins of mine, and men of strong opinions not shaken in a day's hunting, so I will ask leave to say.—I am, Sir. &c., ROBERT ST. J. CORBET. New Oxford and Cambridge Club, Pall Mall [We gladly publish Mr. Corbet's pleasant letter; but even if he were right (which he certainly is not), we would rather be wrong with Chaucer and Dekker and Steele than right with him. In truth, he wants the word to mean what he thinks it ought to mean, not what it does, in fact, mean to a hundred millions of English-speaking people. Here, at any rate, securus judicat orbis terrarum.—ED. Spectator.]
Previous page
