THE PERFECT GENTLEMAN.*
GRAHAM in this his latest work has touched upon so many of the really vital points in the science of gentlemanly existence that it is hard to know which of his monographs
upon such monumental subjects as dross, table manners, and • dancing to select as moat deserving of attention. A brief
account of the book, however, may enable the reader to perceive upon what a flaming mine of information and of guidance he has struck.
To begin with the book's great central figure, Reginald Drake Giffin, from whose occasional . papers . it . purports. to be compiled, besides being a true artist in the niceties of dress and of deportment, was also a litlerateur of some merit, having, for instance, " discovered " a French poet of extraordinary talent, author, of the charming chanson entitled " Mets-moi parmi les demoiselles" and of many other verses which Mr. Biffaa confidently believes will become famous. But it is, not as 16 champion of French literature alone that Mr. Reginald Drake Biffin stood forth. He was ever an enthusiast for the virility of the English tongue. Why; for instance, he almost passionately. complains, do we end our letters with such hackneyed phrases as, "Yours faithfully," or
Yours sincerely " ?
"How much better it would be to make use of really appropriate Axpressions to suit one's adverb to one's frame of mind and boldly subscribe oneself, Yours suspiciously,' ' Yours hopefully,' Yours contemptuously' . . how it would add to the gaiety of life if correspondents could address their envelopes to The Most 'Unctuous the Bishop of Bray,' `The Most Broke the Marquis of .Covenden,' . . . and so forth.
Why, too, should all railways be inevitably. dubbed Great or `Grand ? No traveller on the Great Northern gives a thought to L. • The Perfect Gentleman a (laid, to Sviat. Aspirants. By Harry Graham.. 7lltustrito1 by Lewis Baumer. Landon: E. Arnold. [eq.]
this question . . and only the imagination of the dreamer or the poet when he buys Grand Trunks at 271 conjures up visions of grandeur, of portmanteaux, or of elephants."
How true, how profound also, are Mr. Biffin's observations of ball suppers, with which be deals categorically and at great length :- "In the homes of the well-to-do a regular sit-down supper is usually supplied, at which hot or cold soup (or a happy mixture of both), outlets or quails, and a number of other luxuries, ranging from compote of fruit to macedoine de fruit may without difficulty be obtained. . . . At public balls a cold collation some- times takes the place of the more formal banquet. The supper room is crowded with small round tables, each of which groans beneath its weight of frigid food. Observe that plate of cold 'fillet de sole,; that mayonnaise of underdone salmon, garnished with a rich glutinous sauce, and surrounded by a number of perching prawns, who regard it with natural surprise as who should say 'look what we've found!' Note those stuffed rolls, a trifle stale perhaps, but each containing in its very centre at least half-a-teaspoonful of minced egg which patient and meticulous research will lay bare. The cutlets covered with white glue, in which are embedded crescent-shaped frag- ments of truffle, have a very appetizing air and the blanc- mange (sometimes known as shape) and the unstable multi- coloured jelly, what hopes do they not arouse in the breasts of the hungry dancers who have never tasted anything like theta before 1" But it is not alone to the insight and genius of Mr. Biffin
that the present volume owes its excellence. Mr. Lewis Baumer's illustrations are almost throughout correct and inevitable, and give the reader the impression of having been concocted with the connivance of eyewitnesses. As for his frontispiece portrait of the great Reginald himself, we can only say that the masterly treatment in this composition of the boots, spats, and waistcoat leave the beholder positively breathless.
The closing commendable quality in the book is the excel- lence of its index, from whose gems we make the following " misrepresentative " selection :-
"Mengel—see Wurzel.
Men--favourably compared with hens, p. 30. Morning—disinclination to return until, p. 207. Polish—floor, p. 78.
„ —Jew, 198."
With such a guide the diligent reader closes the volume in all the delightful certainty of finding his place with ease and precision whenever he may be overcome by the necessity of re-reading Mr. Graham's delightful book.
Previous page
