PLAINNESS CIVILITY. 405 



was a total absence of grimace and corporeal token of respect, 

 with corresponding sounds of address, an expression of obliga 

 tion or thankfulness seldom being heard. In courteousness the 

 inhabitants appear as far behind the British as the French 

 exceed them. But, on the other hand, vulgarity, rudeness, or 

 insolence, is almost never met with in the humblest walks of 

 life. Mechanics and storekeepers ride in the same vehicle, and 

 sit down at the same table, with the most polished members of 

 society ; all seem desirous of behaving well to each other, a 

 rude or indelicate remark never being made, nor a disgusting 

 practice indulged in. On one occasion only I met with 

 revolting behaviour, at the table of the Washington hotel, 

 during my first residence at New York. On my second visit, 

 I found the individual still an inmate of the house, in which he 

 had lodged for fourteen years. He was an eccentric character, 

 and originally from England. 



A general propriety of deportment and softness of manner 

 pervades the lower classes, and that coarseness, which is 

 sometimes met with in Britain, does not appear to exist in the 

 United States ; but certain circles of society in Britain seem 

 to have a higher polish than what is to be met with in 

 America, and perhaps the general standard of manners of 

 both countries is not widely different. The lower orders of 

 the United States are, however, beyond all question, greatly 

 superior in refinement and intelligence to the lower orders of 

 Britain. 



The many classes into which society is divided in Britain, 

 and the privileges assigned them by the laws and customs of 

 the country, are so distinct, that some individuals, who are 

 jealous of their dignity, endeavour to repulse all beneath them. 

 On the other hand, some people seek distinction by rudeness 

 towards others. And amidst such jarring elements the poor 

 sometimes become servile and debased, the rich contemptuous 

 and overbearing. In America, every individual seems possessed 

 of self-respect, and in the intercourse of life, arrogance is sel 

 dom assumed, and never submitted to. Worth is duly appre 

 ciated, and hollow pretension exposed. 



The civility of all classes in the United States is so univer 

 sal, that during my intercourse with the inhabitants, I scarcely 



