AMERICA'S ALL-CITY CHARACTER.
By Editor
AMERICANS are inclined to a little boastfulness of their manners and civilization. Especially do they assume a superiority over the Old World peasantry. But a gentleman who is now in Ireland canvassing for books, holds a reverse opinion. Writing to an American journal, he says:— The farmers here are far different from those in America, and the difference is a great advantage to the canvasser. At home one of our workers never thinks it strange to meet an angry, hot-headed customer, or to be ordered off the place with only two or three minutes to spare. It is not so here. The people are very kind and friendly, and would never think of greeting a stranger in a gruff or unsociable manner. A stranger is generally welcome to share their hospitality. Another great advantage is that nearly all the country people are church-members, and one never hears the unbecoming language that is so often used at home. One might well say of America that it is all city so far as evil is concerned, but here the country still maintains its old-fashioned simplicity, and it has as yet taken up with but few of the customs of the city. This statement suggests another thought, namely, that whereas city people usually assume a superiority of manners and gentility, this bookman, whose business has given him large experience with all classes, gives the laurel to the country folks. It is indeed a sad commentary on American life, that it is becoming “all city” in character.