I used to go there almost every day
to pursue my legal studies, and generally sat in the same quiet corner.
The seat on the opposite side of the table was usually occupied
by another law student. For months we sat opposite each other
without exchanging a word. I thought I was too formal and reserved,
so I endeavored to improve matters by occasionally looking up at him
as if about to address him, but every time I did so he looked down
as though he did not wish to see me. Finally I gave up the attempt.
This is the general habit with English gentlemen. They will not speak
to a stranger without a proper introduction; but in the case I have mentioned
surely the rule would have been more honored by a breach
than by the observance. Seeing that we were fellow students,
it might have been presumed that we were gentlemen and on an equal footing.
How different are the manners of the American! You can hardly take a walk,
or go for any distance in a train, without being addressed by a stranger,
and not infrequently making a friend. In some countries
the fact that you are a foreigner only thickens the ice,
in America it thaws it. This delightful trait in the American character
is also traceable to the same cause as that which has helped us to explain
the other peculiarities which have been mentioned. To good Americans,
not only are the citizens of America born equal, but the citizens of the world
are also born equal.
Chapter 9. American Women
It is rather bold on my part to take up this subject.
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