in the note-book of the _Sewer_), seemed never to have dreamed of the
propriety or possibility of coming up to Oldport to put a stop to them.
When Tom Edwards was squandering his fortune night after night at the
faro-table, and his health day after day in ceaseless dissipation, there
was no old friend of his family who dared to give him advice or warning,
for there was none to whose advice or warning he would have listened.
Once when Ashburner was conversing with Benson on some subject which
brought on a reference to this inverse order of things, the latter gave
his explanation of it, which was to this effect:--

"The number of foreigners among us, either travelling for pleasure or
settled for purposes of business, is so great that they become an
appreciable element in our society. It is, therefore, requisite that a
fashionable should be able to associate easily with foreigners; and for
this it is necessary that he or she should have some knowledge of
foreign customs and languages, and, in the first place, of the French
language. Now, if we go back a generation, we shall find that the men of
that day were not educated to speak French. Go into the Senate Chamber
at Washington, for instance, and you will not meet with many of the
honorable senators who can converse in the recognized language of
courts. Many of our most distinguished statesmen and _diplomats_ can
speak no tongue but their own. And to descend to private life, with
which we have more particularly to do, when a foreigner presents himself
with his letters at the dwelling of an old city merchant or professional
man, it is generally the younger branches of the family who are called
on to amuse him and play interpreters for the rest. This gives the young
people a very decided advantage over their elders, and it is not
surprising that they have become a little vain of it. And similarly with
regard to foreign dresses, dances, cookery, and habits generally. The
young men, having been the latest abroad, are the freshest and best
informed in these things. It does not require any great experience or
wisdom to master them, only some personal grace and aptitude for
imitation to start with, and an _a plomb_ to which ignorance is more
conducive than knowledge. Hence the standard of excellence has become
one of superficial accomplishment, and the man of matured mind who
enters into competition with these handsome, showy, and illiterate boys,
puts himself at a discount. Look