anderings, among the benighted
and effete nations of the Old World, on whom the untravelled American
looks down from the height of his superiority, I am struck anew by the
contrast between the trim, well-groomed officials left behind on one side
of the ocean and the happy-go-lucky, slouching individuals I find on the
other.

As I ride up town this unpleasant impression deepens. In the "little
Mother Isle" I have just left, bus-drivers have quite a coaching air,
with hat and coat of knowing form. They sport flowers in their button-
holes and salute other bus-drivers, when they meet, with a twist of whip
and elbow refreshingly correct, showing that they take pride in their
calling, and have been at some pains to turn themselves out as smart in
appearance as finances would allow.

Here, on the contrary, the stage and cab drivers I meet seem to be under
a blight, and to have lost all interest in life. They lounge on the box,
their legs straggling aimlessly, one hand holding the reins, the other
hanging dejectedly by the side. Yet there is little doubt that these
heartbroken citizens are earning double what their London _confreres_
gain. The shadow of the national peculiarity is over them.

When I get to my rooms, the elevator boy is reclining in the lift, and
hardly raises his eye-lids as he languidly manoeuvres the rope. I have
seen that boy now for months, but never when his boots and clothes were
brushed or when his cravat was not riding proudly above his collar. On
occasions I have offered him pins, which he took wearily, doubtless
because it was less trouble than to refuse. The next day, however, his
cravat again rode triumphant, mocking my efforts to keep it in its place.
His hair, too, has been a cause of wonder to me. How does he manage to
have it always so long and so unkempt? More than once, when expecting
callers, I have bribed him to have it cut, but it seemed to grow in the
night, back to its poetic profusion.

In what does this noble disregard for appearances which characterizes
American men originate? Our climate, as some suggest, or discouragement
at not all being millionaires? It more likely comes from an absence with
us of the military training that abroad goes so far toward licking young
men into shape.

I shall never forget the surprise on the face of a French statesman to
whom I once expressed my sympathy for his country, laboring under the
burden of so vast a standing army. He answere