ow had seen him more than once, and had been very kind to him;
but she also failed to understand. "I always thought that he was such
a manly fellow," she said to her husband.

"If you mean personal courage, there is no doubt that he possesses
it,--as completely now, probably, as ever."

"Oh yes;--he could go over to Flanders and let that lord shoot at
him; and he could ride brutes of horses, and not care about breaking
his neck. That's not what I mean. I thought that he could face the
world with dignity;--but now it seems that he breaks down."

"He has been very roughly used, my dear."

"So he has,--and tenderly used too. Nobody has had better friends. I
thought he would have been more manly."

The property of manliness in a man is a great possession, but perhaps
there is none that is less understood,--which is more generally
accorded where it does not exist, or more frequently disallowed where
it prevails. There are not many who ever make up their minds as to
what constitutes manliness, or even inquire within themselves upon
the subject. The woman's error, occasioned by her natural desire for
a master, leads her to look for a certain outward magnificence of
demeanour, a pretended indifference to stings and little torments,
a would-be superiority to the bread-and-butter side of life, an
unreal assumption of personal grandeur. But a robe of State such as
this,--however well the garment may be worn with practice,--can never
be the raiment natural to a man; and men, dressing themselves in
women's eyes, have consented to walk about in buckram. A composure of
the eye, which has been studied, a reticence as to the little things
of life, a certain slowness of speech unless the occasion call for
passion, an indifference to small surroundings, these,--joined, of
course, with personal bravery,--are supposed to constitute manliness.
That personal bravery is required in the composition of manliness
must be conceded, though, of all the ingredients needed, it is the
lowest in value. But the first requirement of all must be described
by a negative. Manliness is not compatible with affectation. Women's
virtues, all feminine attributes, may be marred by affectation, but
the virtues and the vice may co-exist. An affected man, too, may
be honest, may be generous, may be pious;--but surely he cannot
be manly. The self-conscious assumption of any outward manner,
the striving to add,--even though it be but a tenth of a cubit to
the hei