THE TOURIST AND THE TUTOR
while to exert himself for people he might never meet again, and with whom he would not concern himself if he were to meet them. It is not surprising, therefore, that foreigners who saw only the most unlovely sides of English character should have been rather repelled than attracted. But not infrequently the very man who is chilly toward strangers is the truest of friends. He prefers a few trusted confidants to any number of casual acquaintances. He has never admitted any one to his inner circle without the most careful scrutiny, and for this he lacks opportunity when he casually meets a stranger. Getting on easily with people that one chances to meet is an art that the French have carried to perfection. The Englishman of the eighteenth century commonly lacked the flexibility and the self-forgetfulness necessary for such casual intercourse, particularly if he had to use a language not his own and thus ran the risk of making himself ridiculous. In general intelligence, or at least in hard common sense, and particularly in self-possession, Englishmen compared favorably with any travelers on the Continent. But as a rule they could enter but superficially into the spirit of foreign life.
Bearing all this in mind we may consider for a moment Englishmen's interest in society abroad and the extent to which they mingled with it. We must remember that the ordinary traveler was under a good deal of disadvantage in attempting to make more than a passing acquaintance with the people of the Continent. Commonly remaining in one place for only a limited time, he could not easily escape the hurried feeling that most travelers have in a country full of interesting sights. In so far as he troubled himself with society he naturally consorted with the upper classes,[1] for whom were reserved most of the pleasures that made life before the Revolution worth living.
Polite society throughout Europe a century and a half ago was in a sense a great international social club. Any one of recognized rank in one country had no difficulty in being admitted to society in another. France set the standard of manners for all Europe, and Versailles served
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- ↑ Andrews strongly advises young Englishmen who go to Paris to frequent the coffee-houses: "You will, if you are wise, often repair to these houses; and lay aside that pernicious pride, which prompts so many of our countrymen abroad to disdain all company, but that of persons of the highest rank." Letters to a Young Gentleman, p. 44.
