Page:About people (IA aboutpeople00well).pdf/116

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ABOUT PEOPLE.

who has never been ordained." A very narrow distinction, exclaim those who stand outside; a very real one, say those who stand within.

It is in minor matters of social life that our illiberality constantly surprises us. Reforms are most notable examples of it. As, for instance, those who do not wear mourning can appreciate neither the protection it affords nor its graduated hues. A violent anti-tobacconist refuses the name of gentleman to a smoker; a teetotaler deems a glass of sherry a sign of inebriation; even puddings must lose their flavor under reformatory zeal, and silver tankards of the past must be termed "christening bowls;” a man who smokes and drinks may be fit for heaven, but not for marriage or society.

Unconventionality brands conventionality as narrow. The longer one lives, however, the more is the safeguard of ceremony valued. As almost every social convention had its ori-

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