The 39 steps to being a gentleman?
I am afraid I rather severely failed this test, as proposed by the British magazine Country Life. I cannot “train a rose,” nor did I even know what that meant. I also don’t own a tweed suit, nor do I tip my “gamekeeper in the shooting field.” “Sings lustily in church” is yet another fail, though I am punctual and do not own a chihuahua, nor would I, as is stipulated.
I was puzzled by a response to this quiz in a recent David Tang FT column. He answered:
32. Would not go to Puerto Rico
Been there once already — ghastly.
I am pleased to have gone twice, from which I can only conclude that at least one of us does not know what a gentleman is. I might have defined the concept as someone who is kind, tolerant, strong as required, and respectful of social mores when appropriate.