“AN ENGLISH GENTLEMAN"

New Zealand Times, Volume L, Issue 11685, 24 November 1923, Page 12

“AN ENGLISH GENTLEMAN"

QUAINT JAPANESE QUERY. What is an English gentleman P That is the question that was put to Dr. C. A. Alington (headmaster of Eton) 'by a Japanese naval commander who visited him recently at the famous college. Dr. Alington described the incident to an audience of the Workers’ Educational Association he was addressing at Eton. The Japanese officer, he said, told him that when a cadet in the navy he was trained in the English way, and was always told, “That is not done in England; it is not the English way; that is not what an English gentleman does.” Then, said Dr. Alington, the Japanese commander told him that- when in Japan he said to himself:— “When I have time to go to England to see what this means —this ‘English gentleman.’ Now I have been in England one month, and I say to those I see: ‘What is an English gentleman? Where can I find an English gentleman?’ ” “They say to me. ‘lf you want to see an English gentleman, go to Eton.’ I have a keen desire to see an English gentleman. I come here, and you are the headmaster. You will tell me what is an English gentleman.” Dr. Alington said the question was a very difficult one to answer, but the incident was honourable, both to the Japanese, and to this country. He did not tell his audience what answer he gave, but, asked at the close of the lecture, he said: “I found it impossible to give the definition, and limited myself to saying that, in public schools, we tried to give boys a sense of the right use of freedom, and to encourage them to rule one another. I added that the friendly relations between hoy and master was another striking characteristic of all English schools.”