[Up From Slavery: An Autobiography by Booker T. Washington]@TWC D-Link bookUp From Slavery: An Autobiography CHAPTER XVI 29/35
The Englishmen, I found, took plenty of time for eating, as for everything else.
I am not sure if, in the long run, they do not accomplish as much or more than rushing, nervous Americans do. My visit to England gave me a higher regard for the nobility than I had had.
I had no idea that they were so generally loved and respected by the classes, nor had I any correct conception of how much time and money they spent in works of philanthropy, and how much real heart they put into this work.
My impression had been that they merely spent money freely and had a "good time." It was hard for me to get accustomed to speaking to English audiences. The average Englishman is so serious, and is so tremendously in earnest about everything, that when I told a story that would have made an American audience roar with laughter, the Englishmen simply looked me straight in the face without even cracking a smile. When the Englishman takes you into his heart and friendship, he binds you there as with cords of steel, and I do not believe that there are many other friendships that are so lasting or so satisfactory.
Perhaps I can illustrate this point in no better way than by relating the following incident.
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