Merchants [ Commerce ]
… have a tradesman, forsooth, that was something of a gentleman too; that when my husband had a mind to carry me to the court, or to the play, he might become a sword, and look as like a gentleman as another man; and not be one that had the … of civil behaviour and ‘ideal of sociability’. 13 Some individuals noted a sharp contrast between the politeness of the courtier and the politeness of the merchant; where the courtier’s polite behaviour aimed for pleasure, the merchant’s politeness aimed for profit. Politeness permitted and …
Commerce | Merchants | Middling sort | North America | Politeness
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