Sure he would say no offence meant. No offence taken you would say to him. Have one with me he would say.
No sooner said than done.
But nowadays all you see and hear is bad manners and impoliteness with people hustling and bumping into each other on the subways and stepping on each other and women and children amongst them and nobody ever begging anybody's pardon and hard feelings everywhere.
The trouble is everybody is sore and wanting a drink all the time and there is no place where the younger generation is going to learn good manners now that the barrooms is gone. What is the young fellows just growing up to manhood going to do for their manners now that the barrooms is closed, is what I want to know.
It used to be you would get onto a subway train and there would be two or three women standing up and you would be setting down and there would be three or four drinks under your belt and you would be feeling good and you would say to yourself am I a gentleman or ain't I a gentleman.
You're damned right I am a gentleman, you would say to yourself, here, lady, you set down, and don't let any of these here bums roust you out of that seat.
If any of these here bums tries to roust you out of that seat I will put a tin ear onto them.
That's the kind of a gentleman I am, lady, they would have a hell of a time, lady, getting your seat away from you with me here.
And she seen you was a gentleman and she smiled at you and you hung onto a strap and felt good.
But nowadays there ain't no manners, with no place to get a drink or anything.