f the non-English-speaking nationalities
who has not deeply realized the truth of this statement.

It may be safely said that it will on an average take two generations
before the children of the non-English-speaking immigrants shall cease
to suffer more or less from these prejudices. Certainly the children of
immigrant parents, although born and brought up in this country, are
often subjected to sneers and taunts by their more fortunate
playfellows, even within the walls of the American public schools.

This antipathy is most noticeable in places where the number of
foreigners is very great, but less where they are few, and may be
explained and partly excused by the fact that, when a great number of
foreigners live together they are more apt to maintain their customs,
language and amusements, which differ from those of the native-born. But
the chief reason is that when the immigrants, most of whom belong to the
hard-working classes, arrive directly from a long and exhausting
journey, they are often poorly dressed, awkward and ignorant of the
language and customs of the country, and look forlorn and crestfallen.
The first impression which the native American thus receives remains
with him, while he does not stop to consider that the same class of
people coming from America to Europe would not appear to better
advantage if they should go there as immigrants. Nor does he consider
the injustice of judging whole nationalities by their less favored
representatives under such circumstances. There are, of course, many
noble exceptions among the native Americans; but as to genuine tolerance
between different nationalities, I have seen far more of it in the great
cosmopolitan cities of Europe, Asia and Africa, than in America.

But these shortcomings may be easily overlooked for the many noble
traits of character which all admit him to possess. And most striking and
beautiful of these is the honor and respect he shows to woman. There is
no other country in the world where woman is treated with such
consideration, and where she is as safe and honored as among Americans,
and if we judge nations by the way their women are treated, as I think
we should, the American nation has no peer in the world.

But if the Americans have a one-sided and wrong conception of
foreigners, so have also many foreign people a wrong conception of
America, and we ought not to blame the former more than the latter. The
Swedish press, for instance,--wit