There is no culture in which knowing how to win or lose loyally, without reservations, with self-control in victory, and without rancor in defeat, is not desired. One wants to be en beau joueur.

a description of real life

Hey, you try spending an evening with some back-slapping breeder from out of town, smoking cigars, and talking about pussy.

Grand juries would fail to indict for bare-faced scoundrelry — as long as the accused were their scoundrels; after all, the officers picking grand jurors were good partisans themselves.