r a lust-spot, on the clothes of a blooming emperor,
give a kind of zest to the genteel young god? Do not the pride,
superciliousness, and selfishness of a certain aristocracy make it all
the more regarded by its worshippers? and do not the clownish and gutter-
blood admirers of Mr. Flamson like him all the more because they are
conscious that he is a knave? If such is the case --and, alas! is it not
the case?--they cannot be too frequently told that fine clothes, wealth,
and titles adorn a person in proportion as he adorns them; that if worn
by the magnanimous and good they are ornaments indeed, but if by the vile
and profligate they are merely san benitos, and only serve to make their
infamy doubly apparent; and that a person in seedy raiment and tattered
hat, possessed of courage, kindness, and virtue, is entitled to more
respect from those to whom his virtues are manifested than any cruel
profligate emperor, selfish aristocrat, or knavish millionaire in the
world.

The writer has no intention of saying that all in England are affected
with the absurd mania for gentility; nor is such a statement made in the
book; it is shown therein that individuals of certain classes can prize a
gentleman, notwithstanding seedy raiment, dusty shoes or tattered
hat,--for example, the young Irishman, the rich genius, the postillion,
and his employer. Again, when the life of the hero is given to the
world, amidst the howl about its lowness and vulgarity, raised by the
servile crew whom its independence of sentiment has stung, more than one
powerful voice has been heard testifying approbation of its learning and
the purity of its morality. That there is some salt in England, minds
not swayed by mere externals, he is fully convinced; if he were not, he
would spare himself the trouble of writing; but to the fact that the
generality of his countrymen are basely grovelling before the shrine of
what they are pleased to call gentility, he cannot shut his eyes.

Oh! what a clever person that Cockney was, who, travelling in the
Aberdeen railroad carriage, after edifying the company with his remarks
on various subjects, gave it as his opinion that Lieutenant P--- would,
in future, be shunned by all respectable society! And what a simple
person that elderly gentleman was, who, abruptly starting, asked in
rather an authoritative voice, "and why should Lieutenant P--- be shunned
by respectable society?" and who, after entering into what was sa