his feet. London might have raised a testimonial to one of them; and had
it done so, every unfledged clerkling and embryo Rothschild would have
glowed as he saw how industry, and wealth, and honour, went hand in hand.
With what delight would the young aspirant for wealth have returned to
the study of those refreshing maxims in ethics which grandmammas so
zealously impress upon the juvenile mind, and of which the British public
are not a little fond. But a testimonial was given to Mr. Hudson for
none of these things. It was not for honesty, or industry, or worth,
that he was rewarded. It was simply for speculation--for a course of
conduct utterly hostile to legitimate business, which has made many a
decent tradesman a bankrupt, and which has turned many an honest man into
a knave. England stamped with its approval a system the morality of
which is somewhat questionable. It bade the young man eschew the dulness
of the counter and the office for the magic wand of speculation. It
passed by the industrious merchant, the philanthropist, the patriot, to
worship the golden calf, as did the Hebrews of old.

Eighteen hundred years back, on the plains of Palestine, appeared a
carpenter's son, with a divine mission but a human heart. He preached no
cash gospel--He was no prophet in the eyes of the rich. He had His
testimonial--He reaped it in the bad man's deadly hate. Alas! the Hebrew
nature is the true and universal one. In Mr. Hudson's, there is the
testimonial of the rich--for the Christ, and those who would follow in
His steps, there is the thorny path and the open tomb. Let us not
imagine that we are one whit better than the Hebrew. The Hudson
testimonial proves a common paternity. Gold has still more charms than
God. As Mr. Bright, if not in so many words, but in spirit, says,
"Perish Savoy, rather than not trade with France," so the London merchant
and tradesman ignore too often honour and conscience, and morality, for
vulgar gain.

It requires great philosophy to get over the effects of City Life. "Let
any one," says Addison, "behold the kind of faces he meets as soon as he
passes Cheapside Conduit, and you see a deep attention and a certain
feeble sharpness in every countenance; they look attentive, but their
thoughts are engaged on mean purposes." This feeling is perpetuated.
Addison remarks of a gentleman of vast estate, whose grandfather was a
trader, "that he is a very honest gentleman in his principl