to the full as odious, in the narrow-minded, envious democrat who cannot
bear to see any elegance of living, or grace of manner, or culture of
mind above the range of his own capacity or his own purse.

Let me recommend to your consideration the following words, written by
one young nobleman about another young nobleman, and reminding us, as we
much need to be reminded, that life may be not only honest and vigorous,
but also noble and beautiful. Robert Lytton says of Julian Fane--

"He was, I think, the most graceful and accomplished gentleman of the
generation he adorned, and by this generation, at least, appropriate
place should be reserved for the memory of a man in whose character the
most universal sympathy with all the intellectual culture of his age was
united to a refinement of social form, and a perfection of personal
grace, which, in spite of all its intellectual culture, the age is sadly
in want of. There is an artistry of life as well as of literature, and
the perfect knighthood of Sidney is no less precious to the world than
the genius of Spenser."

It is just this "perfect knighthood" that an envious democracy sneers at
and puts down. I do not say that all democracies are necessarily
envious, but they often are so, especially when they first assert
themselves, and whilst in that temper they are very willing to ostracize
gentlemen, or compel them to adopt bad manners. I have some hopes that
the democracies of the future may be taught by authors and artists to
appreciate natural gentlemanhood; but so far as we know them hitherto
they seem intolerant of dignity, and disposed to attribute it (very
unjustly) to individual self-conceit. The personages most popular in
democratic countries are often remarkably deficient in dignity, and
liked the better for the want of it, whilst if on the positive side they
can display occasional coarseness they become more popular still. Then I
should say, that although democratic feeling raises the lower classes
and increases their self-respect, which is indeed one of the greatest
imaginable benefits to a nation, it has a tendency to fix one uniform
type of behavior and of thought as the sole type in conformity with what
is accepted for "common sense," and that type can scarcely, in the
nature of things, be a very elevated one. I have been much struck, in
France, by the prevalence of what may be not inaccurately defined as the
commercial traveller type, even in classes where yo