allest possible expenditure of time. The intellectual
class grows in numbers and in influence along with the numbers and
influence of the materially productive population of the State. And not
only are the natural philosophers, the writers of contemporary and past
history, the discoverers in science, _necessary_ in the strictest sense
to the life of such a community as the modern English community, but
even the poets, the novelists, the artists are necessary to the
perfection of its life. Without them and their work the national mind
would be as incomplete as would be the natural universe without beauty.
But this, perhaps, you will perceive less clearly, or be less willing to
admit.

LETTER V.

TO A YOUNG ETONIAN WHO THOUGHT OF BECOMING A COTTON-SPINNER.

Absurd old prejudices against commerce--Stigma attached to the great
majority of occupations--Traditions of feudalism--Distinctions between
one trade and another--A real instance of an Etonian who had gone into
the cotton-trade--Observations on this case--The trade a fine field
for energy--A poor one for intellectual culture--It develops practical
ability--Culture not possible without leisure--The founders of
commercial fortunes.

It is agreeable to see various indications that the absurd old
prejudices against commerce are certainly declining. There still remains
quite enough contempt for trade in the professional classes and the
aristocracy, to give us frequent opportunities for studying it as a
relic of former superstition, unhappily not yet rare enough to be quite
a curiosity; but as time passes and people become more rational, it
will retreat to out-of-the-way corners of old country mansions and rural
parsonages, at a safe distance from the light-giving centres of
industry. It is a surprising fact, and one which proves the almost
pathetic spirit of deference and submission to superiors which
characterizes the English people, that out of the hundreds of
occupations which are followed by the busy classes of this country, only
three are entirely free from some degrading stigma, so that they may be
followed by a high-born youth without any sacrifice of caste. The wonder
is that the great active majority of the nation, the men who by their
industry and intelligence have made England what she is, should ever
have been willing to submit to so insolent a rule as this rule of caste,
which, instead of honoring industry, honored idleness, and attached a