o be assassinated, and the queen-mother to be imprisoned,
raised himself to a title and the most tyrannical power.

Sir Walter Raleigh owed his promotion to an act of gallantry to Queen
Elizabeth, and Sir Christopher Hatton owed his preferment to his
dancing: Queen Elizabeth, observes Granger, with all her sagacity, could
not see the future lord chancellor in the fine dancer. The same writer
says, "Nothing could form a more curious collection of memoirs than
_anecdotes of preferment_." Could the secret history of great men be
traced, it would appear that merit is rarely the first step to
advancement. It would much oftener be found to be owing to superficial
qualifications, and even vices.

NOBILITY.

Francis the First was accustomed to say, that when the nobles of his
kingdom came to court, they were received by the world as so many little
_kings_; that the day after they were only beheld as so many _princes_;
but on the third day they were merely considered as so many _gentlemen_,
and were confounded among the crowd of courtiers.--It was supposed that
this was done with a political view of humbling the proud _nobility_;
and for this reason Henry IV. frequently said aloud, in the presence of
the princes of the blood, _We are all gentlemen._

It is recorded of Philip the Third of Spain, that while he exacted the
most punctilious respect from the _grandees_, he saluted the _peasants_.
He would never be addressed but on the knees; for which he gave this
artful excuse, that as he was of low stature, every one would have
appeared too high for him. He showed himself rarely even to his
grandees, that he might the better support his haughtiness and repress
their pride. He also affected to speak to them by half words; and
reprimanded them if they did not guess the rest. In a word, he omitted
nothing that could mortify _his nobility._

MODES OF SALUTATION, AND AMICABLE CEREMONIES, OBSERVED IN VARIOUS
NATIONS.

When men, writes the philosophical compiler of "_L'Esprit des Usages et
des Coutumes_," salute each other in an amicable manner, it signifies
little whether they move a particular part of the body, or practise a
particular ceremony. In these actions there must exist different
customs. Every nation imagines it employs the most reasonable ones; but
all are equally simple, and none are to be treated as ridiculous.

This infinite number of ceremonies may be reduced to two kinds; to
reverences or salutati