are little men and women
of the world from the time they can walk alone. All these kinds of
children exist,--sure breathings of the moral atmosphere of their homes.
The traveller must watch them, talk with them, and learn from their
bearing towards their parents, and the bent of their affections, what is
the spirit of the families of the land.

From observation on these classes of facts,--the Occupation of the
people, the respective Characters of the occupied classes, the Health of
the population, the state of Marriage and of Women, and the character of
Childhood,--the moralist may learn more of the private life of a
community than from the conversation of any number of the individuals
who compose it.

CHAPTER IV.

IDEA OF LIBERTY.

"He who taught man to vanquish whatsoever
Can be between the cradle and the grave,
Crowned him the King of Life. O vain endeavour,
If on his own high will, a willing slave,
He has enthroned the oppression and the oppressor!
What if earth can clothe and feed
Amplest millions at their need,
And power in thought be as the tree within the seed?
Or what if Art, an ardent intercessor,
Diving on fiery wings to Nature's throne,
Checks the great mother stooping to caress her,
And cries, Give me, thy child, dominion
Over all height and depth? If Life can breed
New wants, and wealth from those who toil and groan
Rend of thy gifts and her's a thousandfold for one."
_Shelley._

The same rule--of observing Things in preference to relying upon the
Discourse of persons--holds good in the task of ascertaining the Idea of
Liberty entertained and realized by any society. The Things to be
observed for this purpose are those which follow.

The most obvious consideration of all is the amount of feudal
arrangements which remain,--so obvious as to require only a bare
mention. If people are satisfied to obey the will of a lord of the soil,
to go out to hunt or to fight at his bidding, to require his consent to
marriages among his dependants, and to hold whatever they have at his
permission, their case is clear. They are destitute of any idea of
liberty, and can be considered at best only half-civilized.--It matters
little whether all this subservience is yielded to the owner of an
estate, or the sovereign of the country, represented by his police or