less prejudiced, man of the world, who has not had the honour to have been born on the other side of the Pyrenees, is a false principle of honour, seeking its gratification in the abject submission of others, and refining to extravagant punctilio and constrained resentment, that which should only proceed from the genuine and lively emotions of the soul. It is a deformity of the mind, which subjects its possessor not only to the ridicule of all around him, but to infinite mortification on the failure of that respect which he considers as due to his superior merit; a mortification, which, as few others view him in the same light, he must be frequently subjected to. Though these principles are in all respects diametrically opposite, each of them have a specious appearance of truth. By tempering therefore each with the other, are we most likely to prove, whether pride is a principle to be cherished in the human heart or no. That pride, for instance, which, when moderately indulged, fires a man with a just and noble sentiment for wrongs received, when carried farther degenerates into punctilio. That which prevents a man from condescending to any thing unworthy himself, is a laudable principle; but when any thing a degree below his expectation or wishes is interpreted into an unworthy occupation, it becomes a folly. As to the mortification a man draws on himself, by an intemperate indulgence of this failing, it must be allowed that the poison is in that respect its own antidote; and a mind so impregnated is at least equal to supporting the ridicule which is levelled against it. Pride in short is of two kinds, defensive and offensive. While only defensive, it is far from being offensive, and serves as a sword in the scabbard, 1 which, though harmless at the moment, protects the wearer from insult; when offensive, it is an attack on the rest of mankind which calls for every one's exertion to repel it. But I seem to be straying from my motto, which, as I am more particularly on the subject of family pride, calls on me to prove the descent of all our noble houses from shepherds, or what, as the poet sings, "I am ashamed to say." As in a former paper I invited my readers to a melancholy prospect in the terra incognita of probabilities, so will I now present them with a full as unflattering a retrospect in the terra firma of history. Mankind are obliged to the so much talked of golden age, in no other respect than for the quantity of harmonious ditties it has produced; and the pretty allusions concerning hanging woods, purling streams, the social intercourse of man and sheep, the great conveniency which swains of those days used to experience in their extraordinary powers of abstinence, &c. &c. which it has from time immemorial, and still continues to furnish to Arcadian garreteers. So far indeed was any age from being pre-existent to the iron, that the first crime committed by man was a violation of the express law of God; the second of that of God and nature. From that time forward, particular facts, which prove the antediluvian is no word to be applied to any thing over religious, are too numerous to dwell on. Suffice it to say, that the history of our right worshipful grandsires, both before and since the flood, does not at all tend to strengthen the opinion of the poet: Etas parentum pejor avis tulit HORACE. More vicious than their fathers' age Our sons shall make the coming age their own. FRANCIS. The conquest, wealth, luxury, and from thence the decline of commonwealths, have in all ages been the theme as well of the moralist as the historian; these therefore let us pass by, and by looking back so far only as to the first population of this island, consider whether the motto is not as applicable to the family pride of a true-born Briton, as that of a Roman citizen. Notwithstanding the comfortable assertions of those ingenious gentlemen who wish to derive us from the illustrious race of Troy, our vicinity to the Continent pleads hard for our being neither more nor less than the descendants of a few shipwrecked fishermen; or, what is worse, some light-footed heroes, who preferred the chance of escaping by sea to the certainty of hanging on shore. Nor has this stock been much mended by the exotic shoots which have, from time to time, been ingrafted on it; such as the Romans, our first invaders, from whom, I believe, many genealogists of the present day pretend to derive their origin; though it scarce seems probable, that a people who had more pride of birth than any other, would have consented to forego their country and friends, in order to settle among a race of barbarians; unless perhaps some few who were not in the censor's list, and therefore, in fact, no Romans; or some chance deserters, who took refuge among the natives to avoid military discipline. The Danes, a wretched band of adventurers, whose ferocity was their only distinguishing characteristic, whose only motive for forsaking their own country was poverty, and whose only view in invading Britain was plunder. The Saxons, in themselves a brave and ancient nation, but happily at that time delivered of their own ruffians in the persons of our conquerors. Last of all the Normans, under the command of a bastard, put a finishing blow to the contentions of foreign powers for the possession of this unhappy island; and completed a mixture of bravos, differing in their manners and interests, each (as not being attached to one head by any principles of loyalty and affection) naturally endeavouring to advance his own partizans; and smothering that jealousy from constraint, which only waited for an opportunity to burst into a flame. stain. From this engaging portrait of our forefathers, a Chinese philosopher would be led to suppose that the antiquity of a British family was its greatest But so far is this from being the case, that even in this miniature picture of mankind, family pride is no inconsiderable feature; and some there are, who, though their only merit lies in a crowded vault, from that single distinction consider themselves as infinitely superior to those men of yesterday, whose meritorious exertions evince them to be rather ambitious of founding than boasting a noble family. But from a probable supposition that this extravagant principle can only have taken root in the minds of those from whom it is impossible to eradicate it, let us proceed to that family pride, which has at first a more specious appearance, and, if ingrafted on notions naturally virtuous, is more likely to produce good effects; that, I mean, which boasts not so much the antiquity as eminence of its family. Even this, however, though to a noble mind it is an additional incentive to great and glorious actions, if it happens to be cherished by a wicked or even a passive disposition, will be found to be equally ridiculous with the other. If the good qualities of mankind were like those of cattle, hereditary, a virtuous ancestry would be the most desirable possession a man could receive from inheritance; but if experience teaches us that they so seldom are, if from the adulation with which men of family and fortune are generally from their infancy surrounded, it is very improbable that they should be oftener virtuous. What does a man derive from a noble family, unless that, by the profusion of light in the back ground, the shade in front is more effectually exposed. To those few, therefore, to those chosen few, who consider that a noble family reflects either honour or disgrace only according to the use made of it by themselves; who reflect that it is nothing more than a splendid burden, an additional tax on them to add one more to the distinguished list, to them may a degree of family pride be considered as an advantage. And among those, our little world may boast of having ushered no inconsiderable share into the larger theatre of life, who have since distinguished themselves as good and great men. Nor in any other respect does a public education so much evince its superiority, as in the equitable treatment our citizens receive from each other; and which, says Dr. Moore, “often serves as an antidote against the childish sophistical notions, with which weak or designing men endeavour to inspire them in after life.' C. NOTES TO CORRESPONDENTS.-No NOVELIST, TWO SENEX's, and the COUNTRY GIRL are received. The latter has a full right to the indulgence |