Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1830-1846, 1838-05-31
We do no. recolJect the author of the 70

We do not recol)ect the author OF the fol
lowing or we should duly credit it. II mat
tiers not, however, the article is good one,
aud we regret to say contains too much truth.
FALSE PRIpE.-It has always been a mat
ter Of regret with me that false pride could
not be made like theft, criminal offence
IL 10 the parent of about as many crimes as
any other vice for such hold it TO be, al
least one description Of it. Where it is q
weakness it is much to be pitled, and gener
ally leads to improperly. How many honest
men have been made scoundrels by the false
pride Of foolish wife and extravagant fami
ly. 1t is compound of ignorance, deccp
ton and envy, and the world is full Of it. Sc
long as it operates upon individuals alone, il
was matter of triiling consideration; but
strange rs it may appear, its influence strikes
ut the very root OF a virtuons and fiourishine
community. Like intemperance, it is assuln-
ing the shape Of national calamity,and mer-
its the severe reflection Of every reformer-
Thousands who have gone forth as armed
knights upon a crusade against manifest evils,
have, in themselves, been slaves to this ins-
dious enemy. Selflove may prompt man
10 do a good action,bu false pride has never;
II is incompatible with its nature. in our
own COuutIyy NS IHiSI iiioNhiSi NohoiSto III
making labor degradation,& thus strikes at
the foundation OF our prosperous condition as
a people. There never was an age, perhaps,
where so much scheming was resorted to, to
avoid hard work no period that could exhibit
so many Jerry Diddlers above stairs and be.
low, or manifesting such wild spirit of spe-
culation, as the present. The rich man Of
to- day, is the Lazarus Of tomorrow For
tunes are staked upon the rise and fall OF
stocks, as upon the cast of a die. Cities are
created by fraudulence! I'm the morning al
eyes are cast upon the master spirit Of enter
prise, and the evening finds him disgracet
man within the walls Of prison. Ingenuity
itself is thunder struck at tho countless meth
ods adopted to obtain soft hands. Why does
this disposition so extensively prevail? Ger
tainly not for the security Of happiness, fol
il is fruitful with poignant anxiety-not fol
health, for it frequently eneTvates and de.
stroys. Sir Walter Scott, think, says ne
man ought TO want in this country, who car
buy hatchet and fell tree: consequently
the remark being true, IT cannot be from ne
cessity. False pride whispers 1T is not gen.
teel TO work." How bancfully is this Illus
trated.
Does the successful merchant make his son
a mechanic 4? very seldom. Does the profess
siona man make his son mechanic more
seldom still. But does not the more fortunate
mechanic mako his son the guardian of cloths
and calicos? Why is this? Is the yard
stick more honorable than the jack plane? the
goose quill more dignified than the type p
Look back twenty or fifty years, and behold
the barefooted adventurer, and at the present
time rolling in wealth or spending his annu.
al income of some three thousand dollars pei
annuln in manufacturing ladies' of his daugh-
ters. Does he teach them the usual rudi-
ments of housewfeIy? Very rarely. is il
because the healthtul exercise of domestic
duties is disgraceiul? o mo- False pride
says it would be ungenteel for ladies' to
work"-as if it would tarnish their fair and
delicate fingers, that bring such sweet sounds
from the piano, to duet the gorgeous instru-
ment itself.
How supremely ridiculous is this illegiti.
mate pride Thousands Of daughters, whose
mothers have been raised in a kitchen, and
their fathers in horse stable, would feel in
suited if asked if they had ever made loafof
bread, or washed out pocket handkerchief
They would more likely p,ate about good
society,"" "mixcd company" and the dignity
of their ancestors! A few years more roll
round, and the thrifty, but imprudent parents
die--and then comes the scramble for some
ten or twelve divisions Of his hard earned es
tate. How small does large fortune APP
pear when apportioned TO numerous heirs
The daughters must Of course marry gentle
men, for pride dictates it and the gentle
men muet Of course squander their patrimo.
ny. And what has the parent bequeathcd Il
society and his country? Children raised il
idleness, without the stimuant to add ont
iots to the general substantial prosperity o
the community.
Can there be doubt but that honest labo
is daily becoming more and more stigmati
zed2 And what follows? A grovelling imi
tation, from the cellar to the garret! A spir
il Of extravagance, in which the most un
principled means are resorted to. Let
proceed with the same rapid march that ha
commenced, and il will be stigma to "earl
your bread by the sweat Of your brow" In
feet the country-the farmer-with the sam'
poison that flows through the population o
our large cities, and you make the country o
Franklin parallel to Montezuma's!
With us labor is every thing. II is more
precious than the mines Of Mexico-mort
valuable than countless wealth. II is no
only the foundation, but the main nrch Of ouI
confederacy. Unite it with education, and II
forms tower Of strength on which our libcr-
ties may rest forever. The priceless metals
OF the earth may exalt nation to the high
est attitude OF transient glory but like phe-
noinena that illuminate the heavens, they
dazzle but moment. as in the case with
Spain, sink into 6Afkness aud gloom. Not
so with the labor Of man. Its glory is cen
tered in the oarth, and we behold Il in the
strides OF internal improvement-thes success
Of invention-ihe perfection Of mechanical
skill, and the ipeulcaton Of those exalted
IN oral principles which give durability to our
in stituiions, and raise mankind TO their own
nature and existence. Industry is the grand