The examiner. [volume] (Louisville, Ky.) 1847-1849, 1849-01-27
BY MACAULAY.

From the foregoing description it might
be supposed that the English esquire OF the
seventeenth century did not materially DIFF
fer from a rustic miller or ale-house keeper
Of our time. There are, however, some i'm
portant parts Of his character 10 be sill no.
ted which will greatly modify this estimate.
Unlettered as he was and unpublished, he
was still in some most important points a
gentleman. He was a member of proud
and powerful aristocracy, and was distin-
guished by many both Of the good and Of
the bad qualities which belong to the sIis-
tocrats. His family pride was beyond that
Of Talbot or Howard. He knew the
genealogies and coats of arms Of all his
neighbors, and could tell which of them
had assumed supporters without any right,
and which Of them were so unfortunate as
to be greatgrand- Of aldermen. He
was magistrate, and, as such, administer
ed grstuitously to those who dwelt around
him rude patriarchal Justice, which, in
spite of innumerable blunders and of oc-
casional acts Of tyranny, was yet better than
no Justice at all. He was an officer of
the train-bands; and his military dignity,
though it might move the mirth of gallants
who had served campaign in Flanders,
raised his character in his own eyes and in
the eyes of his neighbors. Nor, indeed,
was his soldiershiP justly subject of de-
rision. In every country there were elder
ly gentlemen who had seen service which
was no child's play. One had been knight
ed BY Charles the First, after the battle Of
EdgehiE. Another still wore patch over
the scar which he had received at Naseby.
A third had defended his old house till Fair
fax had blown in the door with petard.-
The presence of these old Cavaliers, with
their old swords and holsters, and with
their old stories about Going and Luns-
ford, gave 10 the musters Of militia nm
earnest and warlike aspect which would
otherwise have been wanting. Even those
country gentlemen who were too young to
have themselves exchanged blows with the
cuirassiers of the Parliament, had, from
childhood, been surrounded by the traces
Of recent war, and fed with stories of the
martial exploits Of their fathers and uncIes.
Thus the character of the English esquire
Of the seventeenth century was compound
ed of two elements which we are not ac
customed to find united. His ignorance
and uncouthness, his low tastes and gross
phrases, would, in our time, be considered
as indicating a nature and breeding
thoroughly plebeian; yet he was essentially
patrician, and had, in large measure, both
the virtues and the vices which flourish
among men set from their birth in high
place, and accustomed to authority, TO OBJ
servance. and to selGrespect. 1t is not
easy for generation which is accustomed
to find chivalrous sentiments only in COM
pany with liberal studies and polished man
ners to imagine to itself man with the de-
pertinent, the vocabulary, and the accent
Of carter, yet punctilious on matters Of
genealogy and precedence. and ready 70
risk his life rather than see stain cast ON
the honor Of his house. Ii lis only. how.
ever. by thus joining together things sci.
dom or never found together in our own
experience, that we can form Just idea OF,
that rustic aristocracy which constituted