The Norfolk post. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 1865-1866, 1865-10-13

OOk out TOT NUMBER one Will kreatel
,est and higher spirits than Continen-
tails and instead ofloving his neighbor |
with all his heart and might and soul.
the Englishman applies this theory OF
love 10 his own dear self anu takes care
Of himself and of his kindred and OF the
comforts of life with a genius and en-
thusiasm worthy of the highest admira-
tion. His home is his castle ms nfe-
side his paradise his household goods
his sole divinitieS his preakfast-taDle
his altar his Times his gospel; his din
ner his all-embracing, armament; his
tea the setting sun; and no doubt that
on the day of Judgment John Bull will
be found clinging desperately to earth,
not quite ready for eternity 80 long as
there are joints to be carved, port to be
slipped, nuts to be cracked, and crisp dry
toast to be buttered. In such country
where flesh scars over soul, facts over
sentiment, aud self over everything else,
the sharp corners of life become sharper
and the sad vicissitudes OF humanity
sadder. The poor are poorer than any
where else, and the rich richer. There
is something cruel pervading all these
social phenomena, and even the most
remarkable persons look rather like
splendid animals than interesting men.
The very greatness OF England as
maritime and commercial power springs
from that brute force which subjugates
the poor Hindoo and the miserable CAT
fire.. The proud boast that the sun never
sets upon English dominion IS probably
owing to the fact that this bright lumi-
nary shrinks from still further darken.
| ing localities that are already darkened
by the ruthless grip of the strong over
| the weak. The same uncompromislng
selfishness which leads to the acquisl-
| ton Of power also conduces to its un-
fiinching retention. Theterritorial LORDS
| of England are the most selfish, and
consequently the most powerful in the
world. They. just now pet the working
as political auxillaries against the mid
die classes, whose growing lnnuence,
intelligence and wealth threaten to un.
dermine the medieval privileges OF the
old Saxon and Norman landowners
The bulk of the population OF England
consists of hopeless paupers, and of hon
est working men eating literally theil
bread Gin the sweat of their brow, y
and laboring, like beasts of burden
for the enrichment Of their employ.
ers, that is to say, Of the higher classes
generally. These laborers are depressed
if not brutalized, by excessive toll, by
detective education, and by starvation
wages. 10 Aspirations for higher life
seem almost stifled intheir hearts by the
weight of their cares and their misery
They are looked down upon by the
classes lust above them to whom in re-
turn they look up, and this process o
humiliation and of adulatioh pervade
f the social fabrick from its basis ant
, through all its various stages to the yer,
: summit. Man does not meet with mai
, as his fellow-being. The bricklaye
meets the shoemaker, the tailor the up
7 holsterer, the haderdasher the grocer
the retailer the wholesale dealer, The
broker the merchant, the lawyer thu
physician, the curate the rector, the rec
! tor the bishop, the bishop the archbish
op. the peasant the farmer, the yeOmar
the country squire, the editor the mem
her of parliament the member Of par
lament the country gentleman, the bar
onet the earl, the earl the duke, tn,
duke the pripce, the prince the queen
, | and there is 80 much bowling down il
one way or the other, and all through
| that it would seem to require good des
; of gymnastical elasticity for the fins
j bow before the throne of the Most High
= The sense of common humanity
n merged in these accidents of occupatio
p and of life, and the animal buoyancy
: the English mind shines in no directio
|, with greater luster than in markings vil
r tue of this cruel necessity, and in wo
!. shipping the crushing social mechanism
d which Expresses them all. /.
y A people constituted SO anomalousl
a at home is doomedto behave prepostel
= ously abroad. TIL. English on the cor
: tinent carry their title island in the
: carpet bag, with The London Time
e Burke's Peerage, Murray's Handbook
8 razors, Blackstone, sponges, Bradshaw
: brushes, Who is Who, towels, BIRTHS
4 almanac, and all ther insular odds an,
a ends, and stalk about the hotels wit
: superb, supercili,usness, striking aw
! into the minds ofthe trembling walters
s who generally t.ke all the pompou
y butchers Of Oxfor street for my lord
: and all the dowaeer milliners of Edge
ware road for myladies. ALI this is yer.
0 droll, but as general rule, the Englisl
Y tourists on Lake Lelnan and the Thin
. are as troublesome as mosquitoes a
4 Norfolk or Chicago. The national lido
q syncracies, which are positively hideou
1 in these ambuhting bores,, sit NOR
Y gracefully upon the better classes bu
! with all their polish and refinement the,
| never relax theirinsular conceit, and, a
l a general rule, attitudinize as if the,
r were the masters Of the universe, wit
an undisguised Contempt for all who ar
not English, the ladies, if possible, cell
= sing the gentlemen in the haughtines
! of their stare AID the iciness Of thei
l manners toward strangers. -
In this country we see little OF tn
higher classes o. English. AS emigrants
= the English laborers are in a minorit
compared with the irish and German
t or even with thu French aud italians
and exercise no special influence. w
l see most of the commercial English
, men. At home he is not admitted t
! aristocratic society; in this country b
finds ready access to the best families il
7 the land, and in many instances he find
: himself for the first time of his life, il
: the company of ladies of high refine
ment and culture. AS the high-bre,
J ladies of his own country do not receiv
a him, the poor fellow thinks those VIII
receive him here must be low. AT tn
: same time men here give him cordia
reception. AT home he does not dare t.
: speak to any one above him withou
some formal ceremony of introduction
l In his benighted condition, the ur
banity of the, American gentleman
strikes the English commercial trav
eler as coarse and vulgar. The so
ciety of the highest class in hi
,tvtr Irr h. os,,s