The Hickman courier., 1874-02-28

England like the nightmare, making So
ciety unsympathetic, and men and wo- |
men either clumsy or stately, and at any |
rate less bright and less agreeable than |
continental and American people. Beef, |
mutton, law, poorhouses, fogs, ale,
pickles, and the narrowing influences
of insular life have all contributed to
make John Bull look out for number
one, with greater zest and higher spir-
its than coptinentals and instead of
loving his neighbor with all his heart
and might and soul, the Englishman
applies this theory of love to his own
dear self, and takes care of himself and
of his kindred and of the comforts of
life with genius and enthusiasm wor-
thy of the highest admiration. His
home is his castle his freside his par
adise his household goods his sole di-
xlNanR; his breakfast table his altar
2 hes his gospel his dinner his
ascing armament; his tea the
and no doubt that on the
gment John Bull will be
Ssx5iesperately to earth, not
Atei nifty so long as there
- carved. port to be sip
ITO be cracked, and crisp dry
buttered. In such a coun-
ehtiment, and self over every
a else, the sharp corners of life be-
Eharper and the sad vicissitudes
hanity sadder. The poor are
than anywhere else, and tksrich
Tbare is sometlipg g Der
rvadinp al these social plAnond& >ed
even the most remarkable pers Fbk
rather like splendid animals this err
estinp men,
The very greatness of England as a
haritizae and commercial power springs
om that brute forca,xhich subiugates
poor Hindoo aIQ 80 -
affree. The praud D
fEened By ruthless grip of the
hong over the weak. The same nm
smpromising selfishness which leads
fto the acquisition of power also con-
.teHces to its unflinching ret ntion. The
Territorial lords of England are the
most selfish and consequently the most
powerful in the world. They just now
pet the working classes, in order the
--better to use them as political auxilia-
/ ries against the middle classes, whose
! growing Influence, intelligence and
wealth threaten to undermine the
- 5.eeval privileges of the old Saxon
. srman landowners. The bulk of
|. ~ 4b8pulation of England consists of
! Sopeless paupers and of honest working
0E1eting literally their bread :" in
=. of their brow" and laboring,
Is of burden, for the enrich
Seir employers-that Is to say,
=. classes generally. These
kepress ed, ii not brutal
:; essive toll, by defective ed
I ucatiGSr sssSsa by starvation wages. As
= "a .or a higher life seem almost
20 their hearts by the weight of
ssflr rsts%ares and their misery. They are
/ looked down upon by the classes just
above them, TO whom in return they
| look up, and this process of humilia-
/ ton and of adulatioR pervades the So
cial fabric from its basis and through all
/ its various stages to the summit. Man
! does not meet with man as his fellow
| being. The bricklayer meets the shoe
/ maker. the tailor the upholsterer, the
/ haberdasher the grocer, the retailer the
/ wholesale dealer, the broker the mer-
/ chant, the lawyer the physician, the
curate the rector, the rector the bishop,
/ the bishop the archbishop, the peasant
/ the farmer, the yOeman the country
/ squire. the editor the member of par
/ lament, the member of parliament the
/ country gentleman, the baronet the
/ earl, the earl the duke, the duke the
prince, the prince the queen and
| there is so much bowling done in
one way or the other, and all
/ through, that it would seem TO re-
/ qdire a good deal of gymnastical elias
! ticity tor the final bow before the
] 1 g no nf
! a common humanity is merged in these
/ accidents of occupation and of life, and
| the animal buoyancy of the English
mind shines In no direction with greater
v1rrcaf 4lis
/ presses them all
A people constituted sdhnomaIously
at home IS doomed to behave preposter-
0usly abroad. The English on the con-
| tinent carry their little island in their
carpet bag with the London Times.
Burke's Peerage, Murrays Handbook,
razors, Blackstone, sponges, Bradshaw,
brushes, Who is Who, towels, British
a mauac, and all other insular odds and
ends, and stalk about the hotels with
superb superciliousness, striking awe
into the minds of the trembling walters,
who generally take all the pOmpous
butchers of Oxford street for nv lords.
and all the dOwager milliners of Edge
ware road for my ladies. All this is
very droll, but, as a sneraI rule, the
English tourists on Lake Leman and
the Rhine are as troublesome as mos
quitoes at Long Branch or Chicago.
The national idiosyncracies, which are
positively hideous in these ambuIatipc
bores, sit more gracefully upon the bet
ter classes; but with all their polish
and refinement they never relax their
ins1lar conceit, and, as general rule,
attitudiniZe as if they were the masters
of the universe, with an undisgnised
contempt for all who are not English.
the ladies, if possible, eclipsing the
gentlemen in the haughtiness of their
staSn0apd the iciness of their manners
rangers.