The daily gazette., 1875-08-31
Continued from iirst pase.l


to native New Yorker and republi.
can to parade, either here or there, as
an appendage to his name"
"Do you place no value, then, upon
the fact that you are thus descended,
! sir?" pursued the Engllshman.
Though it has been affirmed that
none were ever known to despise the
pride of ancestry excepting such as had
no claim to themselves, yet perhaps
may be allowed here" replied MIR,
Hackett, "to observe that If deeds Of
chivalry, done by ones ancestors, so
many years ago. and which gained for
them renown and vast estates, and
maintained their aristocratic rank
through many successive and remote
ages, nay, at this modern time, found
"A prctcntion to any hereditary honor,
suppose | may reasonably claim that
of having descended from IAN ancient
and honorable family But, born as
/ was, aud am proud to have taught
myself to regard the poorest peasant,
or the most humble mechanic, as my
equal, in every respect, of birth; and
| hold that the chief distinction among
my feileW men TO which | or any one
have right to aspire, is that of achlev.
ing lust reputation, as an honest and
we'll bred man. and to be worthy OF
associating with educated men of
genius and talent, wherever, through
out the world, may chance to meet
them"
"Ah, ayl" rejoincd the other, "as
nation, you Americans have claims
upon our respect; and when certain of
your countrymen have come over here
and, as foreigners Of distinction, have
been taken by the hand by some of our
nobility, they have always been ad.
mitted, by courtesy, into the upper
classes of our society. But Mr.. Hack.
EFT, perhaps you are not aware that,
with your attcsted pedigree, derived
from one of the Norman barons, YOU
might claim by right or direct descent,
an equality with our Oldest and high
est aristocracy."
"The title ofbaron would tend rather
to degrade than elevate me at homer
replied Hackett.
'Indeedl How SOY" exclaimed the
Englishman, with surprise.
Because" was the immediate re-
sponse, Sin my country-the United
States--I am admitted to be q gentle
man, and that Is the highest rank
acknowledged in society there, where
as British baron is only the third
grade of your nobility, and so ranks,
relatively, below our gentleman, whose
essential qualifications for that title |
are honesty and good breeding
without reference to his vocation,
for, as one of your poets has truly
said:
Honor and shame from no condition rise,
And are quite irrespective Of the acci-
dental possession of high birth, fortune
or ancestry. In fact, gentleman In
America Is allowed social parity with
our nations President, the compeer of
your sovereign. At the same time, so
far as manners may make gentleman,
| have often remarked, and in candor
now repeat, that can conceive Of no
better specimens of social courtesy,
good breeding and hospitality than
have noticed in my intercourse with
some of your nobility and gentry"
One of the party, it seems, ventured
to commend Mr. Hapkett's national
pride, republican principals and logi-
cal ingenuity, but such q leyelipg an
alogy between the constitutional repre-
sentative of the sovereign people of the
United States and the Britishlpeople's
sovereign, was evidently an overdose
of democracy for aristocratic stomachs.
At any rate, the conversation was
dropped rather abruptly at this parti-
cnlar point.