326 
power, offices of honour and’ emolu- 
ment; wringing from the multitude re- 
spect and submission, through what?— 
the strength of a mere name! I am 
aware, that in some instances nobility 
has been bestowed as the reward of 
merit; and that it has been said, that 
the existence of such an institution acts 
as a stimulus to exertion for the benefit 
of the country; that the idea of being 
descended from a long line of noble 
ancestors, and of having a noble progeny 
before him, will produce and maintain 
nobility of sentiment, &c. But of these 
assertions, how much will the facts of 
history sustain? Do we not find that 
nobility has seldom been bestowed on 
metit merely?—that noblemen are not 
always noble Men?—Is virtue heredi- 
tary? is intellect hereditary? is know- 
ledge hereditary? It is true that nobi- 
lity might be turned into a useful insti- 
tution, and the noxious character of a 
caste might be taken from it, by making 
the junior branches of families again 
merge into the mass of a nation: and 
both these modifications, to a certain 
degree, happily exist in this country. 
But, nevertheless, with all its boast of 
freedom and independence, there is, 
perhaps, no people, in the world, more 
prejudiced and awed by hereditary rank 
than the English: a fact which I do not 
advance for the purpose of casting a 
slur upon the nation whose hospitality I 
enjoy,* but merely as one of the 
strongest illustrations of my subject. 
other imstances, to operate pretty strongly. 
Without the least inclination to enter the 
lists in behalf of ‘hereditary rank and privi- 
lege—as believing them to be quite strong 
enough, and chivalrous enough to fight 
their own battles,—we cannot but think, 
not only that this position is very much 
overcharged, but that the argument stands 
in need of no such exaggeration. That 
there may be men noble by rank and courtesy, 
who are mean, base, sordid, imbecile and 
ignorant, servility can alone deny; and that 
there are men lowly in station, and indigent 
in circumstances, who have the true nobility 
of morals and intellect, prejudice alone can 
eall in question. But these are the excep- 
tions, not the rule ; and we question much 
whether the most part of men of family (as 
the phrase is), in point of knowledge and 
ability, at any rate, will be found inferior 
even to the select of the labourers on their 
estates,—or in the trading classes. —Enir. 
* It appears from this, that the author 
of this Essay is a foreigner. For this very 
reason, we give it the more ready inser- 
tion ; and, indeed, among many para- 
doxes, many prejudices, and, perhaps, 
we might add incongruities, it contains 
Aqueous and Atmospheric Pressure. 
[ May I, 
There is another species of nobility, 
or rather rank, which, by the help of 
all-powerful prejudice, draws strongly 
upon the respect and submissiveness of 
mankind,—i. e. the distinction of riches. 
A rich man is, all over the world, ipso 
facto, a respectable man; and the less 
wealthy bow down before him, not only 
from motives of interest, or from the 
presumption that the rich, as having the 
best opportunities, are, in general, most 
polished, the best-informed, or the most 
liberal,—but simply because prejudice, 
and ‘the habits flowing from it, have 
taught them to prostrate themselves 
before the Mammon of a full purse. 
But, making allowances for the defe- 
rence shewn to birth and wealth, for 
reasons the discussion of which would 
demand more time than we could bestow 
on it,—whence, I may ask, arise the 
distinctions that are made between the 
various professions and trades? I can 
understand why we should shew more 
respect to the clergyman, the physician, 
the lawyer, the astronomer, and the man 
of science generally, than to the artizan: 
I approve of the superiority given to the 
artist, the artificer of every kind, over 
the mere mechanic, or tradesman—it is 
an homage paid to superior intellect, or 
knowledge. But perhaps, Sir, itis some 
prejudice of mine which disqualifies me 
from understanding the reasons of those 
distinctions which are drawn between 
different descriptions of mere trades and 
callings, which require, or suggest only 
like degrees of faculty, or application, 
and which appear to be upon a perfect 
level in point of general utility. 
—— a 
To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
Str: 
EELING dissatisfied with the man- 
ner in which the disputed point 
between some of your correspondents 
has been treated, on the subject of aque- 
ous and atmospheric pressure, I am in- 
duced to send you the following obser- 
vations, on the philosophical difficulty 
under consideration. I have not had 
the pleasure of reading Captain Scores- 
by’s account of his expedition to the 
Arctic regions ; nor, indeed, is an actual 
reference 
also so ‘many vigorous suggestions, and so 
much boldness and independence of reflec- 
tion, as may minister, at least, materials 
for thinking; and we presume, that the 
readers of the M.M. are no more inclined 
than the Editor, to give an unqualified 
assent to every proposition that finds ad- 
mission into our pages. —Epir. 
