III. THE DABCHICKS. 1 83 



reduced its artisan, as represented in the fii'st 

 of these frescos, I do not think it needful to 

 speak here ; neither of the level of sublime 

 temperament and unselfish heroism to which 

 the dangers of commercial enterprise have 

 exalted Mr. Smith. But the five consecutive 

 heads in the third fresco are a very notable 

 piece of English history, representing the 

 polished and more or less lustrous type of 

 lout ; which is indeed a kind of rolled shingle 

 of former English noblesse capable of nothing 

 now in the way of resistance to Atlantic 

 liberalism, except of getting itself swept up 

 into ugly harbour bars, and troublesome shoals 

 in the tideway. 



And observe also, that of the three types of 

 lout, whose combined chorus and tripudiation 

 leads the present British Constitution its 

 devil's dance, this last and smoothest type is 

 also the dullest. Your operative lout, cannot 

 indeed hold his cup of coffee with a grace, or 

 possess himself of a biscuit from Lady Clara's 

 salver without embarrassment ; but, in his 

 own mill, he can at least make a needle with- 

 out an eye, or a nail without a head, or a knife 

 that won't cut, or something of that sort, with 



