NOBLE CHARACTERISTICS. 13 



of the first Charles ; and a tradition had ob- 

 tained currency among us, that she was of the 

 same extraction. This was partly corro- 

 borated by a gentleman of this name 

 who, once calling on my father, appeared 

 to me, by his conversation, to be the con- 

 necting link between the holder of the 

 title and his far-off and more humble 

 cousins. He bore the commission of Major 

 in one of the Midland Counties militia regi- 

 ments. I never took any trouble to trace our 

 relationship with this exalted family, but if a 

 noble expression of countenance and per- 

 sonal accomplishments of the highest order 

 were proofs of the alleged descent, my mo- 

 ther possessed them in an eminent degree. 

 "She locked like a duchess? " as a friend 

 of mine said to me, when wishing to explain 

 the impression she made upon him when he 

 first beheld her. But I may be allowed 

 to say, she possessed a far better and juster 

 claim to nobility than either birth, descent, 

 or appearance could give. Exemplary in 



