46 FABLES. 



APPLICATION 



THE man who has been brought up in ease and 

 affluence, and pampered and anticipated in all his 

 wants, little imagines what a figure he would make 

 in the world, were his supplies cut off, and he were 

 put to the trial to rub through its thorny mazes, 

 and provide for himself. The children of the poor 

 industrious honest man, when brought up like their 

 parents, are put to a kind of school, such as the 

 opulent it is feared can seldom form any conception 

 of; and if the former, by their industry and abilities, 

 rise above poverty, their enjoyments in life com- 

 monly surpass those who have been, without effort, 

 upheld in every real as well as imaginary want. 

 The sensible poor man does not trouble his head 

 about his pedigree, but he knows that his descent 

 must of course be as ancient as that of any man on 

 earth; and that if he is respected in the world, it 

 must arise solely from his own good conduct and 

 merit. The man who has nothing to boast but the 

 merely tracing back his ancestry, is building upon 

 a hollow foundation. If indeed his ancestry have 

 arisen to their high station by patriotic and vir- 

 tuous means, and have deservedly maintained a 

 high character for probity, worth, and honour, let 

 him follow their example: if otherwise, all he can 

 do or say will only prove him to be a mongrel, or 

 an Ass. 



" The pride of family is all a cheat, 



" 'Tis personal merit only makes us great." 



