" WHEN DOCTORS DIFFER," ETC. ETC. 423 



the pride of any one, let me entreat him to attribute 

 it to impressions made on my mind by the given opi- 

 nions and sentiments of my progenitors, that have 

 " grown with my growth, and strengthened with my 

 strength : " if those sentiments are wrong, my teachers 

 were more in fault than I. 



If we were to ask fifty men in fifty different grades 

 of society, and different occupations in life, each to 

 give his definition of what constitutes the gentleman, 

 it would be found that very few, if any of them would 

 coincide in their ideas. Fifty men of the same class 

 would perhaps very nearly agree on this point ; but 

 unless they were of the same class, they assuredly 

 would not. Therefore the utmost any one can hope who 

 ventures on so ticklish a task is, that his opinions may 

 meet corresponding ones among those in a similar stand- 

 ing in society to himself, be that standing what it 

 may. 



When Mr. Hercules set himself about cleansin"- 

 certain Augean stables (not kept quite as stables are 

 now-a-days), it will be allowed he undertook a toughish 

 job ; but as he was a toughish sort of gentleman, it 

 only required time on his part to ensure its comple- 

 tion ; and having completed it, he was certain of com- 

 mendation for his pains : not so the poor wight who 

 attempts describing the gentleman : he is sure of the 

 labour ; also sure of the reprehension of some one ; 

 but as for the commendation, he is fortunate if he gets 

 it from a7iy one. I do wish Master Hercules had un- 

 dertaken this job — many may say they wish so too, 

 and may also think I should have been better employed 

 shovelling aAvay while he wrote : but as he did not, 

 I suppose I must attempt it. 



It is not easy to define anything dejinitely : some 



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