172 
THE LISTENER. 
of things had made me most indignant. I did 
combat bravely for Nature’s true aristocracy; and 
I uphold it still more warmly now, since a knowl- 
j edge of the real world has taught me that fine ap¬ 
parelling may clothe the most unmitigated vulgari¬ 
ty, and a full purse only aid its supercilious im¬ 
portance and ridiculous pretensions. The right to 
be aristocratic — and I hold there is such a right 
— is one which comes as a free gift of Nature; 
and this distinction I reverence next to the rare 
genius with which she sometimes endows her chil¬ 
dren. Vulgarity in a palace, displaying itself in 
affections of taste and refinement, so shallow that 
any clear eye may discern their absurdity, showing 
itself also in haughty insolence towards inferiors in 
station or worldly advantages, and servility towards 
those elevated by the world’s acclaim, or by yet 
gieater wealth, above themselves, is utterly more 
despicable and revolting than the unconstrained 
vulgarity of the lower classes. Very few who 
have the power of gaining great wealth know how 
to use it; their energies are too often directed 
only in one channel, and when they have tightly 
drawn their purse strings over the last-acquired 
dollar, they have resolutely drawn closer the heart 
stiings. Stifling all noble impulses, their head, 
too, grows heavy with their hoards, and the high¬ 
est aspirations of their soul are checked, and per- j 
ish in the tainted atmosphere. D’lsraeli defines j| 
“good breeding”—which is necessary to aris- ; 
