1800. ] 
temptations to meannefs and difhonefty, 
and renders it eafy to perform acts of ge- 
nerofity and liberality? In this fenfe, 1s 
the gentleman of ancient name fuperior to 
the wealthy trader of yefterday ? | 
Whatever be the forms under which 
family pride appears, they are for the moft 
part only varieties of the felt-confequence 
derived from property. ‘Thus, when a 
perfon boafts that his anceftors have never 
fullied themfelves with low or mercenary 
employments, what is it but boafting that 
they have been able to liye upon their 
hereditary poffeffions, without any exer- 
tions of perfonal induftry. ‘The rich 
trader may promife the fame hereafter for 
himfelf and his defcendants, as long as 
the wealth he has accumulated fhall laft. 
And if the gentleman falls into poverty, - 
‘what becomes of his boaft ? He will fcorn, 
perhaps, to cringe behind a counter; but 
he will not fcruple to bow at a minifter’s 
levee. He will think it beneath him to 
practife for gain any ufeful talents he may 
poffefs ; but he will deem it honourable 
to let himfelf out to hire, for the purpofe 
of butchering thofe who never offended 
him, on the mere confiderations of pay 
and plunder. He will be a venal fenator, 
a proftitute lawyer, or an unbelieving 
prieft, without derogating from gentility. 
But is not the man who goes to market 
with his confcience, 'as much a trader as 
if he fet up a ftall at a fair; with this dif- 
ference only, that he deals in a viler com- 
modity than ever came out of a manufac- 
turer’s hands? 
Does the gentleman value himfelf upon 
his education and manners? Thefe too, if 
of a fuperior kind, have only been ren- 
dered fo by fuperiority in the means of ob- 
taining improvement, or of appearing in 
fociety with refpeét and mdependence. 
None are at prefent better educated, than 
the children of many who have become 
opulent by commerce; as, on the other 
hand, inftances are fufficiently common of 
mean and narrow educations given to the 
inferior branches of great families. A 
* common literary education is within the 
reach of perfons much beneath the rank of 
gentility ; and as its fuccefs chiefly depends 
. upon the motives to improve it to the beft 
advantage, it is lefs to be expected from 
the heirs of opulence, than from thofe who 
are fenfible that their livelihood muft de- 
pend upon their own exertions. With 
refpect to the extraordinary advantages of 
particular tuition, of travel, and the like, 
thefe are all open to the perfon who can 
‘pay for them, and to no others. The 
manners which are fuppofed to denote a 
The Enquirer, No. XX. 
34% 
familiarity with good company, have two 
fources ; the fenfe of felf-confequence, and 
the habits of artificial politenefs. The 
firft will, doubtlefs, attend perfons of real 
rank and importance; but it is derived 
rather from ftation and fortune, than from 
what is properly called family. It is 
often furprifingly foon caught by men of 
very low origin, who arrive at pofts. of 
dignitys or high.commercial prefperity s 
while it may be totally extinét in the needy 
defcendant of ten noble generations. The 
fecond is an accomplifhment which, like » 
all others, muft be /fudied by thofe~ whe 
wifh to excel init. High birth is, doubt~ 
lefs, an advantage towards its acquifition ; 
but the opportunities it affords are often 
neglected. That arbiter elegantiarum, 
Lord Chefterfield, has fcarcely allowed any 
of the firft men of his time, in point of 
rank and office, to have had the manners 
and converfation of gentlemen. (See his 
Characters.) Indeed, the very circum- 
ftance of elevated fituation may operate 
unfavourably upon the manners, from the 
eareleffnefs it is likely to infpire with ree 
{pect to pleafing in fociety, the defire of 
which is the only true fource of politenefs. 
The loweft appendages of quality are 
more likely to acquire that deportment 
which conciliates regard and good-will, 
than their lords and patrons; and f make 
no doubt, that Lord Chefterfield’s gentle - 
man was a much fpoliter man in 475 efti- 
mation, than moft of his fellow-peers. 
If a juft interpretation of the nature 
‘and origin of family-pride have been given 
in the preceding remarks, it will not be 
eafy to fhew, why. it fhould tend to elevate 
the mind, or ftimulate to great and ho- 
nourable exertions. We may, indeed, 
image to ourfelves a parent exhotting his 
child in the warmeft ftrains of affectionate 
eloquence, to prove himfelf the worthy 
defcendant of a long race of heroes or 
patriots. But the misfortune is, when we 
quit fancy for reality, that thefe pure 
races are nowhere to be found ; and it is 
not without great feleétion, that a noble 
youth can fafely draw his examples from 
his genealogicaltable. How many names, 
and, perhaps, the moft diltinguifhed ones 
too, will occur in every line, which, in- 
ftead of the love of public virtue, will 
infpire a lawlefs luft of power, or an ade 
miration of unprincipled daring ; inftead 
of the heart-felt efleem of private worth 
and integrity, will kindle the ambition of 
dazzling by fplendid profligacy! The leffon 
he is of all the moft likely to Jearn is, the 
great importance of ‘riches ; he fees how 
much they conduced to the confequence of. 
his 
