[-188-]
CHAPTER IX.
THE ARISTOCRACY.
THE aristocracy of England boast much of
their descent from the Normans. The Normans were rapacious conquer. ors, and
destitute of anything like Christian morality. They were moreover descended from
the Danes, a barbarous race of people. The history of England shows clearly that
whatever in that country is good and noble, has been earned by the common
people. The civil and religious liberties of the nation were demanded and
obtained by the people ; its glory in arms ; its still more brilliant fame in
letters - everything worth preserving has sprung from the people. The
aristocracy has been always the deadly enemy of liberty, and has always
oppressed, and now oppresses the people. Says that great man, Richard Cobden:-
"I warn the Aristocracy not to force the people to look
into the subject of taxation,-not to force them to see how they have been
robbed, plundered, and bamboozled for ages by them."
Says John Bright, Cobden's coadjutor:-
"I hope the day will arrive when the English people will
throw off the burdens with which they are oppressed by this Aristocracy, and
stand forth the bravest, the freest, and the most virtuous people on the face of
the earth."
The people are ground into the earth by taxation, which does
not, as it ought, fall upon property. The enormous debt [-189-] of England was
incurred by English aristocrats. In 1696 the ministers of William of Orange
proposed the bold and iniquitous scheme of borrowing money at ruinous rates of
interest, and saddling the debt upon the unborn generations of Britain. The
aristocracy to wage war against liberty abroad, in one hundred and fifty years
incurred a debt of eight hundred and thirty-four millions pounds sterling! The
consequence was that provisions rose in price, that taxation became oppressive,
while at the same time the common people were not allowed the privileges of
citizenship, which is the case at present. The reader can scarcely imagine the
extent of the rapacity of the English nobles. An enormous list of aristocrats
are pensioned upon the Government. We will merely give a few samples
Earl Cowper has a hereditary pension of $6,000
Lord Colchester $15,000
Viscount Canning $15,000
Duke of Grafton $50,000
Duke of Manchester $10,000
Duke of Marlborough $20,000
Duke of Wellington $20,000
These are not a moiety of the whole number
of pensioners Every ex-Ambassador has a pension for life there are legal
pensions amounting yearly to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Every
ex-Chancellor receives for life $25,000 a year. But perhaps the most iniquitous
of all the pensions are those taken out of the Post Office revenue, and given to
the heirs of Charles II's bastard children ; the sum annually amounting to
$100,000!
The Government Offices are monopolized by the aristocracy,
and have, as a matter of course, attached to them enormous salaries. The
following are only a specimen:-
Salary
[-190-] Lord Chancellor $75,000
Vice Chancellor $30,000
Chief Justice, Queen's Bench $40,000
Chief Clerk, ditto $45,000
Chief Justice, Common Pleas $40,000
Lord Chancellor of Ireland $40,000
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland $100,000
Governor General of Bengal - $125,000
Home Secretary . $25,000
Colonial Secretary - $25,000
Chief Baron of Exchequer $35,000
Master of Rolls $35,000
These are specimens of the salaries
attached to Government Offices, all of which are in the hands of the
aristocracy.
And yet the people laid the foundation of English free
institutions-and the aristocracy tried to destroy them. The people have earned
money, and the aristocracy have spent it. The people planted America, and the
aristocracy lost it. The people pay the interest upon the National Debt, and the
aristocracy invented it!
THE NOBLES.
The English Aristocracy is, however, in
point of morality and virtue, superior to that of any country in Europe. There
can be no doubt of this we think. Not by any means are all of its members
virtuous, but the general tone of aristocratic society in England is higher than
on the continent. There are cases of notoriety where a worse than French
morality is openly professed, but they are exceptions. The majority of English
noblemen are quite respectable in their outward con duct, and some of them are
worthy of being held up as mod-[-191-]els of true gentlemen the world over. But
when you have given the class credit for common morality, you are done. They are
not philanthropists, they are not workers--in fact they do nothing which is
good, their great aim being pleasure. As a body they stand aloof from the rest
of the world, superior to the vulgar herd in their own estimation, and are
enormous consumers, hut no producers.
Generally speaking, the members of the aristocracy are finely
educated, have a cultivated love for the fine arts, and patronize men of genius.
In this manner they, without intending it, do some good, for they give to
learning and genius an importance which they would lack, in the eyes of the
world, without their patronage. But they never use their own talents to any
purpose-if they are blessed with any, which is not often the case. It is
intensely disagreeable for a nobleman to work - to accomplish anything. Of
course we speak of hereditary nobles - not of those who have earned their
titles. Still a certain kind of good results from thus inactivity on the part of
the nobles. It being entirely out of character for them to work, to trade, to
paint, to write, or act as philanthropists as a natural result they devote their
energies to themselves, and their homes. They employ the finest
architects to build castles in which to dwell have created the most beautiful
parks ; purchase paintings and statuary study constantly how they may beautify
and improve their homes. Selfishness is at the root of it all, but
notwithstanding that, a benefit of a certain kind accrues to the country and
people. It begets a love for the beautiful, seduces the national mind away from
its devotion to cold trade and commerce. But the good by no means compensates
for the evil produced by the same class, and such an aristocracy is a dear one
for any country.
The nobles as a class are noted for generosity, and yet there
are exceptions, one of which we will mention.
[-192-] There is a certain Duke in England who is notorious for his
parsimony. A more selfish man does not exist. Often when at his country-seat,
with his own hands he sells milk to the country-people, and on a certain
occasion received a pungent rebuke from a little girl. One morning the daughter
of poor parents, a young girl, came for a penny's worth of milk, and the Duke,
being in his dairy-house, measured out a small quantity into the little girl's
cup, saying
"You can tell the world as long as you live, that a Duke
once measured out for you a cup of milk!"
"Yes," answered the innocent girl, looking
wistfully at the copper coin which the Duke had received from her, and which now
lay in his palm,
" Yes-but you took the penny !"
There are cases of open libertinism
among the nobility, which would shock the reader - but still the general outward
conduct of the English nobles is good. The women are however far superior to the
men in virtue, beauty, and sympathy for the poor. Some of the ladies among the
aristocracy, while in Paris, imitate the French women, and have their train of
lovers, but it is foreign to the nature of an English woman to carry on an
intrigue, and when she attempts it she generally fails. It constitutes the life
of many French ladies, and their expertness in concealing secret love from the
eyes of a careful mother or a jealous husband is surprising but he English
woman, though she lacked principle, has not the exquisite tact of the Parisian.
The women among the nobility are distinguished for their
beauty, and with good reason. In many instances, however, their beauty is more
masculine than that of the American women.
We once met in an anteroom of the Italian Opera House [-193-]
one of the most distinguished beauties of England. Said our friend in a whisper:
"Do you see the lady yonder arranging a shawl - and the
gentleman at her side ?"
"Yes."
"They are Lord and Lady H- !"
You must be mistaken," we replied, "that woman cannot
be Lady H-." But our friend was correct. We had often heard much of her
beauty, and indeed she was beautiful, but there was no spirituality in her
features, no intellect, but a rough, sensual beauty. Such is the case with some
of the English female aristocracy, but as a class, in beauty we think they are
peerless. At least as an aristocratic class of females they are so. There is an
exquisite dignity in their manners one rarely sees out of England, and they have
the art of preserving their beauty to old age. This is a striking characteristic
of the female beauty of England - it does not decay until old age. Beautiful
women at fifty years of age are no uncommon sight in London.
The Duchess of Sutherland is, though old, yet a very
beautiful woman. We saw her one day in a carriage with the Queen, and could
hardly believe that there is a wide difference in years between them, which is
the fact. For many years she was considered the most beautiful woman at court.
There are several women whose names we might mention, who are
noted for their great beauty, among the English female aristocracy, but we are
not attempting to sketch the belles of London.
Aristocracy in England is much more dignified than that of
America - for it is useless denying that we have an aristocracy. Ours is as yet
puny, young and not oppressive. The English aristocracy has at least an excuse
for existence, as it ii incorporated with the Constitution, and if it be more
highly [-194-] intellectual than ours, it is a thousand times more cruel in its
exactions.
Aristocracy in America is a plaything yet. - the great people
laugh at it, knowing that real power is theirs in all political matters. Feeling
thus, they care little about the pretensions of any family, or clique of
families. There is no throne to endanger - no manner in which any such family or
families can endanger the liberties of the land, for a band of shoemakers in a
country-village are their equals in the eye of the law. A sorry sight it is when
the aristocracy of the land, instead of being the plaything of the
people, make a plaything of the people, eating out their incomes,
starving them by terrible taxation, and stealing away their political rights.
Such is the case, to a degree, in England.
But there are men among the English nobility who are worthy
of honor. The Earl of Carlisle is such a man, and his noble qualities are such,
that we shall venture to draw his portrait on another page.
Lord Ashley is widely known for his untiring philanthropy.
Though a bigoted man in some respects, he is devotedly pious, and is constantly
engaged in some good work. He is known extensively for his devotion to the cause
of Ragged-Schools. Himself and lady are in high repute with the Queen. In looks
Lord Ashley is Norman; he is a fair speaker, and has enthusiasm, a quality which
the English nobles generally eschew. Not a shade of enthusiasm is ever
perceptible in the oratory displayed in the House of Lords. Anything approaching
to it is considered decidedly vulgar.
The Earl of Arundel and Surrey is a devoted Christian, though
a Roman Catholic, and compares favorably with many of the nobles who profess
Protestantism. His devotion to his religion amounts almost to fanaticism.
Lord Dudley Stuart is an ardent liberalist, and is chiefly
known for his devotion to the cause of Poland. He was the [-195-] champion of
Kossuth before he landed in England and is also now. He is a firm friend to
liberty, and is an unpleasant thorn in the side of my Lord Palmerston, the
Foreign Secretary. He is a member of Parliament, and is much respected.
Sir William Molesworth is a thorough radical, and there are
others among the titled class who are like him. It is because of such men that
the nobles are held in such esteem in England. Were they openly to profess
immoral principles, like some of tire nobles of Europe, and were they in conduct
to become corrupt, they could not stand a year. Indeed, as it is, their position
is far from being a stable one. Gradually the people are attacking their
privileges, and they thus far have had the good sense to bow quietly before the
will of the nation. Had they, in the days of the Reform Bill Agitation, or
Anti-Corn Law excitement, remained firm, they would have been swept away by
Revolution. The spirit of the age is against such a class - against its unjust
usurpations of power.
A member of the humble classes of society cannot gain
admittance into noble society. Any man of business, of trade, unless a great and
exceedingly wealthy man, and worth his millions, cannot enter the drawing-rooms
of the nobility. An author of talent can go there ; so can a man of political
importance, or your millionaire, if refined and educated, but no common man of
business. Still every young man can hope to rise above his present position,
amid if successful, he can relinquish his business, and with a million of
dollars set up for a gentleman, if he possesses refinement, and then he can walk
into. Lord Addlehead's parlor.
A friend of ours, an English merchant, one day pointed out to
us one of the wealthiest men in London, as a person who was once his father's
boot-black He rose from his humble calling first to be a clerk; then he amassed
a small property by close economy, and at an early age began. to speculate in
[-196-] the Stocks. In a few years he became immensely rich, retired from
business, and set up for a gentleman. He was by nature polite and intelligent,
and soon married the daughter of a reduced baronet, a woman very celebrated for
her beauty. He was now welcome to the best of society, but through the
extravagant conduct of his wife he was nearly ruined. Such was her desperate
fondness for a gay life, that only a few nights after a confinement she went to
the theatre - and died two days after. After her death, the husband once more
repaired to the Stock Exchange, to repair his damaged fortune. The first day he
netted $45,000! After winning a second fortune, larger than the first, he again
retired from business, and entered high society.
But though there are occasionally such cases in England, the
pressure is downward, and the majority of enterprising minds are crushed to the
earth. The tendency of the monarchical and aristocratical system is to keep the
masses degraded, to isolate a few from all the rest, to crush talent and genius
among the multitude. Literary men do not have the position that they deserve,
though they are honored, perhaps more than any other class of men who are mere
commoners.
There are really so few lovable characters
among the English nobility, that we plead no excuse for devoting a short space
to the Earl of Carlisle, who is truly worthy of honor and renown, for his
admirable qualities. Such a man, whether he springs from a hamlet or palace,
whether his name is simple or garnished with lofty-sounding titles, deserves to
be held up for the imitation of the world. Such men, we have observed, whatever
their social position, are not proud. Believing in the worth of the soul,
in the dig-[-197-]nity of simple manhood, they cannot be proud of mere titles, or
garters.
The Earl of Carlisle sits in the House of Lords, and is well
known as an advocate of Liberalism. He was formerly (and is even now better
known as) Lord Morpeth, until at the death of his father, when he became a peer
of the realm through hereditary right, and took his seat in the House of Lords.
He belongs to one of the noblest families in the kingdom, that of the Howards,
whose blood, according to English notions, is perhaps the purest and gentlest in
the land. He is also connected by marriage with the lenses of Rutland, Caudor,
Durham, and Stafford. Among the aristocracy of England no one stands higher than
the Earl of Carlisle, and at the same time he is universally popular with the
middle and lower classes. There is a genial love for him everywhere, principally
because of his mild and philanthropic disposition. As a matter of course his
advocacy of liberal sentiments makes him popular with the people, and perhaps
slightly disliked among the worst portion of the nobility. He is a friend of
authors and artists, and in society does not exhibit any of that odious
exclusiveness which disgraces so many of the English aristocrats.
He seems to be above no man of real goodness or genius and in
a thousand ways has testified his love of humanity. In a public speech he once
happily spoke of Charles Dickens,
"That bright and genial nature, the master of our
sunniest smiles, and our most unselfish tears, whom, as it is impossible to read
without the most ready and pliant sympathy, it is impossible to know (I at least
have found it so) without a depth of respect and a warmth of affection which a
singular union of rare qualities alike command."
For many years Lord Morpeth (or the Earl of Carlisle) sat in
Parliament for the West Riding, the largest and most hon-[-198-]orable
constituency in England, but in 1841, strangely, he was defeated, to the great
sorrow of the whole nation. A plenty of other places were open to him, but he
refused to sit for any of them, and made a tour to America, where he made many
admirers and friends both at the South and North. In Washington circles he will
long be remembered.
On the death of Lord Wharncliffe a vacancy occurred in the
West Riding, and Lord Morpeth was returned to Parliament without the opposition
of a single voter. Richard Cobden, the great champion of Free Trade, sits in the
House of Commons for the West Riding at present, Lord Morpeth being in the House
of Lords, having assumed the titles of his late father, the Earl of Carlisle.
Through his whole political life he has been identified with
the Liberal-Whig party, early giving in his adhesion to Cobden's Free Trade
movement. Since 1846 he has been a member of the Russell Ministry, and is well
known as an energetic friend of all sanitary reforms. His philanthropy is
unquestionable, as he is very zealous in endeavoring to better the condition of
the laboring population of Great Britain. When a man is zealous for freedom's
cause abroad, but not at his own doors, one may well doubt his sincerity,
but the Earl of Carlisle is anxious to improve the condition of his fellow-men
in England. He does not hesitate to deliver lectures before common Mechanics'
Institutes, and aids all educational schemes. He is a man of talent, and a very
eloquent speaker, and can make himself acceptable to common men, and also to the
best educated me,. for his best speeches are noted for the classical purity of
their style.
At a great dinner, given by the Mayor of London, before the
Crystal Palace was built, and in honor of the (then) proposed project, the Earl
of Carlisle, when called on for a toast, gave "The working-men of the
United Kingdom" in connection with the great Exhibition of the Industry of
the World, [-199-] and made a most eloquent speech in honor of those men who are
the true glory of any land.
We have often heard radicals in London who detest the
aristocracy root and branch, speak enthusiastically in his praise as an
exception to the rest. He is indeed an extraordinary man. It is extraordinary in
Europe to find a man born to the highest titles, yet a simple-hearted
philanthropist. Such a man stands out in bold relief from the great mass of the
selfish English noblemen, and teaches us how much good they might accomplish if
they were so disposed.
The personal appearance of the Earl of Carlisle is good. When
the stranger looks down upon him from the gallery in the gorgeous House of
Lords, he at once selects him from among his peers, by his appearance, as the
noblest of them all. He has a fine, full forehead ; full, pleasant face ; rich
lips; and a mild pair of eyes. His hair is generally carelessly disposed, giving
him an artless look, which is captivating. His dress is generally rich, but at
the same time plain. It is vulgar in England to dress showily. The passion for
gaudy dress, which possesses so many people, is entirely condemned among the
nobles of England. Plainness of attire is proverbial in such circles.
When speaking the Earl does not use much gesticulation, but
what he does is graceful and true to nature.
Since his return to England from America, he has in two or
three public lectures stated some of his opinions of our country, its men, amid
institutions, and they show his thorough liberality of sentiment. He is far more
just towards us than many profound English radicals. He speaks fairly of our
voluntaryism in religion, and of universal suffrage. In speaking of public men,
he calls Henry Clay the most fascinating public man he ever knew, save Mr.
Canning; Mr. Legaré of South Carolina (who died a few years since), he thinks
was one of the best classical scholars in America. and John Quincy [-200-] Adams
"was truly an 'old man eloquent!'" Congress he characterizes as
"disorderly," at times, and as he witnessed some exciting scenes while
in Washington, that is not to be wondered at.
As a whole, the Earl of Carlisle is a man whose character is
an honor to any country, and especially so to fine order to which he belongs. If
there were more such men among the aristocracies of Europe, there would be no
danger of bloody revolutions, for Revolution is the daughter of Oppression.
Perhaps there is no man in England about
whom there is such a strong curiosity among strangers as Lord Brougham. His
reputation has been so great and wide, his connection with political matters so
notorious, that when the foreigner enters the House of Lords he first asks for
Brougham. But when he is pointed out, when you gaze upon the man, you are
wofully disappointed. What! -that man the Ex-Chancellor Brougham, upon whose
face, lips, nose, cheeks, and chin seem all crowded together ? That man who
cannot sit still for five consecutive minutes ; who jumps up continually with
interruptions of the speaker ; who has a painful, nervous twitching of the face;
the man, in short, who impresses you with the idea of some harmless lunatic ?
Yes- that certainly is the wreck of the great Brougham. For we believe
that none of his best friends contend that he mow possesses all the faculties
which he once possessed. Age has rusted out some of them, and there are people
who believe the man insane. We presume not, however. He is certainly very
erratic, incomprehensible, without Christian principles, and yet a great genius
still. He is the wonder of the nation, though the nation no longer loves him, no
longer is charmed with his siren eloquence. But because of great services he
[-201-] once rendered, because he once sunk upon his knees in the House of Lords,
and, in tones of wondrous magic, plead for the cause of freedom ; because he
once dared to say therein reference to the influence of the Queen over the mind
of the King - those remarkable and daring words "She has done it all!"
- the people of England, though he has deserted them, will not entirely forget
him.
There was perhaps never a commoner in England, with more
ambition than Harry Brougham. He asked place and power with the utmost sang
froid. The Government wished his services, amid offered him as respectable a
post as they thought it wise and proper to give a mere commoner. He replied to
the offer of the Premier, that he would not take such an office.
"What do you wish ?" was the question of the
surprised Minister.
"Nothing or the Lord Chancellorship!" was the
reply. This was one of the highest offices in the kingdom, and the occupant must
by virtue of his office become the Speaker of the House of Lords. and of course
a peer of the realm. But Brougham was a mere commoner.
"You are not a peer," said the Prime Minister.
"I know that," was Brougham's laconic reply.
Before night he was made not only a peer, but Lord
Chancellor. The Government could not afford to lose him, as he was the great
idol of the people, and so it bribed him over to the cause of the aristocracy.
Only a few days before at a great public meeting, Brougham denied a rumor that
he was to be made a peer, and told the people never to believe that he would
desert them until they saw it. They did see it, and will never forget the base
desertion. Ever since, he has been detested by the masses of the nation. and it
would seem as if then, he lost his greatest powers, for since he has been a
peevish, erratic old man - and yet at times, his mighty genius [-202-] will break
forth, and astonish the nation. Perhaps this age can boast no other man who has
the varied acquirements of Brougham. He has been one of the world's greatest
orators; is a great lawyer; a severe student of the physical sciences and a
skilful political economist.
Mr. Brougham was born in Scotland, and was admitted to the
Scottish Bar in the year 1800. In 1820 he was appointed Attorney-General to the
unfortunate Queen Caroline, and made a speech which lasted two days, in her
defence, so eloquent, so masterly, that Lord Liverpool abandoned the prosecution
against her Majesty. For many years, plain Henry Brougham sat in the House of
Commons. He was elected Lord Rector of the Glasgow University by the casting
vote of Sir James Macintosh, in opposition to Sir Walter Scott, the great poet
and novelist. He now enjoys a pension of $25,000 a year as retired Chancellor ;
is a Privy Councillor; President of the London University ; ad an member of the
National Institute of France, where at Cannes he has a country-seat.
He is a strange character. Just after the French Revolution
of 1848, he applied to the French Government, to be made a citizen of the
republic, and yet all the while a member of the House of Lords in England ! All
Europe was in laughter at his foolery. Yet it was a fair sample of the man. He
seems insane upon some points. He sometimes dresses foppishly, and then again as
carelessly as any mechanic in the streets. Yet he is not demented - he possesses
a violent love for eccentricity and originality. He has before now attacked himself
in one newspaper, and defended himself in another! A thousand singular
stories are current in London society respecting him.; some invalidating his
reputation for intellect, and others his morality. Enough of them are true to
give countenance to the rest, and thus he is obliged to shoulder a greater
amount of obloquy than he in reality deserves
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