At
no period in the history of England have so few peers been taken out of
trade or from families newly created by commerce. In no period has so
small a number of noble families entered into the counting-house. I can
call to mind but one in all England, and his is of near fifty years'
standing. Be that as it may, it appears plain to me, from my best
observation, that envy and ambition may, by art, management, and
disposition, be as much excited amongst these descriptions of men in
England as in any other country, and that they are just as capable of
acting a part in any great change.
[Sidenote: Progress of the French spirit.--Its course.]
What direction the French spirit of proselytism is likely to take, and
in what order it is likely to prevail in the several parts of Europe, it
is not easy to determine. The seeds are sown almost everywhere, chiefly
by newspaper circulations, infinitely more efficacious and extensive
than ever they were. And they are a more important instrument than
generally is imagined. They are a part of the reading of all; they are
the whole of the reading of the far greater number.
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