whether the Almighty has not in truth intended that such injustice should be permanent.  That one man should be rich and another poor is a necessity in the present imperfect state of civilisation;—­but that one man should be born to be a legislator, born to have everything, born to be a tyrant,—­and should think it all right, is to me miraculous.  But the greatest miracle of all is that they who are not so born, who have been born to suffer the reverse side,—­ should also think it to be all right.

With us it is necessary that a man, to shine in society, should have done something, or should at any rate have the capacity of doing something.  But here the greatest fool that you meet will shine, and will be admitted to be brilliant, simply because he has possessions.  Such a one will take his part in conversation though he knows nothing, and, when inquired into, he will own that he knows nothing.  To know anything is not his line in life.  But he can move about, and chatter like a child of ten, and amuse himself from morning to night with various empty playthings,—­and be absolutely proud of his life!

I have lately become acquainted with a certain young lord here of this class who has treated me with great kindness, although I have taken it into my head to oppose him as to a matter in which he is much interested.  I ventured to inquire of him as to the pursuits of his life.  He is a lord, and therefore a legislator, but he made no scruple to tell me that he never goes near the Chamber in which it is his privilege to have a seat.  But his party does not lose his support.  Though he never goes near the place, he can vote, and is enabled to trust his vote to some other more ambitious lord who does go there.  It required the absolute evidence of personal information from those who are themselves concerned to make me believe that legislation in Great Britain could be carried on after such a fashion as this!  Then he told me what he does do.  All the winter he hunts and shoots, going about to other rich men’s houses when there is no longer sufficient for him to shoot left on his own estate.  That lasts him from the 1st of September to the end of March, and occupies all his time.  August he spends in Scotland, also shooting other animals.  During the other months he fishes, and plays cricket and tennis, and attends races, and goes about to parties in London.  His evenings he spends at a card table when he can get friends to play with him.  It is the employment of his life to fit in his amusements so that he may not have a dull day.  Wherever he goes he carries his wine with him and his valet and his grooms; and if he thinks there is anything to fear, his cook also.  He very rarely opens a book.  He is more ignorant than a boy of fifteen with us, and yet he manages to have something to say about everything.  When his ignorance has been made as clear as the sun at noon-day, he is no whit ashamed.  One would say that such a life would break the heart of any man; but upon my word, I doubt whether I ever came across a human being so self-satisfied as this young lord.