When one encounters this sort of
Englishman, one thinks silently of the child labor in the South,
of the monopolies in the North, of the companies which govern
while they serve us, and one hopes that the Englishman is not
silently thinking of them too. He is probably of the lower
classes, and one consoles one's self as one can by holding one's
head higher in better company, where, without secret self-
contempt, one can be more openly proud of our increasing fortunes
and our increasing territory, and our warlike adequacy to a first
position among the nations of the world. There is no fear that in
such company one's national susceptibilities will be wounded, or
that one will not be almost as much admired for one's money as at
home. I do not say quite, because there are still things in
England even more admired than money. Certainly a very rich
American would be considered in such English society, but
certainly he would not be so much considered as an equally rich
Englishman who was also a duke.
I cannot name a nobleman of less rank, because I will not
belittle my rich countryman, but perhaps the English would think
differently, and would look upon him as lower than the latest
peer or the newest knight of the King's creation.
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