American Literature and Charleston Society [pp. 380-421]

384 American Literature and Charleston Soezety. [April,
rather too heavily for so ligbt an ingrate. To be sure, it is rather
provoking to find, that all one's efforts "to put the best foot foremost," and "produce a favourable impression," have been unavailing, and that one is only laughed at for one's pains; and then, one
will sometimes lose one's equanimity at the vulgar abuse of your
Trollopes, and Basil llalls, and Marryats. But, n'importe, we have
fairly proved ourselves a match for the Britishers there; and the
way in which Yankee travellers, and Yankee "Own Correspondents"
of Yankee newspapers, have retaliated, by showing up the social
enormities of "rotten old England," with her "insolent and enervated (!) aristocracy" and "bloated priestlioood," has, we humbly
think, long ago squared that account. In very sooth, we are inclined to think, that if Bull were disposed to whine and complain;
if he were not, poor, blind deluded, callous fellow! so in~vincibly
defended by his armour of national pride and vanity-so absolutely
protected by his seven-fold shield of superb self-complacency, he
might pour forth quite as dolorous and bitter lamentations at the
rude and ill-bred attacks-" the slings [or slangs] and arrows of
outrageous" Jonathan, as Jonathan himself has ever given utterance
to at the gorings of Bull.
We are not quite so sensitive as to the opinion which other
nations may have of us. In fact, with the exception of France,
there is scarcely any other nation for whose opinion we care a
straw, closely emulating, in this respect, Bull's own sublime indifference. What care we what the Spaniard, or the Italian, or the
German, or the Russian, thinks of us? Still less would we be
moved by the good or bad opinion of the Turk, or the swarming
millions of China, or India, or the immense continent of SouthAmerica. All the abuse and ridicule which their travellers could
pour out against us, would not gall and irritate us half so much as
the random shaft of some English penny-a-liner. And why is
this? Verily, we repeat, because it is the case of Jones and FitzJones; or, to borrow another illustration from social life, the
jealousy between England and America is like that which exists
between the older and younger branches of a distinguished f~rnily.
The older branch will, however covertly, indulge in an occasional
sneer at what they consider the pretension and vulgar ostentation
of the younger; while the younger are perpetually striving to hold