stful of his friendship. That circumstances like these should have
rendered a young man self-willed and imperious, is not to be wondered
at, and such was he in reality--less, however, from the unlimited
license of his position, than from an hereditary feature which
distinguished every member of his family, and made them as intolerant of
restraint, as they were wayward in purpose. The motto of their house was
the index of their character, and in every act and thought they seemed
under the influence of their emblazoned inscription, "A tort et a
travers."

Over his father, Frederick Travers exercised an unlimited influence;
from his boyhood upward he had never met a contradiction, and the
natural goodness of his temper, and the affectionate turn of his
disposition, made the old man believe in the excellence of a system,
whose success lay less in its principle, than in the virtue of him, on
whom it was practised.

Sir Marmaduke felt proud of his son's career in the world, and enjoyed
to the utmost all the flattery which the young man's acceptance in
society conferred; he was proud of him, almost as much as he was fond of
him, and a letter from Frederick had always the effect of restoring his
spirits, no matter how deep their depression the moment before.

The youth returned his father's affection with his whole heart; he
knew and valued all the high and generous principles of his nature; he
estimated with an honest pride those gifts which had won Sir Marmaduke
the esteem and respect of his fellow-citizens; but yet, he thought he
could trace certain weaknesses of character, from which his own more
enlarged sphere of life had freed him.

Fashionable associates, the society of men of wit and pleasure, seem
often to suggest more acute and subtle views of life, than are to be
obtained in less exalted and distinguished company; the smart sayings
and witty epigrams which are current among clever men appear to be so
many texts in the wisdom of the world. Nothing is more common than this
mistake; nothing more frequent than to find, that intercourse with such
people diffuses few, if any, of their distinguishing merits among their
less gifted associates, who rarely learn any thing from the intercourse,
but a hearty contempt for all who are debarred from it. Frederick was of
this school; the set he moved in was his religion--their phrases, their
prejudices, their passions, he regarded as standards for all imitation.
It is not surpr