say, that the workingman, who toils for a short time to
assist his invalid neighbor, acquires more merit than the rich man, who
with an icy hand casts his coin into the lap of the indigent. I have the
audacity to think that a king, who in the splendor of his court is
forgetful of the suffering of his people; that a noble, who abandons
himself to all the enjoyments of his fortune, forgetful of misery
languishing at his castle gate, are great criminals; and that God will
punish their misdeeds, either on them, or, as the Bible says, 'on their
children even until the fourth and fifth generation.'"

Ireneus, who had listened in silence to this long profession of faith,
asked himself if it was worth while to contradict it. The words of his
uncle were contradictory of one of those doctrines, which are the more
difficult to shake, as they have their hold in the philosophy of the
heart, and are fenced around with many noble sentiments. His loyalty,
however, seemed to require some reply, and he spoke as follows:

"I understand well enough, my dear uncle, the chain of circumstances
which has led you almost to lay aside the principles which now seem
prejudices to you. I myself willingly immolate on the altar of new ideas
that pride of nobility which delights in the study of old parchments, and
makes a kind of fetish of scutcheons carved on the walls of an ancient
castle. I condemn as a foolish error, the airs of superiority affected by
old nobles in respect to merit sprung from the people; and if, in the
opinion of my father, your marriage with the daughter of your friend,
seemed a degradation, forgive him. Remember that he died at an epoch of
strife and convulsion in which every noble defended, with the greatest
possible ardor, the prerogatives of his rank, which he saw were attacked
by the maddest passion, and were in danger of being lost. Since then we
have made much progress. The barriers which formerly divided society into
two classes have been destroyed, space has been opened for every one to
carve his own way, and the people participate in governments, and in the
royal councils.

"The majority of the ministers of the Restoration were chosen from among
the people. In relation to this, I admit all the reasonings of the
philosophers of the eighteenth century, and of the liberals of our own
times. In them I find expansion of heart, intelligence, and I care not
for genealogy. The qualities of mind, grace and beauty seem to me si