Four seasons crown the farmer's care, At four o'clock !-how very German ! CHAPTER XI. A Dutch gentleman-Arrival of A Dinner at Schwalbach-Kellners. July 23rd.-TO-DAY we dined at the "Poste," and I was very fortunate in a neighbour. About "pudding time," the centre of a German dinner, two travellers, apparently a father and son, came in. The old gentleman, a very intelligent, prepossessing-looking person, seated himself by me. He asked me several questions about Schwalbach, where he said he had but just arrived, and added that he was Dutch. He seemed exceedingly patriotic, and I took advantage of his willingness to talk of his own country, to obtain a very interesting account of its manners, customs, literature, &c. The great care and attention paid to the education of men, and women too! seemed, from his account, to outdo even England. As soon as ever they are able to speak, advantage is taken of the dawning vocal faculties to exercise them upon French, English, and German, as well as their mother tongue. This diversion of the gift of speech into so many channels must produce a Babel, which my old friend confessed often ended in their knowing no language well. He himself spoke French admirably—also German he said his English was as fluent as either, but I could not prevail on him to give me a sample. "O no," he said, "that I dare not-you English have so little mercyyou are si difficile." I fear we have a very sad character, but a very deserved one, in this respect. The old Dutch gentleman had read many English works, and was quite conversant with the literature of the day. Of Bulwer he spoke in those enthusiastic terms of admiration, without which his name is never mentioned here;he is decidedly the favourite of all our authors on the continent. While we kept to books all went on very well; but soon my friend rambled off to politics, and then he became all on fire. He must have been grievously disappointed to find me so slender a politician, though I set out by telling him it was " part of my system," as Dr. O'Toole says, that politics and petticoats are as well asunder: that as every man was by nature and inclination a law-maker, every woman-(especially young ones)-whose taste does not lead her that way, may leave the affairs of the nation to the wiser heads of the land. Still he persisted in dragging me out of my depth, so that I had to cry out for mercy more times than one. "What!" he exclaimed in answer to some observation," and is it possible you have seen O'Connell!" and the old gentleman laid down his knife and fork, and gazed up earnestly into my eyes, as though (Heaven forbid!) the object they had rested on were still visibly reflected there. O'Connell, be it known, ranks next to Bulwer in interest in this country. "Well! I should like to see him," he added, "though, Protestant and Conservative as I am, I think him incalculably mischievous." We next got upon authors and clever people in general. "The former," he said, "I should never like to meet except in their books. Talented persons must of necessity be egotists. Concessions must be granted them, and certain allowances made: in fact, it is a sacrifice we owe to genius, and which it expects." Now, here I was forced to differ from my old friend, though I believe his opinion is a very usual one. That clever persons should be conceited and egotistical, because they are clever, appears quite contrary to the nature of things. In the first place, the very circumstance of their being so, argues superiority of intellect, and more extensive views of things in general than others possess. They stand on higher ground, and from thence they see the wide field of knowledge spread out before them: they see how much, how very much there is to be learned, and how trifling in comparison are their own attainments. It is only a little learning that is a dangerous thing. In the next place, a far more important cause for humility presents itself. Any one who has ever seriously put to himself this question, "Who made thee to differ from another, and what hast thou that thou didst not receive ?" will find in the answer a powerful silencer of |