CONTENTS
OF
THE FIRST VOLUME.
| PART I. | |
| CONTAINING THE ADVENTURES OF A DAY SPENT AMONG THE BLOODS IN NEW YORK. | |
| [Introduction.—Character of the Author.] | [Page 3] |
| [CHAPTER I.] | |
| Walk to the Battery.—The Breakfast.—Conversation ofyoung travelled Americans.—Their Notions of Politics,Negroes, and Women. | [16] |
| [CHAPTER II.] | |
| Return to the City.—Arrival of the London Packet.—Receptionof the Passengers.—American Speculations onan English Lord.—Introduction to a Fashionable Boarding-house.—ANew England Minerva.—A Belle.—A Ladyfrom Virginia.—Conduct of Fashionable Young Ladiestowards Gentlemen of an inferior Standing.—Confusionproduced by the Dinner-bell. | [49] |
| [CHAPTER III.] | |
| The Dinner.—Reflections on the Homage paid to AmericanWomen.—Observation of a Fashionable Young Ladyon American eating.—The Party after Dinner.—An Americandescanting on the Fashions.—Parallel between Englishand American Women.—Manner of rising in Society.—Extravaganceand Waste of the Middle Classes.—Toad-eatingof Fashionable Americans in Europe.—TheirContempt for the Liberal Institutions of their Country.—Mannerin which the Society of America may be used asa Means of correcting the Notions of European Exaltados.—TheBritish Constitution in high favour with the UpperClasses.—Southern and Northern Aristocracy contrasted.—Aristocracyof Literati.—American Women in Society andat Home.—Pushing in Society the Cause of Failures.—WesternAristocracy.—An Aristocratic Lady in Pittsburgh.—Aristocracyin a Printer’s Shop.—PhilosophicalWindings-up of the Party. | [84] |
| [CHAPTER IV.] | |
| Joining the Ladies.—Education of a Fashionable YoungLady in New York—her Accomplishments.—Tea withoutGentlemen.—Commercial Disasters not affecting theRoutine of Amusements in the City of New York.—TheTheatre.—Forest come back to America.—Opinions of theAmericans on Shakspeare and the Drama.—Their Estimationof Forest as an Actor.—Forest and Rice contrasted. | [155] |
| [CHAPTER V.] | |
| Description of an American Rout.—A Flirtation.—TheFloor kept by the same Set of Dancers.—FashionableCharacters.—An Unfortunate Girl at a Party.—Inquiryinstituted in her Behalf.—Anecdote of two Fashionableyoung Ladies at Nahant.—Aristocratic Feelings of theAmericans carried abroad.—Anecdotes.—Reflections onthe Manners of the Higher Classes.—Anecdotes illustrativeof Western Politeness and Hospitality.—Kentucky Hospitality.—Hypocrisyof the Higher Orders of Americans.—Aristocracyin Churches.—An American Aristocrat comparedto Shylock.—A Millionnaire.—Two Professional Men.—StephenGerard.—A Gentleman of Norman Extraction.—DifferentMethods resorted to for procuring Ancestors.—Americansand the English contrasted.—A Country Representative—Methodof making him desert his Principles.—PoliticalSynonyms.—Contempt for Democracy.—Expectationsof the American Aristocracy.—Objections toWaltzing.—Announcement of Supper. | [190] |
| [CHAPTER VI.] | |
| A German Dissertation on Eating.—Application of Eatingto Scientific, Moral, and Political Purposes.—Democratsin America not in the Habit of entertaining People.—Consequencesof this Mistake.—The Supper.—Dialoguebetween a Country Representative and a FashionableLady.—Mode of winning Country Members.—Hatred ofthe Higher Classes of everything belonging to Democracy.—Attachmentof the Old Families to England.—Hatred ofthe “Vulgar English.”—The French, and even the English,not sufficiently aristocratic for the Americans.—Generosityof the Americans toward England.—A FashionableYoung Lady.—An American Exquisite.—Middle-agedGentlemen and Ladies.—Americans not understandinghow to amuse themselves, because they do not know howto laugh.—Negroes the happiest People in the UnitedStates.—Breaking-up of the Party.—Gallantry of theGentlemen. | [228] |
| [CHAPTER VII.] | |
| Late Hours kept in New York.—The Oyster-shops ofNew York compared to those of Philadelphia.—ImportantSchism on that Subject.—The Café de l’Indépendance.—AFrench Character.—Description of a Fashionable Oyster-shop.—Asensible American just returned from Paris.—Hisaccount of American Aristocracy abroad.—Mr. L***and Mr. Thistle.—A shrewd Yankee Tailor in Paris.—HisAdvice to his Countrymen.—An American Senatorscorning to become the fee’d Advocate of the Mob, afterthe manner of O’Connell. | [277] |
| [CHAPTER VIII.] | |
| Return Home.—A Passage from the Edinburgh Review,apologetical of American Federalism.—Speculation on theSubject.—Little Reward of Democracy in the United States.—TheHigher Classes contending for the Purse.—Consequenceof this Policy.—Declaration of an American Reviewerwith regard to American Poets.—Their Reward inEurope.—Falling asleep.—The Nightmare. | [306] |
ARISTOCRACY IN AMERICA.
PART I.
CONTAINING THE ADVENTURES OF A DAY SPENT AMONG THE BLOODS IN NEW YORK.
INTRODUCTION.
Character of the Author.
The following sketches of “American Aristocracy” were written in a desultory manner during a journey the Author took some time ago from Boston to Washington, after having sojourned a number of years in the country.
The Author, now residing in New York, not having sufficient courage to publish them, I undertook that task for him; not with a view to pecuniary profit, but in order to render a service to truth, which ought to be acceptable at all times, and cannot but benefit a young, aspiring, prosperous country like the United States.
Numerous works have already been published on “American Society;” but its peculiar tendency towards Aristocracy, its talents, resources, and prospects, have never been more than generally and superficially dwelt upon, even by the best writers. This is a great fault. The Americans have, as they repeatedly assure Europeans, “a great deal of Aristocracy,” and, in general, a very nice taste for artificial distinctions; a circumstance which, as yet, is but little known to the great bulk of the European public, who still imagine them to be a set of savages.