“‘I might be hanged, drawn and quartered, and beheaded besides, if I were to do that. But, nevertheless, I have preserved a few stray thoughts that may help to amuse the ignorant after I am dead and gone,’ ses he.
“‘They are written in large letters on the trees of the grove,’ ses he. And then he took my arm, and we walked from tree to tree, and as we went our way, we read as follows:
“‘A democrat is one who is sorry that he is not an aristocrat, and an aristocrat is a snob, and doesn’t know it.
“‘If you think long enough, you will discover that such a thing as equality could never exist, because we all imagine we are better or worse than some one else.
“‘People who don’t think before marriage learn to do so after, but better late than never.
“‘If our friends were as generous as we would wish them to be, we would have no respect for their foolishness.
“‘Flies never frequent empty jam-pots, but money always brings friends.
“‘The man who seeks a bubble reputation in the newspapers must always keep reminding the public that he doesn’t want to be forgotten.
“‘It is no easy matter to praise ourselves without abusing others, or to abuse others without praising ourselves.