I make
these observations, that I may not be accused of a disregard to
chronology, in not precisely stating the year, or rather the months,
during which flourished one of a race, who, like the flowers of the
Cistus, one morning in all their splendour, on the next, are strewed
lifeless on the ground to make room for their successors. Speaking of
such ephemeral creations, it will be quite sufficient to say, "There
_was_ a Pacha."
Would you inquire by what means he was raised to the distinction? It is
an idle question. In this world, preeminence over your fellow-creatures
can only be obtained, by leaving others far behind in the career of
virtue or of vice. In compliance with the dispositions of those who
rule, faithful service in the one path or the other will shower honour
upon the subject, and by the breath of kings he becomes ennobled to look
down upon his former equals.
And as the world spins round, the _why_ is of little moment. The honours
are bequeathed, but not the good, or the evil deeds, or the talents by
which they were obtained. In the latter, we have but a life interest,
for the entail is cut off by death. Aristocracy in all its varieties is
as necessary, for the well binding of society, as the divers grades
between the general and the common soldier are essential in the field.
Never then inquire, why this or that man has been raised above his
fellows; but, each night as you retire to bed, thank Heaven that you are
not _a King_.
And if I may digress, there is one badge of honour in our country, which
I never contemplate without serious reflection rising in my mind.
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