Sincere in her honest patriotism, I doubt if she ever guessed at the
real object of her opponent in the arguments which not unfrequently
arose. If there be any indiscretion in this pen-and-ink sketch from
nature, I should bitterly regret the involuntary error, though its
subject, to the world in general, remains nameless as Lenore.
There is another peculiarity of Baltimore society, which a stranger will
only perceive when he has passed withinside its porches. It is divided,
not only into sets, but, as it were, into clans. Several of the leading
families, generally belonging to the territorial aristocracy (let the
word stand) that took root in the State at, or soon after, its
settlement, have so intermarried, as to create the most curious net of
cousinship, the meshes of which are yearly becoming more intricate and
numerous. Yet there are no especial indications of exclusiveness or
spirit of _clique_; rather it is the homely feeling of kinsmanship,
which makes the intercourse of relations more familiar and
unceremonious, than that of intimate acquaintances or friends.
Cadets from many powerful houses in all the three kingdoms, were among
the early colonists of Maryland. It is good to mark, how gallantly the
"old blood" hold its own, even here; how, the descendants of soldiers
and statesmen have already attained the pride of place that their
ancestors won at home centuries ago, by a like valiance of sword,
tongue, or pen.
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