PKEFACE.

preceded tlio Reformation in our own land. In Russia, again, wefind the state of villeinage and serfdom still existing; wliilst inCentral Africa, among the Asliantees, we reacli tlie absolute con-dition of nature and barbarism.

It is difficult to make foreigners understand tliis : as a rule,even our Gallic neighbours are supremely ignorant of Englisliinstitutions and Englisli liabits ; indeed, we have but to take up aFrench drama or a French novel, of which tlie sceno is laid inEngland, to perceivo that the intelligent and educated classes ofFrance know no more of us than they do of the Esquimaux.

Nor is it possible to make Continental people comprehend thesocial and moral enormities that offend Englisli families directlythey set foot on foreign soil. The more refined sense ofdecency,which makes us regard their liabits in many cases as littlc betterthan bestial, they look upon as mere affectation and squeamishnesson our part; for as scavengors and dustmen are never seen withflowers at their button-hole, even so those who are accustomed tophysieal and moral filth become utterly insensible to the delicategraces of life.

It is customary for vain-glorious Frenchmen to speak of theircountry as " la plus civilisee du monde;" but, surely, if morals,comfort, and mechanical devclopments are to be taken as the testsof civilisation—rather than fashion, show, and bowing and scraping•—Englishmen can say with justice that there is no nation, eitherpast or present, which will, for a moment, admit of comparisonwith their own. Thcro is an inner life pervading the heart ofEngland, graced with home-feelings and affections, that rendersour national character, in a measure, a sealed book to foreigners.On the Continent, however, all is cxternal life and outwarddisplay: people live out of doors, and wear their hearts on theirsleeves, for ever tapping at their bosoms—like vintners do atwine-casks—-to show how füll they are. There are no internalSprings of action,—as with puppets, they are all movcd from with-out. You want hardly " six lessons" to study a foreigner,—youknow him "all through" in a fcw quiet half-hours. There is no