As  the  carriages  flew  past,  unmistakable  marks  of  the
most  intimate  recognition  passed  between  its  occupants  and
the  English  lady.  A^in  on  the  Pincian,  without  repeat-
ing the  bow,  they  smiled,  or  made  some  signal  with  their
hands  each  time  the  carriages  passed.  At  last  the  curiosity
of  the  benevolent  lady  was  stimulated  so  fiir,  that  she  could
no  longer  resist  the  inquiry,  "  Who  are  your  fiiends  ?'*

"  My  sister  and  her  daughter,"  was  the  reply.
Madam,  not  to  be  thwarted,  continued :  ^^  The  elder  lady
is  very  fine-looking,  and  the  younger  one  is  so  like  the

Princess  T ,  whom  I  met  at  one  of 's  receptions

the  other  day,  that  I  thought  at  first  it  was  she."

*'  You  are  right,  it  is  she,"  was  the  quiet  answer.    The

Princess  T is  the  niece  of  Lord  D ,  Earl  of j

and  is  called  the  most  beautiful  woman  in  Bome.  The
prince  is  one  of  the  wealthiest  and  most  influential  of  the
Italian  nobles.  The  American  lady  enjoyed  a  quiet  laugh
over  the  exclusiveness  of  the  younger  members  of  her
party.
That  exclusiveness  which  grows  out  of  varying  duress
of  culture,  and  of  varying  grades  of  eociet^f  m'ask^  V^^


486  SENSIBLE   BTIQUBTTB.
different  costoms  and  habits,  by  observance  or  noD-ob6e^
vanoe  of  certain  forms,  is  a  creditable  exclnsiveness.  It
has  existed  and  must  continue  to  exist  in  all  civilized  lands,
with  as  much  force  in  a  republic  as  in  a  kingdom.  Oar
nobility  then,  is  an  order  which  takes  precedence  over  all
other  orders  of  nobility.  It  is  the  nobility  of  culture,  and
it  posseeKses  this  advantage,  that  every  aspirant  for  a  place
in  its  ranks  may  secure  his  position  there,  if  he  fits  him-
self to  hold  it.
