In my society we were loyal to the social principle. We lived for society and worshipped its pleasant needs, and for reward we had our social conceit. This conceit was a feather in our caps, which we wore gallantly and lightly, not at all flauntingly. In this, and in all matters, we escaped the vice of pretension. Our wit and humour for instance, and that of Dublin society generally, was wit for wit's sake; and with delighted superiority we thought of the English, who would incorporate their dull morality into the most trivial actions and words. We ridiculed and criticised each other with great freedom, and with French malice, but since we had no mission to reform anybody we would keep the joke to ourselves, the victim knowing nothing of it. Thus we spared his feelings and the joke was all the better. It was, perhaps, demoralizing, because in our pursuit of enjoyment we put aside what did not quite suit us; we never, for one thing, looked into the lower abysses of human nature. We did not absolutely deny that there were such things as hatred and rage and unbridled appetite and lust, but we forgot all about them. Indeed, it was not good form to mention such things. Thus we lived pleasantly, but falsely, and yet we did believe in human nature, at least in _our_ human nature, in parental affection & in conjugal faith and loyalty between friends. On this matter we had a trustfulness that was at once romantic and robust. Parents and children and husbands and Wives and friends and comrades, at least in our circles, would have stood by each other to the death. As regards Ireland our feelings were curious, and though exceedingly selfish not altogether so. We intended as good Protestants and Loyalists to keep the papists under our feet. We impoverished them, though we loved them, and their religion by its doctrine of submission and obedience unintentionally helped us, yet we were convinced that an Irishman, whether a Protestant or Catholic, was superior to every Englishman, that he was a better comrade and physically stronger and of greater courage. My mother's family had been for generations officers in the English army and I fancy drew that strong faith from their experience in many military campaigns. I might in my youthful impudence have sneered at many things and nobody would have taken the trouble to contradict me, but I did not venture to doubt the superiority of Irishmen to everybody in England.