A glance at the table of contents will give an idea of the objects which Emerson proposed to himself in his tour, and which take up the principal portion of his record. Only one _place_ is given as the heading of a chapter,--_Stonehenge_. The other eighteen chapters have general titles, _Land, Race, Ability, Manners_, and others of similar character. He uses plain English in introducing us to the Pilgrim fathers of the British Aristocracy:-- "Twenty thousand thieves landed at Hastings. These founders of the House of Lords were greedy and ferocious dragoons, sons of greedy and ferocious pirates. They were all alike, they took everything they could carry; they burned, harried, violated, tortured, and killed, until everything English was brought to the verge of ruin. Such, however, is the illusion of antiquity and wealth, that decent and dignified men now existing boast their descent from these filthy thieves, who showed a far juster conviction of their own merits by assuming for their types the swine, goat, jackal, leopard, wolf, and snake, which they severally resembled." The race preserves some of its better characteristics. "They have a vigorous health and last well into middle and old age. The old men are as red as roses, and still handsome. A clear skin, a peach-bloom complexion, and good teeth are found all over the island." English "Manners" are characterized, according to Emerson, by pluck, vigor, independence. "Every one of these islanders is an island himself, safe, tranquil, incommunicable." They are positive, methodical, cleanly, and formal, loving routine and conventional ways; loving truth and religion, to be sure, but inexorable on points of form. "They keep their old customs, costumes, and pomps, their wig and mace, sceptre and crown. A severe decorum rules the court and the cottage. Pretension and vaporing are once for all distasteful. They hate nonsense, sentimentalism, and high-flown expressions; they use a studied plainness." "In an aristocratical country like England, not the Trial by Jury, but the dinner is the capital institution." "They confide in each other,--English believes in English."--"They require the same adherence, thorough conviction, and reality in public men." "As compared with the American, I think them cheerful and contented. Young people in this country are much more prone to melancholy." Emerson's observation is in accordance with that of Cotton Mather nearly two hundred years ago.