"They are dear as valued friends, for they have been a great blessing to me; I must pay them with truth and candor; and yet this passing fancy of mine may only be the result of personal vanity; I will banish the whole from my memory, ashamed that it ever entered my foolish brain. Aunt Matilda does annoy me, she says so many silly things when I am alone with her; if she continues to talk so about Lord N----, it will destroy all our friendly intercourse, and I shall have to go back to London. I am so afraid that she will make her fancies plain to the family, and that would be more than I could endure. "Yesterday we had company to dinner; the conversation turned upon England and America. One gentleman was evidently prejudiced, and spoke disparagingly of our country. I felt the blood rise to my face, for he did not speak the truth. The good earl came to the rescue. "'Have you ever been in America, Sir Edward, or met many of its people?' "'I have not,' was the reply, with some embarrassment. "'Then, I think, sir, that you should withhold your judgment with regard to our American cousins; some of the most intelligent, frank, and gentlemanly persons that I have ever met, have come from that country.' "'I have read travels, my lord, and have received my impressions from such writers as Dickens, Mrs. Trollope, &c.' "'Indeed, Sir Edward, I never was more heartily ashamed than when I read Dickens's book; after receiving so many hospitalities, to return them with such prejudiced accounts of his sojourn,--I for one do not believe them; I have met some of the American clergy, and authors, and other distinguished men, and, as a true and loyal Englishman, I can say that I have never met more refinement, intelligence, or sterling worth, than among the Americans.' "'Thank you, my lord,' I replied, for I could no longer keep silent; 'it has always seemed so strange that there should be any rivalries between us, for are we not the same people? the same language, the same descent, and the same religious faith? For my part, I am willing to acknowledge the great debt we owe to England. From her, we have our finest authors, the very gems of literature; from her, the noblest specimens of philanthropy and genius; and from her, our Christian faith, and the very formulas in which we worship God.' I blushed, and drew back, for I had not been aware how long a speech I was making, until I saw the look of approbation in the earl's countenance, and the warm glow upon Lord N----'s. "'These are noble sentiments, Miss Hamilton,' said the good earl. 'I was always sorry for the obstinacy of George the Third; for through him we lost those colonies which are now merged into so great a nation.' "'But perhaps,' remarked my father, 'we might not have been what we are, if we were still under monarchical rule; our free institutions have spurred on enterprise of every kind, and started us as a nation far ahead in many things.'