When a proud man has not riches to be proud of, he grows proud of the signs of his poverty itself.

This was the case with my poor father.

Had he been rich, the ruins would not have existed: he would have rebuilt the old mansion.
As he was poor, he valued himself on their existence, and fancied magnificence in every handful of moss.

But all life is delusion: all pride, all vanity, all pomp, are equally deceit.

Like the Spanish hidalgo, we put on spectacles when we eat our cherries, in order that they may seem ten times as big as they are!" Constance smiled; and Lady Erpingham, who had more kindness than delicacy, continued her praises of the Priory and the scenery round it.
"The old park," said she, "with its wood and water, is so beautiful! It wants nothing but a few deer, just tame enough to come near the ruins, and wild enough to start away as you approach." "Now you would borrow an attraction from wealth," said Godolphin, who, unlike English persons in general, seemed to love alluding to his poverty: "it is not for the owner of a ruined Priory to consult the aristocratic enchantments of that costly luxury, the Picturesque.