It's hard to be public spirited when taxes are being raised.
"The Eye of Dread"
Payne Erskine
"And yet," thought she, "how narrow-minded and selfish is all this, how mean-spirited, to limit the question to my own feelings!
"The Martins Of Cro' Martin, Vol. II (of II)"
Charles James Lever
I'm a lot public-spirited.
"Lonesome Land"
B. M. Bower