The Attache; Or, Sam Slick In England(Fiscle Part-3) - Thomas Chandler Haliburton (reading well txt) 📗

Volume 2 Chapter 14 (Crossing The Border) Pg 183

If You Don't; And Besides," Said He In An Onder Tone,

"_He_" (Nodding His Head Towards Mr. Hopewell,) "Will

Miss You Shockingly. He Frets Horridly About His Flock.

He Says,  ''Mancipation And Temperance Have Superceded

The Scriptures In The States. That Formerly They Preached

Religion There,  But Now They Only Preach About Niggers

And Rum.' Good Bye,  Squire."

 

"You Do Right,  Squire," Said Mr. Hopewell,  "To Go. That

Which Has To Be Done,  Should Be Done Soon,  For We Have

Not Always The Command Of Our Time. See Your Friend,  For

The Claims Of Friendship Are Sacred; And See Your Family

Tomb-Stones Also,  For The Sight Of Them,  Will Awaken A

Train Of Reflections In A Mind Like Yours,  At Once

Melancholy And Elevating; But I Will Not Deprive You Of

The Pleasure You Will Derive From First Impressions,  By

Stripping Them Of Their Novelty. You Will Be Pleased With

The Scotch; They Are A Frugal,  Industrious,  Moral And

Intellectual People. I Should Like To See Their Agriculture,

I Am Told It Is By Far The Best In Europe.

 

"But,  Squire,  I Shall Hope To See You Soon,  For I Sometimes

Think Duty Calls Me Home Again. Although My Little Flock

Has Chosen Other Shepherds And Quitted My Fold,  Some Of

Them May Have Seen Their Error,  And Wish To Return. And

Ought I Not To Be There To Receive Them? It Is True,  I

Am No Longer A Labourer In The Vineyard,  But My Heart Is

There. I Should Like To Walk Round And Round The Wall

That Encloses It,  And Climb Up,  And Look Into It,  And

Talk To Them That Are At Work There. I Might Give Some

Advice That Would Be Valuable To Them. The Blossoms

Require Shelter,  And The Fruit Requires Heat,  And The

Roots Need Covering In Winter. The Vine Too Is Luxuriant,

And Must Be Pruned,  Or It Will Produce Nothing But Wood.

It Demands Constant Care And Constant Labour; I Had

Decorated The Little Place With Flowers Too,  To Make It

Attractive And Pleasant.

 

"But,  Ah Me! Dissent Will Pull All These Up Like Weeds,

And Throw Them Out; And Scepticism Will Raise Nothing

But Gaudy Annuals. The Perennials Will Not Flourish

Without Cultivating And Enriching The Ground; _Their

Roots Are In The Heart_. The Religion Of Our Church,

Which Is The Same As This Of England,  Is A Religion Which

Inculcates Love: Filial Love Towards God; Paternal Love

To Those Committed To Our Care; Brotherly Love,  To Our

Neighbour,  Nay,  Something More Than Is Known By That Term

In Its Common Acceptation,  For We Are Instructed To Love

Our Neighbour As Ourselves.

 

"We Are Directed To Commence Our Prayer With "Our Father."

How Much Of Love,  Of Tenderness,  Of Forbearance,  Of

Kindness,  Of Liberality,  Is Embodied In That Word--

Children: Of The Same Father,  Members Of The Same Great

Volume 2 Chapter 14 (Crossing The Border) Pg 184

Human Family I Love Is The Bond Of Union--Love Dwelleth

In The Heart; And The Heart Must Be Cultivated,  That The

Seeds Of Affection May Germinate In It.

 

"Dissent Is Cold And Sour; It Never Appeals To The

Affections,  But It Scatters Denunciations,  And Rules By

Terror. Scepticism Is Proud And Self-Sufficient. It

Refuses To Believe In Mysteries And Deals In Rhetoric

And Sophistry,  And Flatters The Vanity,  By Exalting Human

Reason. My Poor Lost Flock Will See The Change,  And I

Fear,  Feel It Too. Besides,  Absence Is A Temporary Death.

Now I Am Gone From Them,  They Will Forget My Frailties

And Infirmities,  And Dwell On What Little Good Might Have

Been In Me,  And,  Perhaps,  Yearn Towards Me.

 

"If I Was To Return,  Perhaps I Could Make An Impression

On The Minds Of Some,  And Recall Two Or Three,  If Not

More,  To A Sense Of Duty. What A Great Thing That Would

Be,  Wouldn't It? And If I Did,  I Would Get Our Bishop To

Send Me A Pious,  Zealous,  Humble-Minded,  Affectionate,

Able Young Man,  As A Successor; And I Would Leave My

Farm,  And Orchard,  And Little Matters,  As A Glebe For

The Church. And Who Knows But The Lord May Yet Rescue

Slickville From The Inroads Of Ignorant Fanatics,  Political

Dissenters,  And Wicked Infidels?

 

"And Besides,  My Good Friend,  I Have Much To Say To You,

Relative To The Present Condition And Future Prospects

Of This Great Country. I Have Lived To See A Few Ambitious

Lawyers,  Restless Demagogues,  Political Preachers,  And

Unemployed Local Officers Of Provincial Regiments,  Agitate

And Sever Thirteen Colonies At One Time From The Government

Of England. I Have Witnessed The Struggle. It Was A

Fearful,  A Bloody And An Unnatural One. My Opinions,

Therefore,  Are Strong In Proportion As My Experience Is

Great. I Have Abstained On Account Of Their Appearing

Like Preconceptions From Saying Much To You Yet,  For I

Want To See More Of This Country,  And To Be Certain,  That

I Am Quite Right Before I Speak.

 

"When You Return,  I Will Give You My Views On Some Of

The Great Questions Of The Day. Don't Adopt Them,  Hear

Them And Compare Them With Your Own. I Would Have You

Think For Yourself,  For I Am An Old Man Now And Sometimes

I Distrust My Powers Of Mind.

 

"The State Of This Country You,  In Your Situation,  Ought

To Be Thoroughly Acquainted With. It Is A Very Perilous

One. Its Prosperity,  Its Integrity,  Nay Its Existence

As A First-Rate Power,  Hangs By A Thread,  And That Thread

But Little Better And Stronger Than A Cotton One. _Quem

Deus Vult Perdere Prius Dementat_. I Look In Vain For

That Constitutional Vigour,  And Intellectual Power,  Which

Once Ruled The Destinies Of This Great Nation.

Volume 2 Chapter 14 (Crossing The Border) Pg 185

 

"There Is An Aberration Of Intellect,  And A Want Of

Self-Possession Here That Alarms Me. I Say,  Alarms Me,

For American As I Am By Birth,  And Republican As I Am

From The Force Of Circumstances,  I Cannot But Regard

England With Great Interest,  And With Great Affection.

What A Beautiful Country! What A Noble Constitution! What

A High Minded,  Intelligent,  And Generous People! When

The Whigs Came Into Office,  The Tories Were Not A Party,

They Were The People Of England. Where And What Are They

Now? Will They Ever Have A Lucid Interval,  Or Again

Recognise The Sound Of Their Own Name? And Yet,  Sam,

Doubtful As The Prospect Of Their Recovery Is,  And Fearful

As The Consequences Of A Continuance Of Their Malady

Appear To Be,  One Thing Is Most Certain,  _A Tory Government

Is The Proper Government For A Monarchy,  A Suitable One

For Any Country,  But It Is The Only One For England_. I

Do Not Mean An Ultra One,  For I Am A Moderate Man,  And

All Extremes Are Equally To Be Avoided. I Mean A Temperate,

But Firm One: Steady To Its Friends,  Just To Its Enemies,

And Inflexible To All. "When Compelled To Yield,  It Should

Be By The Force Of Reason,  And Never By The Power Of

Agitation. Its Measures Should Be Actuated By A Sense

Of What Is Right,  And Not What Is Expedient,  For To

Concede Is To Recede--To Recede Is To Evince Weakness

--And To Betray Weakness Is To Invite Attack.

 

"I Am A Stranger Here. I Do Not Understand This New Word,

Conservatism. I Comprehend The Other Two,  Toryism And

Liberalism. The One Is A Monarchical,  And The Other A

Republican Word. The Term,  Conservatism,  I Suppose,

Designates A Party Formed Out Of The Moderate Men Of Both

Sides,  Or Rather,  Composed Of Low-Toned Tories And High

Whigs. I Do Not Like To Express A Decided Opinion Yet,

But My First Impression Is Always Adverse To Mixtures,

For A Mixture Renders Impure The Elements Of Which It Is

Compounded. Every Thing Will Depend On The Preponderance

Of The Wholesome Over The Deleterious Ingredients. I Will

Analyse It Carefully. See How One Neutralizes Or Improves

The Other,  And What The Effect Of The Compound Is Likely

To Be On The Constitution. I Will Request Our Ambassador,

Everett,  Or Sam's Friend,  The Minister Extraordinary,

Abednego Layman,  To Introduce Me To Sir Robert Peel,  And

Will Endeavour To Obtain All Possible Information From

The Best Possible Source.

 

"On Your Return I Will Give You A Candid And Deliberate

Opinion."

 

After A Silence Of Some Minutes,  During Which He Walked

Up And Down The Room In A Fit Of Abstraction,  He Suddenly

Paused,  And Said,  As If Thinking Aloud--

 

"Hem,  Hem--So You Are Going To Cross The Border,  Eh? That

Volume 2 Chapter 14 (Crossing The Border) Pg 186

Northern Intellect Is Strong. Able Men The Scotch,  A

Little Too Radical In Politics,  And A Little Too Liberal,

As It Is Called,  In A Matter Of Much Greater Consequence;

Bat A Superior People,  On The Whole. They Will Give You

A Warm Reception,  Will The Scotch. Your Name Will Insure

That; And They Are Clannish; And Another Warm Reception

Will,  I Assure You,  Await You Here,  When,  Returning,  You

Again _Cross The Border_."

 

Volume 2 Chapter 15 (The Irish Preface) Pg 187

Gentle Reader,

 

If An Irishman Were Asked What A Preface Was,  He Would,

Without Hesitation Reply,  That It Was The Last Chapter

Of A Book,  And We Should Unquestionably Pronounce That

Answer To Be A Bull; For How Can Prefatory Remarks Be

Valedictory Ones? A Few Moments' Consideration,  However,

Would Induce Us To Withdraw Such A Hasty Opinion,  And

Convince Us That His Idea Is,  After All,  A Correct One.

It Is Almost Always The Part That Is Last Written,  And

_We_ Perpetrate The Bull,  By Placing It At