The Attache; Or, Sam Slick In England(Fiscle Part-3), Thomas Chandler Haliburton [best ereader for pdf TXT] 📗
- Author: Thomas Chandler Haliburton
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He Then Inquired Into The State Of Her Family, Whether
The Boy Who Was Training A Peach-Tree Against The End Of
The House Was Her Son, And Many Other Matters Not Necessary
To Record With The Same Precision That I Have Enumerated
The Furniture.
"Oh, Here Is A Pretty Little Child!" Said He. "Come Here,
Dear, And Shake Hands Along With Me. What Beautiful Hair
She Has! And She Looks So Clean And Nice, Too. Every
Thing And Every Body Here Is So Neat, So Tidy, And So
Appropriate. Kiss Me, Dear; And Then Talk To Me; For I
Love Little Children. 'Suffer Them To Come Unto Me,' Said
Our Master, 'For Of Such Is The Kingdom Of Heaven:' That
Is, That We Should Resemble These Little Ones In Our
Innocence."
He Then Took Her On His Knee. "Can You Say The Lord's
Prayer, Dear?"
"Yes, Sir."
"Very Good. And The Ten Commandments?"
"Yes, Sir."
"Who Taught You?"
"My Mother, Sir; And The Parson Taught Me The Catechism."
"Why, Sam, This Child Can Say The Lord's Prayer, The Ten
Commandments, And The Catechism. Ain't This Beautiful?
Tell Me The Fifth, Dear."
And The Child Repeated It Distinctly And Accurately.
"Right. Now, Dear, Always Bear That In Mind, Especially
Towards Your Mother. You Have An Excellent Mother; Her
Cares And Her Toils Are Many; And Amidst Them All, How
Well She Has Done Her Duty To You. The Only Way She Can
Be Repaid, Is To Find That You Are What She Desires You
To Be, A Good Girl. God Commands This Return To Be Made,
And Offers You The Reward Of Length Of Days. Here Is A
Piece Of Money For You. And Now, Dear," Placing Her Again
Upon Her Feet, "You Never Saw So Old A Man As Me, And
Never Will Again; And One, Too, That Came From A Far-Off
Country, Three Thousand Miles Off; It Would Take You A
Long Time To Count Three Thousand; It Is So Far. Whenever
You Do What You Ought Not, Think Of The Advice Of The
'Old Minister.'"
Here Mr. Slick Beckoned The Mother To The Door, And
Volume 1 Chapter 11 (Cottages) Pg 60Whispered Something To Her, Of Which, The Only Words That
Met My Ear Were "A Trump," "A Brick," "The Other Man Like
Him Ain't Made Yet," "Do It, He'll Talk, Then."
To Which She Replied, "I Have--Oh Yes, Sir--By All Means."
She Then Advanced To Mr. Hopewell, And Asked Him If He
Would Like To Smoke.
"Indeed I Would, Dear, But I Have No Pipe Here."
She Said Her Old Man Smoked Of An Evening, After His Work
Was Done, And That She Could Give Him A Pipe And Some
Tobacco, If He Would Condescend To Use Them; And Going
To The Cupboard, She Produced A Long White Clay Pipe And
Some Cut Tobacco.
Having Filled And Lighted His Pipe, Mr. Hopewell Said,
"What Church Do You Go To, Dear?"
"The Parish Church, Sir."
"Right; You Will Hear Sound Doctrine And Good Morals
Preached There. Oh This A Fortunate Country, Sam, For
The State Provides For The Religious Instruction Of The
Poor. Where The Voluntary System Prevails, The Poor Have
To Give From Their Poverty, Or Go Without; And Their
Gifts Are So Small, That They Can Purchase But Little.
It's A Beautiful System, A Charitable System, A Christian
System. Who Is Your Landlord?"
"Squire Merton, Sir; And One Of The Kindest Masters, Too,
That Ever Was. He Is So Good To The Poor; And The Ladies.
Sir, They Are So Kind, Also. When My Poor Daughter Mary
Was So Ill With The Lever, I Do Think She Would Have Died
But For The Attentions Of Those Young Ladies; And When
She Grew Better, They Sent Her Wine And Nourishing Things
From Their Own Table. They Will Be So Glad To See You.
Sir, At The Priory. Oh, I Wish You Could See Them!"
"There It Is, Sam," He Continued "That Illustrates What
I Always Told You Of Their Social System Here. We May
Boast Of Our Independence, But That Independence Produces
Isolation. There Is An Individuality About Every Man And
Every Family In America, That Gives No Right Of Inquiry,
And Imposes No Duty Of Relief On Any One. Sickness, And
Sorrow, And Trouble, Are Not Divulged; Joy, Success, And
Happiness Are Not Imparted. If We Are Independent In
Our Thoughts And Actions, So Are We Left To Sustain The
Burden Of Our Own Ills. How Applicable To Our State Is
That Passage Of Scripture, 'The Heart Knoweth Its Own
Bitterness, And A Stranger Intermeddleth Not With Its
Joy.'
Volume 1 Chapter 11 (Cottages) Pg 61
"Now, Look At This Poor Family; Here Is A Clergyman
Provided For Them, Whom They Do Not, And Are Not Even
Expected To Pay; Their Spiritual Wants Are Ministered
To, Faithfully And Zealously, As We See By The Instruction
Of That Little Child. Here Is A Friend Upon Whom They
Can Rely In Their Hour Of Trouble, As The Bereaved Mother
Did On Elisha. 'And She Went Up And Laid Her Child That
Was Dead On The Bed Of The Man Of God, And Shut The Door
On Him, And Went Out.' And When A Long Train Of Agitation,
Mis-Government, And Ill-Digested Changes Have Deranged
This Happy Country, As Has Recently Been The Case, Here
Is An Indulgent Landlord, Disposed To Lower His Rent Or
Give Further Time For Payment, Or If Sickness Invades
Any Of These Cottages, To Seek Out The Sufferer, To Afford
The Remedies, And By His Countenance, His Kindness, And
Advice, To Alleviate Their Trouble. Here It Is, A Positive
Duty Arising From Their Relative Situations Of Landlord
And Tenant. The Tenants Support The Owner, The Landlord
Protects The Tenants: The Duties Are Reciprocal.
"With _Us_ The Duties, As Far As Christian Duties Can Be
Said To Be Optional, Are Voluntary; And The Voluntary
Discharge Of Duties, Like The Voluntary Support Of
Religion, We Know, From Sad Experience, To Be Sometimes
Imperfectly Performed, At Others Intermitted, And Often
Wholly Neglected. Oh! It Is A Happy Country This, A Great
And A Good Country; And How Base, How Wicked, How Diabolical
It Is To Try To Set Such A Family As This Against Their
Best Friends, Their Pastor And Their Landlord; To Instil
Dissatisfaction And Distrust Into Their Simple Minds,
And To Teach Them To Loathe The Hand, That Proffers
Nothing But Regard Or Relief. It Is Shocking, Isn't It?"
"That's What I Often Say, Sir," Said Mrs. Hodgins, "To
My Old Man, To Keep Away From Them Chartists."
"Chartists! Dear, Who Are They? I Never Heard Of Them."
"Why, Sir, They Are The Men That Want The Five Pints."
"Five Pints! Why You Don't Say So; Oh! They Are Bad Men,
Have Nothing To Do With Them. Five Pints! Why That Is
Two Quarts And A Half; That Is Too Much To Drink If It
Was Water; And If Any Thing Else, It Is Beastly Drunkenness.
Have Nothing To Do With Them."
"Oh! No, Sir, It Is Five Points Of Law."
"Tut--Tut--Tut! What Have You Got To Do With Law, My
Dear?"
"By Gosh, Aunty," Said Mr. Slick, "You Had Better Not
Cut That Pie: You Will Find It Rather Sour In The Apple
Sarce, And Tough In The Paste, I Tell _You_."
Volume 1 Chapter 11 (Cottages) Pg 62
"Yes, Sir," She Replied, "But They Are A Unsettling Of
His Mind. What Shall I Do? For I Don't Like These Night
Meetings, And He Always Comes Home From 'Em Cross And
Sour-Like."
"Well, I Am Sorry To Hear That," Said Mr. Hopewell, "I
Wish I Could See Him; But I Can't, For I Am Bound On A
Journey. I Am Sorry To Hear It, Dear. Sam, This Country
Is So Beautiful, So Highly Cultivated, So Adorned By
Nature And Art, And Contains So Much Comfort And Happiness,
That It Resembles Almost The Garden Of Eden. But, Sam,
The Serpent Is Here, The Serpent Is Here Beyond A Doubt.
It Changes Its Shape, And Alters Its Name, And Takes A
New Colour, But Still It Is The Serpent, And It Ought To
Be Crushed. Sometimes It Calls Itself Liberal, Then
Radical, Then Chartist, Then Agitator, Then Repealer,
Then Political Dissenter, Then Anti-Corn Leaguer, And So
On. Sometimes It Stings The Clergy, And Coils Round Them,
And Almost Strangles Them, For It Knows The Church Is
Its Greatest Enemy, And It Is Furious Against It. Then
It Attacks The Peers, And Covers Them With Its Froth And
Slaver, And Then It Bites The Landlord. Then It Changes
Form, And Shoots At The Queen, Or Her Ministers, And Sets
Fire To Buildings, And Burns Up Corn To Increase Distress;
And, When Hunted Away, It Dives Down Into The Collieries,
Or Visits The Manufactories, And Maddens The People, And
Urges Them On To Plunder And Destruction. It's A Melancholy
Thing To Think Of; But He Is As Of Old, Alive And Active,
Seeing Whom He Can Allure And Deceive, And Whoever Listens
Is Ruined For Ever.
"Stay, Dear, I'll Tell You What I Will Do For You. I'll
Inquire About These Chartists; And When I Go To London,
I Will Write A Little Tract So Plain That Any Child May
Read It And Understand It; And Call It _The Chartist_,
And Get It Printed, And I Will Send You One For Your
Husband, And Two Or Three Others, To Give To Those Whom
They May Benefit.
"And Now, Dear, I Must Go. You And I Will Never Meet
Again In This World; But I Shall Often Think Of You, And
Often Speak Of You. I Shall Tell My People Of The Comforts,
Of The Neatness, Of The Beauty Of An English Cottage.
May God Bless You, And So Regulate Your Mind As To Preserve
In You A Reverence For His Holy Word, An Obedience To
The Commands Of Your Spiritual Pastor, And A Respect For
All That Are Placed In Authority Over You!"
"Well, It Is Pretty, Too, Is This Cottage," Said Mr.
Slick, As We Strolled Back To The Inn, "But The
Handsumestest Thing Is To Hear That Good Old Soul Talk
Dictionary That Way, Aint It? How Nateral He Is! Guess
They Don't Often See Such A 'Postle As That In These
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