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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Instead Of The End Of The Book, And Denominating Our
Parting Words Introductory Remarks.
The Result Of Our Arrangement Is, That Nobody Reads It.
The Public Do Not Want To Hear An Apology Or Explanation,
Until It First Ascertains, Whether The One Can Be Accepted,
Or The Other Is Required. This Contemptuous Neglect
Arises From Two Causes, First Because It Is Out Of Place,
And Secondly Because It Too Often Contains A Great Deal
Of Twaddle. Unfortunately, One Half Of What Is Said In
This World Is Unmeaning Compliment. A Man Who Wishes To
Mark His Respect For You, Among Other Inconvenient Methods
Of Shewing It, Offers To Accompany You To The Hall. You
Are In Consequence Arrested In Your Progress. You Are
Compelled To Turn On Your Pursuer, And Entreat Him Not
To Come To The Door. After A Good Deal Of Lost Time He
Is Prevailed Upon To Return. This Is Not Fair. Every Man
Should Be Suffered To Depart In Peace.
Now, It Is My Intention To Adopt The Irish Definition.
The Word Preface Is A Misnomer. What I Have To Say I
Shall Put Into My Last Chapter, And Assign To It Its
Proper Place. I Shall Also Adopt Another Improvement, On
The Usual Practice. I Shall Make It As Short As Possible,
Volume 2 Chapter 15 (The Irish Preface) Pg 188And Speak To The Point.
My Intention Then, Gentle Reader, Was When I Commenced
This Work, To Write But One Volume, And At Some Future
Time To Publish A Second. The Materials, However, Were
So Abundant, That Selection Became Very Difficult, And
Compression Much More So. To Touch As Many Topics As I
Designed, I Was Compelled To Extend It To Its Present
Size, And I Still Feel That The Work Is Only Half Done.
Whether I Shall Ever Be Able To Supply This Deficiency
I Cannot Say. I Do Not Doubt Your Kind Reception; I Have
Experienced Too Much Indulgence And Favour At Your Hands,
To Suppose That You Will Withdraw It From One Whom You
Have Honoured With Repeated Marks Of Approbation; But I
Entertain Some Fears That I Shall Not Be Able To Obtain
The Time That Is Necessary For Its Completion, And That
If I Can Command The Leisure, My Health Will Insist On
A Prior Claim To Its Disposal.
If, However, I Shall Be Enabled So To Do, It Is My
Intention, Hereafter To Add Another Series Of The Sayings
And Doings Of The Attache, So As To Make The Work As
Complete As Possible.
I Am Quite Confident It Is Not Necessary To Add, That
The Sentiments Uttered By Mr. Slick, Are Not Designed
Either As An Expression Of Those Of The Author, Or Of
The Americans Who Visit This Country. With Respect To
Myself No Disavowal Is Necessary; But I Feel It Due To
My American Friends, For Whose Kindness I Can Never Be
Sufficiently Grateful, And Whose Good Opinion I Value
Too Highly To Jeopardise It By Any Misapprehension, To
State Distinctly, That I Have Not The Most Remote Idea
Of Putting Mr. Slick Forward, As A Representative Of Any
Opinions, But His Own Individual Ones. They Are Peculiar
To Himself. They Naturally Result From His
Shrewdness--Knowledge Of Human Nature--Quickness Of
Perception And Appreciation Of The Ridiculous On The One
Hand; And On The Other From His Defective Education,
Ignorance Of The Usages Of Society, And Sudden Elevation,
From The Lower Walks Of Life, To A Station For Which He
Was Wholly Unqualified.
I Have Endeavoured, As Far As It Was Possible, In A Work
Of This Kind, To Avoid All Personal Allusions To _Private_
Persons, Or In Any Way To Refer To Scenes That May He
Supposed To Have Such A Hearing. Should Any One Imagine
That He Can Trace Any Resemblance, To Any Private Occurrence
I Can Only Assure Him That Such Resemblance Is Quite
Accidental.
On The Other Hand, I Have Lost No Opportunity Of Inculcating
What I Conceive To Be Good Sound Constitutional Doctrines.
Loyal Myself, A Great Admirer Of The Monarchical Form Of
Volume 2 Chapter 15 (The Irish Preface) Pg 189Government; Attached To British Institutions, And A
Devoted Advocate For The Permanent Connexion Between The
Parent State, And Its Transatlantic Possessions, I Have
Not Hesitated To Give Utterance To These Opinions. Born
A Colonist, It Is Natural I Should Have The Feelings Of
One, And If I Have Obtruded Local Matters On The Notice
Of The Reader Oftener Than May Be Thought Necessary, It
Must Be Remembered That An Inhabitant Of Those Distant
Countries Has Seldom An Opportunity Of Being Heard. I
Should Feel, Therefore, If I Were To Pass Over In Silence
Our Claims Or Our Interests, I Was Affording The Best
Justification For That Neglect, Which For The Last Half
Century, Has Cramped Our Energies, Paralized Our Efforts,
And Discouraged And Disheartened Ourselves. England Is
Liberal In Concessions, And Munificent In Her Pecuniary
Grants To Us; But Is So Much Engrossed With Domestic
Politics, That She Will Bestow Upon Us Neither Time Nor
Consideration.
It Has Been My Object, Therefore, To Convey To The Public
Some Important Truths, Under A Humorous Cover, Which,
Without The Amusement Afforded By The Wrapper Would Never
Be Even Looked At.
This Portion Of The Work Requires No Apology. To Do As
I Have Done, Is A Duty Incumbent On Any Person Who Has
The Means Of Doing Good, Afforded Him By Such An Extensive
Circulation Of His Works, As I Have Been Honoured With.
I Have Already Expressed Some Doubts Whether I Shall Be
Enabled To Furnish A Second Series Of This Work Or Not.
In This Uncertainty, I Will Not Omit This, Perhaps My
Only Opportunity, Of Making My Most Grateful
Acknowledgments, For The Very Great Measure Of Indulgence
I Have Received, From The Public On Both Sides Of The
Atlantic, And Of Expressing A Hope That Mr. Slick, Who
Has Been So Popular As A Clockmaker May Prove Himself
Equally Deserving Of Favour As "An Attache."
I Have The Honour To Subscribe Myself,
Your Most Obedient Servant,
The Author.
London, July 1st., 1843.
ImprintPublication Date: 05-16-2014
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