The Attache; Or, Sam Slick In England(Fiscle Part-3), Thomas Chandler Haliburton [best ereader for pdf TXT] 📗
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Minister?"
There Was No Response To All This Bombast. It Was Evident
He Had Not Been Heard; And Turning To Mr. Hopewell, I
Observed His Eyes Were Fixed Intently On The Distance,
And His Mind Pre-Occupied By Painful Reflexions, For
Tears Were Coursing After Each Other Down His Furrowed
But Placid Cheek.
"Squire," Said Mr. Slick To Me, "This Won't Do. We Must
Not Allow Him To Dwell Too Long On The Thoughts Of Leaving
Home, Or He'll Droop Like Any Thing, And P'raps, Hang
His Head And Fade Right Away. He Is Aged And Feeble,
And Every Thing Depends On Keeping Up His Spirits. An
Old Plant Must Be Shaded, Well Watered, And Tended, Or
You Can't Transplant It No How, You Can Fix It, That's
A Fact. He Won't Give Ear To Me Now, For He Knows I Can't
Talk Serious, If I Was To Try; But He Will Listen To
_You_. Try To Cheer Him Up, And I Will Go Down Below And
Give You A Chance."
As Soon As I Addressed Him, He Started And Said, "Oh! Is
It You, Squire? Come And Sit Down By Me, My Friend. I
Can Talk To _You_, And I Assure You I Take Great Pleasure
In Doing So I Cannot Always Talk To Sam: He Is Excited
Now; He Is Anticipating Great Pleasure From His Visit To
England, And Is Quite Boisterous In The Exuberance Of
Volume 1 Chapter 4 (Home And The Sea) Pg 24His Spirits. I Own I Am Depressed At Times; It Is Natural
I Should Be, But I Shall Endeavour Not To Be The Cause
Of Sadness In Others. I Not Only Like Cheerfulness Myself,
But I Like To Promote It; It Is A Sign Of An Innocent
Mind, And A Heart In Peace With God And In Charity With
Man. All Nature Is Cheerful, Its Voice Is Harmonious,
And Its Countenance Smiling; The Very Garb In Which It
Is Clothed Is Gay; Why Then Should Man Be An Exception
To Every Thing Around Him? Sour Sectarians, Who Address
Our Fears, Rather Than Our Affections, May Say What They
Please, Sir, But Mirth Is Not Inconsistent With Religion,
But Rather An Evidence That Our Religion Is Right. If I
Appear Dull, Therefore, Do Not Suppose It Is Because I
Think It Necessary To Be So, But Because Certain Reflections
Are Natural To Me As A Clergyman, As A Man Far Advanced
In Years, And As A Pilgrim Who Leaves His Home At A Period
Of Life, When The Probabilities Are, He May Not Be Spared
To Revisit It.
"I Am Like Yourself, A Colonist By Birth. At The Revolution
I Took No Part In The Struggle; My Profession And My
Habits Both Exempted Me. Whether The Separation Was
Justifiable Or Not, Either On Civil Or Religious Principles,
It Is Not Now Necessary To Discuss. It Took Place, However,
And The Colonies Became A Nation, And After Due
Consideration, I Concluded To Dwell Among Mine Own People.
There I Have Continued, With The Exception Of One Or Two
Short Journeys For The Benefit Of My Health, To The
Present Period. Parting With Those Whom I Have Known So
Long And Loved So Well, Is Doubtless A Trial To One Whose
Heart Is Still Warm, While His Nerves Are Weak, And Whose
Affections Are Greater Than His Firmness. But I Weary
You With This Egotism?"
"Not At All," I Replied, "I Am Both Instructed And
Delighted By Your Conversation. Pray Proceed, Sir."
"Well It Is Kind, Very Kind Of You," Said He, "To Say
So. I Will Explain These Sensations To You, And Then
Endeavour Never To Allude To Them Again. America Is My
Birth-Place And My Home. Home Has Two Significations, A
Restricted One And An Enlarged One; In Its Restricted
Sense, It Is The Place Of Our Abode, It Includes Our
Social Circle, Our Parents, Children, And Friends, And
Contains The Living And The Dead; The Past And The Present
Generations Of Our Race. By A Very Natural Process, The
Scene Of Our Affections Soon Becomes Identified With
Them, And A Portion Of Our Regard Is Transferred From
Animate To Inanimate Objects. The Streams On Which We
Sported, The Mountains On Which We Clambered, The Fields
In Which We Wandered, The School Where We Were Instructed,
The Church Where We Worshipped, The Very Bell Whose
Pensive Melancholy Music Recalled Our Wandering Steps In
Youth, Awaken In After-Years Many A Tender Thought, Many
Volume 1 Chapter 4 (Home And The Sea) Pg 25A Pleasing Recollection, And Appeal To The Heart With
The Force And Eloquence Of Love. The Country Again Contains
All These Things, The Sphere Is Widened, New Objects Are
Included, And This Extension Of The Circle Is Love Of
Country. It Is Thus That The Nation Is Said In An Enlarged
Sense, To Be Our Home Also.
"This Love Of Country Is Both Natural And Laudable: So
Natural, That To Exclude A Man From His Country, Is The
Greatest Punishment That Country Can Inflict Upon Him;
And So Laudable, That When It Becomes A Principle Of
Action, It Forms The Hero And The Patriot. How Impressive,
How Beautiful, How Dignified Was The Answer Of The
Shunamite Woman To Elisha, Who In His Gratitude To Her
For Her Hospitality And Kindness, Made Her A Tender Of
His Interest At Court. 'Wouldst Thou,' Said He, 'Be Spoken
For To The King, Or To The Captain Of The Host?'--What
An Offer Was That, To Gratify Her Ambition Or Flatter
Her Pride!--'I Dwell,' Said She, 'Among Mine Own People.'
What A Characteristic Answer! All History Furnishes No
Parallel To It.
"I Too Dwell 'Among My Own People:' My Affections Are
There, And There Also Is The Sphere Of My Duties; And If
I Am Depressed By The Thoughts Of Parting From 'My People,'
I Will Do You The Justice To Believe, That You Would
Rather Bear With Its Effects, Than Witness The Absence
Of Such Natural Affection.
"But This Is Not The Sole Cause: Independently Of Some
Afflictions Of A Clerical Nature In My Late Parish, To
Which It Is Not Necessary To Allude, The Contemplation
Of This Vast And Fathomless Ocean, Both From Its Novelty
And Its Grandeur, Overwhelms Me. At Home I Am Fond Of
Tracing The Creator In His Works. From The Erratic Comet
In The Firmament, To The Flower That Blossoms In The
Field; In All Animate, And Inanimate Matter; In All That
Is Animal, Vegetable Or Mineral, I See His Infinite
Wisdom, Almighty Power, And Everlasting Glory.
"But That Home Is Inland; I Have Not Beheld The Sea Now
For Many Years. I Never Saw It Without Emotion; I Now
View It With Awe. What An Emblem Of Eternity!--Its Dominion
Is Alone Reserved To Him, Who Made It. Changing Yet
Changeless--Ever Varying, Yet Always The Same. How Weak
And Powerless Is Man! How Short His Span Of Life, When
He Is Viewed In Connexion With The Sea! He Has Left No
Trace Upon It--It Will Not Receive The Impress Of His
Hands; It Obeys No Laws, But Those Imposed Upon It By
Him, Who Called It Into Existence; Generation After
Generation Has Looked Upon It As We Now Do--And Where
Are They? Like Yonder Waves That Press Upon Each Other
In Regular Succession, They Have Passed Away For Ever;
And Their Nation, Their Language, Their Temples And Their
Volume 1 Chapter 4 (Home And The Sea) Pg 26Tombs Have Perished With Them. But There Is The Undying
One. When Man Was Formed, The Voice Of The Ocean Was
Heard, As It Now Is, Speaking Of Its Mysteries, And
Proclaiming His Glory, Who Alone Lifteth Its Waves Or
Stilleth The Rage Thereof.
"And Yet, My Dear Friend, For So You Must Allow Me To
Call You, Awful As These Considerations Are, Which It
Suggests, Who Are They That Go Down To The Sea In Ships
And Occupy Their Business In Great Waters? The Sordid
Trader, And The Armed And Mercenary Sailor: Gold Or Blood
Is Their Object, And The Fear Of God Is Not Always In
Them. Yet The Sea Shall Give Up Its Dead, As Well As The
Grave; And All Shall--
"But It Is Not My Intention To Preach To You. To Intrude
Serious Topics Upon Our Friends At All Times, Has A
Tendency To Make Both Ourselves And Our Topics Distasteful.
I Mention These Things To You, Not That They Are Not
Obvious To You And Every Other Right-Minded Man, Or That
I Think I Can Clothe Them In More Attractive Language,
Or Utter Them With More Effect Than Others; But Merely
To Account For My Absence Of Mind And Evident Air Of
Abstraction. I Know My Days Are Numbered, And In The
Nature Of Things, That Those That Are Left, Cannot Be
Many.
"Pardon Me, Therefore, I Pray You, My Friend; Make
Allowances For An Old Man, Unaccustomed To Leave Home,
And Uncertain Whether He Shall Ever Be Permitted To Return
To It. I Feel Deeply And Sensibly Your Kindness In
Soliciting My Company On This Tour, And Will Endeavour
So To Regulate My Feelings As Not To Make You Regret Your
Invitation. I Shall Not Again Recur To These Topics, Or
Trouble You With Any Further Reflections 'On Home And
The Sea.'"
Volume 1 Chapter 5 (T'other Eend Of The Gun) Pg 27
"Squire," Said Mr. Hopewell, One Morning When We Were
Alone On The Quarter-Deck, "Sit Down By Me, If You Please.
I Wish To Have A Little Private Conversation With You.
I Am A Good Deal Concerned About Sam. I Never Liked This
Appointment He Has Received: Neither His Education, His
Habits, Nor His Manners Have Qualified Him For It. He Is
Fitted For A Trader And For Nothing Else. He Looks Upon
Politics As He Does Upon His Traffic In Clocks, Rather
As Profitable To Himself Than Beneficial To Others. Self
Is Predominant With Him. He Overrates The Importance Of
His Office,
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