"Ye say they all have passed away, That noble race and brave:
That their light canoes have vanished From off the crested
wave: That 'mid the forests where they roamed There rings no
hunter's shout: But their name is on your waters, Ye may not
wash it out."--Mrs. Sigourney.
Directing Manytongues to secure the two incendiaries, I sprang into the
kitchen to extinguish the flames. It was high time, though Mary Warren
had already anticipated me here, too. She had actually thrown several
dippers of water upon the fire, which was beginning to crackle through
the pile of chairs, and had already succeeded in lessening the flames, I
knew that a hydrant stood in the kitchen itself, which gave a full
stream of water. Filling a pail, I threw the contents on the flames; and
repeating the application, in half a minute the room was filled with
vapor, and to the bright light succeeded a darkness that was so deep as
to suggest the necessity of finding lamps and candles.
The tumult produced by the scene just described soon brought all in the
house to the spot. The domestics, male and female, came tumbling down
the stairs, under which the fire had been lighted, and presently candles
were seen glancing about the house, in all directions.
"I declare, Mr. Hugh," cried John, the moment he had taken a survey of
the state of the kitchen, "this is worse than Hireland, sir! The
Hamericans affect to laugh at the poor Hirish, and calls their country
savage, and hunfit to be in'abited, but nothing worse passes in it than
is beginning to pass 'ere. Them stairs would have been all in flames in
a few minutes, and them stairs once on fire, not one of hus, up in the
hattics, could 'ave escaped death! Don't talk of Hireland, after this!"
Poor John! his prejudices are those of an Englishman of his class, and
that is saying as much in favor of their strength as _can_ be well said
of any prejudices. But how much truth was there in his remark! The quiet
manner in which we assume superiority, in morals, order, justice, and
virtue, over all other nations, really contains an instructive lesson,
if one will only regard things as they really are. I have no wish to
exaggerate the faults of my own country, but certainly I shall not
remorselessly conceal them, when the most dangerous consequences are
connected with such a mistake. As a whole, the disorders, disturbances,
and convulsions of America have certainly been much fewer than those of
most, perhaps of all other Christian nations, comparing numbers, and
including the time since the great experiment commenced. But such
_ought_ to have been the result of our facts, quite independently of
national character. The institutions leave nothing for the masses to
struggle for, and famine is unknown among us. But what does the other
side of the picture exhibit? Can any man point to a country in Europe in
which a great political movement has commenced on a principle as
barefacedly knavish as that of transferring property from one class of
men to another. That such a project does exist here, is beyond all just
contradiction; and it is equally certain that it has carried its devices
into legislation, and is fast corrupting the government in its most
efficient agents. John was right in saying we ought not to turn up our
noses at the ebullitions of abused and trodden-on "Hireland," while our
own skirts are to be cleared of such sins against the plainest dictates
of right.
The fire was extinguished, and the house was safe. The kitchen was soon
cleared of the steam and smoke, and in their places appeared a cloud of
redskins. Prairiefire, Eaglesflight, and Flintyheart, were all there,
examining the effects of the fire, with stern and interesting
countenances. I looked round for Mary Warren; but that gentle and
singularly feminine girl, after manifesting a presence of mind and
decision that would have done honor to a young man of her own age, had
shrunk back with sensitive consciousness, and now concealed herself
among the others of her sex. Her duty, so eminently useful and
protective, had been performed, and she was only anxious to have it all
forgotten. This I discovered only next day, however.
Manytongues had secured the incendiaries, and they were now in the
kitchen, also, with their hands tied together, and arms bound behind
their backs, at the elbows.
As their faces remained black, it was out of my power to recognize
either. The rascal who had been felled by the blow of the rifle was yet
confused in manner, and I ordered the domestics to wash him, in the
double expectation of bringing him more completely to his senses, and of
ascertaining who he might be.
The work was soon done, and both objects were attained. The cook used a
dishcloth with so much dexterity, that the blackamoor came out a white
man, at the first application, and he was soon as clean as a child that
is about to be sent to school, fresh from the hands of its nurse. The
removal of the disguise brought out the abashed and frightened
physiognomy of Joshua Brigham, Miller's hired man--or _my_ hired man, in
effect, as I paid him his wages.
Yes! such was one of the effects of the pernicious opinions that had
been so widely circulated in the land, during the profound moral mania
that was working its ravages among us, with a fatality and danger that
greatly exceed those which accompanied the cholera. A fellow, who was
almost an inmate of my family, had not only conspired with others to rob
me of my property, on a large scale, but he had actually carried his
plot so far as to resort to the brand and the rifle, as two of the
agents to be employed in carrying out his virtuous objects. Nor was this
the result of the vulgar disposition to steal; it was purely a
consequence of a widely-extended system, that is fast becoming
incorporated with the politics of the land, and which men, relying on
the efficacy of majorities, are bold enough to stand up, in legislative
halls, to defend.[28]
[Footnote 28: In order that the reader who is not familiar with what is
passing in New York may not suppose that exaggerated terms are here
used, the writer will state a single expedient of the anti-renters in
the Legislature to obtain their ends. It is generally known that the
Constitution of the United States prevents the separate States from
passing laws impairing the obligations of contracts. But for this
provision of the Federal Constitution, it is probable, numbers would
have succeeded, long ago, in obtaining the property of the few on their
own terms, amid shouts in honor of liberty! This provision, however, has
proved a stubborn obstacle, until the world, near the middle of the
nineteenth century, has been favored with the following notable scheme
to effect the ends of those who "want farms and must have them." The
State _can_ regulate, by statute, the laws of descents. It has,
accordingly, been solemnly proposed in the Legislature of New York, that
the statute of descents should be so far altered, that when a landlord,
holding lands subject to certain leasehold tenures, dies, or a descent
is cast, that it shall be lawful for the tenants, on application to the
chancellor, to convert these leasehold tenures into mortgages, and to
obtain the fee-simple of the estates in payment of the debt! In other
words, A leases a farm to B forever, reserving a ground-rent, with
covenants of re-entry, etc., etc. B wishes a deed, but will not pay A's
price. The United States says the contract shall not be impaired, and
the Legislature of New York is illustrated by the expedient we have
named, to get over the provision of the Constitution!
Since writing the foregoing, this law has actually passed the Assembly,
though it has not been adopted by the Senate. The provision included all
leased property, when the leases were for more than twenty-one years, or
were on lives.--EDITOR.]
I confess that the discovery of the person of Joshua Brigham rendered me
a little curious to ascertain that of his companion. Hester, the cook,
was directed to take the other child in hand, as soon as she had well
wiped the countenance of the one first unmasked. Nothing loath, the good
housewife set about her task, and the first dab of water she applied
revealed the astounding fact that I had again captured Seneca Newcome!
It will be remembered, that the last time I saw these two men together,
I left them fighting in the highway.
I admit that this discovery shocked me. There never had been a being of
the Newcome tribe, from the grandfather, who was its root at Ravensnest,
down to Opportunity, who had ever been esteemed or respected among us.
Trick--trick--trick--low cunning, and overreaching management, had been
the family trait, from the day Jason, of that name, had rented the mill
lot, down to the present hour. This I had heard from my grandfather, my
grandmother, my own father, my uncle, my aunts and all, older than
myself, who belonged to me. Still, _there_ they had been, and habit had
created a sort of feeling for them. There had, also, been a species of
pretension about the family, which brought them more before us, than
most of the families of the tenantry. The grandfather had received a
sort of an education, and this practice had been continued, after a
manner, down to the unfortunate wretch who now stood a prisoner taken
_flagrante delictu_, and for a capital crime. Seneca could never have
made a gentleman, as the term is understood among gentlemen; but he
belonged to a profession which ought to raise a man materially above the
level of the vulgar. Opportunity, too, had received her _quasi_
education, a far more pretending one than that of my own Patt, but
nothing had been well taught to her; not even reading, inasmuch as she
had a decided provincial pronunciation, which sometimes grated on my
nerves. But, Opportunity had feelings, and could not have anticipated
her own brother's intentions, when she communicated the important
information she had. Opportunity, moreover, had more refinement than
Seneca, in consequence of having a more limited association, and she
might fall into despair, at this unexpected result of her own acts!
I was still reflecting on these things, when summoned to my grandmother.
She was in her own dressing-room, surrounded by the four girls; just so
many pictures of alarm, interest, and female loveliness. Mary Warren
alone, was in regular _toilette_; but the others, with instinctive
coquetry, had contrived to wrap themselves up, in a way to render them
handsomer than ever. As for my dear grandmother herself, she had been
told that the house was safe, but felt that vague desire to see me, that
was perhaps natural to the circumstances.
"The state of the country is frightful," she said, when I had answered a
few of her questions, and had told her who the prisoners really were;
"and we can hardly remain here, in safety. Think of one of the
Newcomes--and of Seneca, in particular, with his profession and
education, being engaged in such a crime!"
"Nay, grandmother," put in Patt, a little archly, "I never yet heard you
speak well of the Newcomes; you barely tolerated Opportunity, in the
hope of improving her."
"It is true that the race is a bad one, and the circumstances show what
injury a set of false notions, transmitted from father to son, for
generations, may do in a family. We cannot think of keeping these dear
girls here, one hour after to-morrow, Hugh. To-morrow, or to-day, for it
is now past two o'clock, I see;--to-day is Sunday, and we can go to
church; to-night we will be watchful, and Monday morning your uncle
shall start for Satanstoe, with all three of the girls."
"I shall not leave my dear grandmother," rejoined Patt--"nor do I think
it would be very kind to leave Mary Warren behind us, in a place like
this."
"I cannot quit my father," said Mary herself, quietly, but very firmly.
"It is his duty to remain with his parishioners, and more so, now that
so many of them are misguided, than at any other time; and it is always
my duty and my pleasure to remain with _him_."
Was that acting? Was that Pharisaical! Or was it genuine nature; pure
filial affection and filial piety? Beyond all question, it was the last;
and, had not the simple tone, the earnest manner, and the almost alarmed
eagerness, with which the dear girl spoke, proclaimed as much, no one
could have looked in at that serene and guileless eye and doubted. My
grandmother smiled on the lovely earnest speaker, in her kindest manner,
took her hand, and charmingly observed--
"Mary and I will remain together. Her father is in no danger, for even
anti-renters will respect a minister of the gospel, and can be made to
understand it is his duty to rebuke even their sins. As for the other
girls, I think it is our duty to insist that your uncle's wards, at
least, should no longer be exposed to dangers like those we have gone
through to-night."
The two young ladies, however, protested in the prettiest manner
possible, their determination not to quit "grandmamma," as they
affectionately termed their guardian's mother; and while they were thus
employed, my uncle Ro entered the room, having just paid a visit to the
kitchen.
"Here's a charming affair!" exclaimed the old bachelor, as soon as in
our midst. "Arson, anti-rentism, attempts at murder, and all sorts of
enormities, going hand in hand, in the very heart of the wisest and best
community that earth ever knew; and the laws as profoundly asleep the
whole time, as if such gentle acts were considered meritorious. This
outdoes repudiation twenty-fold, Hugh."
"Ay, my dear sir, but it will not make a tithe of the talk. Look at the
newspapers that will be put into your hands to-morrow morning, fresh
from Wall and Pine and Ann Streets. They will be in convulsions, if some
unfortunate wight of a senator speak of adding an extra corporal to a
regiment of foot, as an alarming war-demonstration, or quote the fall of
a fancy stock that has not one cent of intrinsic value, as if it
betokened the downfall of a nation; while they doze over this volcano,
which is raging and gathering strength beneath the whole community,
menacing destruction to the nation itself, which is the father of
stocks."
"The intense selfishness that is uppermost is a bad symptom, certainly;
and no one can say to what it will lead. One thing is sure; it causes
men to limit all their calculations to the present moment; and, to abate
a nuisance that presses on our existing interests, they will jeopard
everything that belongs to the future. But what are we to do with Seneca
Newcome, and his co-rascal, the other incendiary?"
"I had thought of referring that to your discretion, sir. They have been
guilty of arson, I suppose, and must take their chances, like every-day
criminals."
"Their chances will be very good ones, Hugh. Had _you_ been caught in
Seneca Newcome's kitchen, setting fire to his house, condign and
merciless punishment would have been _your_ lot, beyond all controversy;
but _their_ cases will be very different. I'll bet you a hundred that
they'll not be convicted; and a thousand that they are pardoned, if
convicted."
"Acquitted, sir, will be out of the question--Miss Warren and I saw them
both, in the very act of building their fire; and there is plenty of
testimony, as to their identity."
This indiscreet speech drew every eye on my late companion; all the
ladies, old and young, repeating the name of "Mary!" in the pretty
manner in which the sex express surprise. As for Mary, herself, the poor
blushing girl shrunk back abashed, ashamed of she knew not what, unless
it might be in connection with some secret consciousness, at finding
herself so strangely associated with me.
"Miss Warren is, indeed, in her evening dress," said my grandmother, a
little gravely, "and cannot have been in bed this night. How has this
happened, my dear?".
Thus called on, Mary Warren was of too guileless and pure a mind, to
hesitate in telling her tale. Every incident, with which she had been
connected, was simply and clearly related, though she suppressed the
name of our midnight visitor, out of tenderness to Opportunity. All
present were too discreet to ask the name, and, I may add, all present
heard the narrative with a marked and approving interest. When Mary had
done, my grandmother kissed her, and Patt, the generous creature,
encircled her waist, with the tenderness and affection of a sister, who
felt for all the trials the other had endured.
"It seems, then, we owe our safety to Mary, after all!" exclaimed my
good grandmother; "without her care and watchfulness, Hugh might, most
probably _would_, have remained on the lawn, until it was too late to
save the house, or us."
"That is not all," added uncle Ro. "Any one could have cried 'fire,' or
given a _senseless_ alarm, but it is evident from Miss Warren's account,
unpremeditated and artless as it is, that, but for the cool and discreet
manner in which she played her part, not one-half of that which has been
done, would have been effected, and that the house might have been lost.
Nay, had these fellows surprised Hugh, instead of Hugh's surprising
them, we might have been called on to deplore his loss."
I saw a common shudder in Patt and Mary, as they stood encircling each
other with their arms; but the last was evidently so pained, that I
interfered for her relief.
"I do not see any possibility of escape for these incendiaries,"
I said, turning to my uncle, "under the testimony that can be offered,
and am surprised to hear you suggest a doubt of the result of the
trial."
"You feel and reason like a very young man, Hugh; one who fancies things
are much nearer what they ought to be than facts will sustain. Justice
is blind, nowadays, not as a proof of impartiality, but as a proof that
she too often sees only one side of a question. How will they escape?
Perhaps the jury may fancy setting fire to a pile of wood and certain
chairs, is not setting fire to a house, let the _animus_ be as plain as
the noses on their faces. Mark me, Hugh Littlepage; one month will not
go by, before the events of this very night will be tortured into an
argument in favor of anti-rentism."
A common exclamation, in which even my grandmother joined, expressed the
general dissent from this opinion.
"It is all very well, ladies," answered my uncle Ro, coolly--"all well
enough, Master Hugh; but let the issue tell its own story. I have heard
already _other_ abuses of the anti-renters urged as a reason why the
laws should be changed, in order that men may not be tempted beyond
their strength; and why not use the same reasoning in favor of this
crime when it has been used already, in cases of murder? 'The leasehold
tenures make men commit murder,' it is said, 'and they ought to be
destroyed themselves.' 'The leasehold tenures make men commit arson,' it
will now be said, 'and who desires to retain laws that induce men to
commit arson?'"
"On the same principle it might be pretended there should be no such
thing as personals, as they tempt men, beyond what they can bear, to
commit petty larceny."
"No doubt it could, and no doubt it _would_, if political supremacy were
to be the reward. There is nothing--no fallacy, no moral sophism, that
would not be used to attain such an end. But it is late, and we ought to
bethink us of disposing of the prisoners for the night--what means this
light? The house is not on fire, after all?"
Sure enough, notwithstanding the close shutters, and drawn curtains of
my grandmother's dressing-room, an unusual light had penetrated to the
place, filling us with sudden and intense alarm. I opened the door and
found the passages illuminated, though all within appeared tranquil and
safe. There was a clamor in the court, however, and presently the
fearful warwhoop of the savages rose on the night air. The cries came
from without, as I fancied, and rushing to the little door, I was on the
lawn in a moment, when the mystery was solved. An extensive hay-barn,
one well filled with the remainder of the last year's crops, was on
fire, sending its forged and waving tongues of flame at least a hundred
feet into the air. It was merely a new argument against the leasehold
tenures, and in favor of the "spirit of the institutions," a little
vividly pressed on the human senses. Next year, it may figure in the
message of a governor, or the philanthropical efforts of some Albany
orator, if the same "spirit" prevail in the "institutions," as would
seem to prevail this! Is a contract to be tolerated which induces
freemen to set barns on fire?
The barn that had been set on fire stood on the flats, below the cliff,
and fully half a mile away from the Nest. The conflagration made a most
brilliant blaze, and, as a matter of course, produced an intense light.
The loss to myself did not exceed a few hundred dollars; and, while this
particular argument in favor of anti-rentism was not entirely agreeable,
it was not so grave as it might have been, had it been urged on other
buildings, and in the same mode. In other words, I was not so much
distressed with my loss as not to be able to see the beauty of the
scene; particularly as my uncle Ro whispered that Dunning had caused an
insurance to be effected in the Saratoga Mutual Assurance, which would
probably place a considerable portion of the tenants in the unlooked-for
category of those who were to pay for their own frolic.
As it was too late to think of saving the barn and ricks, and Miller,
with his people, had already descended to the spot to look after the
fences, and any other object that might be endangered by the flying
embers, there was nothing for us to do but to remain passive spectators.
Truly, the scene was one worthy of being viewed, and is not altogether
unfit for description.
The light of that burning barn extended for a great distance, shining
like what it was, an "_evil_ deed in a naughty world;" for,
notwithstanding the high authority of Shakespeare, it is your "evil
deeds," after all, that produce the brightest blazes, and which throw
their beams the farthest, in this state of probation in which we live.
The most remarkable objects in that remarkable scene were the true and
the false redskins--the "Indians" and the "Injins"--both of whom were in
motion on the meadows, and both of whom were distinctly visible to us
where we stood, on the cliffs (the ladies being at their chamber
windows), though I dare say they were not quite so obvious to each
other.
The Indians had formed themselves into a very open order, and were
advancing toward the other party in a stealthy manner, by creeping on
all-fours, or crouching like catamounts to the earth, and availing
themselves of everything like a cover that offered. The burning barn was
between the two parties, and was a principal reason that the "Injins"
were not sooner aware of the risk they ran. The last were a whooping,
shouting, dancing, leaping band, of some forty or fifty of the
"disguised and armed," who were quite near enough to the conflagration
to enjoy it, without being so near as to be necessarily connected with
it. We understood their presence and antics to be intended as so many
intimations of the secret agency they had had in the depredations of the
night, and as so many warnings how I withstood the "spirit of the
institutions."
Manytongues, who had certain vague notions of the necessity of his
keeping on the windy side of the law, did not accompany his red
brethren, but came through the gateway and joined my uncle and myself,
as we stood beneath the cover of a noble chestnut, on the verge of the
cliff, watching the course of things on the meadow. I expressed my
surprise at seeing him there, and inquired if his presence might not be
needed by Flintyheart or Prairiefire.
"Not at all, not at all, colonel," he answered with perfect coolness.
"The savages have no great need of an intarpreter in the business they
are on; and if harm comes of the meetin', it's perhaps best that the two
parties should not understand each other, in which case it might all be
looked on as an accident. I hope they'll not be particular about
scalps--for I told Flintyheart, as he was leaving us, the people of this
part of the world did not like to be scalped."
This was the only encouragement we received from the interpreter, who
appeared to think that matters were now in the right train, and that
every difficulty would soon be disposed of, _secundum artem_. The
Injins, however, viewed the affair differently, having no wish for a
serious brush with any one; much less with enemies of the known
character of redskins. How they ascertained the presence of their foe I
cannot say, though it is probable some one saw them stealing along the
meadows, in spite of all their care, and gave the alarm. Alarm it was,
sure enough; the party of the previous day scarce retreating through the
woods with greater haste than the "disguised and armed" now vanished.
Such has been the fact, as respects these men, in every instance in
which they have been brought in contact with armed bodies, though much
inferior to their own in numbers. Fierce enough, and even brutal, on a
variety of occasions in which individuals have become subject to their
power, in all cases in which armed parties, however small, have been
sent against them, they have betrayed timidity and a dread of making
that very appeal to force, which, by their own previous acts, they had
insolently invited. Is it then true, that these soi-disant "Injins" have
not the ordinary courage of their race, and that they are less than
Americans with arms in their hands, and below the level of all around
them in spirit? Such is not the case. The consciousness of guilt has
made them cowards; they have found "that the king's name is a tower of
strength," and have shrunk from conflicts, in which the secret warnings
that come from on high have told them that they were embodied in a
wicked cause, and contending for the attainment of wrong ends by
unjustifiable means. Their conduct proves how easy it would have been to
suppress their depredations at the earliest day, by a judicious
application of the power of the State, and how much _they_ have to
answer for who have neglected their duty in this particular.
As soon as Flintyheart and his followers ascertained that the "disguised
and armed" were actually off again, and that they were not to pass the
morning in a skirmish, as no doubt each man among them had hoped would
be the case, they set up such whoops and cries as had not been heard on
those meadows during the last eighty years. The period went beyond the
memory of man since Indian warfare had existed at Ravensnest, a few
false alarms in the Revolution excepted. The effect of these yells was
to hasten the retreat, as was quite apparent to us on the cliffs; but
the sagacious warriors of the prairies knew too much to expose their
persons by approaching nearer to the blazing barn than might be prudent.
On the contrary, seemingly satisfied that nothing was to be done, and
disdaining a parade of service where no service was to be effected, they
slowly retired from the meadows, regaining the cliffs by means known to
themselves.
This military demonstration, on the part of our red brethren, was not
without its useful consequences. It gave the "Injins" an intimation of
watchfulness, and of a readiness to meet them that prevented any new
alarm that night, and satisfied everybody at the Nest that our immediate
danger had come to an end. Not only was this the feeling of my uncle and
myself, but it was also the feeling of the females, as we found on
returning to the house, who had witnessed all that passed from the upper
windows. After a short interview with my grandmother, she consented to
retire, and preparations were made for setting a lookout, and dismissing
everybody to their beds again. Manytongues took charge of the watch,
though he laughed at the probability of there being any further
disturbance that night.
"As for the redskins," he said, "they would as soon sleep out under the
trees, at this season of the year, as sleep under a roof; and as for
waking--cats a'nt their equals. No--no--colonel; leave it all to me, and
I'll carry you through the night as quietly as if we were on the
prer-ies and living under good wholesome prer-ie law."
"As quietly, as if we were on the prairies!" We had then reached that
pass in New York, that after one burning, a citizen might really hope to
pass the remainder of his night as quietly as if he were on the
prairies! And there was that frothy, lumbering, useless machine, called
a government, at Albany, within fifty miles of us, as placid, as
self-satisfied, as much convinced that this was the greatest people on
earth, and itself their illustrious representatives, as if the disturbed
counties were so many gardens of Eden, before sin and transgression had
become known to it! If it was doing anything in the premises, it was
probably calculating the minimum the tenant should pay for the
landlord's land, when the latter might be sufficiently worried to part
with his estate. Perhaps it was illustrating its notions of liberty, by
naming the precise sum that one citizen ought to accept, in order that
the covetous longings of another should be satisfied!
I was about to retire to my bed, for the first time that night, when my
uncle Ro remarked it might be well to see one of our prisoners at least.
Orders had been given to unbind the wretched men, and to keep them in an
empty store-room which had no available outlet but the door. Thither we
then repaired, and of course were admitted by the sentinels, without a
question. Seneca Newcome was startled at my appearance, and I confess I
was myself embarrassed how to address him, from a wish to say nothing
that might appear like exultation on one side, or concession on the
other. My uncle, however, had no such scruples, probably from better
knowing his man; accordingly, he came to the point at once.
"The evil spirit must have got great ascendency in the country, Seneca
Newcome, when men of your knowledge dip so deeply into his designs,"
said Mr. Littlepage, sternly. "What has my nephew ever done to incite
you to come into his house, as an incendiary, like a thief in the
night?"
"Ask me no questions, Mr. Littlepage," surlily replied the attorney,
"for I shall answer none."
"And this miserable misguided creature who has been your companion. The
last we saw of these two men, Hugh, they were quarrelling in the
highway, like cat and dog, and there are signs about their faces that
the interview became still more hostile than it had been, after we left
them."
"And here we find them together, companions in an enterprise of life and
death!"
"It is ever thus with rogues. They will push their quarrels to
extremities, and make them up in an hour, when the demon of rapine
points to an object for common plunder. You see the same spirit in
politics, ay, and even in religion. Men that have lived in hostility for
half their lives, contending for selfish objects, will suddenly combine
their powers to attain a common end, and work together like the most
true-hearted friends, so long as they see a chance of effecting their
wishes. If honesty were only one-half as active as roguery, it would
fare better than it does. But the honest man has his scruples; his
self-respect; his consistency, and, most of all, his principles, to mark
out his course, and he cannot turn aside at each new impulse, like your
pure knave, to convert enemies into friends, and friends into enemies.
And you," turning to Josh Brigham, who was looking surlily on--"who have
actually been eating Hugh Littlepage's bread, what has he done, that you
should come at midnight, to burn him up like a caterpillar in the
spring?"
"He has had his farm long enough"--muttered the fellow--"It's time that
poor folks had some chance."
My uncle shrugged his shoulders; then, as if he suddenly recollected
himself, he lifted his hat, bowed like a thoroughbred gentleman as he
was, when he chose to be, wished Seneca good-night, and walked away. As
we retired, he expressed his conviction of the uselessness of
remonstrance, in this case, and of the necessity of suffering the law to
take its own course. It might be unpleasant to see a Newcome actually
hanged, but nothing short of that operation, he felt persuaded, would
ever fetch up the breed in its evil courses. Wearied with all that had
passed, I now went to bed, and slept soundly for the succeeding seven
hours. As the house was kept quiet by orders, everybody repaired the
lost time, the Nest being as quiet as in those days in which the law
ruled in the republic.