CHAPTER XIX.
"With look, like patient Job's, eschewing evil; With motions graceful as a bird's in air; Thou art, in sober truth, the veriest devil That e'er clinched fingers in a captive's hair." --_Red Jacket._
Although an immense progress has been made in liberating this countryfrom the domination of England, in the way of opinion and usages, a gooddeal remains to be done yet. Still, he who can look back forty yearsmust see the great changes that have occurred in very many things; andit is to be hoped that he who lives forty years hence will find very fewremaining that have no better reasons for their existence amongourselves than the example of a people so remote, with a differentclimate, different social organization, and different wants. I am for nomore condemning a usage, however, simply because it is English, than Iam for approving it simply because it is English. I wish everything tostand on its own merits, and feel certain that no nation ever can becomegreat, in the higher signification of the term, until it ceases toimitate, because it is imitation of a certain fixed model. One of thevery greatest evils of this imitative spirit is even now developingitself in what is called the "progress" of the country, which isassailing principles that are as old as the existence of man, and whichmay almost be said to be eternal as social truths, at the very momentthat notions derived from our ancestors are submitted to in the highestplaces, the Senate of the United States for example, that are founded infacts which not only have no existence among ourselves, but which arepositively antagonistic to such as have. So much easier is it to join inthe hurrah! of a "progress," than to ascertain whether it is making inthe right direction, or whether it be progress at all. But, to returnfrom things of moment to those of less concern.
Among other customs to be condemned that we have derived from England,is the practice of the men sitting at table after the women have leftit. Much as I may wish to see this every-way offensive custom done awaywith, and the more polished and humanizing usage of all the rest ofChristendom adopted in its stead, I should feel ashamed at finding, as Imake no doubt I should find it, that our custom would be abandonedwithin a twelvemonth after it might be understood it was abandoned inEngland. My uncle had long endeavored to introduce into our ownimmediate circle the practice of retaining the ladies at table for areasonable time, and of then quitting it with them at the expiration ofthat time; but it is hard to "kick against the pricks." Men who fancy it"society" to meet at each other's houses to drink wine, and taste wine,and talk about wine, and to outdo each other in giving their guests themost costly wines, are not to be diverted easily from their objects. Thehard-drinking days are past, but the hard "talking days" are in theirvigor. If it could be understood, generally, that even in England it isdeemed vulgar to descant on the liquor that is put upon the table,perhaps we might get rid of the practice too. Vulgar in England! It iseven deemed vulgar here, by the right sort, as I am ready to maintain,and indeed know of my own observation. That one or two friends who areparticipating in the benefits of some particularly benevolent bottle,should say a word in commendation of its merits, is natural enough, andwell enough; no one can reasonably find any fault with such a sign ofgrateful feeling; but I know of nothing more revolting than to seetwenty grave faces arrayed around a table, employed as so many tastersat a Rhenish wine sale, while the cheeks of their host look like thoseof Boreas, owing to the process of sucking syphons.
When my dear grandmother rose, imitated by the four bright-faced girls,who did as she set the example, and said, as was customary with the oldschool, "Well, gentlemen, I leave you to your wine; but you willrecollect that you will be most welcome guests in the drawing-room," myuncle caught her hand, and insisted she should not quit us. There wassomething exceedingly touching, to my eyes, in the sort of intercourse,and in the affection, which existed between my uncle Ro and his mother.A bachelor himself, while she was a widow, they were particularly fondof each other; and many is the time that I have seen him go up to her,when we were alone, and pat her cheeks, and then kiss them, as one mightdo to a much-beloved sister. My grandmother always received these littleliberties with perfect good humor, and with evident affection. In herturn, I have frequently known her to approach "Roger," as she alwayscalled him, and kiss his bald head in a way that denoted she vividlyremembered the time when he was an infant in her arms. On this occasionshe yielded to his request, and resumed her seat, the girls imitatingher, nothing loath, as they had done in rising. The conversation then,naturally enough, reverted to the state of the country.
"It has much surprised me, that the men in authority among us haveconfined all their remarks and statements to the facts of the Rensselaerand Livingston estates," observed my grandmother, "when there aredifficulties existing in so many others."
"The explanation is very simple, my good mother," answered Uncle Ro."The Rensselaer estates have the quarter-sales, and chickens, and days'works; and there is much of the _ad captandum_ argument about suchthings, that does very well to work up for political effect; whereas, onthe other estates, these great auxiliaries must be laid aside. It isjust as certain, as it is that the sun has risen this day, that anextensive and concerted plan exists to transfer the freehold rights ofthe landlords, on nearly every property in the State, to the tenants;and that, too, on conditions unjustly favorable to the last; but youwill find nothing of the sort in the messages of governors, or speechesof legislators, who seem to think all is said, when they have dwelt onthe expediency of appeasing the complaints of the tenants, as a highpolitical duty, without stopping to inquire whether those complaints arefounded in right or not. The injury that will be done to the republic,by showing men how much can be effected by clamor, is of itselfincalculable. It would take a generation to do away the evilconsequences of the example, were the anti-rent combination to beutterly defeated to-morrow."
"I find that the general argument against the landlords is a want oftitle, in those cases in which nothing better can be found," observedMr. Warren. "The lecturer, to-day, seemed to condemn any title that wasderived from the king, as defeated by the conquest over that monarch, bythe war of the revolution."
"A most charming consummation that would have been for the heroic deedsof the Littlepages! There were my father, grandfather, andgreat-grandfather, all in arms, in that war; the two first as generalofficers, and the last as a major; and the result of all their hardshipsand dangers is to be to rob themselves of their own property! I am awarethat this silly pretence has been urged, even in a court of justice; butfolly, and wrong, and madness, are not yet quite ripe enough among us,to carry such a doctrine down. As 'coming events cast their shadowsbefore,' it is possible we are to take this very movement, however, asthe dawn of the approaching day of American reason, and not as atwilight left by the departed rays of a sun of a period of mentaldarkness."
"You surely do not apprehend, Uncle Ro, that these people can really getHugh's lands away from him!" exclaimed Patt, reddening with anxiety andanger.
"No one can say, my dear; for, certainly, no one is safe when opinionsand acts, like those which have been circulated and attempted among usof late years, can be acted on without awakening very generalindignation. Look to the moneyed classes at this very moment, agonizedand excited on the subject of a war about Oregon--a thing very littlelikely to occur, though certainly possible; while they manifest theutmost indifference to this anti-rentism, though the positive existenceof everything connected with just social organization is directlyinvolved in its fate. One is a bare possibility, but it convulses theclass I have named; while the other is connected with the existence ofcivilized society itself; yet it has ceased to attract attention, and isnearly forgotten! Every man in the community, whose means raise him atall above the common level, has a direct interest in facing this danger,and in endeavoring to put it down; but scarcely any one appears to beconscious of the importance of the crisis. We have only one or two moresteps to make, in order to become like Turkey; a country in which thewealthy are oblige
d to conceal their means, in order to protect it fromthe grasp of the government; but no one seems to care at all about it!"
"Some recent travellers among us have said that we have nearly reachedthat pass already, as our rich affect great simplicity and plainness inpublic, while they fill their houses in private with all the usualevidences of wealth and luxury. I think De Tocqueville, among others,makes that remark."
"Ay, that is merely one of the ordinarily sagacious remarks of theEuropeans, who, by not understanding the American history, confoundcauses and make mistakes. The plainness of things in public is no morethan an ancient habit of the country, while the elegance and luxury inprivate are a very simple and natural consequence of the tastes of womenwho live in a state of society in which they are limited to the veryminimum of refined habits and intellectual pleasures. The writer whomade this mistake is a very clever man, and has exceeding merit,considering his means of ascertaining truth; but he has made very manysimilar blunders."
"Nevertheless, Mr. Littlepage," resumed the rector, who was a gentleman,in all the senses of the word, and knew the world, and the best part ofit, too, even while he had preserved an admirable simplicity ofcharacter, "changes _have_ certainly taken place among us, of the naturealluded to by M. de Tocqueville."
"That is quite true, sir; but they have also taken place elsewhere. WhenI was a boy, I can well remember to have seen coaches-and-six in thiscountry, and almost every man of fortune drove his coach-and-four;whereas, now such a thing is of the rarest occurrence possible. But thesame is true all over Christendom; for when I first went to Europe,coaches-and-six, with outriders, and all that sort of state, was anevery-day thing; whereas, it is now never, or at least very seldom,seen. Improved roads, steamboats, and railroads, can produce suchchanges, without having recourse to the oppression of the masses."
"I am sure," put in Patt, laughing, "if publicity be what Mons. DeTocqueville requires, there is publicity enough in New York! All thenew-fashioned houses are so constructed, with their low balconies andlower windows, that anybody can see in at their windows. If what I haveread and heard of a Paris house be true, standing between _cour etjardin_, there is infinitely more of privacy there than here; and onemight just as well say that the Parisians bury themselves behind _portecocheres_, and among trees, to escape the attacks of the Faubourg St.Antoine, as to say we retreat into our houses to be fine, lest themobocracy would not tolerate us."
"The girl has profited by your letters, I see, Hugh," said my uncle,nodding his head in approbation; "and what is more, she makes a suitableapplication of her tuition, or rather of yours. No, no, all that is amistake; and, as Martha says, no houses are so much in the street asthose of the new style in our own towns. It would be far more just tosay that, instead of retiring within doors to be fine, as Patt calls it,unseen by envious neighbors, the Manhattanese, in particular, turn theirdwellings wrong side out, lest their neighbors should take offence atnot being permitted to see all that is going on within. But neither istrue. The house is the more showy because it is most under woman'scontrol; and it would be just as near the truth to say that the reasonwhy the American men appear abroad in plain blue, and black, and brownclothes, while their wives and daughters are at home in silks andsatins--ay, even in modern brocades--is an apprehension of the masses,as to ascribe the plainness of street life, compared to that withindoors, to the same cause. There is a good deal of difference between a_salon_ in the Faubourg, or the Chaussee d'Antin, and even on theBoulevard des Italiens. But, John is craning with his neck, out there onthe piazza, as if our red brethren were at hand."
So it was, in point of fact, and everybody now rose from table, withoutceremony, and went forth to meet our guests. We had barely time to reachthe lawn, the ladies having run for their hats in the meantime, beforePrairiefire, Flintyheart, Manytongues, and all the rest of them, cameup, on the sort of half-trot that distinguishes an Indian's march.
Notwithstanding the change in our dresses, my uncle and myself wereinstantly recognized, and courteously saluted by the principal chiefs.Then our wigs were gravely offered to us by two of the younger men; butwe declined receiving them, begging the gentlemen who had them inkeeping to do us the honor to accept them as tokens of our particularregard. This was done with great good-will, and with a pleasure that wasmuch too obvious to be concealed. Half an hour later, I observed thateach of the young forest dandies had a wig on his otherwise naked head,with a peacock's feather stuck quite knowingly in the lank hair. Theeffect was somewhat ludicrous; particularly on the young ladies; but Isaw that each of the warriors himself looked round, as if to ask for theadmiration that he felt his appearance ought to awaken!
No sooner were the salutations exchanged than the red-men began toexamine the house--the cliff on which it stood--the meadows beneath, andthe surrounding ground. At first we supposed that they were struck withthe extent and solidity of the buildings, together with a certain air offinish and neatness that is not everywhere seen in America, even in thevicinity of its better-class houses; but Manytongues soon undeceived us.My uncle asked him why all the red-men had broken off, and scatteredthemselves around the buildings, some looking here, others pointingthere, and all manifestly earnest and much engaged with something;though it was not easy to understand what that something was; intimatinghis supposition that they might be struck with the buildings.
"Lord bless ye, no, sir," answered the interpreter; "they don't care astraw about the house, or any house. There's Flintyheart, in particular;he's a chief that you can no more move with riches and large housen, andsichlike matters, than you can make the Mississippi run up stream. Whenwe went to Uncle Sam's house, at Washington, he scarce condescended tolook at it; and the Capital had no more effect on any on 'em, than if ithad been a better sort of wigwam; not so much, for that matter, asInjins be curious in wigwams. What's put 'em up on a trail like, justnow, is the knowledge that this is the spot where a battle was fit,something like ninety seasons ago, in which the Upright Onondago wasconsarned, as well as some of their own people on t'other side--that'swhat's put 'em in commotion."
"And why does Flintyheart talk to those around him with so much energy;and point to the flats, and the cliff, and the ravine yonder, that liesbeyond the wigwam of Susquesus?"
"Ah! is that, then, the wigwam of the Upright Onondago?" exclaimed theinterpreter, betraying some such interest as one might manifest onunexpectedly being told that he saw Mount Vernon or Monticello for thefirst time in his life. "Well, it's something to have seen _that_;though it will be more to see the man himself; for all the tribes on theupper prairies, are full of his story and his behavior. No Injin, sincethe time of Tamenund himself, has made as much talk, of late years, asSusquesus, the Upright Onondago, unless it might be Tecumthe, perhaps.But what occupies Flintyheart, just at this moment, is an account of thebattle, in which his father's grandfather lost his life, though he didnot lose his scalp. That disgrace, he is now telling on 'em, he escaped,and glad enough is his descendant that it was so. It's no great matterto an Injin to be killed; but he'd rather escape losing his scalp, orbeing struck at all by the inimy, if it can possibly made to turn outso. Now he's talking of some young pale-face that was killed, whom hecalls Lover of Fun--and now he's got on some nigger, who he says fitlike a devil."
"All these persons are known to us, by _our_ traditions, also!"exclaimed my uncle, with more interest than I had known him to manifestfor many a day. "But I'm amazed to find that the Indians retain soaccurate an account of such small matters for so long a time."
"It isn't a small matter to them. Their battles is seldom on a verygreat scale, and they make great account of any skrimmage in which notedwarriors have fallen." Here Manytongues paused for a minute, andlistened attentively to the discourse of the chiefs, after which heresumed his explanations. "They have met with a great difficulty in thehouse," he continued, "while everything else is right. They understandthe cliff of rocks, the position of the buildings themselves, thatravine thereaway, and all the rest of the th
ings hereabouts, except thehouse."
"What may be the difficulty with the house? Does it not stand in theplace it ought to occupy?"
"That's just their difficulty. It _does_ stand where it ought to stand,but it isn't the right sort of house, though they say the shape agreeswell enough--one side out to the fields, like; two sides running back tothe cliff, and the cliff itself for the other. But their traditions saythat their warriors indivor'd to burn out your forefathers, and thatthey built a fire ag'in the side of the buildin', which they never wouldhave done had it been built of stone, as this house is built. _That's_what partic'larly puzzles them."
"Then their traditions are surprisingly minute and accurate! The housewhich then stood on, or near this spot, and which did resemble thepresent building in the ground plan, _was_ of squared logs, and mighthave been set on fire, and an attempt was actually made to do so, butwas successfully resisted. Your chiefs have had a true account; butchanges have been made here. The house of logs stood near fifty years,when it was replaced by this dwelling, which was originally erectedabout sixty years ago, and has been added to since, on the old design.No, no--the traditions are surprisingly accurate."
This gave the Indians great satisfaction, as soon as the fact wascommunicated to them; and from that instant all their doubts anduncertainty were ended. Their own knowledge of the progress of things ina settlement gave them the means of comprehending any other changes;though the shape of this building having so nearly corresponded withthat of which their traditions spoke, they had become embarrassed by thedifference in the material. While they were still continuing theirexaminations, and ascertaining localities to their own satisfaction, myuncle and myself continued the discourse with Manytongues.
"I am curious to know," said my uncle, "what may be the history ofSusquesus, that a party of chiefs like these should travel so far out oftheir way to pay him the homage of a visit. Is his great age the cause?"
"That is one reason, sartainly; though there is another, that is of moreaccount, but which is known only to themselves. I have often tried toget the history out of them, but never could succeed. As long as I canremember, the Onondagoes, and Tuscaroras, and the Injins of the old NewYork tribes, that have found their way up to the prairies, have talkedof the Upright Onondago, who must have been an old man when I was born.Of late years they have talked more and more of him; and so good anopportunity offering to come and see him, there would have been greatdisappointment out West had it been neglected. His age is, no doubt, oneprincipal cause; but there is another, though I have never been able todiscover what it is."
"This Indian has been in communication, and connected with my immediatefamily, now near, if not quite ninety years. He was with my grandfather,Cornelius Littlepage, in the attack on Ty, that was made by Abercrombie,in 1758; and here we are within twelve or thirteen years of a centuryfrom that event. I believe my great-grandfather, Herman Mordaunt, hadeven some previous knowledge of him. As long as I can remember, he hasbeen a gray-headed old man; and we suppose both he and the negro wholives with him to have seen fully a hundred and twenty years, if notmore."
"Something of importance happened to Susquesus, or the Trackless, as hewas then called, about ninety-three winters ago; that much I've gatheredfrom what has fallen from the chiefs at different times; but what thatsomething was, it has exceeded my means to discover. At any rate, it hasquite as much to do with this visit, as the Withered Hemlock's greatage. Injins respect years; and they respect wisdom highly; but theyrespect courage and justice most of all. The tarm 'Upright' has itsmeaning, depend on't."
We were greatly interested by all this, as indeed were my grandmotherand her sweet companions. Mary Warren, in particular, manifested alively interest in Susquesus's history, as was betrayed in a briefdialogue I now had with her, walking to and fro in front of the piazza,while the rest of the party were curiously watching the movements of thestill excited savages.
"My father and I have often visited the two old men, and have beendeeply interested in them," observed this intelligent, yet simple-mindedgirl--"with the Indian, in particular, we have felt a strong sympathy,for nothing is plainer than the keenness with which he still feels onthe subject of his own people. We have been told that he is oftenvisited by red-men--or, at least, as often as any come near him; andthey are said ever to exhibit a great reverence for his years, andrespect for his character."
"This I know to be true, for I have frequently seen those who have cometo pay him visits. But they have usually been merely your basket-making,half-and-half sort of savages, who have possessed the characteristics ofneither race, entirely. This is the first instance in which I have heardof so marked a demonstration of respect--how is that, dear grandmother?can you recall any other instance of Susquesus's receiving such adecided mark of homage from his own people as this?"
"This is the third within my recollection, Hugh. Shortly after mymarriage, which was not long after the Revolution, as you may know,there was a party here on a visit to Susquesus. It remained ten days.The chiefs it contained were said to be Onondagoes altogether, orwarriors of his own particular people; and something like amisunderstanding was reported to have been made up; though what it was,I confess I was too thoughtless then to inquire. Both my father-in-law,and my uncle Chainbearer, it was always believed, knew the whole of theTrackless's story, though neither ever related it to me. I do notbelieve your grandfather knew it," added the venerable speaker, with asort of tender regret, "or I think I should have heard it. But thatfirst visit was soon after Susquesus and Jaaf took possession of theirhouse, and it was reported, at the time, that the strangers remained solong, in the hope of inducing Sus to rejoin his tribe. If such was theirwish, however, it failed; for there he is now, and there he has everbeen since he first went to the hut."
"And the second visit, grandmother--you mentioned that there werethree."
"Oh! tell us of them all, Mrs. Littlepage," added Mary earnestly,blushing up to the eyes the moment after at her own eagerness. My deargrandmother smiled benevolently on both, and I thought she looked alittle archly at us, as old ladies sometimes will, when the images oftheir own youth recur to their minds.
"You appear to have a common sympathy in these red-men, my children,"she answered, Mary fairly blushing scarlet at hearing herself thuscoupled with me in the term "children,"--"and I have great pleasure ingratifying your curiosity. The second great visit that Susquesusreceived from Indians occurred the very year you were born, Hugh, andthen we really felt afraid we might lose the old man; so earnest werehis own people in their entreaties that he would go away with them. Buthe would not. Here he has remained ever since, and a few weeks ago hetold me that here he should die. If these Indians hope to prevail anybetter, I am sure they will be disappointed."
"So he told my father, also," added Mary Warren, "who has often spokento him of death, and has hoped to open his eyes to the truths of thegospel."
"With what success, Miss Warren? That is a consummation which wouldterminate the old man's career most worthily."
"With little, I fear," answered the charming girl, in a low, melancholytone. "At least, I know that my father has been disappointed. Suslistens to him attentively, but he manifests no feeling beyond respectfor the speaker. Attempts have been made to induce him to enter thechurch before, but----"
"You were about to add something, Miss Warren, which still remains to besaid."
"I can add it for her," resumed my grandmother, "for certain I am thatMary Warren will never add it herself. The fact is, as you must know,Hugh, from your own observation, that Mr. Warren's predecessor was anunfaithful and selfish servant of the Church--one who did little good toany, not even himself. In this country it takes a good deal in aclergyman to wear out the patience of a people; but it can be done; andwhen they once get to look at him through the same medium as that withwhich other men are viewed, a reaction follows, under which he iscertain to suffer. We could all wish to throw a veil over the conduct ofthe late incumbent of St. Andrew's, but
it requires one so much thickerand larger than common, that the task is not easy. Mary has merely meantthat better instruction, and a closer attention to duty, might have donemore for Trackless twenty years ago, than they can do to-day."
"How much injury, after all, faithless ministers can do to the Church ofGod! One such bad example unsettles more minds than twenty good exampleskeep steady."
"I do not know that, Hugh; but of one thing I am certain--that more evilis done by pretending to struggle for the honor of the Church, byattempting to sustain its unworthy ministers, than could be done by atonce admitting their offences, in cases that are clear. We all know thatthe ministers of the altar are but men, and as such are to be expectedto fall--certain to do so without Divine aid--but if we cannot make itsministers pure, we ought to do all we can to keep the altar itself fromcontamination."
"Yes, yes, grandmother--but the day has gone by for _ex officio_religion in the American branch of the Church"--here Mary Warren joinedthe other girls--"at least. And it is so best. Suspicions may be baseand unworthy, but a blind credulity is contemptible. If I see a chestnutforming on yonder branch, it would be an act of exceeding folly in me tosuppose that the tree was a walnut, though all the nursery-men in thecountry were ready to swear to it."
My grandmother smiled, but she also walked away, when I joined my uncleagain.
"The interpreter tells me, Hugh," said the last, "that the chiefs wishto pay their first visit to the hut this evening. Luckily, the oldfarm-house is empty just now, since Miller has taken possession of thenew one; and I have directed Mr. Manytongues to establish himself there,while he and his party remain here. There is a kitchen, all ready fortheir use, and it is only to send over a few cooking utensils, that isto say, a pot or two, and fifty bundles of straw, to set them up inhousekeeping. For all this I have just given orders, not wishing todisturb you, or possibly unwilling to lay down a guardian's authority;and there is the straw already loading up in yonder barn-yard. In halfan hour they may rank themselves among the pot-wallopers of Ravensnest."
"Shall we go with them to the house before or after they have paid theirvisit to Susquesus?"
"Before, certainly. John has volunteered to go over and let the Onondagoknow the honor that is intended him, and to assist him in making histoilet; for the red-man would not like to be taken in undress any morethan another. While this is doing, we can install our guests in theirnew abode, and see the preparations commenced for their supper. As forthe "_Injins_" there is little to apprehend from them, I fancy, so longas we have a strong party of the real Simon Pures within call."
After this, we invited the interpreter to lead his chiefs toward thedwelling they were to occupy, preceding the party ourselves, and leavingthe ladies on the lawn. At that season, the days were at the longest,and it would be pleasanter to pay the visit to the hut in the cool ofthe evening than to go at an earlier hour. My grandmother ordered hercovered wagon before we left her, intending to be present at aninterview which everybody felt must be most interesting.
The empty building which was thus appropriated to the use of the Indianswas quite a century old, having been erected by my ancestor, HermanMordaunt, as the original farm-house on his own particular farm. For along time it had been used in its original character; and when it wasfound convenient to erect another, in a more eligible spot, and of moreconvenient form, this old structure had been preserved as a relic, andfrom year to year its removal had been talked of, but not effected. Itremained, therefore, for me to decide on its fate, unless, indeed, the"spirit of the institutions" should happen to get hold of it, and takeits control out of my hands, along with that of the rest of my property,by way of demonstrating to mankind how thoroughly the great State of NewYork is imbued with a love of rational liberty!
As we walked toward the "old farm-house," Miller came from the otherbuilding to meet us. He had learned that his friends, the pedlers, werehis--what I shall call myself? "Master" would be the _legal_ term, andit would be good English; but it would give the "honorable gentleman"and his friends mortal offence, and I am not now to learn that there arethose among us who deny facts that are as plain as the noses on theirfaces, and who fly right into the face of the law whenever it isconvenient. I shall not, however, call myself a "boss" to please eventhese eminent statesmen, and therefore must be content with using a termthat, if the moving spirits of the day can prevail, will soon besufficiently close in its signification, and call myself TomMiller's--nothing.
It was enough to see that Miller was a good deal embarrassed with thedilemma in which he was placed. For a great many years he and his familyhad been in the employment of me and mine, receiving ample pay, as allsuch men ever do--when they are so unfortunate as to serve a malignantaristocrat--much higher pay than they would get in the service of yourNewcomes, your Holmeses and Tubbses, besides far better treatment in allessentials; and now he had only to carry out the principles of theanti-renters to claim the farm he and they had so long worked, as ofright. Yes, the same principles would just as soon give this hireling myhome and farm as it would give any tenant on my estate that which heworked. It is true, one party received wages, while the other paid rent;but these facts do not affect the principle at all; since he whoreceived the wages got no other benefit from his toil, while he who paidthe rent was master of all the crops--I beg pardon, the _boss_ of allthe crops. The common title of both--if any title at all exist--is thecircumstance that each had expended his labor on a particular farm, andconsequently had a right to own it for all future time.
Miller made some awkward apologies for not recognizing me, andendeavored to explain away one or two little things that he must havefelt put him in rather an awkward position, but to which neither myuncle nor myself attached any moment. We knew that poor Tom was human,and that the easiest of all transgressions for a man to fall into werethose connected with his self-love; and that the temptation to a man whohas the consciousness of not being anywhere near the summit of thesocial ladder, is a strong inducement to err when he thinks there is achance of getting up a round or two; failing of success in which itrequires higher feelings, and perhaps a higher station, than that of TomMiller's, not to leave him open to a certain demoniacal gratificationwhich so many experience at the prospect of beholding others draggeddown to their own level. We heard Tom's excuses kindly, but did notcommit ourselves by promises or declarations of any sort.