Nature and Human Nature
above common, and smacked of the wigwam, I must get the receipt. The only way for a man who travels and wants to get something better than amusement out of it, is to notch down
inds the less he pampers his appetite the clearer his head is and the be
. Makin' oneself miserable, fastin' in sackcloth and ashes, ain't a bit more foolish than makin' oneself wretched in the midst of plenty, because the sea, the air, and the earth won't give him the dainties he wants, and Providence won't send the cook to dress them. To spend one's life in eating, drinking, and sleeping, or like a bullock, in ruminating on food, reduces a man to the level of an ox or an ass. The stomach is the kitchen
when I was to England that Brighton means Brighthelmeston, or Sissiter, Cirencester, for the English take such liberties with words, they can't afford to let others do the same; so I give it to you bo
the world to live in. What a variety of food there is here,--fish, flesh,
. "We call a man who drops in accidently on purpose to dinner a sponging
is he, "means mushr
this. Upstarts we call them; they arise at night, and
Mr Slick!" said he, "there is a poor man here who richly deserves a pension both from your
heir own establishment of economy and reform in the public departments, hired Soyer, the best cook of the age, at a salary that would have pensioned half-a-dozen of the poor worn-out clerks in Downing Street. Vulgarity is always showy. It is a pretty word, "Reformers." The common herd of them I don't mind much, for ro
him out. So I just asked who on earth they were, and he explained at great le
kinic cook go to London or Paris, where he won't want a
he replied, "he is
l salt beef and pork, and twice lay cod-fish, and perhaps boil potatoes nice and watery
want to put myself forward, for it
he devil and all, and if you want people to vally you right, appraise yourself at a high figure. Braggin' saves advertising'. I always do it; for as the Nova Scotia m
merican Fur Company as a voyageur, and was accidentally wounded by the discharge of a musket, on the 9th of June, 1822. The charge, consisting of powder and duck-shot, was received in his left side; he being at a distance of not more than one yard from the muzzle of the gun. The contents entered posteriorly, an
is as clear as mud, that! I do like doctors, for their tal
ased, and wen
ther by sutures; an operation to which the patient would not submit. By using the aperture which providence had supplied us with to communicate with the stomach, I ascertained, by attaching a small portion of food of different kinds to a string, and inserting it through his side
ound in a work published in New York in 1833, entitled "Experiments and observations on the gastric juices, and the physiology of digestion
an embroidering, which is about as contemptible an accomplishment as an idler can have, than to hear him everlastingly smack his lips, and see him open his eyes a
nner; and I intend to get it too, that's a fact. As we concluded our meal, "Doctor," sais I, "we have been meditating mischief in your abs
should like it abov
hat?"
ll night, if you go, my poor wigwam
I, "I am used to it, and like it a
after my own heart. The nature of all foresters is alike
cidence of that expression w
mixed race being on a footing of equality with the other two, "Blue-nose ought to be the best
t he ought to be, and it'
t's exactly what mother used to say when I did anything wrong: 'Sam, ain'
" said I, "that we go to-
ghted. Jessie, you and your sist
e charmed,"
t, or he will go through the whole campaign in Spain before he is done, and tell you how ill the commissariat-people were used, in not having notice given to them to lay in stores. I never was honoured with the presence of ladies there before, a
hland lassies and their brother that were here
ced a most joyous and rapid jig, the triumph of which seemed to consist in who should tire the other out. The girl had youth and agility on her side; but the doctor was not devoid of activity, and the great training which his constant exercise kept him in, threw the balance i
ndered still more repulsive. He had a broad-brimmed hat on his head, which he did not condescend to remove, and carried in one hand a leather travelling-bag, as lean and as dark-complexioned as himself, and in the other a bundle of te
but she will talk to you presently." And then he stamped his foot to give emphasis to
and continued playing as he advanced towards him; but he was so excited by what was going on among the young people, that he
join in;" and liftin' the end of his bow suddenly, tipt off his
r parcel, and lifting up both hands said, "Satan, avaunt." But
wo as if to protect his shins. Everybody in the room was convulsed with laughter, for all saw what the intruder was, and the singular mistake Peter was making. It broke up the reel. T
nd his long black hair, as if partaking of his consternation, flowing wildly over his cheeks; while Peter, utterly unconscious that no one was dancing, continued playing and capering in front of him, as if he was ravin distracted
the floor, and though he was not made to dance, he was pushed or flung into his place, and turned and faced about as if he was taking his first lesson. At last, as if by common consent, we all ceased lau
erving the devil. Do you eve
, assuming the manner of a quaker for fun, "for Peter
fist at him, "if she don't like it, she had better go. It's her ow
called Samuel
an, and wilt thee tell me who thee is
Judd, and when to home, I li
possible the critter could know anythi
thee want, fr
of mackerel, and to procure some nets for the fishe
friend Judd. Shaking quakers dance piously, as thee mayest have heard,
er," he
of men, friend, as we
'come-outers,'1 and have had experience, and when I m
various religious denominations with which they have been connected; hence the name. They have not themselves assumed any distinctive organization. They have no creed, believing tha
spoken thy words out of
ng," he replied, "and i
seed-corn off of me;' if not, tarry here till this company goeth, and then I will talk to thee touching the thing called mackarel. Wilt thee sit by the fire till the quaker c
"what an hour may bring f
ity required him to offer the best he had in his house to a stranger, so he produced som
water, that warn't half-and-half, but almost the whole hog. Oh, gummy, what a horn! it was strong enough almost to throw an ox
"strike up, the stran
nce," said h
s for our excursion on the morrow with Jessie, and the doctor entered into a close examination of Jehu Judd, as to the new asphalt mines in his province. He informed him of the enormous petrified trunks of palm-trees that have been found while exploring the coal-fields, and warmed into eloquence as he enumerated the mine
d, and it is best to be a mormon and to have polygamy here. Then there is a third party who says, neither of you speak sense, it is better to believe nothin' than to give yourself up to be crammed. Religion, Squire, ain't natur, because it is intended to improve corrupt natur, it's no use talkin' therefore, it can't be left to itself, otherwise it degenerates into something little better than animal instinct. It must be taught, and teaching must have authority as well as learning. There can be no authority where there is no power to enforce, and there can be no learning where there is no training. If there must be normal schools to qualify schoolmasters, there must be Oxfords and Cambridges to qua
houses, so that you know how to steer, and not helter-skelter lights movin' on the shore like will-o'-the whisps, or wreckers' false fires, that just lead you to destruction. The medium between the two churches, for the clergy, would be the right thing. In yours they are too independent of the people, with us a little too dep
t shines afore men." Just see what sort of a system it must be that produces such a man as Jehu Judd. And yet Jehu finds it answer his purpose in his class to be what he is. His religion is a cloak, and that is a grand t
ong as Shetland ponies, to coax or drag him up for a reel. Each took a hand of his and tried to persuade him. Oh, weren't they full of smiles, and didn'
man like you,"
ld Piety, "I am a widower, a lo
heeself, or thy Musquodobit farm, with its hundred acres of i
atory look at her
e a duck in Quaco,
anctified Cupids at her, as pious galls do who s
id I, "the maiden would soon turn up the whites of her eyes
ind me, "I shall die, he'll kill me. I c
shall always be a wild
owler," said Jehu, "for th
wer," she said, "y
his tongue was becoming thick, tho
id, "a widower is
ied, "in what
ngle ox, and he is the most frolicksome fellow you ever see. Now, as you have lost your mate, you are an odd on
ever look for mate
hee weren't bred in Quaco for nothin'. Come, rouse up, wake snakes, and walk chalk
at me with great self-complacency
powers, but take care of thy grandmother's legacy, the two thousand pounds th
r fear,"
comely, and well endowed with understanding and money," and he smirked first at o
o great for him: two pairs of bright eyes, two pretty faces, and two hands in his filled with Highland
ancing is a dangerous thing, and a snare to the unwary. The hand
f gaiety is shut out of the house, it is pitied and admitted when the master is absent or asleep. When it is harboured by stealth and kept concealed, it loses its beauty and innocence, and waxeth wicked. The crowd that leaveth a night-meeting is less restrained than
it put to me in that light before. I have heard of the shakers
ear," said I, "wh
ance the qu
y dance th
so
ver," s
n dance. They call us shakers, from shaking our feet s
hu now felt the combined influence of music, women, brandy, and dancing, and snapped his fingers over his head, and s
ou are young, make up for lost time: now for the double shuffle. Dod drot it, you are clear grit and no mistake. You are like a critter that
ame us all. The doctor gave the first key-note. "Oh, oh, that man will be the death of me," and again rubbed himself round th
The familiarity which Mr Judd exhibited with the steps and the dance, convinced me that he must have often indulged in it before he became a Christian. At last he sat down, not a little exhausted wi
ntemplating a pan of milk that it cannot reach, "lovely maiden, willingly wou
trong, clear voice rose above
y is a pr
ly hands
is in the M
is in Mai
our time,
cy, Luc
cradle
ten to
ly resumed his seat before he was fast asleep, and so incapable of sustaining himself in a sitting posture, that we removed him to the sofa, and loose
ster, Twid
with his t
, and the ot
cription of Tw
for the night, "you have 'come-out' in your true colours at last,