University of Virginia Library

13. CHAPTER XIII.

It was a little remarkable that one as old and blear-eyed
as the negro, should be the first among us to discover the
approach of a large body of the Injins, who could not be
less than two hundred in number. The circumstance was
probably owing to the fact that, while every other eye was
riveted on the speaker, his eyes were fastened on nothing.
There the Injins did come, however, in force; and this time,
apparently, without fear. The white American meets the
red-man with much confidence, when he is prepared for the
struggle; and the result has shown that, when thrown upon
his resources, in the wilderness, and after he has been allowed
time to gain a little experience, he is usually the most
formidable enemy. But a dozen Indians, of the stamp of
those who had here come to visit us, armed and painted, and
placed in the centre of one of our largest peopled counties,
would be sufficient to throw that county into a paroxysm of
fear. Until time were given for thought, and the opinions
of the judicious superseded the effects of rumour, nothing
but panic would prevail. Mothers would clasp their children
to their bosoms, fathers would hold back their sons
from the slaughter, and even the heroes of the militia would
momentarily forget their ardour in the suggestions of prudence
and forethought.

Such, in fact, had been the state of things in and about
Ravensnest, when Flintyheart so unexpectedly led his companions
into the forest, and dispersed the virtuous and oppressed
tenants of my estate on their return from a meeting
held with but one virtuous object; viz., that of transferring
the fee of the farms they occupied, from me to themselves.
No one doubted, at the moment, that in addition to the other
enormities committed by me and mine, I had obtained a

body of savages from the far West, to meet the forces already
levied by the tenants, on a principle that it would not
do to examine very clearly. If I had done so, I am far from
certain that I should not have been perfectly justified in
morals; for an evil of that nature, that might at any time
be put down in a month, and which is suffered to exist
for years, through the selfish indifference of the community,
restores to every man his natural rights of self-defence;
though I make no doubt, had I resorted to such means, I
should have been hanged, without benefit of philanthropists;
the `clergy' in this country not being included in the class,
so far as suspension by the neck is concerned.

But the panic had disappeared, as soon as the truth became
known concerning the true object of the visit of the
redskins. The courage of the “virtuous and honest” revived,
and one of the first exhibitions of this renewed spirit was
the attempt to set fire to my house and barns. So serious a
demonstration, it was thought, would convince me of the real
power of the people, and satisfy us all that their wishes are
not to be resisted with impunity. As no one likes to have
his house and barns burned, it must be a singular being
who could withstand the influence of such a manifestation
of the “spirit of the Institutions;” for it is just as reasonable
to suppose that the attempts of the incendiaries came within
their political category, as it is to suppose that the attempt
of the tenants to get a title beyond what was bestowed in
their leases, was owing to this cause.

That habit of deferring to externals, which is so general
in a certain class of our citizens, and which endures in matters
of religion long after the vital principle is forgotten,
prevented any serious outbreak on the next day, which was
the Sunday mentioned; though the occasion was improved
to coerce by intimidation, the meeting and resolutions
having been regularly digested in secret conclave, among
the local leaders of anti-rentism, and carried out, as has
been described. Then followed the destruction of the canopy,
another demonstration of the “spirit of the Institutions,”
and as good an argument as any that has yet been offered,
in favour of the dogmas of the new political faith. Public
opinion is entitled to some relief, surely, when it betrays so
much excitement as to desecrate churches and to destroy

private property. This circumstance of the canopy had
been much dwelt on, as a favourite anti-rent argument, and
it might now be considered that the subject was carried out
to demonstration.

By the time all this was effected, so completely had the
“Injins” got over their dread of the Indians, that it was with
difficulty the leaders of the former could prevent the most
heroic portion of their corps from following their blow at
the canopy by a coup de main against the old farm-house,
and its occupants. Had not the discretion of the leaders
been greater than that of their subordinates, it is very probable
blood would have been shed, between these quasi belligerents.
But the warriors of the Prairies were the guests
of Uncle Sam, and the old gentleman, after all, has a long
arm, and can extend it from Washington to Ravensnest
without much effort. He was not to be offended heedlessly,
therefore; for his power was especially to be dreaded in
this matter of the covenants, without which Injins and agitation
would be altogether unnecessary to attaining the great
object, the Albany politicians being so well disposed to do
all they can for the “virtuous and honest.” Uncle Sam's
Indians, consequently, were held a good deal more in respect
than the laws of the State, and they consequently escaped
being murdered in their sleep.

When Jaaf first drew our attention to the Injins, they
were advancing, in a long line, by the highway, and at a
moderate pace; leaving us time to shift our own position,
did we deem it necessary. My uncle was of opinion it
would never do to remain out on the lawn, exposed to so
great a superiority of force, and he took his measures accordingly.
In the first place, the females, mistresses and
maids—and there were eight or ten of the last—were requested
to retire, at once, to the house. The latter, with
John at their head, were directed to close all the lower, outside
shutters of the building, and secure them within. This
done, and the gate and two outer doors fastened, it would
not be altogether without hazard to make an assault on our
fortress. As no one required a second request to move,
this part of the precautions was soon effected, and the house
placed in a species of temporary security.

While the foregoing was in the course of execution, Susquesus

and Jaaf were induced to change their positions, by
transferring themselves to the piazza. That change was
made, and the two old fellows were comfortably seated in
their chairs, again, before a single man of the redskins
moved a foot. There they all remained, motionless as so
many statues, with the exception that Flintyheart seemed to
be reconnoitring with his eyes, the thicket that fringed the
neighbouring ravine, and which formed a bit of dense cover,
as already described, of some considerable extent.

“Do you wish the redskins in the house, Colonel?” asked
the interpreter, coolly, when matters had reached to this
pass; “if you do, it 's time to speak, or, they 'll soon be off,
like a flock of pigeons, into that cover. There 'll be a fight
as sartain as they move, for there 's no more joke and
making of faces about them critturs, than there is about a
mile-stone. So, it 's best to speak in time.”

No delay occurred after this hint was given. The request
of my uncle Ro that the chiefs would follow the Upright
Onondago, was just in time to prevent a flight; in the sense
of Manytongues, I mean, for it was not very likely these
warriors would literally run away. It is probable that they
would have preferred the cover of the woods as more natural
and familiar to them, — but, I remarked, as the whole
party came on the piazza, that Flintyheart, in particular,
cast a quick, scrutinizing glance at the house, which said
in pretty plain language that he was examining its capabilities
as a work of defence. The movement, however,
was made with perfect steadiness; and, what most surprised
us all, was the fact that not one of the chiefs appeared to pay
the slightest attention to their advancing foes; or, men
whom it was reasonable for them to suppose so considered
themselves to be. We imputed this extraordinary reserve
to force of character, and a desire to maintain a calm and
dignified deportment in the presence of Susquesus. If it
were really the latter motive that so completely restrained
every exhibition of impatience, apprehension, or disquietude,
they had every reason to congratulate themselves on the
entire success of their characteristic restraint on their
feelings.

The Injins were just appearing on the lawn as our
arrangements were completed. John had come to report

every shutter secure, and the gate and little door barred.
He also informed us that all the men and boys who could
be mustered, including gardeners, labourers, and stable people,
to the number of five or six, were in the little passage,
armed; where rifles were ready also for ourselves. In
short, the preparations that had been made by my grandmother,
immediately after her arrival, were now of use, and
enabled us to make a much more formidable resistance, sustained
as we were by the party from the Prairies, than I
could have ever hoped for on so sudden an emergency.

Our arrangement was very simple. The ladies were
seated near the great door, in order that they might be
placed under cover the first, in the event of necessity; Susquesus
and Jaaf had their chairs a little on one side, but
quite near this group, and the men from the far West occupied
the opposite end of the piazza, whither the benches had
been removed, for their accommodation. Manytongues
stood between the two divisions of our company, ready to
interpret for either; while my uncle, myself, John, and two
or three of the other servants took position behind our aged
friends. Seneca and his fellow-incendiary were in the
midst of the chiefs.

It was just as the Injins had got fairly on the lawn that
we heard the clattering of hoofs, and every eye was turned
in the direction whence the sound proceeded. This was on
the side of the ravine, and to me it seemed from the first
that some one was approaching us through that dell. So it
proved, truly; for soon Opportunity came galloping up the
path, and appeared in sight. She did not check her horse
until under the tree, where she alighted, by a single bound,
and hitching the animal to a hook in the tree, she moved
swiftly towards the house. My sister Patt advanced to the
steps of the piazza to receive this unexpected guest, and I
was just behind her to make my bow. But the salutations
of Opportunity were hasty and far from being very composed.
She glanced around her, ascertained the precise condition
of her brother,—and, taking my arm, she led me into
the library with very little, or, indeed, with no ceremony;
for, to give this young woman her due, she was a person of
great energy when there was anything serious to be done.
The only sign of deviating, in the slightest degree, from the

object in view, was pausing one instant, in passing, to make
her compliments to my grandmother.

“What, in the name of wonder, do you mean to do with
Sen?” demanded this active young lady, looking at me intently,
with an expression half-hostile, half-tender. “You
are standing over an earthquake, Mr. Hugh, if you did but
know it.”

Opportunity had confounded the effect with the cause,
but that was of little moment on an occasion so interesting.
She was much in earnest, and I had learned by experience
that her hints and advice might be of great service
to us at the Nest.

“To what particular danger do you allude, my dear Opportunity?”

“Ah, Hugh! if things was only as they used to be, how
happy might we all be together here at Ravensnest! But,
there is no time to talk of such things; for, as Sarah Soothings
says, `the heart is most monopolized when grief is the
profoundest, and it is only when our sentiments rise freely
to the surface of the imagination, that the mind escapes the
shackles of thraldom.' But, I haven't a minute for Sarah
Soothings, even, just now. Don't you see the Injins?”

“Quite plainly; and they probably see my `Indians.”'

“Oh! they don't regard them now the least in the
world. At first, when they thought you might have hired
a set of desperate wretches to scalp the folks, there was
some misgivings; but the whole story is now known, and
nobody cares a straw about them. If anybody's scalp is
taken, 't will be their own. Why, the whole country is up,
and the report has gone forth, far and near, that you have
brought in with you a set of blood-thirsty savages from the
prairies to cut the throats of women and children, and drive
off the tenants, that you may get all the farms into your
own hands before the lives fall in. Some folks say, these
savages have had a list of all the lives named in your leases
given to them, and that they are to make way with all
such people first, that you may have the law as much as
possible on your side. You stand on an earthquake, Mr.
Hugh;—you do, indeed!”

“My dear Opportunity,” I answered, laughing, “I am
infinitely obliged to you for all this attention to my interests,

and freely own that on Saturday night you were of great
service to me; but I must now think that you magnify the
danger—that you colour the picture too high.”

“Not in the least. I do protest, you stand on an earthquake;
and as your friend, I have ridden over here to tell
you as much, while there is yet time.”

“To get off it, I suppose you mean. But how can all
these evil and blood-thirsty reports be abroad, when the
characters of the Western Indians are, as you own yourself,
understood, and the dread of them that did exist in the
town has entirely vanished? There is a contradiction in
this.”

“Why, you know how it is, in anti-rent times. When
an excitement is needed, folks don't stick at facts very
closely, but repeat things, and make things, just as it happens
to be convenient.”

“True; I can understand this, and have no difficulty in
believing you now. But have you come here this morning
simply to let me know the danger which besets me from
this quarter?”

“I believe I 'm always only too ready to gallop over to
the Nest! But everybody has some weakness or other, and
I suppose I am to be no exception to the rule,” returned Opportunity,
who doubtless fancied the moment propitious to
throw in a volley towards achieving her great conquest,
and who reinforced that volley of words with such a glance
of the eye, as none but a most practised picaroon on the
sea of flirtation could have thrown. “But, Hugh — I call
you Hugh, Mr. Littlepage, for you seem more like Hugh to
me, than like the proud, evil-minded aristocrat, and hard-hearted
landlord, that folks want to make you out to be —
but I never could have told you what I did last night, had I
supposed it would bring Sen into this difficulty.”

“I can very well understand how unpleasantly you are
situated as respects your brother, Opportunity, and your
friendly services will not be forgotten in the management of
his affairs.”

“If you are of this mind, why won't you suffer these
Injins to get him out of the hands of your real savages,”
returned Opportunity, coaxingly. “I 'll promise for him,

that Sen will go off, and stay off for some months, if you
insist on 't; when all is forgotten, he can come back again.”

“Is the release of your brother, then, the object of this
visit from the Injins?”

“Partly so — they 're bent on having him. He 's in all
the secrets of the anti-renters, and they 're afraid for their
very lives, so long as he 's in your hands. Should he get
a little scared, and give up only one-quarter of what he
knows, there 'd be no peace in the county for a twelvemonth.”

At this instant, and before there was time to make an answer,
I was summoned to the piazza, the Injins approaching
so near as to induce my uncle to step to the door and
call my name in a loud voice. I was compelled to quit
Opportunity, who did not deem it prudent to show herself
among us, though her presence in the house, as an intercessor
for her brother, could excite neither surprise nor resentment.

When I reached the piazza, the Injins had advanced as
far as the tree where we had first been posted, and there
they had halted, seemingly for a conference. In their rear,
Mr. Warren was walking hurriedly towards us, keeping the
direct line, regardless of those whom he well knew to be
inimical to him, and intent only on reaching the house
before it could be gained by the `disguised and armed.'
This little circumstance gave rise to an incident of touching
interest, and which I cannot refrain from relating, though
it may interrupt the narration of matters that others may
possibly think of more moment.

Mr. Warren did not pass directly through the crowd of
rioters — for such those people were, in effect, unless the
epithet should be changed to the still more serious one of
rebels — but he made a little détour, in order to prevent a
collision that was unnecessary. When about half-way between
the tree and the piazza, however, the Injins gave a
discordant yell, and many of them sprang forward, as if in
haste to overtake, and probably to arrest, him. Just as we
all involuntarily arose, under a common feeling of interest
in the fate of the good rector, Mary darted from the piazza,
was at her father's side and in his arms so quickly, as to
seem to have flown there. Clinging to his side, she appeared

to urge him towards us. But Mr. Warren adopted
a course much wiser than that of flight would have been.
Conscious of having said or done no more than his duty,
he stopped and faced his pursuers. The act of Mary Warren
had produced a check to the intended proceedings of
these lawless men, and the calm, dignified aspect of the
divine completed his conquest. The leaders of the Injins
paused, conferred together, when all who had issued from
the main body returned to their companions beneath the
tree, leaving Mr. Warren and his charming daughter at
liberty to join us unmolested, and with decorum.

The instant Mary Warren left the piazza on her pious
errand, I sprang forward to follow her with an impulse I
could not control. Although my own power over this impulsive
movement was so small, that of my uncle and grandmother
was greater. The former seized the skirt of my
frock, and held me back by main strength, while the light
touch of the latter had even greater power. Both remonstrated,
and with so much obvious justice, that I saw the
folly of what I was about in an instant, and abandoned my
design. Had I fallen into the hands of the anti-renters,
their momentary triumph, at least, would have been complete.

Mr. Warren ascended the steps of the piazza with a mien
as unaltered, and an air as undisturbed, as if about to enter
his own church. The good old gentleman had so schooled
his feelings, and was so much accustomed to view himself
as especially protected, or as so ready to suffer, when in
the discharge of any serious duty, that I have had occasions
to ascertain fear was unknown to him. As for Mary, never
had she appeared so truly lovely, as she ascended the steps,
still clinging fondly and confidingly to his arm. The excitement
of such a scene had brought more than the usual
quantity of blood into her face, and the brilliancy of her
eyes was augmented by that circumstance, perhaps; but I
fancied that a more charming picture of feminine softness,
blended with the self-devotion of the child, could not have
been imagined by the mind of man.

Patt, dear, generous girl, sprang forward to embrace her
friend, which she did with warmth and honest fervour, and
my venerable grandmother kissed her on both cheeks, while

the other two girls were not backward in giving the customary
signs of the sympathy of their sex. My uncle Ro
even went so far as gallantly to kiss her hand, causing the
poor girl's face to be suffused with blushes, while poor Hugh
was obliged to keep in the back-ground, and content himself
with looking his admiration. I got one glance, however,
from the sweet creature, that was replete with consolation,
since it assured me that my forbearance was understood,
and attributed to its right motive.

In that singular scene, the men of the prairies alone appeared
to be unmoved. Even the domestics and workmen
had betrayed a powerful interest in this generous act of
Mary Warren's, the females all screaming in chorus, very
much as a matter of course. But, not an Indian moved.
Scarce one turned his eyes from the countenance of Susquesus,
though all must have been conscious that something
of interest was going on so near them, by the concern we
betrayed; and all certainly knew that their enemies were
hard by. As respects the last, I have supposed the unconcern,
or seeming unconcern of these western warriors, ought
to be ascribed to the circumstance of the presence of the
ladies, and an impression that there could be no very imminent
risk of hostilities while the company then present remained
together. The apathy of the chiefs seemed to be
extended to the interpreter, who was coolly lighting his pipe
at the very moment when the whole affair of the Warren
episode occurred; an occupation that was not interrupted
by the clamour and confusion among ourselves.

As there was a delay in the nearer approach of the Injins,
there was leisure to confer together for a moment. Mr.
Warren told us, therefore, that he had seen the `disguised
and armed' pass the rectory, and had followed in order to
act as a mediator between us and any contemplated harm.

“The destruction of the canopy of Hugh's pew, must
have given you a serious intimation that things were coming
to a head,” observed my grandmother.

Mr. Warren had not heard of the affair of the canopy, at
all. Although living quite within sound of a hammer used
in the church, everything had been conducted with so much
management, that the canopy had been taken down, and
removed bodily, without any one in the rectory's knowing

the fact. The latter had become known at the Nest, solely
by the circumstance that the object which had so lately
canopied aristocracy in St. Andrew's, Ravensnest, was now
canopying pigs up at the farm-house. The good divine
expressed his surprise a little strongly, and, as I thought,
his regrets a little indifferently. He was not one to countenance
illegality and violence, and least of all that peculiarly
American vice, envy; but, on the other hand, he was not
one to look with favour on the empty distinctions,-as set up
between men equally sinners and in need of grace to redeem
them from a common condemnation, in the house of God.
As the grave is known to be the great leveller of the human
race, so ought the church to be used as a preparatory step
in descending to the plain that all must occupy, in spirit at
least, before they can hope to be elevated to any, even of
the meanest places, among the many mansions of our Father's
house!

There was but a short breathing time given us, however,
before the Injins again advanced. It was soon evident they
did not mean to remain mere idle spectators of the scene
that was in the course of enactment on the piazza, but that
it was their intention to become actors, in some mode or
other. Forming themselves into a line, that savoured a
great deal more of the militia of this great republic than
of the warriors of the west, they came on tramping, with
the design of striking terror into our souls. Our arrangements
were made, however, and on our part every thing was
conducted just as one could have wished. The ladies, influenced
by my grandmother, retained their seats, near the
door; the men of the household were standing, but continued
stationary, while not an Indian stirred. As for Susquesus,
he had lived far beyond surprises and all emotions
of the lower class, and the men of the prairies appeared to
take their cues from him. So long as he continued immovable,
they seemed disposed to remain immovable also.

The distance between the tree and the piazza, did not
much exceed a hundred yards, and little time was necessary
to march across it. I remarked, however, that, contrary to
the laws of attraction, the nearer the Injins' line got to its
goal, the slower and more unsteady its movement became.
It also lost its formation, bending into curves, though its

tramps became louder and louder, as if those who were in
it, wished to keep alive their own courage by noise. When
within fifty feet of the steps, they ceased to advance at all,
merely stamping with their feet, as if hoping to frighten us
into flight. I thought this a favourable moment to do that
which it had been decided between my uncle and myself
ought to be done by me, as owner of the property these lawless
men had thus invaded. Stepping to the front of the
piazza, I made a sign for attention. The tramping ceased
all at once, and I had a profound silence for my speech.

“You know me, all of you,” I said, quietly I know, and
I trust firmly; “and you know, therefore, that I am the
owner of this house and these lands. As such owner, I
order every man among you to quit the place, and to go
into the highway, or upon the property of some other person.
Whoever remains, after this notice, will be a trespasser,
and the evil done by a trespasser is doubly serious
in the eyes of the law.”

I uttered these words loud enough to be heard by everybody
present, but I cannot pretend that they were attended
by much success. The calico bundles turned towards each
other, and there was an appearance of a sort of commotion,
but the leaders composed the people, the omnipotent people
in this instance, as they do in most others. The sovereignty
of the mass is a capital thing as a principle, and once in a
long while it evinces a great good in practice; in a certain
sense, it is always working good, by holding a particular
class of most odious and intolerable abuses in check; but,
as for the practice of every-day political management, their
imperial majesties, the sovereigns of America, of whom I
happen to be one, have quite as little connection with the
measures they are made to seem to demand, and to sustain,
as the Nawab of Oude; if the English, who are so disinterested
as to feel a generous concern for the rights of mankind,
whenever the great republic adds a few acres to the
small paternal homestead, have left any such potentate in
existence.

So it was with the decision of the “disguised and armed,”
on the occasion I am describing. They decided that no
other notice should be taken of my summons to quit, than a
contemptuous yell, though they had to ascertain from their

leaders what they had decided before they knew themselves.
The shout was pretty general, notwithstanding, and it had
one good effect; that of satisfying the Injins, themselves,
that they had made a clear demonstration of their contempt
of my authority, which they fancied victory sufficient for
the moment; nevertheless, the demonstration did not end
exactly here. Certain cries, and a brief dialogue, succeeded,
which it may be well to record.

“King Littlepage,” called out one, from among the `disguised
and armed,' what has become of your throne? St.
Andrew's meeting-'us' has lost its monarch's throne!”

“His pigs have set up for great aristocrats of late; presently
they 'll want to be patroons.”

“Hugh Littlepage, be a man; come down to a level with
your fellow-citizens, and don't think yourself any better
than other folks. You 're but flesh and blood, a'ter all.”

“Why don't you invite me to come and dine with you,
as well as priest Warren? I can eat, as well as any man
in the country, and as much.”

“Yes, and he 'll drink, too, Hugh Littlepage; so provide
your best liquor the day he 's to be invited.”

All this passed for wit among the Injins, and among that
portion of the “virtuous and honest and hard-working,” who
not only kept them on foot, but on this occasion kept them
company also; it having since been ascertained that about
one-half of that band was actually composed of the tenants
of the Ravensnest farms. I endeavoured to keep myself
cool, and succeeded pretty well, considering the inducements
there were to be angry. Argument with such men was out
of the question,—and knowing their numbers and physical
superiority, they held my legal rights in contempt. What
was probably worse than all, they knew that the law itself
was administered by the people, and that they had little to
apprehend, and did apprehend virtually nothing from any
of the pains and penalties it might undertake to inflict, should
recourse be had to it at any future day. Ten or a dozen
wily agents sent through the country to circulate lies, and
to visit the county town previously to, and during a trial, in
order to raise a party that will act more or less directly on
the minds of the jurors, with a newspaper or two to scatter
untruths and prejudices, would at least be as effective, at

the critical moment, as the law, the evidence, and the right.
As for the judges, and their charges, they have lost most of
their influence, under the operation of this nefarious system,
and count but for very little in the administration of justice,
either at Nisi Prius or at Oyer Terminer. These are melancholy
truths, that any man who quits his theories and
descends into the arena of practice will soon ascertain to be
such, to his wonder and alarm, if he be a novice and an
honest man. A portion of this unhappy state of things is a
consequence of the legislative tinkering that has destroyed
one of the most healthful provisions of the common law, in
prohibiting the judges to punish for contempt unless for outrages
committed in open court. The press, in particular,
now profits by this impunity, and influences the decision of
nearly every case that can at all enlist public feeling. All
these things men feel, and few who are wrong care for the
law; for those who are right, it is true, there is still some
danger. My uncle Ro says America is no more like what
America was in this respect twenty years since, than Kamtschatka
is like Italy. For myself, I wish to state the truth;
exaggerating nothing, nor yet taking refuge in a dastardly
concealment.

Unwilling to be browbeaten on the threshold of my own
door, I determined to say something ere I returned to my
place. Men like these before me can never understand that
silence proceeds from contempt; and I fancied it best to
make some sort of a reply to the speeches I have recorded,
and to twenty more of the same moral calibre. Motioning
for silence, I again obtained it.

“I have ordered you to quit my lawn, in the character
of its owner,” I said, “and, by remaining, you make yourselves
trespassers. As for what you have done to my
pew, I should thank you for it, had it not been done in violation
of the right; for it was fully my intention to have
that canopy removed as soon as the feeling about it had
subsided. I am as much opposed to distinctions of any
sort in the house of God as any of you can be, and desire
them not for myself, or any belonging to me. I ask for
nothing but equal rights with all my fellow-citizens; that
my property should be as much protected as theirs, but not

more so. But, I do not conceive that you or any man has
a right to ask to share in my world's goods any more than
I have a right to ask to share in his; that you can more
justly claim a portion of my lands than I can claim a share
in your cattle and crops. It is a poor rule that does not
work both ways.”

“You 're an aristocrat,” cried one from among the Injins,
“or you 'd be willing to let other men have as much
land as you 've got yourself. You 're a patroon; and all
patroons are aristocrats, and hateful.”

“An aristocrat,” I answered, “is one of a few who wield
political power. The highest birth, the largest fortune, the
most exclusive association would not make an aristocrat,
without the addition of a narrow political power. In this
country there are no aristocrats, because there is no narrow
political power. There is, however, a spurious aristocracy,
which you do not recognize, merely because it does not
happen to be in the hands of gentlemen. Demagogues and
editors are your privileged classes, and consequently your
aristocrats, and none others. As for your landlord aristocrats,
listen to a true tale, which will satisfy you how far
they deserve to be called an aristocracy. Mark! what I
now tell you is religious truth, and it deserves to be known,
far and near, wherever your cry of aristocracy reaches.
There is a landlord in this State, a man of large means,
who became liable for the debts of another to a considerable
amount. At the very moment when his rents could not be
collected, owing to your interference and the remissness of
those in authority to enforce the laws, the sheriff entered his
house, and sold its contents, in order to satisfy an execution
against him! There is American aristocracy for you, and
I am sorry to add American justice, as justice has got to be
administered among us.”

I was not disappointed in the effect of this narration of
what is a sober truth. Wherever I have told it, it has confounded
even the most brawling demagogue, and momentarily
revived in his breast some of those principles of right
which God originally planted there. American aristocracy,
in sooth! Fortunate is the gentleman that can obtain even
a reluctant and meagre justice.