University of Virginia Library

10. CHAP. X.

THE second day after this, in the afternoon
of the day, as the Captain
and his man Duncan were advancing on
their journey, they perceived a person a
head, coming towards them, with a long
slouching walk, as if in considerable haste,
and a stick in his hand. If that man had
not his face the wrong way, said the Captain,
I should take him for the revenue officer,
Teague O'Regan; he has a good
deal of his appearance, both in his person
and his gait. But he cannot have mistaken
his direction so much as to be coming
this way, instead of going to his district.

I dinna ken, said Duncan; these Irish
ay put the wrang end o' their speech foremost;
and why not put the wrang end o'
their course now and then.

As they were debating, the person approached,
and it was discovered to be Teague.
He

He had advanced to a pass of the mountain,
where he was met and opposed by
two men, of an athletic personal appearance,
who forbade him, at his peril, to
proceed farther. They were armed with
clubs, and presented a very choleric
countenance. The revenue officer had
thought it not advisable to encounter them,
being two to one, and proposed rather to
fall back, and join himself to the Captain
and the Scotchman, who might support
him in his march.

These two men were of the name of Valentine
and Orson; so called either from
the fierceness of their nature, or from
their superior strength, resembling the two
champions of that name, of whom we read
in books of romance. They had been
born and bred in these mountains.

Valentine had the advantage of some education
with a Welsh school-master, who
passed his native language upon the young
man for Latin; so that conceiving himself
to have acquired the rudiments of this tongue,
and therefore qualified to enter on
the study of some one of the learned professions,
he had deliberated whether he
should plead law, preach, or be a physician;
but happening one day to see a member
ber

of Congress riding along, with a boy
behind him, carrying a portmanteau, he
had taken it into his head to be a member
himself, and had canvassed frequently for
that delegation; but had been disappointed;
one person and another coming forward,
and taking off the votes. He had
made up his mind for some time past to
make an experiment of personal force, to
intimidate competitors. For this purpose,
he had taken to his assistance another
young man of the name of Orson, whom
he found in the neighbourhood, and with
whom sallying out as a kind of squire, or
armour-bearer, he could knock down any
fellow that had the impudence to set up against
him in the district. Orson had not
actually been suckled by a bear, like his
name sake in romance; but he was a rough,
stout man, and well qualified to bear a part
in this mode of canvassing.

The rumour had prevailed by some
means, that Teague was coming forward
to stand a trial in that district; whether
propagated by some wag, who passed him
on the road, and was disposed to amuse
himself with the apprehensions of the two
rustics; or to some mistake on the parr of
tra-

travellers, who had come through the village
in the neighbourhood.

The Captain, however, and the revenue
officer himself, had resolved their menace
into a dislike of the excise law, and a wish
to intimidate, or prevent by force, the opening
an inspection office in that district.

Under these impressions, advancing to
the pass, they were met by the young
men, who made a shew of battle; though
on their part, not a little disconcerted at
seeing Teague return with a reinforcement,
and with the advantage of cavalry.

The Captain placed himself in the center,
on horse-back, and a little in advance
of the two wings on foot, Duncan
and Teague. The North Briton, preserved
a composed manner, and shewed a
steady countenance. The Hibernian, on
the other hand, willing by an appearance
of great rage, and much valour, to supercede
the necessity of battle, or blood-shed,
stood with his right foot before the left,
flourishing his cudgel, and grinning like
an angry person, who was impatient for
the onset.

As is the manner of heroic men, the
Captain thought proper, before the commencement
of hostilities, to accost the adverſe
verse

combatants, to see whether it might
not be in his power to remove, or at least
allay their prejudices against the obnoxious
law, and induce them to suffer the officer
to pass. Accordingly he addressed them
in the following words:

Gentlemen, said he, the law may be
exceptionable on general principles, or
locally unequal in its operation to you in
this district. Nevertheless, it is the law,
and has received the sanction of the public
voice, made known through the constitutional
organ, the representatives of the
people. It is the great principle of a republican
government, that the will of the
majority shall govern. The general will
has made this a law, and it behoves individual
minds to submit.

I wad na fleech and prig wi' them, said
Duncan, stepping forward, and flourishing
his cudgel. I wad na hae many words about
it. But just see at ance whether they
will dare to stap the high road. Gin they
persist, I can tak ane o' them, and ye and
Teague, can tak the ither, and my lug for
it, I sal gie the ane that fa's to my lot, a
weel payed skin, I warrant him. Sae dinna
ye tak up time fairlying about the matter;
but gae on, and try our rungs o'er
the

the hurdies o' them. I sal gar this stick
crack o'er the riggin o' the loons, in a
wie while.

Teague, in the mean time, was on the
back ground, endeavouring to look sour,
making wry mouths, and grinning occasionally:
all this with a view to support
the threats of the North Briton.

Duncan, said the Captain, for he had
not attended to Teague, put up your
cudgel. Policy oftentimes avails more
than force. The law in question may beodious,
and great allowance ought to be
made for the prejudices of the people. By
sost measures, and mild words, prejudices
may be overcome. These appear to
be but young men; and rashness is a concomitant
of early life. By expostulation
we may probably have the good fortune
to be able to pass on, without being
under the necessity to attempt battery, or
shed blood.

The two young men were not to be intimidated
by a shew of cudgels, or grinning,
and wry mouths; but still conceiving
that the object of the Captain was to
force an election in favour of his precusor,
the Hibernian, and not understanding
the scope of his harrangue, but ſupposing
sing

him to speak of the law of election
where the votes of the majority, that is,
the greater number of votes, constitutes
the representative, they were as much disposed
to use force as at first; and, advancing,
appeared ready to sustain the shock.

An affray must have ensued; for the
Captain having taken every possible measure
to avoid blows, was now resolute to
force the pass, even at the risk of battle.
But just at this instant, a grave man coming
from the village, who had known the
character, and had been frequently a witness
of the conduct of the young men, addressed
them: “Young men, said he,
will you be eternally running into errors
of this kind. Have you interrogated these
gentlemen, and understood from themselves
whether any of them are candidates,
and mean to disturb you by setting up for
Congress in this district? It is possibly the
humour of some wag coming up the road,
and knowing your disposition, that has
created the surmise.”

The fact was, that some wag who had
passed Teague on the road, and who had
known the apprehensions of Valentine, had
given rise to the report. For he thought to
amuse himself by it, knowing the extravagancies
gancies

into which it would of course throw
the two young men. For the whole country,
not long before that time, had heard
in what manner they had mistaken individuals
for public candidates. On one occasion
they had fought with a mason and
his barrow-man, and abused them considerably.
On another occasion, they had
knocked down a potter with a bag of
earthen-ware, and broke several of his
vessels. For this reason, the grave man, of
whom I spoke, who had got a hint by
some means of what they were about,
had traced the young men, and coming
up at the critical moment, addressed them
as I have before said, exhorting them to
make enquiry first, whether their apprehensions
were well or ill founded; and not
to take it for granted that either of these
personages, were competitors for Congress,
before the fact had been ascertained,
and their pretensions considered by an
amicable expostulation.

Candidates for Congress! said the Captain;
what could have put that into the
young mens heads? is it true, this bog-trotter,
who is now an excise officer, was
on the point once of being a candidate,
or at least of being elected, a repreſentative
tive

of the union; but having escaped
that, though with some difficulty, he is
now in the executive department; and
has received an appointment to the collection
of the revenue of a district beyond
this, to which he is now on his way; and
is far from having any thoughts of an election
of any kind whatever.

The two young men, at this, were relieved
from their fears, and their minds
seemed dilated with unusual joy. Stepping
forward, they shook hands with Teague,
and invited him to drink with them; but
the Captain apologized, alledging the necessity
on the part of O'Regan, to press
forward as speedily as possible, and to be
on the spot where the functions of his duty
called him. This apology seeming to suffice,
they all three made obeisance to
the young men, and to the grave looking
man; and passed on.CHAP