He Thought The North Were Right About The War; And As I
Thought So Also, I Was Not Called Upon To Disagree With Him.
He
was terse and perspicuous in his sentences, practical in his
advice, and, above all things, true in what he said to his audience
of themselves.
They who know America will understand how hard it
is for a public man in the States to practice such truth in his
addresses. Fluid compliments and high-flown national eulogium are
expected. In this instance none were forthcoming. The North had
risen with patriotism to make this effort, and it was now warned
that in doing so it was simply doing its national duty. And then
came the subject of slavery. I had been told that Mr. Emerson was
an abolitionist, and knew that I must disagree with him on that
head, if on no other. To me it has always seemed that to mix up
the question of general abolition with this war must be the work of
a man too ignorant to understand the real subject of the war, or
too false to his country to regard it. Throughout the whole
lecture I was waiting for Mr. Emerson's abolition doctrine, but no
abolition doctrine came. The words abolition and compensation were
mentioned, and then there was an end of the subject. If Mr.
Emerson be an abolitionist, he expressed his views very mildly on
that occasion. On the whole, the lecture was excellent, and that
little advice about the peacock was in itself worth an hour's
attention.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 397 of 538
Words from 105619 to 105878
of 143277
