He Spoke Sharply Of The
Masters, And, When I Led Him On, Of The Men Also.
The masters had
been selfish and obstructive, the men selfish, silly, and light-
headed.
He rehearsed to me the course of a meeting at which he had
been present, and the somewhat long discourse which he had there
pronounced, calling into question the wisdom and even the good
faith of the Union delegates; and although he had escaped himself
through flush times and starvation times with a handsomely provided
purse, he had so little faith in either man or master, and so
profound a terror for the unerring Nemesis of mercantile affairs,
that he could think of no hope for our country outside of a sudden
and complete political subversion. Down must go Lords and Church
and Army; and capital, by some happy direction, must change hands
from worse to better, or England stood condemned. Such principles,
he said, were growing 'like a seed.'
From this mild, soft, domestic man, these words sounded unusually
ominous and grave. I had heard enough revolutionary talk among my
workmen fellow-passengers; but most of it was hot and turgid, and
fell discredited from the lips of unsuccessful men. This man was
calm; he had attained prosperity and ease; he disapproved the
policy which had been pursued by labour in the past; and yet this
was his panacea, - to rend the old country from end to end, and from
top to bottom, and in clamour and civil discord remodel it with the
hand of violence.
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