Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1851-10-11
Slaves OF The Lamp.
BY JONES n. BEACH.

A party are sitting over their wine and
desert. One peach, wld only one, remains
on the table. Ii is very rich, very ripe, very
luscious, very tempting. Every body has
eyed il, nobody has taken it, Every body
has offered it to his neghbor, and every hody's
neighbor had politely declined il. There
appears something greedy in seizing the last
morsel on the table. Every body then Gu
yies the peach, yet leaves il unappropriatcd
on the table. Everybody appears careless
of that about which everybody is interested.
Every body is greedy, but no one will own
it. The peach is the cause of all the white
lies, the petty envy, the paltry covctousncss.
which even that respectable parly--ior they
were all respectable, and not one of them
cared pins head about peach in the alb
stract-could not help giving up little
corner OF their breasts to II as passing place
of shelter.
Suddenly the lamp went ont, and, as the
room was left in darkness, six hands stimuli
taneously stretched out, encountering each
other in the dish; the whole purty with
one united effort, strove 10 appropriate the
peach.
When the lamp was relighted, they were
ashamed TO look each other in the face
iHNy Ich hOh lihitIl ilIty NtIti WIN Wldt
petty cowardice-with what shabby cunning
with what sneuking selfshness they had
acted. Twas only the burning of which had
kept them decent. They were all slaves OF
the lamp.
And are we not all, more or less, slaves of
the lamp?
Our meighbor's advantages are our peach
es. Society aud society's law burn the re-
Eel,
the envious mnlcontents who discluim the
fruit while they long for t-whose tongues
refuse the morsel, while their teeth water
for its ripcness.
So many different men-so many different
peaches Crime is the ruflian's forbidden
iruit--punishnlent the lamp winch scares him
from it. But, albeit, we hope we are no ruff
fans, we have all of us our peaches. The
sparkle of diamond, or the texture of
dress, may il not I've peach, which, were the
limp of conventional usage out, n lady might
not scruplc TO avow she coveted? For mark,
we do not speak of those who would actual
ly snatch their fruit, were laws extinct or OPP
portunity convenient, hut those who nre
shamed by the conventional vlrtue--or per-
haps, the decent hypocrisy-of society from
aVowing their languages-of speaking plain
truths in plain words-ffom saying they
would like to have the peach.
Jack and Gill are rival citizens of credit
and renown. But Jack is either more lucky
or more wise than Gill. lie is made Lord
Mayor, and rides in his gilded coach with
the same species of enlightened pleasure
with which thirty years before, he devoured
gilded gingerbread. Well is Gill envious;
Moth lie has no inclination for the peach.
When he says so, the open eyes OF society
glean lamp wise upon him. lie curses
Jack in his secret heart. Why' Because
there is no window breast, and the outside
light iluminates not the inner man.
Mrs. Trot is young wife and she has n
young baby. You call, and the baby is pro-
duced from the cradle, like jewel from its
locket-screams and kicks like an obsirep-
erous baby as il is, You do not want to he
troubled with il. We will he charitable, we
will suppose that you have the headaGhe.--
You would like to rap out-"Coniound the
squalling brat" but you don't, yon murmur
in fond uccents,"The delicious baby" Again
you decline the peach. At length Mrs.
Thomas Trot walks of, baby and all. Then
do you indulge yourself "Stupid goose,
to think her goslins swans" Coward, your
hand is in the dish, hut not until the light, in
the person Of Mrs. Thomas Trot, has left the
room.
Alas we nre terrible world of hypo-
critics The peach before us, and the light
above us, and we render 10 virtue the hom-
age we feel not. We are spies upon each
other. We bind ourselves mutually, ever TO
be of good behavior. We are afraid of each
0ther-we keep up mutunI surveillance
Good aud bad results spring from il. 1t
keeps us ont of mischief but it creates fic-
tiions mischief. There nre times when il
would be manly toaake the peach out of the
plate. There is "a false as well as a true
shame, The light deludes as well as warns.
II may be Jack o Lantern as well as Pha.
os. The lady in the play can do nothing
without inquiring, "What will Mrs. Grun,