The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1859-09-22

/ any terms by which 10 calculate the value OF
the CniOn.'
! September IL, 1859.
Ny DEAR Nh. PRINTER: l am naturally
! fighting character Combatveness and De-
/ structiveness have always been developed in
my head with great lberality. There is some
| thing in opposition-in rallying every force to
meet opposing force-which wakes in my soul
keen delight. Like Jobs war-horse, snuff
the battle afar off. Yet having been born and
educated in a Christian land, within sound of
the church-going bell" under the shadow of
Plymouth Rock and Bunker Hill, these pugil-
istie tendencies have been held in check, and
I do not, as general thing walk about seek
ing whom l may devour; but, o Printer, do
not trespass too far. Do not presume too
much on my Christian education, for blood is
strong. Nature will sometimes assert herself,
though learning, politeness, and religion, have
cased her in triple armor.
d" Who steals my purse, steals trash;
But he who hehes from my good NAME" &c;
and this, o Printer, you are trying to do.
In my last letter you made me say, " for
assure you l care more for him than do for
all these was going to say an impolite thing,
but won't"
o, Printer, Printer, what harm have ever
done you, that you should treat me thus
These" should be there" and the dash
should come after "all"-that was the way l
wrote it. Don't you see how different the
meanings are? AS l wrote it, l checked
myself IN season to prevent the catastrophe,
and showed that the impohteness was UMPIRE
meditated, by the full STOP and the exclama-
ton of surprise, " therel" Of course, any
offence that might be going to be taken would
| be dropped at once, on the sudden repentance
and reformation. But what have you done,
my Printer Made me sin the sin, and then
tell lie about it, Where is the good of saying
/ l won't do it, when l have already done it?
/ Nor, Q Printer, aggrayate your guilt by seek
ing to extenuate it under the pretence that
/ you made mistake, when You know You did
1t on purpose. You cannot mistake my hand
writing if you try. You know it is round. and
bold, aud clear, so as often to be mistaken for
a mans O. THAT exclamation point is private.
SO don't set 1t up.) no hourishes, no unneces-
sary curves and quirls, unadorned and plain"
! but lucid and obvious so that he who runs NAV
read-a tortiori, he who "sets up" can't help
reading; vet, notwithstanding all this, have
| you wantonly, wickedy, and with malice afore-
! thought, perpetrated the most bare.faced non
sense-yea, positive absurdity.
Then, again, you could find the heart to
make me say,
a. This is fine country. I said, Pro.
found.
He. Yes, very fine country Pause
Meditation on both sides"
Infatuated man Am l utterly devoid of
| sense? What should induce me to parade
that profound up there, all alone, with moth
ing to do? is it possible you do net know
that 1t belongs down Just before meditation ?"
There 1t has meaning, fitness, a mission to
accomplish, a work to do. Here it is dis
Jointed, uncouth, de trop-hke button in your
pocket instead OF on your coat-like plough
boy IN drawing room-like a third person
where, my love, there should be only YOU and |.
One more example, unimportant in itself,
but OF vast moment as indicating the DELHI
crate nature OF the transgression on your part,
Prince OF Darkness, rightly named. 1t was
bat the misplacing of a comma. but II wac
more than this. The weather-vane is only a
b;t OF gidod iron, bat it tells YOU the tale of
the fierce north wind that comes sweeping
down from the hills of ice, from the wales of
snow, from the unknown Boreal lands.
You put into my defenceless mouth the
words, =" l asked if that was an eagle. but hes
gone now. Of course, he was mile off,
No, SIR. 1t was by no means matter of
F. course, nor even a matter of fact, that he was
a mile OFF. simply said, /" of course he was.p
that Is, was gone; then came a supplementary
careless remark, something between coniec-
ture and an inierence-"a mile OFF"
But l have done with you, Printer. feel
that argument and entreaty are alike in vain
II, at any period in the distant future. YOU shall
awake to a sense of the injury you have inflicted
on an innocent, unoffending person. know that
bear in my heart no malice, but forgive Won
freely and fully.
Dear c. G. b., >" I am greatly obliged to YOU
for your kind suggestions concerning nv birds
Alas that they came too late or, that the birds
! came too early The sequel to their story is
a 700 horrible to be told, yet, If it shall be Sea.
con light to warn future navigators from So nken
rocks, L shall have melancholy satisfaction in
narrahng IT. though horresco reterens and
the rest have forgotten the Latin. but il
means hate to do i'll declare 7 have a
great mind to say won't found in the he
ginning OF the second book of Virgil. 7 believe
l. very common quotation only ca,,it S,at MA
: of the next word to referens) e'' "O'O
a Well. (Some people object 10 the n.o fiji
word "well, as an Americanism, bnt III. =
Il think it oils the hinges of your paraeraI -.
$ nothing else does.) / left my birds ~ las a.
! peach tree, where their cries lacerated ~, -'e
i heart till exhausted nature could no more
+ went out and found a man who is kindly dis
posed towards every living thing. l laid the
+ case before him, and the birds, too. ak"
9 said, " can you do anything2" Eyes" said he