Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1878-07-04
e ears, burning the tongue, and

does not stop here. 1t must be con.
fessed that he had one Of the elements
of genius, the capacity of lighting
his own fire, and of exciting his own
enthusiasm. But he had also one of
the imperfections SO often attendant
upon genius. He was too apt to al
low his enthusiasm to run away with
him. A critical examination of his
story of the 'blue laws shows that,
warming with his subject, he pro-
ceeded from one extravagant state
ment to another, till, at last, aspiring
to something which might be ranked
as a chef d'oeUre of mendacity he went
one step too far He declared that
these laws were by no means confined
to New Haven. His explicit state
ment is that similar laws still THAT is
in 1881, less than handred years
ago. prevail over New England as
the common law of the country
We have referred to but a small
fraction of the stories to be found in
this History The book is full of
others just as untruthful. In making
our selections, we have felt in an un-
usual degree the embarras des richess-
es. We think, however. that We do
not need to make further citations in
order to prove that the falsehoods of
Mr.. Peters rise above the rank of ordi
nary falsehoods, and are to be judged
by the rules of high art.
But we have not finished. There
is yet another and fifth reason why
we think their author is to be placed
at the head of all liars--and this is
the fact, that he has been successful
in making his lies believed to an ex.
tent which no other liar ever attained.
We have admitted that, in humor,
the History of New York by Died
rich Knickcrbocker, is superior. But
when it comes to the credence that
has been given to his statements, it is
very Different. There haye been in.
dividual cases, to be sure, in which
the humor of Diedrich Knickerbock-
err has not been understood, and his
accounts of the wonderful doings of
the early settlers of the island of Man.
haitian have been taken for literal fact
For instance, there is the case Of
Goeller, the German editor of Thu
cydides' (Liepsic, 1850 who in one
of his annotations on passage of the
Greek historian,in which he describes
the rivalry of the Athenian factions,
gives two modern illustrations one
of the Guelf and Ghibbelline factions
of Italy the other. the factions of
the Long Pipes and the Short Pipes
in New York, under the administra.
ton of Peter Stuyvesant. We quote
the original Latin, as given by Pro-
lessor Henry Reed: sAddo locum
Westinghouse Irwingii, Hist. Now
Eboraci.' Lib. VII, cap. v. The
old factions of the Long Pipes and
short Pipes, strangled by the Hercu.
lean grasp of p. Stuyvesant. There
have been occasionally others, who
from some defect of mental organiza-
ton, have fallen into the same mis-
take with the unfortunate German
scholar.
But how different the result in the
case of Peters! Professor Kingsley
says: Thousands have implicitly
believed these stories who had no 9TH
er article of faith. Peters certainly
Feems to have known how to strike
the average mind, anG to secure be-
lief for his fabrications.
Now, to be successful is generally
regarded as one of the highest claims
to distinction. Others before Fulton
had the idea of propelling boat by
steam through the water; but Fulton
was successful in making his inven-
ton practical t.,ing. And therefore
to Fulton is accorded the honor Of be-
ing one of the greatest inventors OF
modern times. Judged in the same
way, then, by his success in securing
belief for his falsehoods, we conclude,
as the result of the Investigations we
have thus far pursued, that the Rev
erend Samuel Peters, .facile princeps,
is TO BIO awarded the distinction of
the most remarkable achievement in
lying that the world has ever witness
ed.
Yet we are not disposed, on the
whole TO regret that new edition of
this spitetui libel on the Puritan set
tiers of the colonies Of New Haven
and Connecticut has been given to
the public, as it affords an opportun.
tn coll of ~
tain misapprehensions which the book
and others of the same class have
sown broadcast over the land
One OF these misspprehensions is
that the first settlers OF New England
were persons of low condition at
home. This is conspicuously not
true. We doubt whether in the sew
enth century, i'll the case of the an
cestors ofthree-quarters otthemresent-
peers of Great Britain, they were one
whit higher in social standing than
the leading men among the colonists
who left Old England TO lay the Goun-
dation OF New Englaad. The cor
rupt families WHO were the bulwarks
| of the court Of Charles the IL. have
in great measure died out, and the
peerage has been recruited by men
who have attained eminence by their
brilliant public services. And these
men have been generally from the
ranks OF the families who, at the per-
iod referred o,were the Untitled gen.
try, who are an ancient aristocracy
themselves, and in a multitude oil
cases have pedigrees as long and as
| honorable as the oldest of the peers.
Now, Mr.. Bancroft says that in tie
course of ten or twelve years, about
four thousand families came over to
New England. Very few came at.
terward, and the millions of people Of
New England descent scattered
throughout this great Union, all
sprang from these four thousand fam
lilies. Of these families, not a few
were connected with the nobility al
home. The rank and file were of the
class of freehold farmers, who then
| constituted the strength and glory OF
England, though now as class they
can hardly be said to exist there. The