Wheelwright

“ The mellifluous bard of Twickenham was egregiously mistaken when he pronounced "a little learning" to be "a dangerous thing." Had it not been for the modicum of letters, small as it was, acquired by Mr. Wheelwright, at the school of which I had occasion to speak early in the present history, to say nothing, as seems most meet, of the university, his family would now have been rather short of bread and butter. ”

“ Wheelwright, hoping that he was the bearer of agreeable tidings from his estates, threw him all but his last quarter, and Thady took his leave with,
"Blissings on your honor, and long life to ye; and as your worship is a civil-spoken gintilman, may be ye'll not think it bowld if I jist hint to your honor, that if Misthress Judy there is a servant, she needs looking to—and bad luck to her!" ”

“ But a wheelwright, though he has never served an apprenticeship to a coachmaker, may either himself make or employ journeymen to make coaches; the trade of a coachmaker not being within the statute, because not exercised in England at the time when it was made. The manufactures of Manchester, Birmingham, and Wolverhampton are many of them, upon this account, not within the statute ”

“ Another flash succeeded, when a shot struck the hand of Strale, and passed off into the neighboring woods.
'There are no witches here,' said Strale; 'there is too much cold lead to come from the gun of a witch; look at my hand, Lyford, and be thankful as I am it was not my head.'
'This is no time to look at heads or hands,' said Lyford, 'but to escape the loss of both, if we can'; and he instantly extinguished the lamp, and suppressing the voice of Walter, who was about to speak, they moved along as silently as possible, and in half an hour entered the college gate. ”

“ While my fellow-travellers and I were discussing how to pass the night and so much of the next day as must intervene before the jovial blacksmith and the jovial wheelwright would be in a condition to go out on the morass and mend the coach, an honest man stepped forth from the crowd and proposed his unlet floor of two rooms, with supper of eggs and bacon, ale and punch. ”

“ Trellison was in the wrong place, the wine went the wrong way, and the earthquake came at the wrong time.'
'Hush, Walter; you speak too lightly on this latter point. All the trifles of the evening vanished from my mind when the earthquake voice of my Maker spoke to me of a coming judgment, and a crashing world. Why is it, Walter, that we think so little of our future destiny? Why do we build our hopes on a world we must leave so soon?'
'I know it is a fitting time to think, James,' said Strale; 'I would that sensible objects had less effect upon me; but so it is, Lyford, and I cannot help it. ”

“ He was soon after restored, upon a slight acknowledgment, to the freedom of the Colony; and in 1647 accepted an invitation from the church in Hampton, and settled as colleague with Mr. Dalton." "After his dismission from Hampton church he went to England, where he was in favor with Cromwell, with whom he had in early life been associated at the University of Cambridge in England. After Charles II. came to the throne, Mr. Wheelwright returned to New England, and took up his residence at Salisbury, where he died, November 15, 1679, aged, probably, about 85 years." ”

“ When four or five years old, she was enticed away from her French parents by Wheelwright, who had been employed by the government of Massachusetts to seek for captives in Canada. He carried her to the Three Rivers, where he had several other captives, and left her, as he pretended, with a relation of her French father for a few days, when she expected to return to Montreal. But she had not been to the Three Rivers more than twenty-four hours, when the old squaw who had sold her to Madam St. Auge came along in a sleigh, accompanied by a young sanop, seized upon Fanny, and carried her to St. ”

“ If you, Walter, are wise on this point, I wish you would enlighten me.'
'There is some mystery in it,' said Strale, 'but so there is in every thing. To believe such follies we must renounce common sense, and I had almost said a belief in a beneficent Providence. I have seen persons poised on the fingers of others, in such a manner as to be apparently unaffected by gravitation ”

“ John Wheelwright had been made to realize the power of the magistrate. The Rev. William Hubbard gives the following account of what next occurred at Weymouth; and, though the Rev. William Hubbard’s General History of New England is not now looked upon as a peculiarly veracious or reliable record, yet in this case it may be accepted as the most intelligible and consecutive narrative that has come down to us, in any degree contemporary with what took place:—
“The people of this town of Weymouth had invited one Mr. ”

“ At this stage of the music the words became inaudible, until the sound died away in the forest, and the quiet stillness of the evening again rested on the landscape.
'These are strange things, Mary,' said her brother, 'but they are only a part of the snares which are intended to betray you. Time will soon disclose all; meanwhile, have courage, my dear sister; in your conscious rectitude you will find consolation and support; in God there is abundant strength, and what man can do shall be faithfully done. Have no distrust of Walter; his love to you is all you can desire ”

“ On the third day he appeared on deck; and as the graceful schooner with fine breezes and under a cloud of canvass was gliding on her path, [Pg 23] the bright and the beautiful again adorned the prospect, and restored the pleasures which had been so suddenly and rudely dispersed. He was now able to climb the mast, and take his post on its highest elevation. Walter was always on the look-out for adventure, and the novelties of the sea began to occupy his mind, and invest the objects around him with unwonted attractions. ”

“ The road was perfectly known to Lyford, and the scenery on the way was so picturesque and beautiful that he often paused in admiration on some of the cliffs over which his path led him, and gazed long and with lively interest at those wild and rugged features of nature which the labor of man has since softened into the calmer lineaments of pleasant meadows, flourishing gardens and cultivated fields. ”

“ You well know I believe in the reality of religion, and reverence it too; you know my character, and cannot suspect me of dishonor. What does all this mean?'
'I mean to put you on your guard, Walter. I can only repeat what I have already said, that your present position and prospects do not warrant you in lavishing upon Mary so many proofs of your love. The course you are pursuing is unjust to her and unjust to yourself. I think you now understand me.'
'I do not understand,' said Walter, 'by what right you prescribe my duties, and undertake to regulate my social intercourse. ”

“ I doubt not he retains power to tempt men. I have felt it myself, alas! too often; but, Mr. Ellerson, since I have known Mary, she has led me to a brighter path of contemplation and hope. I would be no visionary theorist; I would be an humble, serious, every-day Christian.'
'Such, dear Walter, I would have you to be. Such, indeed, I trust you are,' replied Mr. Ellerson. 'True piety enlightens as well as purifies; and let not, I pray you, this mysterious delusion, for such I must regard it, disturb your faith in that Gospel, which must be your only hope, for time and eternity. ”

“ It is probable the extremely volatile temper of Walter made it necessary to place him under careful restraints and a rigid discipline, and Mr. Strale, who was a man of excellent sense, perceiving the advantages of a New England education, was willing, for the sake of its fidelity, to overlook its seeming bigotry and austerity; for with all his contempt for the Puritan sect, he was ready to acknowledge, that on the score of integrity and good morals, no people on earth could rival them. ”

“ Was not this, Mary, a shadow of things to come, a significant token of the desolation which so soon fell upon the family? Was it not at least remarkable in its circumstances?'
'Just now, Walter, you seemed to warn me against superstition, and then suggested a train of thought which could not fail to awaken it, if I had any. Indeed, Walter, I have no belief in its being a wonder, even as you state it. What is more common than for a peach tree to be full of blossoms, and then suddenly die. A worm at the root, a thousand blighting influences, are constantly at work to undermine its little life ”

“ This life of discipline was too severe to be endured, and he gradually became remiss in his labors, until at length, it required the constant exercise of authority to induce him to labor at all. In this condition, he contrived various methods of escape from a post that was every way disagreeable; but he well knew, that if he left Mr. Putnam without good reason, he had nothing further to expect from Walter. Happily for him, as he thought, the witch delusion was now advancing with a power which nothing could resist ”

“ I hope this people, in the march of improvement, will learn to be a little more liberal. You are too severe yourself, Lyford, and all the innocent gayeties of life look to you, as so many clouds between us and heaven.'
'Religion is not severe in her demands,' said Lyford, 'and if she appears so to you, Walter, it is because you invest her with false attributes, and view her through a false medium. Mary Graham is a sincere Christian; her cheerfulness of character you will readily admit; it is a thing of nature, and never runs into excess. ”

“ I hope she never will, until you are so fully sensible of her value and your duty, as to consult her interests in the case, as much at least as your own. If you seek to gratify your [Pg 14] vanity, by securing her love, when the obstacles to your union are not to be overcome; then your principles are not firm enough for me, and your friendship is no longer of any value.'
'Ought I to deny myself the pleasure of her society,' returned Walter, 'because the severity of Puritan habits imposes so many restraints, and is so rigid in its inquiries, and exact in its demands? ”

“ Walter replied to Mary's letter, and informed her that no measure had been left untried with Sir William Phipps and his advisers; but nothing could be done; the delusion had seized the minds of the most gifted men in the land, and it was vain to hope for relief until the public malady had run its course; and he expressed his fears that her own standing in society, and the general esteem in which she was held, might not prove a sufficient protection against the envy and malice of some, and the credulity and superstition of others. ”

“ His understanding admitted the excellence of the moral precepts that were taught him, and his conscience confessed their power. He wanted neither light nor conviction on the subject, but he had no special love for the strict requirements of religion and had no experience of its renovating power on the heart.
We must now pass over the first years of college life, and pursue the train of incidents up to the period which introduced our narrative. Walter had attained his senior year in college, and had proceeded thus far with credit to himself and the esteem and confidence of his instructors. ”

“ Some may take the ground that the foreign slave trade is an evil too stupendous to allow us to think for a moment of its extensive revival in this country. But does history prove that this country is averse to fostering stupendous evils? Has the government, or the people, shown any great timidity in trampling under foot the principles of right, the dictates of humanity, the pledges of the past? ”

“ Among these, Miss Elliott was deeply affected at the situation of her friend, and did not hesitate to condemn the proceedings, as in the highest degree cruel and unjust. She made repeated visits to Mr. Willard, in the hope that he might do something in her behalf; and the benevolent clergyman employed all the power he possessed in her favor. She made the same application to Cotton Mather, but the stern fanaticism of this man was proof against all her entreaties. He declared he had no malice, and nothing but kindness towards Miss Lyford in his heart ”

“ Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure, when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with his wrath? ”

“ Have solemn contracts preserved soil consecrated to freedom from the invasion of the slave power? Has an enlightened conscience secured deference to God's government, when the laws of human government have clashed with it? Do not multitudes regard the sentiment of a "higher law" as a jest? ”

“ Until the slave trade is opened and made legal, the South will push slavery forward, as a seasoning for every dish. This is the settled and determined policy of a party at the South. We do not pretend to belong to the ultra-southern party, but we believe it a duty which the general government owes to the South, that the slave trade should be legitimate, that her vast domain may receive cultivation. ”

“ It is a melancholy and startling fact, that the slave trade is not abolished, but continues, with all its attendant barbarities and unmitigated horrors. Cuba, Brazil, Porto Rico, and the United States, still furnish markets for men whose trade has been pronounced piracy, and whose crimes render them deserving of death. ”

“ We need in an American congress a William Wilberforce, a Charles James Fox, a William Pitt, an Edmund Burke, a Thomas Erskine, a Granville Sharp, and a Thomas Clarkson, to move the nation, as these nolble men moved the British public, and thunder into the ears of the people the crimes and cruelties of man-stealing, until they rise in their might, and decree its annihilation. ”