I like folks
that have common-sense."
Well, to get back to my story. Said Jessie to me: "Mr Slick, what is
natur?"
"Well," sais I, "Miss, it's not very easy to explain it so as to make
it intelligible; but I will try. This world, and all that is in it, is
the work of God. When he made it, he gave it laws or properties that
govern it, and so to every living or inanimate thing; and these
properties or laws are called their nature. Nature therefore is
sometimes used for God himself, and sometimes for the world and its
contents, and the secret laws of action imposed upon them when
created. There is one nature to men (for though they don't all look
alike, the laws of their being are the same), and another to horses,
dogs, fish, and so on. Each class has its own nature. For instance, it
is natural for fish to inhabit water, birds the air, and so on. In
general, it therefore means the universal law that governs everything.
Do you understand it?" says I.
"Not just now," she said, "but I will when I have time to think of it.
Do you say there is one nature to all men?"
"Yes, the same nature to Indian as to white men--all the same."
"Which is the best nature?"
"It is the same."
"Indian and white, are they both equal?"
"Quite--"
"Do you think so?"
"Every mite and morsel, every bit and grain. Everybody don't think so?
That's natural; every race thinks it is better than another, and every
man thinks he is superior to others; and so does every woman.
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