'
"'Thank you for the compliment.' sais I. 'I feel flattered, I assure
you; but, excuse me. I have no such ambition. I am content to be a
humble Yankee clockmaker. A Colonial Office, in which there is not a
single man that ever saw a colony, is not exactly the government to
suit me. The moment I found my master knew less than I did, I quit his
school and set up for myself.'
'Yes, my friend, the English want to have the mirror held up to them;
but that is your business and not mine. It would be out of place for
me. I am a Yankee, and politics are not my line; I have no turn for
them, and I don't think I have the requisite knowledge of the subject
for discussing it; but you have both, and I wonder you don't.
"Now, Doctor, you may judge from that conversation, and the deep
feeling it exhibits, that men's thoughts are wandering in new
channels. The great thing for a statesman is to direct them to the
right one. I have said there were three courses to be considered;
first, incorporation with England; secondly, independence; thirdly,
annexation. The subject is too large for a quarter-deck walk, so I
will only say a few words more. Let's begin with annexation first. The
thinking, reflecting people among us don't want these provinces. We
guess we are big enough already, and nothing but our great rivers,
canals, railroads, and telegraphs (which, like skewers in a round of
beef, fasten the unwieldy mass together) could possibly keep us
united.
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