'Vanity is the curse of cities,' he continued, 'and Flattery is its
handmaiden. Vanity, flattery and Deceit are the three disgraces. I
like a man to be what he is - out and out. If he's ashamed of
himself it won't be long before his friends'll be ashamed of him.
There's the trouble with this town. Many a fellow is pretending to
be what he isn't. A man cannot be strong unless he is genuine.
One of his children - a little girl - came and stood close to him as
he spoke. He put his big arm around her and that gentle, permanent
smile of his broadened as he kissed her and patted her red cheek.
'Anything new in the South?' Mrs Greeley enquired.
'Worse and worse every day,' he said. 'Serious trouble coming!
The Charleston dinner yesterday was a feast of treason and a flow
of criminal rhetoric. The Union was the chief dish. Everybody
slashed it with his knife and jabbed it with his fork. It was
slaughtered, roasted, made into mincemeat and devoured. One
orator spoke of "rolling back the tide of fanaticism that finds its
root in the conscience of the people.
Pages:
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352