John Effingham, too many of them
fancy that because they are at liberty to turn any high qualities they may
happen to have to account, they are actually fit for anything. Even he
allows this peculiarity of the country does much good, but he maintains
that it also does much harm, by causing pretenders to start up in all
directions. Of this class he describes Mr. Dodge to be. This person,
instead of working at the mechanical part of a press, to which he was
educated, has the ambition to control its intellectual, and thus edits the
Active Inquirer."
"It must be a very useful journal!"
"It answers his purposes, most probably. He is full of provincial
ignorance, and provincial prejudices, you perceive; and, I dare say, he
makes his paper the circulator of all these, in addition to the personal
rancour, envy, and uncharitableness, that usually distinguish a pretension
that mistakes itself for ambition. My cousin Jack affirms that America is
filled with such as he."
"And, Monsieur Effingham?"
"Oh! my dear father is all mildness and charity, you snow, mademoiselle,
and he only looks at the bright side of the picture, for he maintains that
a great deal of good results from the activity and elasticity of such a
state of things. While he confesses to a great deal of downright ignorance
that is paraded as knowledge; to much narrow intolerance that is
offensively prominent in the disguise of principle, and a love of liberty;
and to vulgarity and personalities that wound all taste, and every
sentiment of right, he insists on it that the main result is good.
Pages:
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304