A dead man has no occasion
for a name, and there should be a law passed, that when a man slips his
cables, he should bequeath his name to some honest fellow who has a worse
one. It might be well to compel all great men in particular, to leave
their renown to those who cannot get any for themselves."
"I will venture to suggest an improvement on the name, if Mr. Dodge will
permit me," said Mr. Sharp, who had been an amused listener to the short
dialogue. "Dodgeople is a little short, and may be offensive by its
_brusquerie_. By inserting a single letter, it will become Dodge-people;
or, there is the alternative of Dodge-adrianople, which will be a truly
sonorous and republican title. Adrian was an emperor, and even Mr. Dodge
might not disdain the conjunction."
By this time, the editor of the Active Inquirer began to be extremely
elevated--for this was assailing him on his weakest side--and he laughed
and rubbed his hands as if he thought the joke particularly pleasant. This
person had also a peculiarity of judgment that was singularly in
opposition to all his open professions, a peculiarity, however, that
belongs rather to his class than to the individual member of it. Ultra as
a democrat and an American, Mr. Dodge had a sneaking predilection in
favour of foreign opinions.
Pages:
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345