'"
No. XII
The American Eagle.
"Jist look out of the door," said the Clockmaker, "and see what a
beautiful night it is, how calm, how still, how clear it is; bean't
it lovely? I like to look up at them 'ere stars, when I am away from
home; they put me in mind of our national flag, and it is generally
allowed to be the first flag in the univarse now. The British can
whip all the world, and we can whip the British. It's near about the
prettiest sight I know of, is one of our first class Frigates, manned
with our free and enlightened citizens all ready for sea; it's like
the great American Eagle, on its perch, balancing itself for a start
on the broad expanse of blue sky, afeared of nothin' of its kind, and
president of all it surveys. It was a good emblem that we chose,
warn't it?"
There was no evading so direct, and at the same time, so conceited
an appeal as this. "Certainly," said I, "the emblem was well chosen.
I was particularly struck with it on observing the device on your
naval buttons during the last war--an eagle with an anchor in its
claws. That was a natural idea, taken from an ordinary occurrence:
a bird purloining the anchor of a frigate--an article so useful
and necessary for the food of its young. It was well chosen, and
exhibited great taste and judgment in the artist. The emblem is
more appropriate than you are aware of--boasting of what you cannot
perform--grasping at what you cannot attain--an emblem of arrogance
and weakness--of ill-directed ambition and vulgar pretension.
Pages:
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90