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Show 264 UNCI,E TOM's CABIN: OR1 ported all our institutions so convincingly. I only wish you 'd heard him." "0 I didn't need it," said St. Claro. "I c:.:tn learn what does me as much good as that from tho Picayune, any time, and smoke a cigar besides; which I can't do, you know, in a church." ''Why,'' said :Miss Ophelia, ''don't you believe in these views 1 '' "Who,- !1 You know I 'm such a graceless dog that these religious aspects of such subjects don't edify me much. If I wa.s to say anything on this slavery matter, I would say out, fair and square, 'We 'rc in for it; we 'vc got 'em, and mean to keep 'em,- it's for our convenience and our interest · ' for that's tho long and short of it,- that 's just the wh~le of what all this sanctified stuff amounts to, after all; and I think that will be intelligible to everybody, everywhere." "I do think, Augustine, you are so irreverent! ': said Marie. "I think it's shocking to bear you t.llc" " Shocking ! it 's the truth. This religious talk on such matters, -why don't they carry it a little further, and show the beauty, in its sea.son, of a fellow's taking a glass too much, and sitting a little too late over his cards, and v:1rious providential arrangements of that sort, which arc pretty frequent among us young men;- we'd like to hoar that those arc right and godly, too." "Well," said Miss Ophelia, "do you think slavery right or wrong?'' "I'm not going to have any of your horrid New England directness, cousin," said St. Clare, gayly. "If I answer that question, I know you 'II be at me with half a dozen others, each one harder than tho la.st; and I 'm not a going to define my position. I am one of the sort that lives by I.J fg AMONG 'J'IIB LOWLY. 2()5 throwing stones at other people's gla.'3s houses, but never mean to put up one for them to stone." "That's just the way he 's always talking," said :Marie; " you can't get any satisfh.ction out of him. I believe it's just because he don't like religion, that he 's always running out in this way he's been doing." "Religion ! " said St. Clare, in n. tone thn.t made both ladies look at him. "Religion! Is what you hoar at church religion? Is thn.t which can bend and turn, and descend and ascend, to fit every crooked phase of selfish, worldly society, religion? Is that religion which is less scrupulous, less generous, less just, less considerate for man, than even my own ungodly, worldly, blinded nature? No! When I look for a religion, I must look for something above me, and not something beneath.'' "Then you don't believe that the Bible justifies slavery," said Miss Ophelia. "Tho Bible was my mother's book," said St. Clare. "By it she lived and died, and I would be very sorry to think it did. I'd a.s soon desire to have it proved that my mother could drink brandy, chew tobacco, and swear, by way of satisfying me that I did right in doing the same. It wouldn't make me at all more satisfied with these things in myself, and it would take from me the comfort of respecting. her ; and it really is a comfort, in this world, to have anything one can respect. In short, you sec," said he, suddenly resuming his gay tone, " all I want is that different things be kept in different boxes. The whole frame-work of society, both in Europo and America, is made up of various things which will not stand the scrutiny of any very ideal standard of morality. It's pretty generally understood that men don't qspirc after the absolute right, but only to do about a.s well 23 |