OCR Text |
Show 184 NOTES ON of the b st two sentences of the following, the italics of which a.rc he( own ? ' "An American gentleman from Italy, compl~inin~ of the efiCct of 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' on the Ita.ha.n nund, states that images of fathers dragged from their fa.milics to Lc sold into slavery, and of babes torn from the breasts of wccpinrr mothers,' arc constantly presented before the minds of the ~coplc as scenes of cvery-da.y life in America. 'l1hc auth or caa only sny, sorrowfully, that it is only the trutA which is thus presented.. " These things ate, EVERY DAY, part and parcel of one of the most tltTiving t1·ades that is catricd on in Ame1·ica." 'Vhat, I repeat, arc we to think of such language? Could it ht~vc bern beli eved beforehand that OHC with an American hc<Lrt in her bosom, could, even if the allegation were true, thus sully the fair fame of her country and pub· I ish its shame to the worltl.? For my pa.rt, if I could hope to make my voice hcartl. by her, I woultl. say to her, i~ such case, in tlw noble language Df "\Vhitticr already quotednoble but for his fal'e application of it,- " Then pay the rc\·crcncc of old drLys To its dc:ld fame: Walk. back.warJ, with a.vcrlcd gaze, And !tide the shame!" The path of filial irreverence, is a down-hill poth: what wonder th en, if we find her in a foreign land, on a public occasion, sitting under a mutilated flag of her country 1 I have said that she has failed to substantiate her charge by argument: she seems to be sensible of this, herself, and accordingly .when argument fails, she bet:.tk es herself to philosop hi~ i ng. A ssu.ming tha.t the children are customa· rily separated. from the mother when she is to be taken "to a Southern market," she gives a reason why it must be, UNCI. I~ T 0 M 'S CAD IN. 185 vi~: that " they detract from the value of the moth01· as a field-l~ a.n~ ;" and yet she tells us, on the very next paf~c, that It JS a. "pitiful lie" which says "that these unhap~y mothers" "do not feel when the most sacred ties are thus severed." Now one of two things is certain: either the ~other does not feel muclt, and therefore docs soon get over 1t, or else, the separation does not add to her value "as a field-hand," and therefore the" lrader" has no such motive to make it. If the cow, when separated from her calf instead of getting over it in a few days, did not get over i~ at all, what should we think of the brains of the Northern farmer who should gravely argue for the separation as a, means of increasing tlte r.ow's value! Do, ~f"rs. Stowe, forego your woman's privilege, and for once, give us an argu~ncnt that shall be consistent with £tself, if you can ; and tf you can~ot, get some one of the" lega l gentlemen," you speak of m the preface, to do it for you: it is alto. gether too ,hard upon you~ reviewer to give him notltin.q ~hat he cant answer,-nothmg, even, that docs not answer 1tself. No wonder the LonJon Athcnroum (June 4 1853) ~ho~~d say of Mr. William Goodell's "American S la:e Code m 1heory and PractiCe," "It is the best commentary on ; ~ncl.e ~flom' that we have yet seen-not excepting the l\.ey by blrs. Stowe llCrseJf, because it is more critical and logical." Verily M1·. Goodell must feel very much beholden_ to the Athen::cum for thus damning his work with famt prtuse.* t •t;l'hcA At.hen::cum says, further, thnt it is u a startlinoo contribu tion o:e ~; th;~:-~Javc cause.'' ~.f. as l shrewdly suspect, ~lr. Goodell is cont . . ,;gal gentlemen of the preface, it must be a "startling mi ~tbutwn, 80 .fh~ as tho comments nrc concerned. I recoll ect a SOJ:~onfi~~~a:~~~sc,rtptwn ~apcr was carried round in my native Yillz\ge, . t\\Cnty years ago, and among the subsc ri tiona oLtamcd, was one of fifty cents, from "A friend to the cau.:s." p 'l'hc 2/! Q* |