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HALIBURTON:''^" -»-"""
! F. Blake crofton.
r 4.
THE HALIBURTON SERIES,
-«♦ N"©. l,*fl^
King's College, Windsor,
1889.
.Ji^J^
aNADA
NATIONAL LIBRARY
BIBLIOTHfeQUE NATIONALE
ta rn tf gan.* I
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l'R()("KKI)IX(!S OK
I
THE HALIBURTON
Dl the University of King's Cnllege,
With compliments of the President of the
Haliburton Society of Kind's College,
Windsor, ^'. S.
Provincial Librarian of Nora Scotia ; author of "The Major's Big
Talk Stories;' ''The Bewildered Querists;' etc.
Printed for The Haliburton, by J. J. Anslow, Windsor, N. S., January, 1889.
PRICK 50 CENTS.
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l.Al'^f.^.
NATIONAL LIBRARY
BIBLIOTHEQUE NATIONALE
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l'K()('KKI)I\<;s oK
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THE HALIBURTON
Dl the University ni King's College.
NO. I.
HALIBURTON : The Man and the Writer.
{.A tTUDY.)
P,y F. BLAKE CROFTON, B. A., (Trin. Coll. Dub.)
Prorinckd Librarian of Xora Scotia ; author of "The Major'n Big
Tall Storie.%" ''The Bm-ildtred Querists," etc
Printed for The Haliburton, by J. J. Anslow, Windsor, N. S., January, 1889.
FRICK 50 CENTS.
* »
Ck'oF'T^^y, f5
OFFICERS
OK
THE HALIBURTON,
Preniilent :
ClIAKI.KS <i. I). RoiiKUTS, M. A.
Vice- Presiile lit :
H. I'kkcv Scott, M. A.
Secretary :
<JKoK(iK F. Thomson-.
Treasurer :
TJ. Phat, B. a.
Historian ;
W. F. Cami'hki.l.
Entered acconUm, io Act of l\,rlinment of Canada in the year one
ihoumml evihi hniidrtd and eighty-iiine. hi/ F. Blahe Croflon
in the. office of the Minister of Ayrtculture.
I
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1
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i
PREFATORY NOTE.
--■'■"h "::;:;::,„;::,;?:"r r-"- >■
■""""scripts, „„1 „f „,,,,, "**'"""'""' l""ksa,„l
"".• lit,.,,,' ,„v. """'"'^^'■■••■"•"'.^" "..".■I,ist,„y,.,„|
>"-le .,.,,ui.site of all tho ^ffi ,! , ^ * '^ ""j' ' "T
.■■■»■■.-;-.... Col,.,. ..H„t.;-.r,:''-,:t''^^
liie nrst -rrosidcuf of fhr. t< • l
v-e.-P..«i,u.,.t,M..H';L:::;^:m::,::^»'
coi-s were as follows:— ' ''^-
Mh. C. a. 8a(;xi,e,,s, Vice-Prosi<Ierit
Mh. James Srvoxns, Secretary
Mh. J. A. Pickett, Treasurer
Mu. (^. E. A. SiMoxns, Historian.
JJ'— tin.s of the Society ,,,,„,,,,, .^,.^,^^j^^^
(luring term, at tlic dwi'lliii^s of resident iiieiiil»ers. At
these ineetiiifjjs, wliich are vei'v inl'oniial, tlie time is
occupied chiefly with papers l)earing on Canadian his-
tory and literature, with tlie discussion aiisini;' out of
these papers, and with readings from Finlihurton and
other Canadian authors.
Tlie Society has l)een gratifyinoly successful in ex-
tending its membership list, and in maintaining amonijj
its mend»ei"S an effective enthusiasm. Its ])owers of
usefulness ai-e growing rapidly, and its promoters have
already been allowed to see some appreciable realiza-
tion of their aims.
The Society proposes to issue a series of arnmal
publicaticms. It esteems itself fortunate in having been
able to secure, for the initial number of the series, this
work of its distinguished member, Mr. F. Blake Crofton.
Mr. Crofton's study was read befoi-e the Nova Scotia
Historical Society ; but it was deemed appropriate that
its publication should l)e undertaken by The Hali-
BURTON.
The portrait of Judge Haliburton is from a photo-
graph taken when he was at the age t)f sixty. The
photograph was procured through the kindness of
a mendjer of Jud<>e Haliburton's familv.
C. G. D. R.
"KiiKjt^n-oft,' Wiiid'^or, X. S.,
January 10th, 18S9.
)
)
THOMAS CHANDLER HAUBURTON.
Tn tlio cyi's of tlic En <:;]isli -speak inr^ world, out-
aide of the Dominion of Canada. H alii )urton is tlie most
prominent man of letters yet produced in any existing
Province of British North America. Within the last
few yeai-s tlnve of his works have been republished by
one Louilon hcnise (Geo. Rtmtledge & Sons) and no less
than six by another (Hurst & Bhickett), and some new
editions luive also l)een issued in the United States.
Yet in C^mada, whose rights and interests he zeal-
ously maintained in his parliamentary speeches as well
as in his l)ooks, he is not generally given his rightful
place of honor. In a somewhat Hippant raoime of
"English-Canadian Literature" in TJie Week (Toronto)
of August 2<S, 1(S<S4, written by a New Brunswick Ut-
tevitteiw, Hah burton is not even referred to ! And even
Nova Scotia, whose resources he has done more than
any other human being to make known, has not yet
given him his due precedence among her more eminent
sons. His biographer in the "Bil»liotheca Canadensis"
has illustrated this comparative lack of appreciation for
Haliburton in the land of his birth by pointing out that,
shortly after hi:, own college gave him the honorary de-
*Tlus sketch contains tlie suhstanoe of two papers read by the
author hefcn-e tlie N. S. Historical Society last winter. Home changes
ivud additions, liowever, have been made.
UAIJIiCRTUX.
Si-ee of M. A., tlu-^nvat rufv.rsity of (Nf,.,,l f.un<l l.iu.
woi tliy ot tlK' Jiitrhei- dcgn.,' ,,f ]). ^ 7^
It is likely, h.nv.v.T, that rvc-ntually Xova Scotia
will accord luin his prop,,- place amono- her illustrious
soris. Certainly there has beeu of late years a revi^•al
ot local uiterest in Halihurton, as is evi<lenc(.,l by the
torn.ation of the Halihurton CMul, at Winds,.,-, whose
PresKlentis Professor Charles G. 1). RoluTts, hin.self
one ot the most eminent Canadian authors. This re-
vived interest has been recently fanned, here as well as
elsewhere, by the champions of imp,.rial Fe.leration and
by the censors of the expatriation of the Acadians, who
have beyn widely ,piotin<. Halihurton in support (.f
their opinions.
This is not a biographical sketch ;,f Judo-e Hali-
Imrton, but a sliuht study of hin, as a writer, 'thinker
and observer. While companions and chihlren of a
celebrity are alive, it is too soon to write his life- with
that minuteness of .letail with which his pron.inence
entitles him to be treated. Every dc.ul celebrity has
H'^'» iHiman: he has had some personal weakiu-ssJs- he
has done some wrong dee.ls. If y<,u attempt faithfully
to point out the former and to condemn the latt*
pain his family, and possibly lead to hot an.l
piites. If you ignore his fail
1", you
true to nature; it is all light and no shade; it 1
niterest as well as its \'alue. It
angry dis-
iiigs, your picture is not
xjses its
the
way for Haliburton's future 1
may, hoAvever, smooth
aside from my task to correct a few sti
wliich have come und
Jiogi'apher, if I step
ler my notice.
•ange eri-ors
Whoever wrote the short sketch of Halil
nirton in
THE MAN AND Till': WRITER.
Alliliom-'s Dictionary of En<,dish Litcmtuiv evidently
confuses our Nova Scotian mif/ior with liis cliicf rrca-
t'lon, "Sam Slick." Judj,^' Halil>urtoii, aecoi'dino- to this
bewildered bio^rmplier, "in 1.S42 visited England (^s'« 7?.
attdche of ihe American Legation ( !), and in the next
year embodied the results of his observations in his
amusing work 'The Attache: or Sam Slick in England.'"
This curious mistake had pj-eviously been made by the
British "Annual Register" for 18(j5, in its obituary of
the Judge.
Both the "EneyelopfBdia Britannica" and the "Impe-
rial Dictionary of Universal Biography" make grave
chi-onological blunders in their articles upon our author.
Halibui-ton was appointed Chief Justice of the Inferii)r
Courts of Connnon Pleas for the Middle Division of
Nova Scotia (an office which, by the way, is misnamed
in both these publicati(ms) in the year 1<S29. He was
made a Judge of the Supreme Court in 1(S41. He re-
signed the latter office early in 1S5(), and soon after-
M'ards took his final departure for England. But tlie
"Encyclopjedia Britannica" says, " Within two years (of
his appointment) he resigned his seat on the Ijench" —
an error of just fourteen years! "The Imperial Dic-
tionary of Universal Biography" makes a smaller blun-
der, fixing the date of his resignation only six years be-
fore the event. " In 1 <S47;' it observes, " Mr. Haliburton
contributed to Frascr's Mdjjazine a story entitled
'The Old Judge.' Three years later Mr. Haliburton
resigned his cc ial judgeship, and exchanged the nar-
row field of colonial life for the wider sphere of poli-
tical life in England." "The Bibliotheca Camulensis"
MAUUi'HTON :
st„tes e„.„nc.,m.sly tl.at the C„„ns of (;„„„„.,„ |.|,,,si„
Nova ,Sc„t,« vvcTo .,l,„|isl„..l, a,„l Halil.u.i.,,, „|,p„i„t,„,
a Ju.lgo of the .Supreme Court i„ 1,S40. Both e-ents
occurred in 1841. '^''
of *|'^'" 17^1 7'""'" "'"■'■"*'^^ "''■ «'y"'S« ^""i 'l.-inKs
t the eelel,rate,l .Samuel .Sh-ek. of SHekville, are h.
then- chr,moI„K,eal or,ler, "The Clockn.aker," '■Th,. At-
Uche"VV,.,eS,„vs;%u., "Nature an,l H„„,,;u Nat ,^ ■-
U j letter m the former and fron, the ,Ie,lication of the
latter work. But .Sam Slick does not personally fi.njre
in either. ' "=.""-
The Fir.,t .Serie.s of "The Cloekmaker," which Hrst
appeared in The S„„a &„ti,.. in Ls:!5 and l.s:!« w,
imWishe,] ,1, hook fonn in Halifa.xan,l London in ],s:i7
Ihe .Second .Series was i.ssued in 1,S.-J.S; the Third in
1840. In most later editions the three series make one
v,.lu,ne. The cute .hnlges of the cloekmaker in pus,
v™ lo '^ 7 Ha hl-urton, an,l hrought by an itinerant
ven. or oi clocks tor the payment of notes given him
to his time-picces In the Hrst chapter of "The At-
tache Its osteiLsible writer .speaks of "The Clock
maker as an accidental hit, a success which he did not
purpose to imperil by experimenting in other liteinrv
lines. "When .San, Slick." he .says. .ta.ses to p^ k ^
«hall cease to write." B,it Haliburton's self-c,mHde„c,
Sur'"^"'"^''"''''^'""^'''"-^--!'"'^--''^-"'
THE MAN AND THE WHITER.
9
"'I'bu Attach*''," tlu' two scrios of \vl»ieh ajjpcaicd
r('s])('etively in 1(S4.S >mi(1 1844. was prol)al)ly sujjjgvstcd
l»y Dickens' "Amorican Notes," which liad been pub-
lished early in 1S42. After deprecatinjjj Slick's lively
indioiiation at the latter book, "the S(iuii'e" observes,
in "The Attache:" — "If the English have been amused
by the sketches tlic'ir tourists have <lrawn of the Yan-
kees, perhaps the Americans may laugh at o/o' sketches
of the English." "The Attache,'' however, is not uni-
forndy satirical. Slick's own descriptions of persons
and things in this work are indeed, as they are meant
to be, ii'enerallv jaundiced caricatuivs. But some social
sketches by other pei-sonages are drawn with strict
hdelity, and some even with a slight partiality for Eng-
land. The sub-title of this book, " Sam Slick in Eng-
land," has been made the only title in some editions.
This last remark may be made also of " Wise Saws
and Modern Instances," which has been given to the
public, at least once, under its second title of " Sam Slick
in search of a Wife." " Wise Saws " made its appear-
ance somii time between the second part of " The At-
tache " and " Nature and Human Nature." Tliis last
work is a continuation of " Wise Saws," and c<mcludes
the record of the sayings and doings of the redoubted
Sam Slick.
The earliest of Judge Haliburton's works, except-
ing a pamphlet pul)lished in 1(S24, was his " Historical
and Statistical Account of Nova Scotia," published in
Halifax in 1821). His opinion that the expulsion of
the Acadians W'as unjustifiable has often been (juoted
in recent controversies, and so has his misleading
10
iiAi/inrnrnx ,
statan™ tl.it tluT,. wnv ■•„,, t,-,,,.,.s ,,f this i,,n,,,,.t.
ant evo„t ,„„„„. th., ,.„.,„,ls" at Halifax, an.l tl t
c. partK.„la,.s,,f this artai.s....,,, to l,av,. ,,,,.,,
"IIV cncoal.l.- It ,„„y th,.,,.f,„v 1„. „,,,! to ,.„ ,
.-«.-, „„oc ,„„,.e that Halil„„t„n was „„t a v,.,- '
pa,nstal<,„g s,.arclKT of .loeu ,ts (,„I,.,.,I, as son,.
*..-..tl..„u.„ »t,n livi,,,, ,a„ testify, ho was eonto , to
o^,ta,„ ,„a„y ot his f,..ts a„,l statistics vieanousl y
Had ho 1,,.™ ,„„,, ,„,|,„t,,i„„s i„ his rosoarehos 1,„
onl,l douhtloss havo fo„„,l i„ tho Provinco B„il, i ^
the i,„po,.ta„t pap,.,-s o„ the si.hjeot of thocvpatriation
vvl„ch have s,„co hoon a.xan,,,! (an,l so„k of the
print,..!) by Mr. T, B, Al<iiis.
Thoi-o is now no ,h„,l,t timt ■„„• authors Historv
tn,otn„.,l LongtVllows picturo of tho ..xp„|sion. ..',;,
poot, .says Ins hrothor an,l hiog.aplK.r, "roa.l snch i,ool<s
as wore attan,ahlo; Hahhurton, for instance, with hi
c|..o at,ons tron, tl„. Ahhc Raynal," But n,,, t t a
.nhhcafon of Halil.urtons History have hcen" a li, ,:,
he cJ,a„, ot „,,„i,„t, t|,„t ,,.,, J,, ^,,_^,
H n ";""'<"""■". "as toW to r^ongfellow hy
Ha« tl,„rne wl,o ha,l I.oanJ it fron> Ins tVicnTi, the Rev
B.-t"». Ihc nie.Ient l,a,l been ,,,|ate,l to Inn, hy a
parrslnoncr ,,t his. Mrs, Halila.rton," writes the R .-
Sannu Longtelhnv, This was Mr.,. George Halihnrfa,
an a, „t by n.arr.age ot the Jn.lges, Is it not likelv'
that her attentaa, was tirst drawn to the Aca.lians hi
the touching .leseription of their virtues an,| their woe:,
in the History written by her nephew !
Tllh: MAX AM) Tiil'J WlilTKIl
11
Halibui'ton liimsclf docs not seem to lia\'(' tliouiflit
very highly of his History in later years. In chapter 9
of the secoTid series of "The (bookmaker," the Scjuire
refers to it slit'litinsjfh' as " Halihurton's History of
Nova Scotia, which, next to M}'. Josiah Slick's History
of Cuttyhnnk in five Nohunes, is the most important
account of unimpcntant things I have ever seen."
Onv author's second historical hook was "The
Buhhles of Canada," a .series of lettei's on Canada and
the Imperial Colonial policy, pui'poitin<r to he wiitten
by Sam Slick, in ]88(S, hut showinu^ none of the clock-
maker's peculiarities of diction. The last letter ends
with a ([uasi-prophetic 'varninjjf: — "The fate of Canada
will determine that of all the colonies. The retreat of
the soldiers will invite the incursions of the barbarians,
and the withdrawal of the legions, like those of Rome,
from the distant parts of the empire will show that
England, conscious of her pi'csent weakness and past
glories, is contracting her limits and concenti-ating her
energies to meet, as becomes her cliai-acter, the destiny
that awaits all human gi-eatness." The drift and aim
of the work are shown in these closing words, as well
as in the characteristic note beneath, in which the
author urges ironically that a tree " woidd be much
more vigorous, if the branches, with their prodigious
expenditure on the leaves, were all k)pped off, (for it
is a well-known fact that the trunk supplies the
branches witli sap, and not the branches the trunk),
and that the stem would be larger, strfjufjer and better
without such useless and expensive appendages."
" Rule and Misrule of the Engl ish in America," the
12
HALIIiCHTON,
"last of HKlilMu-ton's histoncal woi-ks, ai)i).'niv(l in I,S51.
Tt is n ^•(■iicml liistoryof the Bi-.tisJi CoVnnvs un this
continent, valual.lo for its philosopliic conunonts and
its tl.ouohtfully misont'd theories of colonial govern-
ment.
"The Letter-Ba<r of the Great Western, or Life in
a Steamer," first imhlishe.l in IS:}!), is a collection of
h'ttej-s supposed to he wi-itten by various passengers
from Kngjand to America in the famous steamship of
that name. The:;o letters contain not only comments
upon life at sea, hut the writers' reflections on the coun-
try they are leaving or the country they are going to
—a plan which enables the author to present us with
some lively studies in his favorite subject, human na-
tui-e. Anuaig the best of the letters is the chai-acter-
istic missive of the Stoker. The lament of the crack
K.iglish coachdi-iver is also true i. nature, and ]iathetic
as well. He was enugratiiig because railroads had
driven him from one line of coaches after another. Pic-
tui-es(pie travelling was giving way to convenient tra-
velling, and he could stand it no longer. " Coaches is
done in England," he sighs, "and so is gentlemen. * *
So I am oil' to a place they calls Nova Scotia where
they have more sense and won't have a rail. * * *
Arter all," moui-ns this discon.solate Jehu, " it is a hard
thing for the like of me as has drove the first coach
and the first team in all England * to end my days
among batl bosses, bad coaches and bad 'arncss.*^ * *
Leather springs and lincli pins instead of pat(mt axles
and liptics. No sign l)oard, no mile stones— no Tom
and Jerry, no gin and bitters— coachman and no ^niards
THE MAN AND THE M'lilTEH.
l:{
— hills and dales and no levels— no barmaids, postboys
nor seven mile stages : and what is wns and wiis, wag-s
an<l no ti])."
In l.S4() and 1.S47 HalibnrtoJi eontiil»nte<l to
Fi-imiv^ M(ui<iz\ii(' a series of papers, which in 1^4!)
were collected in the hook entitle«l, " The ()l<l.hid<;v, or
Life in a Colony." This work depicts varions phases
of life in Acadie in the earlier part of this century. As
in the " Sam Slick " series, the plot is a mere thread on
which to string facts, jests and opinions. Little inter-
est seems to be invited, and certainly none is aroused,
for the English traveller who listens to and notes the
( )ld Judge's tales, and adds his -nvn experiences to them.
Li works de.signed to inform as nmch as to amuse, this
weakness of the main plot is not an unmixed defect, if
it be a defect at all. One is not irritated by Haliburton's
inrunnerable digivssions so much as by tlic far fewer
interludes whicli break the continuity of Victor Hugo's
thrilling romances. Hugo's episodes are charmingly
told, it is true, but then it is intolerable to be asked to
contemplate even the loveliest landscape when one is
looking at an exciting race. One can, however, turn
aside without impatience to read the numologues in
" The Ohl Judge." Some of them, like the chapter on
" The Seasons," are rather long, it is true, for any reader
with only a slight appetite ; but they are all germane
to the author's design to give outsiders a fair idea of
Nova Scotia. The Old Judge's opinions, by the way,
seem to march pretty closely with Haliburton's own.
" Traits of American Humour " and "Americans at
Home" (also published under the title of "Yankee
14
llAUJiCiiTox.
" ' i.sJ:i,I,.,i,',:;;!;:'''''' '■""•""'■"'■' -^
"■.•.V Hrst „„l,|isl„.,l ' '""''"■'"•"'"I'i-i«"tl,is«„,l<
""i |)lll,MMj|.,| „|,|,|n.| .
w;ir<I.s .s„|,l bv tl... nun ' '"' '''''•' "<'t<'i--
;;i» ....... u,i,t:'t:;;t,:;:;:^^V'^'"r""«
-.;•"- ^.:""r;;;;is:ru;::t';;;:r'r'"
'i^'' '"Pi- t,;;:;;,i ;f :;;; ;-'''f -'y. --tl. B,.,--
►Scotia. rn(](.<.,l ... i.' r , """^^()^^ll 111 A()\h
tl.c. facts ,st„t«l aLove Ti * "'«"' -;""''t'.«y a.scertai„«I
««% ^%.--:' ::e„;x::;;i™;oT;r '?"■-
■» the last «liti„„ „f the /J" , """'''""■'""
Ticket" is innm-Zll T "■''''"■ "T'"-' »«'«or'
Till': MAX AM) Till': \YlilTi:ii.
I,
iii^r jis it (Iocs, tlint his coiist'rvntivc and iinjxTiulistie
views, and his <)[)iiii(»iis of the resources and needs of
Xova Scotiii niid Canada, were not niateiiallv ehanevd
■ 1*11 • rt
III Ins old an-e. In this hook, too, we may he sniv that
the author expresses himself ahsolutely witlxait feai-or
fa\-oi-, for it was evidently desioned to remain anonv-
mous. Otherwise he Avould haidly have I.een hold
eiioueh to n« vc a oentleman (j). 12:}) eronp him with
the two o-reatest writers of the day and scotfas follows,
apparently at the inMueiitial Athena-iim (Muh, (.f which
Halihurton was a niemhei- :— " J)efen(l me fVom a learn-
ed Cluh like mine :" observes Mr. Cary. "The mem-
hi'i-s are not genial, aii<l they nnist he incui-aljh.v. ^vhen
sucli men as Thackeray, Sam Slick, and Dickens, who
(to their cj-edit he it s[)oken) are all smokers, can't per-
suade them" — to have a smoking room.
I have now noticed all of Halihurton's books, unless
one credit(>d to him in Morgan's " P.ibliotheca Cana-
densis," lait .seemingly unknown to all his other bio-
graphei-s and friends, is really hi.s. This is " Kentucky,
a tale. London, \KH. 2 vols., 12 mo."
Besides his ])ooks Halihurton pul)lished a few
pamphlets, including "A General Description of Nova
Scotia," a pjvcursor of his History ; "A Reply to Lord
])ui-ham's Report;" an<l a couple of .speeches delivered
in Great Britain.
Judge Halihujton was an Epicurean philosopher,
modified a little, for the better by Christianity, and fen-
the worse by practical politics. He loved fun and crea-
16
nAfJ/iriiTOX:
tiU'o con,f„rts. \h> sn.okr.l u^nvat <l,.,ti, iH-.h-nnk uuu\.
vrntv.y, an.l I,,' .li<l „„t try to f.„n(v,il tlu-sr u,.mI<,„.ss..s
It nmst 1... M.linitt.'d that 1„. soincti scnm,.,! his
l'»v,. n\ fun t,, uns.....Mly Icinths. an.l Ihal ,..,.„ ,,„ M„.
'•••Iicll. y\ \Vr||-|<l„.Wll .•X-,n(,v,.!M«)l- (.f til ' (.since
•"nn(.r(Mi.sly<l,..sciil.(..sl,.,u .,1 .ccasicn, aI- v.tv
yonno- iHwy.T, I.,- was caMluctinn. „ ,,u.sr L.-foiv
H|.lilmrt,.n. an.l Im.nv, ,|„nnu. j.is .'xaMiination ..f a n-r-
tnin witn,-ss la- was plcas-.-l to oI.svTv,. his lonlship ap-
pamitly nuikino- nuvfiil and continuous notes. All the
tinio. howovor, tin- judov ha.l Wvu nu'.vly sk.-tchino- a
eaneatuiv of th.> witness, wlio was atHict.'.I with a most
colossal atal peculiar nose • This sketeh he afterwanls
showed to the youthful hairister, much to his su.prise
and disillusicannent. It cainiot l.e d,.nied, either that
Halil.urt.ai's keen relish fo,- the lu.licr.ais has s.ane-
tiincs made him stoop to unmistakable ,loH/,fr ,'vfn„hrs
In palliati.ai of sona- of these, at least, it may he un^ed
that their wit i)rep.aiderates over their <,n-ossness.
^ Our autlua- mak.'s his "Old Ju.lov" declare him-
self to be "in relio.i(ai a Churchman, and in politics a
conservative, as is almost every ovntleman in these
colonics." It would, however, he ahsnrd to char-v
Hahlmrton with orio-inatin- tlu- mo.lern C^madian Toiy
nickname, "the party of -entlemcn." This phrase nmst
have been the otfspring of somebody whose idea of a
gentleman was much more expanded and democratic
than Hahburton's. Our author's tastes and instincts
however, were both conservative and aristocratic. He'
disliked innovations, nnless they were unquestionabl.>
improvements. Certain articles of furniture, some of
hi.
77//.; .VAX AXD rill': wnirKii
tllClM S(.Ii(|, i ut <)tll«'|-sIiol,t(.|MI|.l fl
says the ( )M ,lii.|ov, "of tl
iiMsici', "an" typfs;
K' new and oM L'ciicratioii
»<'<'ii ii-aiiicd
r«'i-, alas, it is t(. I„> fcaivd that what has I
ill npix-araiKM. has hrn, |,,st in suhstaiic.., in thi"ius ,,f
'"'• •'i«»i'- vahi.. and iu.po.tai.c..." I hdihui-t,,,, n'mld
iiavc likrd to sec tl
H' o.d m/niie )'c'st()ivd in Fi
aiicc
mst' occasioned
minns thr Fcn(hd pivi-oo-ativcs whose al
the Hevoh.tion. H,.f,),v that npnsino-, says his idi.d'
<hvnu-, Mr. ^op,.^,,.l|, (Attache, c. :{.S), France had "
clergy of erntry." "A nndd. toh-rant, -entl,-, hnnd.l
ciced, hke that of a ehristian, shiadd he tan^ht and ex
rn.plitie,! by a gentleman ; for n.-arly all his att.-il.nte
a
are those of achristi
an.
T]
lis is not thcoiy. An En(
lishnian is himself a practical exanii)le of the l.enetit
resnltino- from the nm-o.i betwe.n the 'Jluirch and Stati
find the cN'ryy and the ovntry." In tl. .
other of his utterances Mr. Hoi)ew II is evid
K'se and man
iiiir the Jnd
<>'( 'SO
intercourse with the v
of the Revolutioi
y
•ntly voic-
wn views, tincture<l l.v his affectionate
eneralile Abbe S
• 'i-oo-ne, an exile
Fail
mi'' a uni
bel
men.
on of Church and State, Mr. Hopewell
icved in Hxed stipends and fixed tenure for cler^jy-
■ii- bread and butter depends upon
\y
1 1 ere
tl
their flock, there must be, he thou«-ht, a temptation to
pi-each only popular doctrines. He is made to descril
his own humiliati
n<r experiences. He was " catechised
like a converted i.eathen." Various parishioners re-
fused to pay their contributions ; one becai se the pastor
•hdn't join the temperaiice society and therefore "coun-
tenanced drunkenness;" another b(>cause he smoked,
and tobacco was raised by slaves; another because hJ
18
JfA/J/iCRTOX
pmy.Ml for u mscully P,-,.si(l,,,t : nuUhw I„,.;u,sr l,,- wns
to.) Calvmistic ; anotli.T Iu-cmiis,. I,,- wms A.nuMian In
cons(.,n„.„c,' this oxccllcnt parson was well ninl, starv...!.
VmU'v tli.. vohnitaiy system, th..nol,t Halilnii'toii, a
iniiiistci- is ill daiiovi- (.ithci- of
liis 1»()(1
^in^'• liis soul t(
y, or of losing' his hody to save Iiis soul.
) sa\('
Our author disapproved ,,f votino' hy hallot and
universal suf!ra<r(.. To tlie I
tl
ic r<
itter Mr. Hoi)e\vell traced
pudiation of theii- dehts l.y certain States of
Union. " When w.. speak," lie said, "of the 1
the yVnierican ],eopj,. and „f the Knojish peoj)!
speak of two ditlei-ent thincrs, I
tl
le
lonoi- of
e we
IS not used in th
e san)e sense
:^cause the word people
* *
Tl
le (piestion
payment oi- non-payment in the repudiatino- States hns
heen put to wwy male in those Stat
twenty-one, uixl i-ej)udiation has 1
tach
•', ('. 52). And he declare. i fliat tl
I's ovei- the an'e of
•>'<"n the i-esult," (At-
of Eufdand would also h
le national debt
rej)udiated, it the decision
rested with all th.' a.lults of the ('nit..d Kinod
"Now," ol.served the same i-everend ovntlemMn to S
Slick, at a time when the i'rancl
now
ffovern roi
men of property and educat
om.
im
lise was still restricte<|.
,nies and vaoabonds, hut )»y youi- 1
scheme of univei-sal sutfiwe
mak(! laws to Govern men of
ion make laws to
leautit'ul
Jud«^e Halihurt
•o,i,niesand vaoabonds will
property and character'
respon.sible i^^overnment to the col
on even opposed the ffrantin<>- of
is made to utter a set tirad
onie.s. Air. H
o
(('. 4.S). And Mr. Slid
pewe
ea^rainstitin "The Attache
tl
le subject.
k concurs with his sentiments
on
Our author held that the tv
yranny of mobs an<l
jiU
THE MAN AND THE WRITER.
TO
sc lie \V;is
linn. Ill
1 stfiiNcd.
•niton, )i
I to SUNC
1.
Hot and
II traced
'S of tile
honor of
opic we
1 people
stion »,r
■ates lias
a^'e of
lt,"'(At-
lal debt
flecisioii
in^'doin.
to Sam
■itrieted,
laws to
•antifnl
ids will
ractei- '
tini>- of
)p('vvell
:taeIi(V'
ejits on
lis and
niajonties may I.e .piit.' as l.ad and nn1.eaml.Ie as tl.at
«»t despots. Tliisopi,ii..nise.xpressedatlenntlil,y"the
S.piir.. " in his parallel ),etw,rn Ru.ssia an<: Uie Tnit.-d
States, aiHl i.y Mr. Hopewell in ],is jmrallel Letween the
latte: conntryand (;,eat Britain, with itsconstitntional
antidotes to ephemeral fads and frenzies. Tlie.se par-
allels aiv to l.(> f.Mind, respeetivly, in ehapt.-rs 12 and
1.) of the Second Series of " Th. (Mo(.|<niaker."
rnder democratic forms of o„v.Tnment iM,-
rropewell thonoht, the paral.lo (.f the I,raml,l(>, ehrted
Kn.ir „f trees, is poi-p..tnally illn.stratod. "The (.live
the tin- and the vine decline the iionoi-. (Content to iv-
niani ni the spliere in which Proxidence has placed
them, p..rfoi-min^r their .several .hities in a way credit-
able to th ms.>lv.'s and ns,>ful to the pul.lic, they pi-efer
pnr,sninn- the even ten..r of their way to l.eincr tran.s-
planto<l into the l.anvn soil of p<.litics, wh.Te a'i,oi.s(m-
<ms atmosphere en^n-n.lers a feel.l(> circniation and a
sour and .leteriorated fnn't. Repnl.licani.sn, has cau.sed
(mr country to he overrun l.y hraml.le.s. The Refo]-m
Bill has .rreatiy increased them in England, and iv-
sponsihle government has mul
the colonies."
The ultra con.servatism of
iplied them tenfold
ni
our author peeps forth
'igani in the clockmaker's funny cla.s.siticati..n of col
nial patriots, (Clockmaker, -S, c.l-S). His "ti
it will l»e noticed.
supports oxi.stni' instituti
to mend or i-epaii
is simply a hioh-minded toj
•ue patriot,
•y, " who
oMs as a wlu.le, l.ut is will
ni
pair any part that is defective."
But staunch a con.servative as he was, Halil.urt
C(Hild see and deplore some wi
'()n<."s
and abuses that pr
20
lIALIliCHTOX.
fc.sod_levek.rs wJ.olly i^n<.,v,l. He puts touelun<-
wonls into tl.e n.outh of a poor Lulian (Cnoekinakc.-, 2
c. - 0) pleadu.o. f,>, ],i, ,,v,,t t,, e„t uncultivate<l tin.l.er'
Arnl he ev. ently .lepreeate.l tlie eusto... (not mJ.oIIv
obsolete ,n these Provinces to-lay) of .Ic^leo-atino- th'e
iiiaint(.nance of pmipe.-s to the lowest bidder ""
Politics^ in our author's estimation, was a ,.oor nud
on.rcrow<led business everywhere, but espeeially in .he
colonies. "It would ann.se, or mther I should say dis-
gust you, says Barclay in " The ( )Id Judo-e," to se^. how
n.en and not measures, office and not principle, is at the
bottom of our colonial .i: ics." Sam Slick suoovste.l
that a law should be en. .ed against ,uack politk-ians
us bemg mhmtely n.ore dangerous than ,p,ack doctors'
In sp,tc;^however, of his pessindstic views about poli-
ticians. Hahburton believed that neither political pa-ty
here or elsewhere, wouM think so bitterly of the othei^
party It It studie<l its aims and aro.un,ents faithfully
and thoroughly. But this is well-nigh impossible, f^^-
as the clockmaker observed, " both are fooled and gulled
by their own designing champions."
*
*
*
_ To this petty game of politics he lamente.l that
ns countiyim.1 devoted far too much attention; and
he tochausted his stores of epigram and ridicule in try-
ing to open tJu-ir eyes to the fact. If Cumberlaml folk
said Sam Slick, wouM attend more to rotations than'
elections^ and to top-.lressing than re-dressing, it would
be well b,r them. To a hsherman who boastcl that he
J^a<l come from the biggest political mc-ting he evc-r
i itiL.,:^.
WlSIHWB«*W»'*w»p*sr»'TFW'M «'
THE MAX AND Till': WhriTEIl
21
ts toiK'liiiio-
!)ekinakt'r, 2,
rtted tiiiilR'i'.
(not M'Jiollv
cf^atino- tlic
I'l-.
i fi pool' find
fially ill lin;
•ii](l sa^ydis-
' to sec liow
)1g, is at tJio
: sno-o-cstcd
politicians,
ek doctors,
about poli-
tical pai-ty,
f the otJicr
' faithfully
3.ssil)le, for
and milled
'iitcd that
ition ; and
iile in try-
iland folk,
tions than
>•, it would
I'd that he
;• he ever
saw, Slick retorted that liy so doino' he had missed the
lii^'U'est nieetino- h' liad ever seen — of mackerel.
Halihurton felt the truth of (Goldsmith's lines: —
" How sniiiU, of all that Ininian liearts endure,
'I'lic ])art wliicli laws or Kings can cause or euie 1"
Yet he saw too many of his c(nnitrynien waitino- in-
ertly for i)olitical panaceas, or else wastino;' their eii-
ei-gy in clamorino- for them. One third of the day,
according to Mr. Slick, was usually given to work, two
thirds of it was " blowin' time." " What the Irish \nd
machinery don't do for 'em," says Steve Richardson,
"they expect legislators to do." Nova Scotians, says
another of Halihurton 's characters, have " evervthino-
but enterprise, and that, I do l)elieve in my soul, they
expect to tiiid a mine of and dig out of the earth as
they do coal."
It is singularly characteristic of Halihurton that
he attributed these alleged failings of his countrymen
partly to " the almost universal suffrage that exists in
the Province." " Where the lower orders form the ma-
jority of electors," observed the Old Judge, "their vanity
is appealed to and not their judgment — their passions
and not their reason ; and the mass, instead of beino"
elevated in intelligence by the exercise of political
power, is lowered by the delusion and craft of which it
is made the willing victim. Nova Scotians have l»een
so often assured that they are the ablest, the wisest and
best of men, though their rulers are lioth ignorant and
corrupt, and that they have a rich and fertile cinintry,
blessed with a climate more salubrious and agreeable
than that of any other part of tlie world, they begin to
•')0
IIAJJIIL'UTUX.
— 'y P".ml an,I .natvml foeto. „f pn.sp,. itv , ,
■"'liiccl t., |,iy tiH. l,l„„m on tlieir m,v,.,.„„„.nt ■.,„! t
eoncuntrato tlu.i,- ,.rt;,,t» to .■ovors. its , is ,
;"-yn.a,;...et„.sa,tot,;:;t,::r r«'::;':;;
'|^l> , "1 V ontu,-,. to assert that, altlmui,!, tl„. l',o
v.ne..al.o„n,lswith ,„i,u™l ,v„altl, sl<i|, ^n,, 'i |
an.I populatm,, a,v nocssary to its s„ce,.ssf
ir-ittr" t"'"^" "'^ ."..■.xr;!;;:t;:
^;K;";;>::::i:i:;:tL':;r::s^^^^
:;;.;.., to t.,,t,.. that th.y a. ^
:~t,,:';;,na:;;^':;a;i;, ?'•'"'" 1""-^
u ""«'o"^ut.s Would (leuouucc lim -iv;
.» en«,.y to tl,. pe„p,., a vile s,a„.,er,.,. „,„! . 1
to his country." ti.utoi
According to Mr. Slick, Xova .Scotians vicl.lcl to
l.«ine»s .m, pr.«.a.sti„atio„ „.,7/,„„, „„ ,„!, i';,^-'
'■■-'""'". Like n,a„y other sl„..,.ar,ls th ev 1 . * '
c-on,scientio„s r,.aso„s:_" WhcnTl 1 ■"'
tl.o «ei,,s arc „ry enough t, s o^. ' ' ZT' u'f
•r,>"'" ;•"• ^v'^-". the piowstut. ';,::;:;:
«.™con,esru.u:;t:hr' ift2;r::t;t
ilhi-L^..
Till': MAX AX I) Tllh: WHITER.
2:J
iiiiiciit jiiid not
LHTtainJy if tlic
tliey p()ssL's.s(Ml
msperity, aii.l
vould Lcensily
'■iHiiciit mid to
asti-oiis policy^
tlieir wijitci's
cold and xari-
"iio-h the J^-o-
II and capital
vsful develop-
■sti-caiiis that
IV adinii'al)]v
Ixn- is yet too
<>tita).le;and,
'oiiceited and
Old Judov's
miiee him as
md a tniitoi-
•^ yielded to
lo-^s of self-
y had their
eoiiies and
' have all to
•"•■ f<^<> llltlc/l.
I'e mended
I't/utf ((/(,,'('
'> late, and
Whj', the
cl'i mail', to he sure, for Xova Scotia aint a hread
country."
The same acute ()l)ser\ei- attributed the more i>'en-
ei-al husiness success of the Yankees mainly to their
more persistent intlustiy. Thrif farmers had an end-
less roun<l of employment, as explained in detail in
"The Clockmaker" (1, c. 2'i). "Instead of racin' over
the counti-y, like a young doctor, to show how busy a
man is that has nothin' to do, as Bluenose does, and
then takes a 'blovvin' time,' ire keep a rael travellin'
gait, an eight-mile-an-hour pace, the whole year round."
But, though he freely criticised his countiymen's
faults, witli a view to their reform. Judge Haliburton
also recognised and advertised the many advantages
of his native province. There is an enthusiastic enum-
eration of its natural resources in the s(!Cond series of
" The Clockmaker," chapter ]i), where Slick foretells
that Xova Scotia is destined to have the greatest
trade, the greatest population, the most manufactures,
and the most wealth of any state this side of the
water." The most intelligent and high-minded of the
personages inti'oduced in "The Season Ticket" draws
a dattering picture of the Maritime Provinces, clos-
ing in these words: "There is no point in Nova
Scotia more than thirty miles distant fnjrn navigable
water. The whole of the borders of the latter pro-
vince are washed by the ocean, which in that region
furnishes one of the most extensive and valual)le
fisheries in the world. Nova Scotia alnninds with
coal, iron ore, gypsum, grindstone, slate, lead, manga-
nese, pluml)ago, copper, &c., which being recently lib-
24
HALT BURTON.
cmtcfl tVoin tlic iii()n()])()ly under wliich tlicv luuc so
loiii;' Ik'cii ('Xc1u(1('<1 tVoiii ])ul)lic coinpctition, will soon
attract the capital and skill rc(juisito for llicir dcvcl-
opnicnt. It is tlic most eastern part of America, and
of coui-se the nearest to Kui'ope. It is not too much to
say tliat its wonderful mineral wealth, its noLle har-
houi-s, its fertile soil, its extensive fisheries, its water
powers, its temperate climate, ai'ising from its insular
})()sition, and last, not least, its possession of the wintei"
outlet, and thrcajnh passao;-e by railway, fi'om h]nolnnd
to New Brunswick, Canada and the United States, all
indicate that it is destined for an extended commerce,
for tlie seat of manufactories, tlie suppoi-t of a lai-o(>
population, and for wielding a conti'oUino- power on
the American continent."
These and other good words said of Nova Scotia
in "Tlie Season Ticket," which was published anony-
mously and after the author hail finally left the Pro-
vince, cannot have been written to win local poi)ularity,
but from a genuine appreciation of his native land.
To attain the prosperity which nature seemed to
have destined for them Nova Scotians wanted, accord-
ing to Haliburton, more zeal and concentration in
their work ; less attention to politics (though not less
watchfulness of political place-holders) ; less false pride
(which set some people against agriculture and other
honorable industries) ; more confidence in domestic en-
terprises ; and at the same time a little less self-com-
placency, that they might recognise their faults and
reform them.
Only a very loose thinker can confound the satir-
i^iii^.
77//; MAX AXI) Til /'J WIUTKU.
25
L'y Jutvc so
- M'lII soon
licir i level,
loriea, niid
X) iiiuc'li to
K'l'Ie lini'-
its water
ts insular
'Jie winter
England
■states, all
ominerce,
t a lai'^e
lower oji
a Scotia
anony-
;lie JVo-
Milaritv,
and.
■Hied to
accord -
iiou in
lot less
e pride
1 other
tic en-
f-coni-
'S and
satir-
ist of a nation's weakness, like Halihurtoii, oi' excn a
caricaturist of tlieni, like Dickens, with the j)essiniists
who, Mind to their country's resources, magnify and
parade and hai'p upon its drawbacks. To call atten-
tion to the eiaediahle fault,-) ot one's coinitiyinen is
the action (>^ a friend: to advertise the irremediable
disadvantages of one's country is the action of an
enemy. Tliere can l)e little doubt that Halibuj-ton's
satirical criticisms have borne wholesome fruit, first in
some country towns and districts, and later in slow old
Halifax itself. Yet, in the opinion of some observers,
every one of the defects which he point(Ml out remains
to-day, if not in the whole Province, at least in sections
of it. At all events Haliburton's vicarious sarcasms
had not produced the swift and signal results which he
doubtless fancied he discerned, and which Sam Slick
complacently notes in " Nature and Human Nature "
(c. 18). "I have held the mii-ror up to these fellows,"
he says, " to see themselves in, and it has scared them
so they liave shaved slick up and made theniselves
decent * * The blisters I have put on their vanity
stung 'em so, they jumped liigh enough to see the right
road, and th<3 way they travel ahead now is a caution
to snails."
Since Haliburton's death, Dudley Warner has
written his " Baddeck ;" Miss Reeves has laid tlie scene
of her "Pilot Fortune" in Digby Co.; Professor De
Mille has made Nova Scotia the theatre of the adven-
tures of the " B. O. W. C." and the " Grand Pre School ;"
the Abbe Casgrain has made his " Pelerinage au Pays
d' Evangeline ;" and several other literary tourists have
26
fiAfJiirnroXi
l>''intHtlu.irhni.,vs,sioMsufAc.a.li... V.tit is ..of f
imu-Ii to SUV tliat H-.in>M,.f i ' " '^ i.s ii„t too
- "'il'ImrtoM 1ms ,i.lv... tis,.,| tl,,, P,,,
;vnt.. An.I, ....,,t to tl... ,.>..t wl ; 1' ^.:; ^:
;;.-nyin.eu..,toan,ot,...M.H^:^^^^^
A better p.ctur. of Nova Scotian lif. an.rel.a, e
tmst.cs, at the time vvl.eu he M.-ote at m v
lq)iet the life of to-d
Heed, of
lay aeeui-atel\' tl,
^^'<)ul(] have to i
■ours,, to he retouched
so
'"• Nueh Itlciid
painted
"i«-s, "log-rollii.us
"hees,"and "applc-pcd
"' iTased and som
picture M(ad(l
'"•• old ffvitlllVS
•' "ew featuivs to I)
()!■
iHos ,,f ^v,)il< aiid fu
"I'olliiio- frolic;
" as 'rais-
husl
Kllliis.
h'seerit, owiim to the d
iiios, Hj-e iKWc^hsolcte ,))•,,)
and tl
ie niereased use of mad
t'nsei- settlement of tl
>S( )-
"' conntry
are replaced by nioi-i
nics.
\\\
convention,
""*''T- " I'ickinick Stirs
H'n such jovial oatl
out in Haliburton's time'l
U'rnios
'• and tem])ei-ate pic-
had ah-eady died
table. Men lost their cl
'<' iound the ivsult rcret
tl
»'>"^^l't. One (,f his charact(
'^'^''■'•'•■^■^ and hospitality, he
effect
Upon the healtl
rs notic
es
tl
uuusen.ent and the substitution of " f
tic
s ni 1
ts place
' occasioned by the al
finati
X' ]U)U]-i(jns
»>*t'nce of all
fism or poli-
Ls a
Hali1)urt(
I'ule, the habits of
u s tales \\
tl
le
ere ^'el•y different f
ix'rsonam.s in
scut Imbits of Xova Scotia/^s in tl
hints. In "The Old Jud
I'oni the pre-
K' matter of sti
nni-
Justic
e is 1
certain County Court
■epresented to have spent his ti
uie, wliile
l^liiJ
77/ A' MAX AXn Till': WIUThl!.
27
IS not ton
the I'l,,-
"y otlicr
^In-own u
tin is not
iiiakino'
U' NVOlM.
f flijirac-
vcnts, is
An: To
' Mould
^'<'JltIlIv,s
'S to l)t>
s " Jfiis-
ikii.os,"
))■ ol).so-
oniitiy
stii-s"
tc ])i('-
y <li('(l
ty, lie
ni'i(jus
of nil
■ poli-
o's in
tinm-
'oui't
A'hilc
wnitinj;' for a verdict, in di-inkinti', tlist a liottlf of wine,
puivlinsed l>y a fine wliieli lie liad Just ini))oscd u])on a
drunken fellow who made a disturlianec in ("oui't, and
afterwanls a l»ottlc of l)]'an<ly, ])urelia.'-fd liy a tine
wliieli he iin|)osc(l upon the ])rotlionot.aiy for prcsuiM-
m^f to till his own olass first I " For my own part,"
observd this mcjdel Justice, "I am ohliot'd to he very
ahstemious now, as I am subject to tlu; o(>ut. I never
exceed two bottles of late years, and I rectify the acid-
ity of the wine l»y takin;^' a nlass of clear brandy ( which
I call the naked truth) between e\i'ry two of Madeira.
Ah, ]\v\v is the brandy, lawyer! Voui' xcry <^ood
health, sir — l)ray helj) yourself ; and Mr. I'lothonotary,
here's bettei" mannei's to you in future. St'ii'ioirs
j>ri(>ir.s, sir, that's the rule."
It was a fancy of the old (Ireeks that the (Jods
sent a Judicial blindness on persons doomed to destruc-
tion, lest they might do something to avert their f;ite.
The plausibility of this notion has been often illustra-
ted in modern history, notably in the case of clas.ses I'e-
maining stolidly insensil)le to plain and ominous signs
of coming social stoi'ms. The French aristocrats, men-
aced by the oi'ganization of the oppressed masses, de-
spised the gathering tempest till it had burst; and the
Irish landlords lono' itjfnored the ui'owinu" strentjth of
the I'cnt agitation. lioth offered more or less reason-
able compromises too laic. To-day capitalists, threat-
ened more and more by trades-unions, .socialism, Heniy-
George-ism, boycotting, anarchy and dynamite, arc
either strangely blind or else inert and vacillating —
neithei' offering wise and timely concessions, norpre,>-s-
2,S
iiAi.iiii-nrox:
Hi" t.Mnl,,.,,„„.,. ,„„v,.„i,.Mt l,„l,li,,„,s «,.,. '• ,'•
tl"; "nls „f « N„va Scti,,,, l,a,-,,,„,„ «', v .
-t-. "f t,.,n,H.,-m„,.,- , th..,. „i,|,,t: *""''• 1""-
ei».,.t..,- on t>.. 8...,,,,, .K-ii'i ' r, :: ;:;,^'::
were eve,, the,, c„„,.,.et.l with the l,oly e,„ se rf t It
perance:_«I„ a little l,,u-k ro,„„ „f th„t f
;;;;.ti.ewi,,,.i,,,,,,.,,_.„4;;^J ™~^
;-;;;. ™,Hte,ii,,th,^._w ;;-!; r;-:;;-
The ya,i ,„ i, ,„,,,.,.^., „j, ^1,^, p^.^^. ^^^^ ^^^^^
luit ,,, Aatu,'e ai„l Hu„,a„ Nature " (c Mi) •_
. ■ ,^™'y P''"'" '»» its sta,„li„g topic. At Wi,„ls„r
■t - the gyp»,.,„ t,,,,,_ y,^ ,,^^ j^,^_^.^ ,t„„„,„, ^he
llilij
77/ A' MAX A XI) 77/ A' Wh'/Thli.
20
llnlit'nx coficli. iin<l :i new lidtisc that is Ituildiiin'. Ii!
Kiii<;'s Connty it is export ot" potatoes, l»ulloei<s aixl
lioises. At Annapolis eonl WdoW, oai's, staves, si i ingles,
and a^n-icnltural ])i'o(lu('e of all kinds. At l)i;;l>y,
sniol<e<l lierrines, fjsli weirs, and St. .John's niarkt^ts.
At \'annontli, t'oi'ei^ii tVeii^hts, lierthinji', rails, cat-
heads, lower clieeks, wooden holsters, and the ci'own,
])alin, and shank of anchors. At Shelhurne, it is divi-
ded hetwei'n tish, Inndier, and the price of vessels. At
Liverpool, ship-huildin<;', deals and tiniher, knees, tran-
soms, and fnttocks, j)intles, keelsons, and moose lines.
At Lunenl»nro:, Jeddore, and C'liesencook the state of
tlie mnrki't at tlie capital. A.t the other harl)oui's
further to the eastward, the co'kI trade and the fisheries
engross most of the conversation. You hear continu-
ally of the fall )'ti v and the spring <'((fcli of mackarel
that Krt in I'ut don't stop to half. Thv remarkable dis-
covery of tlie French coasters, that was made tifty years
ago, and still is as new and as fresh as ever, that when
fish are plenty theie is no salt, and when salt is abun-
dant thei'e are no tish, continually startles vou with its
novelty and importance. While you aiv l)oth annised
and instructe<l l»y learning the meaning of coal cakes,
Albion tops, and what a Chesencooker delights in,
'slack ;' you also find out that a hundred tons of coal at
Sydney means when it reaches Halifax one hundred
and fifteen, and that West Indian, Mediterranean, and
Brazilian fish are actually ludde on these sliores. These
local topics are gi-eatly diversified by politics, which,
like crow-foot and white-weed, abound everywhere
Halifax has all sorts of talk."
.30
IIMJnriiT(L\:
. '''•V'';,^^7''''-'''''-'^''t<-'-''njM.(lM.s.tc.o<,kA,.M,linMs
s«TnpI.,nUly.l..ml....|intlM.|(;tlM.I.npt,.r.,ftlH.s.,^
':rt ;^"' . ^' i""^"y i'>vtu.vs,,„,. ,.,.(,„.„. ..r m,,.
J)i^^l.yAm<lM.niu.issk..tc-h...liM"TlM.()M.i,„|..v-„. Mr,
Aniono. tl,,. tVatu.vs of tl... A.vHiiMM Hin.nt.. wl.iH,'
<"n-Hutlu,rfnitl,rullyM.„l -.MplnVnllv .l,.s,.nlM.s „.v „
''s■^vptIwnv•'(()I.lJ„W..^... 10);,,; i,.t..ns.. fn.st nt
""Max, w.tl, .tsatt.-M.lnnt l.l..'...,„M.Ma ;,n.l its l„vnl<
>"^^"P(i;;i.l...MI):,n..la still, hot .lay n,. th. sontl,
-,.st(\N,s,. S,,vs. ... 24). Th. .•.lay..,, th.. Ial<,. "
(.Natinvan.l Hrnmn Xatun-, cc. 10,^^ |i) ...jti, i^,
•niamt i.(.rs„na.;vs, its va.i.-.l inc.i.U.nts an.l .•Imn.-i,,.-
sn.M.Ty IS i„.,-l.aps tl.r nu.st allunn.ir sk,.tc-li of syTvan
sninn..,- hfo ia Nova S.oti. that has vet a,.,„.a,v,l in
TIh'Iv is a wl,.,|,.s,a.i,. n,...-al in th,- oontrast 1.,.-
tnv..,, th,. Iho., unti.ly, h|,Hk an.l r.anfortl,.ss farn.-
I.ouse .IcserilMMl in th,. first sc-i.-s of " The CMockn.ak.-r "
(('. -1^), an.l th,. neat, w.-ll-plann,.! hon.ost.ad. with its
thrifty, liospital.le, eontc-nte.l inmates, to wju.n, we
introduced in tlie second sei-ii-s of the
ar<'
And a salutaiy warnino- tom.ntli
Avl
lo n
same woi-k (e. 4).
men i-eared in luxui-\'
iny contemplate ))lnyin.r the i-.Mcs of
S(
pni-es in this new country
C(aniti-
IS oiven in the pat])etic
picture of Captain Dechan.ps an.l his ventuiv in th.
chapter entitled "The Cucumhe]- Lai
nnd Human Natu
i-e
Not only the \
since Halilairt
:c," in "Xatur
Vovincial scenery is unchancrod
ons time, hut also the Pi
ovincial
<loncy to mao-nify it. Still, just as Sam Slick ol
"every si^ceal.le hill to Nova Scoti
ten-
•servec I
a IS a mountain.
Till': MAX A XI) Tiih: wnrr/'jn.
m
Acndiiiiis
tile sfiiiM'
K' of tile
;•<•"(<•. I«i).
itc which
ICS l\V(' II
tVost )\t
ts hr('}||<-
hf south
M' lake"
with its
■hminiiio-
t' sylxfui
'!11T(1 ill
rast 1m>-
■; ffU'lll-
iiiakc)-"
ivith its
we arc
k (c. 4).
hixuiy
on n try
atlictic
in the
Vature
laiicrod
l1 teii-
ci-ved,
itaiii."
Ami sonic social cliai'actt'ristics also ai-c almost uii-
chan^^cil. 'riiis pcnctratinjn' remark of Sam Slick ahout
Halifax holds trnc to-day, and it nii^ht he worth the
while o|' toinists and temporary residents to note ;. :—
"A ninn must know the |»co])lc to a|>[)i"ec*iate them. He
must not merely Jndn'c hy tlutse whom he is aeeus-
ton\ed to niei't at the social hoard, for they ai'c not
always the hcst s[)ecimens anywhere, hut //// flmsr also
ii'lit) jti'cfrr I'rf'i I'riiic III Hinl ii ml ri'o'i'i'i' I'lrcli', tiiid
I'lllJici' iirn'id j/('in'i'(il sncii'l'', ti.s iiiif xii ift'il lo llic'n'
hlsh''
Militai-y and na\al life, too, on thisstati(ai i-cmains
almost as it was (lescril»e(l by Halihurton, in "The ()M
.rud<4'e " and elsewhere. The soMiersand sailors inspire
sinnlar lo\-es, anihitions and jcahaisies. Their comini^
creates a similar stif, and their Hittin<jf leaves similar
rt't^rcts and heart-aches liehind. 'I'he citizens, however,
do not seem to appreciate the presence of a j^'ari'ison
(juite so univei'sally as they used to. There are <'ven
a few Ani;-lophol»ists who, while willinijf to take the
•soldiers' money as they accept J^>ritain's protection
witliout thaid\s, can see no <jjood wliatcvei" in poor
'I'ommy Atkins. They will not even admit thcii- deep
indehtedness to him as a convenient scapegoat, on
Avliom they from time to time lu'aj) all tlie sins and
inicpiities of the city.
The chief want of Iirla ml, as well as of Nova
Scotia, in Halibui-ton's opinion, was to settle down more
steadily to work, and ])ay less attention to politics and
lioliticians. '• It is time they turne(l their attention to
the material and not the political condition of their
32
HAUBVRTIIN:
country s,iys the A,„e>icau Senator B„o,Ile in " Tlu.
Season l,eket." J„»t „efore tin's l,e 1,„,| „,„,,,„, y,..,
tle.e never ,vas a people «, cajole,!, fooled, .Keeiv.,!
an,l ,etraye.l, as the Irish." " P„„r Pat," says Hliek
si.™k„,K of a certain Irislnnan in " Nature an,l Hun.an'
Aaturcs you were a K„o,l-hearte,l creature naturally
as jnost „t your countrymen are. if repealers, patriot
and den.agogues, of „|I .„,t., „„, ,;,
you alone." Senator Boodle found the Irish " far n.ore
hu.norous at hon.e than in An.erica, which perl,ap.s is
alson, part attril.ntal.le to the cireu,u.st,>nce of their
x..ng u,ore „Klustrious there, an,l in consequence n,ore
iiiattor ot iaet.
The unse.ttled state of Ireland was partly due, liow-
ever. to the lack of thor,a,«h fusion an.on/ Irish, nen ■
«.on. rie "two great bodies," said the Yank.,. Mr
Peahouy (Season Ticket, p. SS), .- can't agree in nothen
lilZf'f ," Tf '"'""''^- "'"^ '^•«T Mm.t. like
the two forrar,l wheels of a stage coach. If they con.e
to clecKms. ,fsthe .san.e thing; if they n,ei they
ftght ; all, too. for the sake of religion ; a,ul if th^y as^^
.sen,ble :„ a j„ry-h„.x, it's .six of one and half a do.en
ot he o her Killing con.es natural, half the places in
I. eland heg„,s w,th Kill ; there is Killboy (for ,11 Irish-
n.en are called hoys), and what is n,„re on.nanly t l
aek, , tter the Knghsh sohliers ; Kilcrew, for the navy ;
Kl hntam, tor the English proprietors; Killcool. l
.li-lilwate nn„.der, an,l Kilhnore, if that ain't enough "
ihe popularity of the nan.e Jeremiah in Ir..land
ill
THE MAN AM) THE WRIT Ell
m
Ho in "TJio
I'sorvedtJuit
L'<1, decoivcd
says ,T
and Human
e naturally,
'I's, patriots
lid only let
I " far more
perliaj^s is
ce of their
Hence more
" <lue, l)o\v-
Irishmen ;
?e and reli-
finkee Mr.
in nothen,
ipart, like
they come
lest, they
f they as-
f a dozen
places in
all Irish-
dy, there
Killbar-
he navy ;
Icool, for
enouffh."
I Iieland
is undejiiahle, and Mr. Pealxxly finds the cause of this
popularity in the fact that the Irish are "the ])oys for
Lamcvtatlonsr " It's no wonder they had a famine,"
he adds, "when the country raises nothen hut oi-iev-
ances, and that's ;i ei-op that grows spfmtenaciouslv
here.
Haliliurton's love and ajipreciation for Enohmd
are displayed in aM his works. Sam Slick " enthused "
over the beauty and fi-eshness of En<,dish girls. The
hio-h-minded Hopewell displayed pious and touchino-
emotion at seeing the shores oi" the country which he
had been used, in his early days, to call " Home." Ac-
cording to the chronicle of "The Attache (c. 7) his Pi-o-
vince owed to B]-itons "a debt of gratitude that not
only cannot be repaid, ])ut is too great foj- expression.
Their armies protect us within, and their H-ets defend
us and our connnei-ce without. Their government is
not only paternal and indulgent, biit is wholly gratu-
itous. * * Where national assistance has faik'd, pri-
vate C(mtribution has volunteered its aid." "Oentle
reader," he says again (c. <S), " excuse the confessions of
an old man, for I have a soft spot in my lieart yet, /
love Old Evf/lmid." He loved, he goes on to say, lier
law, her church, her constitution, her literatui'e, her
people. And hi the " letter from the author," in " The
Letter-bag of the Great Western," it is remarked that
the colonies "have experienced nothnig at the hand of
the English Init unexampled kiudiKss, untiring for-
]>earance, and unbounded libei-ality. * * If there
should be any little changes recpiired from time to time
in (an- limited political sphere, * a temperate and
34
HALimnTON'.
proper ropn-sc^ntation will always pro.luee then, f.-o.n
t^>o pKo,l(,nnnant party „f the ,Iay, whatever it may h.
It It can only be <leiM„nstrate(l tl.at thev are wise <,r
ju^essary changes. It is the inclination ^xs well as the
jnkn-ost of Great Britain so to treat ns ; an<l whoever
ho. Is out any <louhts on this sul.ject, or proclaims tlie
inil.l, conciliatory an.l parental sway of tlie imperial
government 'a Inineful domination,' * should be cor
. sidered as eitlier an ignorant or a designing man "
But Haliburton was not blind to the faults of th,>
Britisli people or government. He was r„nd of satir-
isnig the blun.lers of the Colonial Office and the some-
times ludicrous ignorance of its officials about the
colonu-s. AiKl he lets Mr. Slick comment freely cm tlie
monotonous, material existence of the s(piirearchy tlie
mercenary attentions that are forced, upon travelhu-s
and other British faults and Haws.
It goes without saying that our author was a
strong champion of the British connection, which in
.Sam Slicks opmi.m (Clockmaker 2, 21) should not be
dissolved even at the des] re of the cdomes ! Lookin.^
tar ahead of his contemporaries, Haliburton put foi"
ward some strong pleas for an imperial federation. He
telt that m its present state the empire was like a
barrel without hoops (Clockmaker, :i, If)) which must
be Ixmml together more securely or else tumble to
pieces; or like a bun.lle of sticks (Nature and Human
Mature, c. 19) which needed to be tied or glue<l more
firmly or they would fall apart.
" The x.^vy word <lependencies," said Mr. Hopewell
(Attache, c. 21), and his wor<ls were endorsed by the
0<^
THE MAN AND THE WRITER.
:}5
iit'iii from
t may he,
' wise or
«.'ll as the
whoever
laims tlie
inipeiial
<1 be GOV •
lan."
ts of the
of satir-
lie some-
>out the
ly on tlie
■t'hy, tlie
avelh'rs,
• M'as a
liich in
I not l)e
^ookinn:
)ut for-
)n. He
like a
;li must
nble to
Human
<1 more
)pe\vell
by the
s(|uire, "shows the state of the colonies. If they are
i-etained tluy^ should be incorporated with Oreat Britain.
* * Now that steam has united the two continents
of Europe and America, in such a mannei- thaty(Hi can
travel from Nova Scotia to England in as short a time
as it once re(|uired to go from Dublin to London, I
should hope for a united legislature. Recollect that the
distance from New Orleans to the lu'ad of the Mississ-
ippi River is greater than from Halifax, N. S., to
Liverpool, ({. B. I dt) not want to see colom'sts and
Englishmen arrayed against each other as different
races, but united as one people, having the same rights
and privileges, each bearing a . aare of the public l»ur-
dens, and all having a voice in the general government."
A particular form of imperial federation that has
many advocates to-day is thus suggested by Sam Slick
(Wise Saws, c. 25): — "It shouldn't be England and
lier colonies, but they should be integral parts of one
great whole — all counties of Great Britain. There
should be no taxes on colonial produce, and the colonies
should not be allowed to tax British manufactures.
. All should pass free, as from one town to another in
England ; the whole of it one vast home-market, from
Hong Kong to Labrador." In "The Attache" (c. 21)
Mr. Slick oljserves of colonists : — " They m'e attached
to England, that's a fact; keep them so by making
them Englishmen. * * Their language will change
them. It will be o^/r army * not the English army ;
our navy, oar duirch, onr parliament, our aristocracy,
(Src, and the woi-d English will be left out holus-l)olus
and that proud but endearin' word 'our' will be in-
36
HALIBURTON:
sai-tc<l.' Halilnirton sccmiis to liave fivtti'd niuler tJiis
sul..,i-.linat • status „t* the colonics, an.l to have yearne.l
tor a fuller imperial citizenship for colonists. "No, don't
use that word 'our' till you are entitled to it," says the
clockniaker. " Be formal and evei-lastin' polit.'. Say
'your' en.pire, 'your' army, &c., and never sti-ut un.ler
horrowed plumes." Elsewhere he has compaiv.l the
colonies to ponds, which rear frogs, but want only in-
lets and outlets to become lakes and produce fine fish.
In fact the main cause of discontent amoni,^ educated
and self-reliant colonists, as he makes Mr. Hopewell
point out (Clockmaker, M, If), and still more impres-
sively, AttacluS c. 02) was the lack of openings f(,r
«-onius an<l ambition. On the gate of any colonial
cemetery, he thought, might be aptly inscribed the
stanzas,
" Perhaps in this neglected spot is hiid
Some heart once pregnant with celestial fire ;
Hands that tiie rod of empire might liave swayed,
Or waked to ecstasy the living lyre.
" The applause of listenuig senates to command ;
Tlie threats of pain and ruin to despise ;
To scatter plenty o'er a smiling land,
And read their history in a nation's eyes ;
"Their lot forbad."
The Provinces are now confederated, and a Domi-
nion political career furnishes another opening to
aspiring and gifted Canadians. Yet until the name of
colonist is almost and the status of a colonist altogether
obsolete, some of our ambitious men must feeC with
Haliburton, a " want of room— of that employment that
IS reipiired for ability of a certain description "— diplo-
id ^'^•^,
THE MAN AND THE WlilTEU.
:M
lUJitic address, for instance, and international states-
niaiiship. (Jeorge Wasliinoton, Mr. Hopewell hinted,
nii<rht never have led the insurgent provinces to victory,
liad his gifts and anilntion had free vent "in other
parts of the empire." The representation of the colo-
nies in the imperial parliament would also serve to
pi-event dangerous disaffection : their representatives
" will be safety-valves to let off' steam." Our author
thou'i'ht the North American colonies had I'eached a
period in their growth "when the treatment of adults
should supersede that of children ;" but he was not of
those who wished to accept the full privileges of man-
hood and to shirk its obligations and responsilalities.
The doubt to-day with most imperial federatiouists
is not whether Ureat Britain would grant, but whether
C/anad?i will appreciate or accept the proud status
Haliburton craved for her, to be peer among the con-
stituent states of a peerless empire.
"Ah, Doctor," said Sam Slick (Nature and Human
Nature, c. 10) " thlvijx cant avd wont reiiudn loiuj as
they air. England has three things among which to
choose for her North American colonies : First-
Incorporation wdth herself, and representation in Par-
liament. Secondly— Independence. Thirdly — Annex-
ation wdth the States." We have seen that Haliburton
preferred the first.
Sam Slick pooh-poohed the idea of Canadian In-
dependence in " The Clockmaker " (2, c. 16), and pro-
nounced it utterly impracticable. But he was then
speaking as an American ; and even if our author
personally hehl the same views, he might have modified
38
UALIBUUTON.
tlu-iM ]ui(l he lived till (^nna.la supported;, lari^e militia
and a small aiiny, and when C^.nfederation (which he
thouoht an essential preliminary to Independence) was
an accomplished fact. In "Nature and Human Nature"
(e. 1!)) Ml-. Slick says that independence is hetter for
the colonies and Encrland than amiexation ; " but if that
is decided upon, sometliinn. must be done soon. The
way ought to he prepared for it by an innne.liate
federative and legislative union of them all."
Others of Haliburton's personages speak in favor
of colonial confederation. Among them is Senator
Boodle (Season Ticket, c. .S), who also argues that an
intercolonial railway should be constructed at once, and
that "as soon as this railway is finished immediate
stei)s shouM be taken to provide a safe, easy and expe-
<litious route to Eraser's River, on the Pacific." In the
first chapter of this same work thi' senator had pro-
phesied a great interoceanic railway and a great metro-
polis at E.squimalt : " The enterprise, science an<l energy
of the West will require and command the labor of the
East, and Vancouver will be the centre where tlu> pro-
ducts of both liemispheres will be exchanged. * *
You have the shortest p(«sible route aiuf the most
practical .le, through your own territory, fn^ni one ocean
to the other, the finest harbors hi the world (Halifax
■iiKl Es.iuimalt), abuiKlance of coal at the termini and
the
most direct con
anci
miunit
'ati
world."
Th
on with all the easte
rn
nfinite
•ecognized
par
onies
importance of Britain an<l her col
ieably, if they are to part at all, was fully
•y our author. " If the partnership is to 1 .e
M^'t-
THE MAN AND THE WRITER.
;J9
dissolved," advist'd Mr. Slick, " it ha<l bettei- l)i' done l>v
mutual consent, and it would he for the inteivst ot" both
that you should part friends. You did n't shake hands
with, hut fists at, us when we separated. * *
Wounds were given that the hest part of a centuiy
liasn't healed, and wounds that will leave tender spots
forever." Our author did not, however, anticipate an
angry parting. The holder of "the season ticket," in
the hook hearing that name, expresses himself as fol-
lows to an American who talks of anne.xing Canada:
"The inhahitants of British Noi-th America would
deeply deplore a severance of the connexicni with Great
Britain ; and if such an event should ever occur, it
would not arise from the annexation or con(|uest of
their country hy you, nor from a successful contest with
the parent state, hut from the natural course of events,
in which colonies hecome too populous to he dependent,
and their interests too complicated and important to he
regulated otherwise than on the spot, hy entire self-
government. And he assured, if they do hecome inde-
pendent, it will be by mutual consent and good will,
and, let me add, with the nmtual regret of both parties."
If our author was averse to annexation, it was
from no narrow prejudice against the great American
people. Indeed his imagination had conceived and his
judgment had approved the very grandest of the vari-
ous schemes propounded for the future of our race —
an Anglo-Saxon union or alliance, dominating the
world and dictating peace to the too heavily armed
nations. "Now we are two great nations," remarks
Mr. Slick in his quaint style (Wise Saws, c. 2(5), " the
40
irALIIiritTON:
greatest by aloii"-' rluilk, dt* any in the woi-ld — speak
tlu' same laniiuaoc, luixc the same rclioion^ ^nd our
eoiistitiiti(nis don't, ditt'cr no ^ruat odds. WV ou<dit to
draw closer than we do. \W ai-c liio- ciuaioli, (■(jual
enout-h, and .stron^- cnouoh n,,t to l)e Jcalcais of each
other. Tjiited, we arc more nor a match for all the
other nations [)nt to<rether, and can defy their fleets,
ai-mies and millions. Single, we ciaild n't stand a'-'ainst
all, and if one was to fall, wheiv wcndd the other he i
Mournin" over the o-rave that covers a relative whose
place can never be tilled. It is authors of silly books,
editors of silly papers, and dema^^ooues of silly parties
that helps to estrange us. I wish there was a gibl)et
high enough and strong enough to hang up all these
enemies of mankin<l on."
Americans were generally, as our authoi- fcanid
them, shrewd, (piick, energetic, entei-pri/ing. They
were generous, too, and in his opinion "those who have
described the Yankees as a cold, designing, uiumpas-
sioned i)e()ple, know but little of them in their domestic
circles." But the Americans, he thought, were " imatre
worshippers:" they worshipped the golden image and
the American image. With them everything was for
sale, and they humbugged everybody — themselves in-
cluded. Many of them were ostentatious and snobbish
in their own sense (^f the latter term. This trait of
theirs he often notes and caricatures. He describes
some New England factory girls who wanted to be
"takt'ii off" (/. ('., photographed) in company with cer-
tain alleged grand relations of theii-s. Miss Sally Slick
is ma(k^ to ad'lress her letters to " Hon. Sanuiel Slick,
.J^t^..
•S-J > * <fe W»T*g^^-^
77/ a; man AM) TIIK Wh'ITh'h\
4.1
■M — spcjik
i, and our
■'■ ou^lit to
i^li, t'({ual
« of onc'li
>!• nil tlio
i(-'ii' Heets,
kI against
>tli('i' 1((. ^^
''t* wJioso
Jy I'ooks,
y parties
a n^iMn't
ill I tht'sc
'!■ t'oiiiid
Tl.oy
lio have
iiiinpas-
loiiiestic
" iniaijfe
ige and
vas tor
Ives in-
iobl)is]i
I'ait of
vscril)es
to be
til cer-
/ Slick
81ick,
late of the Embassy to the (/onrt of St. James's."
This she used to do "to let .some folks know who some
folks are." And Mr. Slick declared that if a youn<;-
Knii'lisli commissai'iat officer went to his native Onion
County, Connecticut, he could many the richest giil in
it, merely on account of the imposing' length of his
title — Deputy- A.ssistant-Connnissary-deneral.
The scamps and humbuos who, all o\er the Xorth
American continent, u.sed the holy cau.se of temperance
as a profession or as a cloak, receive a <;()od deal of
notice from our autlior. The Hev. Mi-. Hopewell
laments (Attache, c. 20) that "emancipation and tem-
perance have .suporse(k'd the scriptures in the States.
Ft)rmerly they preached religion there, but now tluy
only preach about niggers and rum." In the fourth
chapter of "The Season Ticket" the chronicler very
minutely notes and comments on the various evasions
of the prohibitory law in Maine: — "The attempt to
enforce the Maine Licpior Law has increased drunken-
ness to an alarming degree. At first, the legislature
prohibited the is.sue of licences for the sale of fermented
licjuors, but this was evaded in every po.ssible way.
The striped pig was a very amusing dodge. A man
advertised that he was possess* '1 of a singular pig
\vhich was striped like a zebra, . id that it was U) be
exhibited under canvas,at a certaiti price daily. Crow<ls
pressed forward to behold this wonderful animal, but
every one who entered the tent in which it was shown,
expressed his indignation at having been cheated by
the substitution of a common hog, that had been shaved
and painted in longitudinal stripes. The keeper feigno
42
llAIJlirUTON
\f\'v\\i rt't^rct jit tlu' (lisaiipoiiitiiiciit and want of taste
of the spectators, and l»e<;oed them to aeeept a ^lass of
rum and a liiscuit, as sonie compi nsation foi- the dece[)-
tion. It was soon whispered about, that it was an
aeute evasion. The money was paid for a shjlit, in
order to obtain a tustc ; it was the admission ticket that
was sold, and not tlie licpior. 'The Uiw,' he said, 'did
not pi-event a man from being lil)eral to his friends.'
Anothei" evasion was to import from the adjoining'
.state, where this rigid law di<l not prevail, a coffin con-
taining a tightly-titting tin box, filled with brandy.
When emptied of its contents it was supplied with a
corpse, the victim (perhaps !) of the poison it had pre-
viously concealed. To prevent these tricks, all per.sons
wei-e pi-ohibited by penal enactments from selling
spii-ituous liijuors, unless a professional order was ob-
tained, prescribing it as a medicine. The mere pro-
<luction of the order was declared to be a protection ;
but the Act was silent on the subject of the (pialifica-
tion, or the sex of the practitioner, so every man pre-
scribed for his noighlxnir, and luirses ordered it into
every house they attended. In short the law was so
loosely worded and so badly amended, that as soon as
one hole was soldered up, another appeared, and it was
never 'li(|Uor-tight.' In my opinion it increased the
evil it was designed to remedy, by adding to it fraud
and hypocrisy. You may induce a man to be temperate
by appealing to his reason, or his sense of right and
wrong, but you can never compel him t<> be so by legal
enactment, or pecuniary penalties. If the fine is large,
it creates a sympathy for the offendei', and it is paid
!»!»'
77/A' MAX AXn Tllh' WHITER.
4:}
M\i of taste
|>t a nhissof
r the (It'ccp-
t it Was an
'I -"^'lUltf, ill
I ticket that
t' said, 'did
■i t'l-ii'iids.'
leadjoiuini'-
I coffin cou-
th lii'andy.
it'd with a,
it had prc-
all jx'i'sons
>ni Hfllinn-
IT was (jl)-
nicro pro-
U'otection ;
qualifica-
niaii pro-
ed it into
\-\\ was so
IS so<ni as
Liid it was
eased tlio
J it fraud
eniperate
i^lit and
> hy It'^ral
i is large,
t is paid
by subscription ; if too small, it is addecl to the price of
the illicit spirits. If its enforcement violates j>ersonal
liberty too much, and calls in the aid of in(|uisitorial
powers, the executive otHcer subjects himself to pei-sonal
outi'agt', and his pro])erty to serious depredations. "
Sam Slick thus epigranniiatically characterises his
countrymen: " Brag is a good dog and Holdfast is a
better one, but what do you say to a cross of tho two i
And that's just what w^e are."
Americans, Haliburton thought, had no satisfac-
tory safe-guards against popular frenzies: they lacked
a cli^rgy with sti})ends independent of their congrega-
tions, and a nobility and gentry with a social position
too secure to be endangered by their opposing the vio-
lent whims of the populace.
Our author does not seem to have forecast that
sooner or later their national shrewdness would enable
Americans t<j discern their national dangers, with
which their national energy would promptly proceed
to deal.
That our author discountenanced the abolition
movement, believing slaves to be generally happier
than peasants, may be inferred from Slick's ridicule of
" ablutionJsts," and still more clearly from the cynical
letter of an abolitionist in "The Letter Hag of the
(b-eat West(.'ru."
Three prophecies relating to the United States
were made by personages in our author's works, of
which two have not and one has been already verified.
There w^ould be an uprising of the colored population ;
there would be an established church (the Roman
44
IIALinrHTdN.
('atlii)lic, as successive ceiisiises \V(iul«l iiidiciite) : uiid
tliei-e would l»e u civil wiir on the (jUestiou of stute-
ri;,dits. '(Jciienil (lovermiieut nu<l Stjite (lovenniieiit,"
said Mr. Slick, " every now and then s(|uare oli'aiid spar,
ami the tirst hlow j^iven will l)i'in<,^ a gcnu-iue set-to."
Aiiione- Halihurtou's distinctive ijil'ts was his apti-
tude for aphorisms and short i»ithv saviiu's of all
Ivinds. " Xothin'," says the clockniaker, "improves a
man's nianneis like runnin' an idection." " Hcforms,"
says the Old ,)u<l^r,. sairastically, " aiH; not applicable
to rofonnei-s, for those who liherate others nuist theiu-
selvos be free." " When ladies wear the breeches their
l)ettic()ats should be lon^- enou<,di to hide cm," philoso-
))hises Mr. Slick. " Xo man nor woniiin nothei-,"
o[)ined the same philosophei', '"can be a general favo-
rite and be true." "A long face is plaguy apt to cover
a long ccaisciencc," says Parson Hojiewell. The only
good of a college education is "to show how devilish
little other people know," acc(a-ding to some cynic in-
troduced by our authoi-. And varicais pei'sonagcs of
his utter the following discei-ning observations : ' There
is a private spring to every one's att'ections : if lie can
find that and touch it, the door will fly o])en." "A
W(anan lias two smiles that an angel might envy : the
smile that accepts the lover before words are spoken,
an.i the smile that alights on the tirst-born baby and
assures it of a mother's love." "A good tem))er nnist
b(! kept cool : even sugar, when fermentcil, makes
(-1
vniegai".
Tluaigh thei-e be more refinement in the
TIIH MAN AND T/L'J WHITE II
45
citi/cii, tlicic is less lu'rti't tluin in tlic c'cmiitiy man.
H( 'fore you can iiii])art its hri^litncss t(» steel, yoii must
harden its texture."
The last two ([notations illustrate our author's
sine'ular and unfailin;^' facility for lindini;' similes and
metaphors to elucidate a s[)eaker's meanine'. Let me
;id<l another (|uaintly expressive figure. I think it is
in "The ()1<1 .ludec " that somehody talks of "a dusky
ni<dit, when the moon looks I'tkc a ilosc of <'<ish,r oil in
(( (jliisn of chic I'."
Hero is one of the lessons of tlie Fi-encli Revolution
in a nutshell : — " Concession never sto[)t agitation since
the world was squeeziMl (ait of a curd ; it only feeds it.
Thi-owin' sops to varmint only brings 'em hack again ;
and when you liave nothin' left to throw to 'em, they
are plaguy apt to turn to and tare you to pieces."
Here and tlvere the i . der is tickled by some (piaint
original conci'it. Some stokers on the (Ji-eat Westi'i'u
are represented as liaving " sour, Cameronian-looking
faces, t.iat .seem as if they w. • dreadfully disapp()inte(l
they were not persecuted any more." A looking-glass
is styled a woman's greatest enemy (Season Ticket, p.
280), not because it reflects falsely but because it re-
flects a false face. When she consults her glass, .she is
looking at her dearest friend and is uncon.sciously dis-
posed to look her very best. Hence the mirror gives
every woman an exaggerated opini(jn of her own at-
tractions.
With many readei-s Haliburton's populai-ity rests
n])on his peculiar gifts as a mcoritcii c. A good memory
and a fertile imauinati(ai both aided him in C(»n.struct-
40
HALIBURTON,
in<;' liis stories, of wliich many are wholly or partly
true, while many are purely fictitious. " Most of the
anecdotes in those hooks called 'The Clockmaker' and
'Attache' are real ones," says the chnnn'cler of the lattei-
work (c. 52).
Sometimes our author seems to moot a suhject
merely to introduce an anec<l<)te. And the connection
hetween suhject and anecdote is sometimes so thin that
it might he invisihle, if it were not sjx^cially pointi'd
out. This criticism applies more particularly to the
nai-ratives of Mr. Slick, who is d-^^signed to he a some-
what inct)nsequent spinner ,)f yarns, and who, indeed,
once pleaded guilty to making "one of my rand)lin'
speeclies," "with capital stories that illustrated every-
thing hut the resolution."
It would hi' ahout as impracticahle to select the
l)est dozen, or score, of Halihurton's yarns as it would
be to do that favorite modern puzzle to " name the best
100 books." His tales are multitudinous. They are
of all kinds and characters, and illustrate njost of his
characteristics, especially his ingenuity, power of imag-
ination, and keen relish for the ludicrous. I may be
permitted, however, to refer to a few anecdotes which
notably display these cpialities : — to the tale of the
broken-down old slave, for instance, who was cuiniingly
pei'suaded to buy his freedom by his master's assurance
that he was (piite sound and had a deal of work in him
yet, and who then sued his master for breach of war-
ranty and forced him to refund the purchase-money ;
to the tale of a Mormon in (Idir'iiirn tirmeny (Season
.ji'
n
■noa
THE MAN AND THE WRITER.
47
lly or partly
'Most of the
kmakcr' and
•of tlielatt<'i-
>t a suhj'cc-t
3 connection
so thin that
''lly pointed
ai'ly to the
be a some-
k'ho, indeed,
ly mnd)h"n'
ited e very-
select th(!
IS it would
[le the best
Thoy ai'e
'ost of liis
1" of iniaof-
I may l>e
tes which
le of the
ninningly
assui'anee
i"k in him
li of war-
'-money ;
-' (Season
Ticket) wlio fancied himself a " rooster " and his wives
hens, and beat and pecked at the latte)- bevause tlxy
wouMu't roost on the garden fence with their heads
under their wings ; to the tale of the Quaker and the
marine insurance money (Clockmaker, 2, I'i), a nice
case for casuists ; to the tale of Sam Slick saving a
l)oy's life and getting " more kicks than half-pence " as
his reward (Nat\n'e and H. N., c. 4) ; to the tale of the
Yankee who got out of a tine imposed by a grand-
motherly law for smoking by brazenly denying that
his cigar was alight, inducing the constable to detect
his falsehood by taking a whitt" himself, and then
threatening the officer with a fine for his own violation
of the law ; to the tale of how Sam Slick learned Gaelic
an<l taught a pretty girl English on the object lesson
system (Nature and H. N., c. 5) ; and to the tale of the
Scotch sergeant's misunderstandings an<l mortifications
while inquii'ing about the name and nature of a moose
(ibid, c. 9).
Specimens of our author's broad ami farcical
humour may be found in the tinale to the Governor's
dinner party and in the yarn of the extemporized
page's breeches, both in "The Old Judge;" and in the
lady's ludicrous exhilntion of fright at a thunder storm
in " The Season Ticket." On one occasion Mr. Slick
was sent to Italy to purchr.se pictures for a Yankee
institution, and strongly cautioned against bringing
home anything that might seem indelicate. He car-
I'ied out his instructions with such carefulness that, a
Virgin and a Child being among his purchases and the
Child's legs being naked, he " had an artist to paint
48
HALIBURTON.
trousers anl a pair of lace boots upon him," to uiakt^
liini " look genteel."
Haliburton lias sometimes exhibited a phase of
humour which in recent years has been most annisinoly
illustrated by Mark Twain — affected iiniocence or
ignorance. Thus Mr. Slick pretends to misunderstand
nautical slang (Xature and H. N., c. 2), taking a num-
l)er of figurative phrases literally, one after another.
To anyboily who has read one of Haliburton's
anecdotal works, his pronene.ss to punning will be too
patent to need illustration. Some signal instances of
his capacity and his weakness for puns are found in
" The Letter Bafj of the Great Western :" — for instance,
in the mi<lshipman's description of the seasickness of
various passengers in terms borrowed from their re-
spective professions (No. 4); in the lawyer's clerk's
letter (No. 10); and in the Preface, where the author
pours a perfect torrent of postal puns on the post-
master-general, that " frank man of letters who trans-
ports tlu> mails." The same temptation to distort
words which led him to perpetrate some (Jonhlr eiilcn-
dres led him also to perpetrate some pretty bad puns.
How strong this temptation nuist have been on occa-
sions, may be gathered from his making a speaker pun
while seriously protesting against the mean treatment
of the loyalists in the Canadian rebellion — ^a subject on
which Haliburton felt very deeply indeed, and to which
he often recurred. " He who called out the militia,"
complains a colonial loyalist, " and (juelled the late re-
bellion amid a shower of balls, was knighted. He who
assented amid a shower of eggs to a bill to indenniify
i»i^'
THE MAN AND THE WHITER.
49
tlio rebels, was created an eai'l. Now to pelt a t^overnor-
geiieral with eggs is an overt act of treason, for it is an
attempt to throw off' the yolk."
Reckless punning marked our authoi-'s conversa-
tion as well as his writings. He was notorious f'oi- it
among his classmates at Col](>ge. He displayed it occa-
sionally on the hench. A man once begged exemption
from jury duty on the ground of having a certain skin
disease vulgarly known as the itch. " Scratch tliat
man !" promptly directed the judge.
►Some of our author's (Irdnuifis pcrwiue intru<le
upon the domains of Dogberry, and of Mesdanies
Malaprop, Ramsbottoiii,, and Partington. Among these
are Mrs. Figg and the female servant in "The Letter
Bag," and an old woman in "The Season Ticket," who
expresses her "symphonies" for "intosticated" persons.
Old Sorrow and some other negroes introduced by our
autlior di.^.play a similar perverted yearning to tackle
big words that are more than a match for their under-
standing or their powers of utterance.
Many popular jests and expressions have been bor-
rowed from Haliburton, while some which may seem
taken from him may have l)een suggested to him by
somef)ody else, for our author was himself an adapter
as well as a creator. All I can say, therefore, of the
following notions and phrases is that / have not noticed
them in any earlier writer. In "The Old Judire," the
Indian chief, Paul, explains to the Governor, who is
surprised at seeing him drunk so soon again, that it is
"all same old drunk." And tlie same wily native, on
the (lovernor's expressing regret at some misfortune of
50
HALIHURTON.
lns,a„.sw,Ts: " Yes, l.nid.l,,., l,„t hn,r ninrh a vo you
-orry ! Aiv y,.n so.ry one p„nn,l r " Fact, 1 assure
you, tlie pot phrase of th.- liar in Faueett R„we's
co.ne.ly of " Brass," was use.I l.y Ty.^art (()1<I Ju.l^e),
by Peal.o,ly (Season Ticket) an<l by Mr. Slick Imnself
Mr. ]). R. Locke ('< Petroleum V. Nasby '•)told nie that ho
once made quite a hit in a stun.p speech by dividing
the voters of his ccmntry into " ,nen with clean shirts
and Democrats." I wonder whetlu>r he ha<l read the
•iehnitions .juote.l by Sam Slick of a Tory ("a <rentle-
nuin every inch of him * and he puts ,m a" clean
shirt every day ") an<l of a Whio- ("a ..ntlen.an every
other nich of him and he puts on an unfrilled shi/t
every other day ").
Everybody has laughed at Topsy's idea that she
was not made but "grovved." About Hfteen years be-
tore the publication of " Uncle Tom's Cabin," in the first
series of "The Clockmaker " (c. 12), a country girl be-
ing asked where she was brought up replied in these
wor<ls: " Why, I o-uo.ss 1 wasn't brought up at all I
growed up."
The Tewksbnry workhouse people (or Gonoi-al
Butler may have taken the notion of
skins from the C(
taini
)nnecticut pedlar mentioned
nig pauper:
Season Ticket" (p. 4!)), who Ixnio-ht
in
^ri
le
of the shei'itf
a nit)-(ir(.i' s
on
f^rt^
body
spekelation, and hired a doctor t"
take his hide off, and he dressed it with al
and cut it into
um and lim(
From time to t
narrow pieces and made razor strops of it.
advisability of f
ime .some wit-borrow
er suggests tlu
reezing, or me.smerizincr, oi- }
toft
passengers as a soxereiou i
emec
iyt'
lypnotizii
iL"-
or sea-sickne.ss.
^«'
THE ^MAK AKI) THE WHITER.
51
'// (iir you,
L't, 1 assure
ctt Rowo's
)1<I Ju(l^v),
ck liiinself.
me tliat lie
y <livi(liiio-
lean sliirts
<l ivad the
" a gentle-
>n a clean
nan every
ilk'd slnrt
tliat slie
years l)e-
n the first
y S'ii-l, be-
l in tliese
p at all, I
Oonei-al
;■ panpers'
in "The
■r's body
loctor to
and lime,
ops of it."
gi'sts the
Hiotizinnr-
:ness. 1
should like to know whether this sno-<^estion was first
made in the Shareholder's letter in "The Letter Bao-,"
whei-e it is shown that this |)lan would he economical
for the company, as well as j)leasant for the passengers.
If one wished to libel Haliburton, one miirht ar<»ue
plausibly that ^ furnishe(l the model for " Feck's Bad
Boy," foi- there is in " The Lettei- Bag" an epistle fi-om
a certain ovfiinf b'vr'ihlc, wIkj plays a series of tricks
almost as nefarious as those of Peck's monsti-osity.
1'hey range from putting glass in passenger's boots, for
the pleasure of hearing them swear, to removing a leaf
from his father's scrnum, for the r)leasure of heai-in«-
"the old man" talk admiringly about " tlie beauty
of — of the devil and all his M'orks !"
Not only have modern funny men taken hints from
Haliburton, but modei-n journalists have sometimes ap-
propriated his anecdotes holus-bolus or with variations.
The following from the French passenger's missive in
" The Letter Bag " was adapted by one of our Nova
Scotian newspapers not a year ago, and spoiled in the
adapting:— "To-day steward took hold of de skvlioht
and said 'look out.' Well I put up my head for to 'look
out,' and he sluit down de sash on it and gave me a cut
ahnost all over my face with pains of glass, and said
'Dat is not de way to look out, you should have took
your head t>y.' Dat is beating de English into your
head wit de devil to it likewise."
A Halifax weekly, The (Jrltir, arniounced a special
Christmas nund)er in 18(S,5, and ottered a prize for the '
best original story. One of the two stoi-ios l)etMX'en
which the prize was divided was meivly a n'c/un'fe',
.^
52
HALIBURTON:
with fmsh saiico and dmssinfr of " Tl.o ^,n t i .
uhost, asnarmt('( iinViseS-Mv«" Ti , i -'•^''^""
t,u„c.,l a rather o.|„,,„« clm,„„l„j,i™| ,,|„,„|,.,. „,
""'''""■'"" P"\"''"' '!"■ «l"rft-< "f l,is sarcasm ,,s„.
■>llj «t types an,l classes, sel,l,„„ at i„.livi,l„als He
S.W an u„„ccui.ie,I fel,! f„r a satirist at l,.„„e i„l "c
proeee,!,.., t„ occupy it. .■ The al,s„r,l i,„p„rta " .^^
'•> couiitij, to triHes, observes one of hi«
Hdicule an,l satire; 1— ' '"-.y „,,Jects for
. Illustrations „f |,is satiric ,„nver may be foun.l in
■s sketches of ti.e Governors ai.les-,.e-cL,p iC
' ' *''"'' ""^■y "lay have an opportunity of Loastinc
o a larger An.erican river " (Season Tick/, pp V^ ^^
n the Hoo.1 ot „.ony which is poure.I upon the false
.lKst„,ct,ons between right an.l wrong t Lt nrc^-a t,
among anotlier type of A icans iCI. .t P'""''*^''
10)- in the "l.t/ *■ (Uockniaker, 2, c.
^^'f> III tile letter ti-oih « -,ji , i p , ,
vellp,l"v;r r ''"' ^'11'' '^Jt^fore he has tra-
^eiied, ruheuhno- superficial Fnoli^i, i
" " "^^ x!iii''lisli observers wifli
reeoncen-e,l notions about AuK.rica (Letter Ba„
the etter fron, a New York " Loco-foco " „7,;,A ; .i
»^t,est,,eam.irs,,fEnglan,l with seifJis J' ;:;:':
Colonial bishops are not exempt fron, the caustic
a"ent,ons of our author :-•. They hL-e ((„,, J,,,,::;':';,;
THE MAN AND THE WRITER.
5;}
Isluiid
^'as"to](l
e quoted
even re-
' of the
'^iii usu-
Is. He
and he
Lnce at-
of his
al poli-
icli sel-
cts for
nnd in
" The
i«l the
asting-
M)l);
false
mailed
', 2, c.
s tra-
with
:); in
^'hich
nstic
one <]frand ol»ject in view from the moment of their
landinj^ in a colony ; and that is the (>iection of a cathe-
dral so la]-«ife as to contain all the churchmen t)f the
province, and so expensive as to exhaust all the liber-
ality of their friends : and this unh'nished monument
of ill-directed zeal they are sure to place in a situation
where it can be of no use whatever."
This proneness of our author to be sarcastic jjjot
him into some trouble on one occasion, for in 1(S27,
when a school bill of his had been thrown out by the
Legislative Council of Nova Scotia, he desimiated that
august body as " twelve dignified, deep-read, pensioned
old ladies, l)ut tilled with prejudices and whims, like
all other anti(iuated spinsters," etc. For this utterance
he was censured in the following terms by the House
of Assembly, as recorded in the Journal of the House,
April 4, 1.S27 :—
"Thomas C. Halliburton, Es(j., oneof the Members
for the County of Annapolis, being called upon, and
having admitted that he did in this House speak the
words complained of by His Majesty's Council, and
afterwards publish the san>e ;
Resolved, therefore, unanimously : "That the House
do consider the conduct of the said Thomas C. Haliburton
on that occasion as highly reprehensible, and that Mr.
Speaker do pass the censure of this House upon the
said Thomas C. Haliburton, by publicly reprimanding
him therefor at the bar of this House."
He was accordingly so reprimanded.
As a general rule, the style of our author is less
terse than that of mo.st modern American humourists
mt- '
1;^!
iiA/jhrirmx:
J.:
His cfirc'ts arc prodnccd l»y huliiTous situations and
i«T()t('S(|m' conceits more often than 1)V tricks of con-
stniction. }lis sentences are seldom framed to I'ouse
tile Hai^i^inii' attention of the reader l»v sudden jolts or
jerks. Here and there, however, he displays the
])i(|uant flippancy and careless exa^'ycration of a mod-
ei'n paran'raphist.
He used dialogue copiously, as a means to make
his books and opinions popular. " Why is it," asks
Sam Slick (Wi.se Saws, c. ID), "if you read a hook to a
man you set him to slee[) ^ Just because it is a hook
and the lannua<;'e aint conunon. Why is it if you talk
to him he will sit up all nii^ht with you ^ Just because
it's t{''k, the lan^ua^'e of natui'." And written chat,
he thouoht, was the next best medium to oral chat for
holding" the attention of all classes (for "the test of a
rael <j^enu-ine i^ood book," in Mr. Slick's opinion at
h'ast, "is that it is read in the parloui- and in the
kitchen.") Here is the rationale of that "convei'sa-
tional style" that has helped to win a circulation for
so many modern .society jouj'nals, and which is <^row-
ing so popular with "special contributions."
Our author's dialogue, however, is not invariably
suited to the character either in matter or in manner,
And few of his dramatis yevHima', if they display any
peculiarities of idiom, are made to u.se tlie same dialect
consistently throughcait. Even the .spelling that is used
to convey provincial misproiumciations is capriciously
varied. And our author's characters sometimes stray
fi-om the main subject of discussion with an abi-uptness
that in real life would surprise and offend.
MM
Till': MAX AND Till': WIUTHU.
55
In these pnrticiiliU's Halihuitoii displays the care-
lessness jind want of tinisli which aic anioni; his chief
defects. Anothei- fault also arisin<4' tVoni caieles>-ness
is his too fi'e<[Uent re])etition, hoth of ideas and f( i-nis
of exjiression.
Wiien Halihuiton exerted himself, he was caj ahlu
of risin<^ to a hi^h degree of el<)([Uence and inipressivc-
ness. When he wrott' carelessly he was liable to hcconie
(Utilise or stilted. Siniilai" connnents liave been made
by men wluj havi' lu'aid him speak. His ordinary
speeches are said to ha\e been little above the average,
while parts of his set oraticais, notably of his plea for
abolishino- the test oath in Nova Scotia, Avere powerful
and impressive in the extreme.
Nothing; militates more strongly or more unfairly
against a fiill rect)oniti()n of our author's talents than
the fact that he was not a success in the Impei'ial Par-
liament. But this was simply because none of his best
speeches were made in the House of Conmions. In
1(S5J), when he was elected for Launceston, lie was over
G2 years old — an age at which most eminent men, hav-
ing regard to their reputation only, would be wise to
rest upon their laurels. And Haliburton had been too
self-indulgent a liver to be exceptionally vigorous at
the begirniing of his old age. Besides, by this time his
success had probably made him too self-complacent to
think it needful to give nuich thought or labor to his
speeches. His tendency to wander from the subject
liad increased. Conunenting on a speech of his made in
Committee of Ways and Means, April 25, liSGl, Mr.
Bernal Osborne observed that he had "touched upon
no
llALIHUHTOxX
nearly every topie except the issue wliieli is iininetli-
ately miller oiir coiisitlei'iitioii. The hoii. Mini ieaiiie(l
■rcntleiiiaii is a man famous for his literarx' jihilitN',"
cojitiinied Mr. Oshoi'iie, "and as the author of works of
fiction which are universally read; hut 1 must say that
after the exhibition which he lias made to-ni^ht, he had,
in my opinion, hetter undertake another e(lition of 'The
RiiiMMer." "
Our author is sometimes vi\id and Itrilliaiit in his
descriptions of nature. Witness his detailed contrast
hetween tlie scenery of the White Mountains and the
storied and varying beauties of Killarney, in " 'i'he Sea-
son Ticket " (pp. .Sl-82). But lu' makes more hits as a,
portrait than as a landscape painter. The sketch of a
girl's "company face" (Ihid., p. .S27) is admii-able, and
so is the hypocritical tliief's make u[), to impose upon
the jury, in "The Clockmaker" (2, c. 10). In "The
Attache ' Sam Slick taki's off, in a few characteristic
touches, the popular Cheltenham ])reachei' who adver-
tises the frivolous gaieties of the place by violently de-
nouncing them ; and the fashionable Cheltenham doctor
who dexterously humours the whims of his hypochon-
driac patients and, through the gratitude of his profes-
sional brethren, constantly "gains new ])atients by
praising every London doctor individually, an<l only
danuiing them in a luni[)." There is a broken-down,
druidvcn, soured remnant of what was once an English
scholar and gentleman introduced in a single chapter of
"The Clockmaker" (2, c. I!)). The portrait is almost
too gloomy t(^ reproduce in its entirety, but it is won-
drously true to nature — the .spendthrift generosity, the
77/ A' MAN- AXn Til /'J WlilThli.
57
iiiil)aticiK'(' of Viinki'i'isiiis, the tVctful oiitl.ui'sts ofjuuii-
(liccd ('l()(|Ut'iu'(' : —
'"Curse tlic /(H'iitioM,' he t'xclaimt'd, 'there is iin
location likeOM Kiii^HmihI." "' " 'On this side the water'"
he t'ouiid "'iiothinoappj-oiu'hin^' the class of ^^eiitrv. *
What little they jiave hei-e, sii-, are second hand airs
copie(l from ])oor models that necessity forces (ait here.
It is the farce of hioh life helow staii-s, sir, j)layed in a
])ooi' theatre to a provincial audience.'" And atiain h '
s[)(!aks Itittei'ly of '"the sickly wax-work imitation of
gentility here, the faded ai'titicial Howerof fashion, the
vulgar pi'ctension, the C(aitemptil»le stiugnle for })rece-
dence. Poor as I am, lunnhle as 1 am, and degraded
as I am — for I am all three now — I have seen 1 tetter
days and * * I know what I am talking about.
There's nothing l)eyond respec'able mediocrity here *
* Little ponds never hold big fish ; there is nothing
but pollywogs, tadpoles, and minims in them. Look
at them as they swim thro' the shallow water of the
margins of theii- little mud<ly pool, following some
small fellow an inch long, the leader of the shoal, that
thinks himself a whale. * * ({o to every press, and
see the stuff that is printed ; g(i to the people, and see
the stutt'that is uttered or swallowed, and then, tell me
this is a /(^cation for anvthing above medioci'itv.'
'" What keeps you here then :*' said Mi-. Slick, ' if
it is such an everlastin' miserable ccanitry as you lay
it (Uit to be:"' 'I'll tell ycai, sir,' said he, and he
drained oft' the whole of the brandy, as if to prepare
for the ettbrt — 'I will tell you what keeps me,' an<l
he placed his hand on his knees and looking the Clock-
:)S
iiAunrirroS'.
f
iimkcr stcmlily in tlic fficc until cNcry iiiiisclc woikcd
with ('niution ' III tell \'(»u, sir, it' v<ni must ktio
w
iu\' mis
t'oi-ti
nit
hni \\v
r.'II F
lom his cliiiir.
Next to Sam Slick liiiiiscH' tlic llrNcrciid Mr.
I lii|)('\v('ll is tlic iM'Tsonnnc witli wliom we nrr iiuulc
most intimntc in tlif pfi^csot' H.ililnirtoii. Mr. II(»|m'\vcI1
is iiioi'dlhi consistent tlirouiiliout. \Vr arc <ji\»'n 'lis
character in i)iec'es, hut the i)icces tit. He utters .>o
ij^noltle sentiment and does no (jucstionahlc deed. No
Puritan, he used to say that youth, innocence and
(•heert'ulness were the Three ( JracL'.s. "The siyht of
the sea, a yi-eat storm, a starrv sk\' or even a mere
d 1
ower Would send lum into a re\'erie or rouse iiim to
an ecstasv. He thundered like
a
H
ehreW
pro]]
het
aeainst the impious notion of utili/iu^- the water-])ower
of Niagara. His saintly tolerance did not jireveiit his
t(dlin>^' his pharisaic Hock their hesettin^' sins and weak-
nesses. DisphuHMJ liy them, lu' strove to persuade him-
stdt' tliat he was at faidt au<l not thci/ : he W(add rather
have foiuid liimself in the wroui;- than helieve them so
haso and ungrateful. In this true evan<;elist, it is
likely that Halilau-ton reproduced .some traits of his
revered fi'iend the Ahhe Se^oo-ne.
It nuist l)e admitted, however, that this American
(•l(.i'(ryniiiu is sometimes made to display an almost in-
credibly 'iii'niiilf intimacy with C'auadiaii and British
politics and personages. He knows, for example, all
about Lord Durham and Mr. Poulett Thompson — their
acts, characters and inner motives. Very possibly our
author wished to fortify his own political opinions l>y
the endorst'inent of so hi<di-minded an obsei'ver. A
Till': MA.\ AM) Tllh' WRITER.
59
slii^lit ovi'j'sij^lit is Ills ) iiotit'iTiMc in n»^oir(l to Mi'.
Hopewell's a^c. In th" second series of " 'i'lie Clock-
nuiker" (e. 15) lie decljires hiniselt' to Ke uinety-tive.
Yet in "The Attiielie," a work written five years later
and ri'eoi'din^' snl>se(|uent escnts, he is re])resi'nted as
H'oinu: to Kny-land with Mr. Slick and deliiihtin';' the
natives by his sermons and di.scour.ses.
In most respects Sam Slick is a typical wide-awake
Yankee man of hiisiness.
He is shifty an<l versatile. When he wants to^et
a particular deck seat on a steamer, he incpiires iinio-
cently if a certain sail in sieht can he a Chinese Junk.
The occupant of the coveted seat crosses tlie deck and
joins the curious crowd who are oazine- at the myster-
ious craft. Slick takes the seat and, when it is re-
claimed, pretends ijjjnorance of the Kn<;lish lannua>;e I
Wiien livinu' at Boston, he has a fast horse which will
not cross a bi'id_i;t' l)ecause it has once fallen thi'oueh
one. This horse he sells for a lii<;h tii^nire, advertising-,
with litt'i-al truth, that lie wcnild not sell it at any price
'if lit' did not V(i,d to leave Boston. Another fast trot-
ter of his has "the heaves." Slick advei-tises that his
only reason for selling is that the animal is " t(»o Jiedret/
for harness." The unwary huyer returns to repi-oach
Slick, and only loses some more money by betting that
the latter had advertised the horse as too /ie((ri/ for har-
ness. At a time when there is a high duty of JiO ])er
cent, on lead, and no duty (m works of art, he realizes
a very handsome sum by investing heavily in leaden
(if)
IfMJIiURTON:
THE MAX AND TUh' WRITER.
01
ciety " which arc to he found in Chn])t('i' '15 of "The
Attaelio."
C^)nc(MtiMl and boastful of his eonntiy, lie saw
some of its faults and dan^'crs, aid criticised it freely
himself. In one of his bilious moods he denies that it
is the attractions of the T'^nited States thfit draw so
large an immio-ration : "It's nothin' but its power of
suction: it's a great Avhirlpool — a great vortex — it
<lrags all the straw and chips nd floatin' sticks, drift-
wood and trash into it." But, if he abused it himself,
he would not let others abuse it. He was particularly
down upon tourists making superficial observations in
his country in search of " facts " to verify their precon-
ceived ideas. He dearly loved to "bam " these gcutry
by such shocking tales as tlie "(Jouging School " and
the "Black Stole," which he tells in the !>()th chapter
of " The Attache."
Illustrating the desirability of travelliiu'- in a
cheerful, instead of a censorious frame of mind, he
observes that "the bee, though he find every rose has
a thoi-n, comes back loaded with honey from his rambles :
and why sluaildn't other tcnirists do the same ('' Our
author, it will be noticed, has endowed Sam Slick with
his own unfailing kntick of hitting on an apt simile
at will.
Self-conceited, Mr. Slick was too sublimely so to
be conscious of the failing. "That he is a vain man
cannot be <lenieil — -self-taught men are apt to be so
everywhere," says his chronicler. Some of Slick's boast-
fulness is doubtless due to his comfortable contideiice
iu himself. But .some of it is [)ut on with a iletinite
62
H All BURTON,
SOS SI if. I' •" ft... i.1 ^. '^'"'i\s <i() It, conft's-
JMit, <,bserves his chronielt.i-, " lil,,. „.',Kf f.I.v, ..
=r:::;::;::£::;-;:— i =
"'"'• lins tnut n.nnn.ls one of C^on-aw. mIh. u 1
':-;:r::;t;i:;-;:;-:;: Tr7
luis become a regular ivi ,.f ,. • t J-e<ratioii,
!>.« envi,..„„„c.„t l.ygau,Iy ovonl essi ; 1 *" '"
;;:""..r.;;i;;;t:r":;i"r'r'' r-^^^-^^^^^^
>•". L,. ,, u'l M,ck luis im.lertaken the costlv f.,sl^
'> l-ov,n. his title to a supposititious peer. At
.'i.Ivent of this uncou*' '-• ■■ P"^^^'^^^*- At the
^\•ith tJie yowinr hidy ^h
'hition S,
am could sympathise!
was really obliged to draw the lin
o" wasn't at all exclusive, but
ever though mortihed., is far too n.anly
shoulder to his parent, thou<dil
« at pa." Sam, how-
to give the cold
"■'I'X'sattemi^t to bottle
Tlll^: MAX AND THE WHITh'Ii
():}
liiia up with much tact and sonic success. lUitthcohl
man ccjuniiits himself sometimes, notwithstandine-, as
wlien tlio hero of Bunker Hill sought an interview with
the hero of Waterloo, an<l advised the ijfi'eat duke to
sleep with his son Sam, as the latter was a wondei'fuUy
cute man and wise counselloi'.
Sam Slick is hardly the typical Yankee of his time
when he pours contempt and ridicule on the mock
modesty and suggestive s(|ueamishness of so many of
his countrymen. " Fastidiousness," he says in "Nature
and Human Nature," "is the envelope of indelicacy. To
see liarm in ordinaiT words betrays a knowledo'c an<l
not an ignorance of evil." Once, at least, his antipa-
tliy to false refinenient carried Slick too far — when he
makes an ultra-propt'r .spinster wa.x playful and fami-
liar hy suggesting, in purposely misleading terms, that
slie has made a concpiest. This in my opinion is the
most unworthy action recorded of Mr. Slick, and 1 am
glad to say he had the grace to he ashamed of it.
In religion Slick detests cant, and distrusts those
who use it. He likes to expose sanctimonious hum-
hugs. Hypocrisy, he thinks, " has enlisted more folks
for Old Scratch than any reci'uitin' si'rjeant he has"
(Attache, c. -SO). " When the fox turns preachei-," he ob-
serves in " Wi.se Saws," " tlu> gee.se had better not go to
night meetin's." He considers a.scetic morality imprac-
ticable, and to preach it injurious, for the masses.
" Puritan.s," he says in "Nature and Human Nature,"
" whether in oi- out of church make more sinneis than
they save l»y a long chalk. Tiny aint content with
real sin * * Their eyes are like the great mauniHer
04
HAUnURTON.
at the P()lyt"chnic, tliat shows you awful monsters in
a drop of watc r, wliicli were ncvci- intended for us to
see, or Providence would liave made our eyes like Lord
Rosse's telescope." Of sects he says, " Call 'em this dic-
tionary name and that new-fanolcd name, hut.niveme
the tree that hears the best fruit." Of sermons he ol»-
serves, "I don't like preachino- to the narves instead of
to the jud_i>-ment." He is a little cynical in some par-
ticulars. He ti-aces the influence of the clergy to hav-
ino- the women on tlu'ir side, and, in a story which he
tells, the Reverend rascal Meldrum attiihutes the pros-
perity he enjoys for a season to Ids soft-sawdering the
gentle sex. Sometimes Slick is actually irreverent, as
for instance in his speculations on negroes' souls, which
he locaU's in their heels.
Slick believes in treating criminals sunnnarily,
and even in lynching on occasion. He uses drastic
measures with hidlies, l)ad hoys, and halky horses. He
holds that there are " no good scholars since hirch rods
went out of school and sentiment went in."
"So he won't leave the vessel, eh ^" said Skipper
Love, Slick's friend and co-l»eliever in elective energy.
" Well, a ci'itter that won't move nnist be made to go,
that's all. There's a mot< ve power in all natur'. There's
a current or a breeze for a vessel, an ingine for a rail-
car, necessity for poverty, love for the feminine gender,
and glory for the her). But for men I like persuasion.
It seems to convene better with a free and enlightened
citizen. Now here," said he. ()])ening his closet and
taking (Hit his i-ope-yarn, " here is a jiersuader that no-
thinu'can stand. Oh, lu' won't come, eh ' well wi''ll see!'
THE MAN AND THE WRITER.
65
Ml', Slick was an outrageous and successful flirt,
and could blarney like an Ii-ishman. He believed with
Byi-on that impudence — "brisk confidence" the poet
calls it — was the (juality most elective with woman.
He nives a philosophic I'eason for this belief in " Natuie
and Human Nature" (c. 14):— "She didn't' know
M'hether it was impudence or admii'ation ; Imt when a
woman arbitrates on a case she is interested in she al-
ways gives an award in her own fa\'or." For sour and
sulky females, however, he approved of stern discipline.
He even once whipped a shrew. Women, he asserted,
require "the identical same treatment" as horses. "In-
courage the timid ones, be gentle and steady with the
fractious ones, lait lather the sulky ones like blazes."
To this resend)lance of women to horses in disposition,
and the desirability of treating them alike, he ivcurs
several times. In " The Season Ticket," Jemmy, a Lon-
don liearse-driver declares — and the sentiment cei-tain-
ly seems more natural in an Englishman of the lower
classes than in a typical Yankee — that "it's better to
have the wife under the whip than on the lead, and to
have her well under connnand than for her to take the
bit into her mouth and play the devil." And still an-
other of our author's charactej's, in the last chapter of
this his latest work, argues, in favor of divorce, that if
one may swap or change an unmanageable liorse, <t
fortiori one should be allowed to get rid of an unman-
ageable wife. For, he says, "a horse <lon't pi-etend to
be better than it is; It is no liypoci'ite * * But a
woman aint so easy judged of, I can tell you."
Yet Mr. Slick is not an habitual deti-actor of the
66
HALIBURTON .
fair sex : lie admits tlic ffiitli, patirnec, coiimnc and
oTatitudt' of women, and lie is particularly fond of
their society.
Constantlv in' 'iiiiipeolde to work and makemonev,
he vet sees tliat sudden liches often 1 u'O'et false preten-
tiousness and conceit: "A caliha^-e," he says, "has
DJacuv laru'e leaves to the hottom, and siii'eads them
o\it as wide as an old woman's petticoats, to hide tlio
• 'I'ound it sprunu' from and conceal its exti'action."
When he becomes rich himself, lie avoids ostentation
jind often uses his money in doine- kiixlly acts. In-
dee<l he is iienerallv amiahle, excei)t to fops, drones,
]tra<;eartN, hypocrites, and detractors of his country.
He lielps and cheers (Wise Saws, e. 1-S) a man who
had u'iven up the liattle of life, complaining- that it
was vain to swim forever aeainst tlie current. " Try
an e(ldy," he advised, in one of the happiest of his
many happy metaphors: 'you ounht to know enough
of the stream of life to find one, and then yiai W(nd<l
work up I'iver as
if it was Hood-tide. At the end of
the ed<ly is still water."
To believe that any human being, much less one
who starts life under considerable disadvantao-es, couM
know all that Mr. Slick says he knows, woiiM lax one's
credulity overmuch. So various indeed are his accom-
])lishments "that lie seems to be not one Imt all man-
kind's ei)itonie." He is e(|ually at home in the politics
of EnglaiKl, Canada and the Tnited States. He paints,
he plays the }>ianoand the buol,>, ]i(> d!iiic«'s, he is skilled
in wood-ci-aft {'.nd angling, he rows and paddles neatly,
he shoots like Leather Stocking or Dr. Carvel'. He
77//S .1/J.V AX I) THE WHIT Eli.
07
can speculate in a:iy line with e(|nal siu-cess. Jle has
a fair sniatterinn' of nuMlieine and cheniistiy. He olfers
a hawker of cement a much 1 tetter i-ecei[>t, of his own
invention. He has been in almost every country, in-
cluding' Poland, South America, and Persia. In tlic
latter country he has learned the art of stu])ifvin<.^
fi.shes and ).iakinj^ them float on the surface. He dyes
a drunk' n hypocrite's face with a dye which lie y-ot
from Indians in "the o'l-eat lone land:" and when the
hypocrite r^'pents he has a drastic wash ready to ettace
the stain. " 1 actilly lai-ned French in a voynoe to
Calcutta," he says, "and German on my way home."
He knew a little Gaelic too, which he had learne<l on a
new and agreeable system that, unfortunately, wiaild
never do in the public schools.
At Rome in Juvenal's time it was the hungry
Greek, in Johnson's "London" it was the "fasting-
monsieur," who knew all the sciences. And let it be
granted that the typical Jack-of-all-trades in this cen-
tury and on this continent is the inipiisitive and acquis-
itive Yankee. Yet Sam Slick beats the record of his
shifty countrymen. He has been evi'rywhere where a
lively reminiscence can lu* located, and he is endowed
with any art or attainment which comes in handy " to
point a UKjral or adorn a tale," to snub a snob or help
a friend.
He understands every phase of human nature,
male and female, black, white and red, high and low,
rich and poor. He is ecpially familiar with every
social .s//'(/^/r)H. In " Nature and Human Nature" he
minutely describes two picnics so(m after each other.
(i.S
IIAI.IItrRTOX :
A „.,,.,, ,l,,.,,,tl,,.l,.ll,.s,,,vl,,,li,u,l,nlf.|,,,,.,kn,,tl,,.
..tl..Tt„sl„.,„„M,.H„lif„xy ,.I,uli,.s. 'VU..^.,M.
'|"'l<:''' ms |„v.s,,,„„i,ly „l,t„i,„..l t .„/,«. i„t„tl„.
li.'slunys,, MMMut,. kM..wl,,ij,,..,f itsva,-i„„s|,|„.,„m„.„„
i..n..,i,,„.iti,Mt,i,is„v,.,-.,,„i,„„„„t,;f i,i„ ,;
h„. t.. |.uvl..ss,„.ss ,„. f,„.«,.tful,„,s „„ H„iil„„,,.„'s
. t \ ,,,.„ Ji, s,H< o..,ms InWlf i„ .,,1 ,,,,,ity
.ti,,.,„.|,„..„-„,,.„„,,|„|„„.,„j j,|,_,^^^^^i^ y
.■m,tl,..,.s,,,t..,,ti,,,,,l,..is,,,,lya ,■ ,„„,l„.,. HI t
'"- '■■;,,„.,l. U,.,v tl.is s„, lyi„„. „,,„|.| |„. ,,i^
l.n„M„K.nt .•Imrac-tc.ri.stic.. N,„v ,S,i,.k is ,|„it,. ,:„,,,„,,,,
.-,;o..ael,.c.k,l,utlan, ,„istal<,.„in,..is„™,tt,
l-c ^ ..nvcl as a s,.riuas a,„l l,„l,it„al ]ia,
T" .Imw tl„. l„„j; !,„„ f,„. tl,, sak,. „f ,„al<i„,. fun
-tlK, tl, no, a,„i „t this ,,asti„„. Mr. Slick was vny
t-nd .>„„.;■ ,,,,saia, ..J anuved a „H,tt..„ chop st
natem that „,v ,1... l„.„kc his tectl, in tcarin.'^th"
l.™..| to PK.CCS to «ct at it : an.l at another ti,„c 1 .Taint-
"' -^'"noh. so h-kc .stone that, whc, I threw it c
water, ,t sunk nVht kcrlash to the hotton,." He i ,-
]""■■" " ' '' '-'•'■tain Ki-eat lin^nist l,y |,rof,.ssin.n to
'--;>-'« tl.eXorthAnu.rica.rin.lianlliacr'^n
"t""- Inn. that the re.lskins f„r,n new won si
M.ininiai, he .says, ni preference t., "a.«lnti,r,tio„ "
l...hans. Jhe hest glue in America, he gravely
77/ A' MAX AXn TIII'J W/ilT/'JR.
(;!)
adds, is made t'loin iic^ro lii dcs ; wht'iicc tlir sayin,L!; " It
sticdvs like j^n-ini dcatli to a Arml iii^iifcr." In anotlu-r
j)laei" he tract's the ori^'in i»i" the plirasc "lie's Iteen
tlirouiili tlie iiiill " to a local accident at Slickville.
But if Sam Slick, ms nii;4lit l)e guessed from these
last incidents, is not a trustworthy etymolo<^ist, he is a
past-master of slan^-. His sayin<;s are ([UotcMl \vid(dy,
to illustrate colloquial terms, all thiounh IJartlett's
" J)ictionary of Americanisms." Some of Slick's slani>y
expressions are very original and foreihle, as for ex-
ample the followhio-: — " If 1 had a ^ot hold of him, I'd
a lammed him wuss than the <levil heatin' tan-hark !"
He confesses that he hates ])oets, "lock, stock and
harrel." As he sometimes purposely shocks the Bi'itish
sense of decorum hy his Yankee irreverence, so he likes
to ruitie one's sentimentality l)y some anti-poetical
simile. Poets have th(aig)it of H<j;uiv after tiujure to
descrihe the changin*,^ music of a running- stream. Here
is Slick's ccjutribution — "the noise water makes tum-
Itlin' over stones in a brook, a splutterin' like a tooth-
less old woman scoldin' with a mouthful of hot tea in
her lantern cheek I"
It is hard to determine in some cases whether Sam
Slick's utterances are intended to illustrate his char-
acter, or merely to voice the author's i)er.sonal views.
This doubt of course arises only when the clockmaker
utters sentiments e(iually or more in keepinj; with an-
other character than his own — with that for in.stance
of an Enulishman or Nova Scotian, or of a well-read
and well-bred gentleman. There is, however, a speci-
ally strong probability that Haliburton generally en-
70
llALinrRTDX:
<1<''^<"I Smu, Sli.ks mtirisius .„, Nov;, Sn,HM Asm
'"''^•1'"' M>,.nst...-, ,-, n.nstitu.n.y, an.l t,. sl.ow ..ntwanl
jysix'J'tt.u- i.n,,ul,,r w..,,kn.>ss,.s. lie wuuM natun.llv
■sl.nnk innn lasl.ino. tlu' p.-t fnilino-sof liis .-ountrvi.u 'n
-I><'Mly, an.l u„nM tin.l it .-xiKMlicnt to trll tl.cn, un,.a,-
Utal.l. truths tlnouul,tlH.n,...li„ fa inn.i.,, ..I.s.tv,-,-
*o.- tl... cl.K-kn.ak-.Ts sati.ic uttcraiu-es^s,, „ft,,, o,,,'
tc.s(,u..|v an.i inn-i^nsrh, ,'xaoovrat('(l~tlH. puMi,- ...'a.M
not Iml.l Inn, .vsponsil.I... "A satirist;' savs San. Slick
".''Aatun.an<llln...an\atn,v;'sp,.aki.i^ofl.isal,va.lv
iml.l.sl.cl sayinosan.l .Joino's, "a, satiiist, like an I.-isi;.
";'»•'- <"..|s It (•.,nvcni<.nt s..n.ctin.(.s t,. sl.o..t tVon. Im-
'""•l a shelter." A..,l ao'ain. in the san.e hook he
oWnes to "the S.p,i,v;- who was a Xova Seotian •--.
n !inn was w.-.ti.i'an.l n,.t n.e you woul.l have to call
Hahhix, to please the p,.„pl,. that thau-ishino- c,-,vat
mpitah" a,..| so forth. For these .vasous [ have tre;ite.l
Slick s vn.ws ahout Xova Scotia an<I Xova Scotians
eksewliere, with the p..,-sonaI opinions of ,an- author
J^^nouoh to .say h.Te, to complete this list of Mr. Slick's
tn.its, that it went a-ainst his orain to see a I'.-ovince
.iCiv.n.r Its .scant enti.u.siasni too exclusivelv to politics
aiKl M-ast.n- ,ts enero.ies in pre.s.sin.<r the o.oV.rnna.nt to'
create p.-ospe,-ity, in.stea.l of sc-izino- the exi.stin<. oi,en-
ings tor .n.lust.-y. as he an.l <.ther wi.Ieawaki. \"inkee.s
were so pi-ofitahly doino'.
That so youno- n country as Xova Scotia .sh.niM
Have rea.-e.l so oT.-at a wi-iter as Halil.urton is .s.ane-
Till': MAN AM> Till': WIUThll.
wliivt stu-prisinj;'. To wliat. additioiial ciiiiiiciici' he
iiiiulit liiivc attaiiicil, had liis carlit r ctiorts liccii a<l-
(livsscd to a nioiv critical circle, must ivmaiu a matter
ol" coMJcctmv. I'.iit it is not nnliUcly that hr miuht
liavctaUcu i-auk amotie-thc very u'lva test litci'ary names
of the centniy, had lie had higher educational advan-
tao'es and a more stimidatini;' literary environment at
the (Mitset ol" his career. As it was, Haliltiirton gener-
ally AV rote forcihly, and often smoothly and classically
while in detacluMl passages he could he terse and even
l)rilliant. But the attractions of his style are not sus-
tained, and he is sometimes a little sli])slio<l oi- ditfuse.
He is accordingly still more to he admii-ed as a humoi-
ist than as a writer, and nioie than «'ither, perhaps, as
a tliorinioh student and acute judev of human nature.
He noted with almost etpial keenness and accuracy tlio
idiosyncrasies of indivi(hials, classes and nations. He
intuitivcdy i-ecognised the tendencies of the age; he
ohserve.l the curi-ents of pnhlic opinicjn, an<l gauged
their volume and theii' force with approximate correct-
ness. He foretold some important events tliat liave
liappened alieady and others tliat S(>em extremely
prohahle to-day.
I have only touched liglitlv and incidentally on
what strike me as heing his faults^his self-compla-
cency, his discursiveness, his reiu'titions, the inconsis-
tencies in his characters, the hick of thoroughness in
his historical researches, his occasional stooping to in-
delicacy. I felt that they hi-ar hut a small ratio to the
merits of this greatest of Canadian Avriters. And if
some too industricms hands — some other hands than
72
llALinrRTON:
"nnr-slmll at any luiu,,. tin,.- nn.l..,tak,> t„ nuWM
Ins tm.lt...s in n.o.v .l.tail, tl,,.,. Untisl, loyalists will
not t,;.-«vt that 1... I...|i,.v..,l in ,UHr<iino. f„, ,,,, t,...
..ni.manmtln.-u.l.twlH,s,.oran,l.urlH.uas.T,.at<.n.,u..I,
to un.l..,-stHn,|. An,lailtl..yw],o.stan,li;vtl,..n...tlM.r
••' '.'Mt.ons will f,...| that his sins-wlnVlMVMv ../ M.anv
-should
MUR'h
"•• ioro,vr„ l,„„, to,, that I,., hath lov,.| hn
Till-: MAS AM) Till': W'HlTh'll.
7a
CHRONOLOGICAL OUTLINE.
'I'lKlMAS Cll \M)|,|-,I! IfAI.IIil IflMN, HOll of .llisticc \V. II. O.
Halil)urt()ii, wuh Imhii at Windsor, \. S., Ih-c. IT, I7!M) ; ediiu.itctl iit
Wiiidmn' (inuiiiiiiiiSciiool ami 8iil)He(|Ut'iitly at Kiiiy'sCollugo, wliui'u
he iiiatiiL'nlatod in ISIO and giailuatod (H. A.) in IS|.") ; called to tho
Itar in IS'JO ; nioniher of the Hoilso of AssuniKly for Annapoli.s (wlieru
lie had hc-en iMiutisinglaw) IH'iCito IS2!); Chief Ju.stiou of the Inferior
Courts of Conmion IMuas for tlif Middle Division of Nova Scotia,
|Si>!> to 1S41 ; Judge of the Sui»renie Court in IM4I ; resigned judge-
ship and took uj) his residence in England in IS.'M ; received honorary
degree of I). C. L. at Oxford, IHoS ; M. P. for Launceston 1 H iVJ- 1 8(5.") ;
died at Cordon House, laleworth, on the Thames, Aug. 27, I^^B.!.
dndge Halil)urtonnuuried(l) Louisa, daughterofCapt. Neville,
late 19th Light Dragoons, and (2) Sarali Harriet, daughter of W. M.
Owen, Ks(j., (of Woodhouse, Shropsiiire) and widow of K. If.
Williams, Ei-q., (of Eaton Mascott, Siu'ewslmry).
The dates of ids works are given in tiie preceding essay.
*ri>
NDEX TO CONTENTS.
/V/;/(.
Prefatoi'y Note )»y I'rofe.s.sor l!i)lieils .S
Halilnirtoii not fully iipincuiiiteil in ('aiuula "»
lioconiiug hcttc'i- apjjrcciatcil '>
Ki'iors in l)i(>g.a|)liical notices <) — ^
WoKKS OK H.U.iisruToN : — S— 1.1
'IMie Clockniakoi' ^
The Attaclu! !»
Wise Saws ,_. '*
Nature and Human Nature !'
Historical and Statistical Account of Xova Scotia !•
Haliliuiton's History and Longfellow's " Kvangdiiie " . . 10
Tiie iiul)l)les of ( anadii H
Rule and Misrule of the Knglish in America M
Tiic Letter Hag of tiie (iroat W'estein .... \2
'I'iie Old Judge L^
Traits of Anieiican Hunioui' 1'^
Americans at Home ' -^
The Season Ticket ' ^
Tills work little known in Nova Scotia 1 +
i'aniphlets I">
CllAHACTKK AMI Ol'INIONS OK HAi.ir.ruToN :— 1.1—44
His fondness of fun and creature loniforts 1-)— ■ <
His conservative ami aristociatic leanings Hi— '20
Ailvocates fixed stipends for clergymen 17
Opposed to univer.sal suffrage, tlie ballot, responsildc gov-
ermnent and demo(;racy '■'^ — ''•'
His opii ' >n of colonial ]iolitics -0
Views and ciitici.snis on Nova Scoti.i and NovaScotians. '20- 'M
Nova Scotians expect too much from legislation '21
INDEX TO CONTENTS -Continued.
Afe deceived hy tlattciiMs 21 — '2'2
Hesourcus of tlio I'lovincu '2',i — '24
Needs of its inlial)itaiits '24
Effects of Hiililmiton's .strictures '2,'t
Nova S(;otia iiidehted to Ualiburtoii 2.")~-2()
His sketcliew of its social customs, climate, scenery and
industries 2() — .'{ I
Society in Halifax Ml
Halihui'ton's comments upon Ireland .SI ~ ;{2
His lose for his mother-countiy 'A'.^ — .S4
Advocates a federati<m of the eni])ire 'M — li'
His views <»n C'anadian independence JiT — H.S
I'avois Confederation and an interoceanie railroad ',\H
Britain ami her eohmies should ])art peaceahly, if at all. .">i>
Hopes for a fraternal alliance between iiiitain and the
United States .' ;i!» 40
C'onunents on the institutions; niid peoj)le of the United
States 4(»— 4.S
l*ro|)liesies an American civil war 44
LiTKKAIiV TUMTS OK H.\ l.nJlKTON : — 44-72
Mis aphorisms 44
His yarns 4.1—48
AH'ectatioii of ignorance 4.S
I'unniny projjcnsity 4S — 4!t
Malapropisms 4!)
IMagiarisnis froni Haliburton 40 — .")2
His satiric powers .V2
They bring nj)on him a vf)te of censure .").'i
His ])artiality for dialogue .")4
Oeeasioually inconsistent, discursive and careless .")4 — ,")
Unsuccessful in the House of ('omu\ons .m
I!is descriptive power i")()
His delineations of character ,">(» — 70
Mr. Hopewell .IS .■)!)
.Sam .Slick, the ('h>ckmaker .">!• — 70
Slicks views often identical with Haliburton's (i!)
Concluding remarks 70 — 72
Chronological outline of Halibuiton's life 73
'I'
r r
}
I
ERRATA,
'or
/
-Jam.aiy, ISSi)," „„ Titlo-page. n-a.I Maicli, ISSJ).
foiiiteen" on Tago 7, line 2;{
rc'iimi'" " 17, •' li
weakiiesH "" " •>-. n i
<!u((iiit'k; "■ " ;{;{ '> |;^
(Miti'ipiizing '■
tliiitwjii.
riiiinii .
woakiujssos.
LliroiiicltM'.
"^"' " 1" ■' I'litmpiiHing.