CHAPTER IV.
The sad butterfly, Waving his lackered wings, darts quickly on, And, by his free flight, counsels us to speed For better lodgings, and a scene more sweet, Than these dear borders offer us to-night. SIMMS.
It was noon before Ben and Gershom dared to commence the process ofcutting and splitting the tree, in order to obtain the honey. Untilthen, the bees lingered around their fallen hive, and it would have beendangerous to venture beyond the smoke and heat, in order to accomplishthe task. It is true, le Bourdon possessed several secrets, of more orless virtue, to drive off the bees when disposed to assault him, butno one that was as certain as a good fire, backed by a dense column ofvapor. Various plants are thought to be so offensive to the insects,that they avoid even their odor; and the bee-hunter had faith in one ortwo of them; but none of the right sort happened now to be near, and hewas obliged to trust, first to a powerful heat, and next to the vapor ofdamp wood.
As there were axes, and wedges, and a beetle in the canoe, and Gershomwas as expert with these implements as a master of fencing is with hisfoil, to say nothing of the skill of le Bourdon, the tree was soonlaid open, and its ample stores of sweets exposed. In the course of theafternoon the honey was deposited in kegs, the kegs were transferred tothe canoe, and the whole deposited in the chiente. The day had been oneof toil, and when our two bordermen sat down near the spring, to taketheir evening meal, each felt glad that his work was done.
"I believe this must be the last hive I line, this summer," said leBourdon, while eating his supper. "My luck has been good so far, butin troublesome times one had better not be too far from home. I amsurprised, Waring, that you have ventured so far from your family, whilethe tidings are so gloomy."
"That's partly because you don't know ME, and partly because you don'tknow DOLLY. As for leaving hum, with anybody to kear for it, I shouldlike to know who is more to the purpose than Dolly Waring? I haven't noidee that even bees would dare get upon HER! If they did, they'd soonget the worst on't Her tongue is all-powerful, to say nawthin' of herarms; and if the so'gers can only handle their muskets as she can handlea broom, there is no need of new regiments to carry on this war."
Now, nothing could be more false than this character; but a drunkard haslittle regard to what he says.
"I am glad your garrison is so strong," answered the beehunter,thoughtfully; "but mine is too weak to stay any longer, out here inthe openings. Whiskey Centre, I intend to break up, and return to thesettlement, before the red-skins break loose in earnest. If you willstay and lend me a hand to embark the honey and stores, and helpto carry the canoe down the river, you shall be well paid for yourtrouble."
"Waal, I'd about as lief do that, as do anything else. Good jobs isscarce, out here in the wilderness, and when a body lights of one, heought to profit by it. I come up here thinkin' to meet you, for I heer'ntell from a voyager that you was a-beeing it, out in the openin's, andthere's nawthin' in natur' that Dolly takes to with a greater relishthan good wild honey. 'Try whiskey,' I've told her a thousand times,'and you'll soon get to like THAT better than all the rest of creation';but not a drop could I ever get her, or Blossom, to swallow. It's true,that leaves so much the more for me; but I'm a companionable crittur,and don't think I've drunk as much as I want, unless I take itsociety-like. That's one reason I've taken so mightily to you, Bourdon;you're not much at a pull, but you an't downright afeared of a jug,neither."
The bee-hunter was glad to hear that all the family had not this man'svice, for he now plainly foresaw that the accidents of his position mustbring him and these strangers much in contact, for some weeks, at least.Le Bourdon, though not absolutely "afraid of a jug," as Whiskey Centrehad expressed it, was decidedly a temperate man; drinking but seldom,and never to excess. He too well knew the hazards by which he wassurrounded, to indulge in this way, even had he the taste for it; but hehad no taste that way, one small jug of brandy forming his supply for awhole season. In these days of exaggeration in all things, exaggerationin politics, in religion, in temperance, in virtue, and even ineducation, by putting "new wine into old bottles," that one little jugmight have sufficed to give him a bad name; but five-and-thirty yearsago men had more real independence than they now possess, and werenot as much afraid of that croquemitaine, public opinion, as theyare to-day. To be sure, it was little to le Bourdon's taste to make acompanion of such a person as Whiskey Centre; but there was no choice.The man was an utter stranger to him; and the only means he possessed ofmaking sure that he did not carry off the property that lay so much athis mercy, was by keeping near him. With many men, the bee-hunter wouldhave been uneasy at being compelled to remain alone with them in thewoods; for cases in which one had murdered another, in order to getpossession of the goods, in these remote regions, were talked of, amongthe other rumors of the borders; but Gershom had that in his air andmanner that rendered Ben confident his delinquencies, at the most, wouldscarcely reach bloodshed. Pilfer he might; but murder was a crime whichhe did not appear at all likely to commit.
After supping in company, our two adventurers secured everything; and,retiring to the chiente, they went to sleep. No material disturbanceoccurred, but the night passed in tranquillity; the bee-hunter merelyexperiencing some slight interruption to his slumbers, from the unusualcircumstance of having a companion. One as long accustomed to be aloneas himself would naturally submit to some such sensation, our habitsgetting so completely the mastery as often to supplant even nature.
The following morning the bee-hunter commenced his preparations for achange of residence. Had he not been discovered, it is probable that thenews received from the Chippewa would not have induced him to abandonhis present position, so early in the season; but he thought the risk ofremaining was too great under all the circumstances. The Pottawattamie,in particular, was a subject of great distrust to him, and he believedit highly possible some of that old chief's tribe might be after hisscalp ere many suns had risen. Gershom acquiesced in these opinions,and, as soon as his brain was less under the influence of liquor thanwas common with him, he appeared to be quite happy in having it in hispower to form a species of alliance, offensive and defensive, with aman of his own color and origin. Great harmony now prevailed between thetwo, Gershom improving vastly in all the better qualities, the instanthis intellect and feelings got to be a little released from the thraldomof the jug. His own immediate store of whiskey was quite exhausted, andle Bourdon kept the place in which his own small stock of brandy wassecured a profound secret. These glimmerings of returning intellect,and of reviving principles, are by no means unusual with the sot, thusproving that "so long as there is life, there is hope," for the moral,as well as for the physical being. What was a little remarkable, Gershomgrew less vulgar, even in his dialect, as he grew more sober, showingthat in all respects he was becoming a greatly improved person.
The men were several hours in loading the canoe, not only all thestores and ammunition, but all the honey being transferred to it. Thebee-hunter had managed to conceal his jug of brandy, reduced by thistime to little more than a quart, within an empty powder-keg, into whichhe had crammed a beaver-skin or two, that he had taken, as it might beincidentally, in the course of his rambles. At length everything wasremoved and stowed in its proper place, on board the capacious canoe,and Gershom expected an announcement on the part of Ben of his readinessto embark. But there still remained one duty to perform. The beehunterhad killed a buck only the day before the opening of our narrative, andshouldering a quarter, he had left the remainder of the animal suspendedfrom the branches of a tree, near the place where it had been shot andcleaned. As venison might be needed before they could reach the mouthof the river, Ben deemed it advisable that he and Gershom should goand bring in the remainder of the carcass. The men started on thisundertaking accordingly, leaving the canoe about two in the afternoon.
The distance between the spot where the deer had been killed, and thechiente, was
about three miles; which was the reason why the bee-hunterhad not brought home the entire animal the day he killed it; theAmerican woodsman often carrying his game great distances in preferenceto leaving it any length of time in the forest. In the latter case thereis always danger from beasts of prey, which are drawn from afar by thescent of blood. Le Bourdon thought it possible they might now encounterwolves; though he had left the carcass of the deer so suspended as toplace it beyond the reach of most of the animals of the wilderness. Eachof the men, however, carried a rifle: and Hive was allowed to accompanythem, by an act of grace on the part of his master.
For the first half-hour, nothing occurred out of the usual course ofevents. The bee-hunter had been conversing freely with his companion,who, he rejoiced to find, manifested far more common sense, not to saygood sense, than he had previously shown; and from whom he was derivinginformation touching the number of vessels, and the other movements onthe lakes, that he fancied might be of use to himself when he startedfor Detroit. While thus engaged, and when distant only a hundred rodsfrom the place where he had left the venison, le Bourdon was suddenlystruck with the movements of the dog. Instead of doubling on his owntracks, and scenting right and left, as was the animal's wont, he wasnow advancing cautiously, with his head low, seemingly feeling his waywith his nose, as if there was a strong taint in the wind.
"Sartain as my name is Gershom," exclaimed Waring, just after he and Benhad come to a halt, in order to look around them--"yonder is an Injin!The crittur' is seated at the foot of the large oak--hereaway, moreto the right of the dog, and Hive has struck his scent. The fellow isasleep, with his rifle across his lap, and can't have much dread ofwolves or bears!"
"I see him," answered le Bourdon, "and am as much surprised as grievedto find him there. It is a little remarkable that I should have so manyvisitors, just at this time, on my hunting-ground, when I never hadany at all before yesterday. It gives a body an uncomfortable feeling,Waring, to live so much in a crowd! Well, well--I'm about to move, andit will matter little twenty-four hours hence."
"The chap's a Winnebago by his paint," added Gershom--"but let's go upand give him a call."
The bee-hunter assented to this proposal, remarking, as they movedforward, that he did not think the stranger of the tribe just named;though he admitted that the use of paint was so general and loose amongthese warriors, as to render it difficult to decide.
"The crittur' sleeps soundly!" exclaimed Gershom, stopping within tenyards of the Indian, to take another look at him.
"He'll never awake," put in the bee-hunter, solemnly--"the man is dead.See; there is blood on the side of his head, and a rifle-bullet has leftits hole there."
Even while speaking, the bee-hunter advanced, and raising a sort ofshawl, that once had been used as an ornament, and which had lastbeen thrown carelessly over the head of its late owner, he exposed thewell-known features of Elks-foot, the Pottawattamie, who had left themlittle more than twenty-four hours before! The warrior had been shot bya rifle-bullet directly through the temple, and had been scalped. Thepowder had been taken from his horn, and the bullets from his pouch;but, beyond this, he had not been plundered. The body was carefullyplaced against a tree, in a sitting attitude, the rifle was laid acrossits legs, and there it had been left, in the centre of the openings, tobecome food for beasts of prey, and to have its bones bleached by thesnows and the rains!
The bee-hunter shuddered, as he gazed at this fearful memorial of theviolence against which even a wilderness could afford no sufficientprotection. That Pigeonswing had slain his late fellow-guest, le Bourdonhad no doubt, and he sickened at the thought. Although he had himselfdreaded a good deal from the hostility of the Pottawattamie, he couldhave wished this deed undone. That there was a jealous distrust of eachother between the two Indians had been sufficiently apparent; but thebee-hunter could not have imagined that it would so soon lead to resultsas terrible as these!
After examining the body, and noting the state of things around it, themen proceeded, deeply impressed with the necessity, not only of theirspeedy removal, but of their standing by each other in that remoteregion, now that violence had so clearly broken out among the tribes.The bee-hunter had taken a strong liking to the Chippewa, and heregretted so much the more to think that he had done this deed. It wastrue, that such a state of things might exist as to justify an Indianwarrior, agreeably to his own notions, in taking the life of any one ofa hostile tribe; but le Bourdon wished it had been otherwise. A manof gentle and peaceable disposition himself, though of a profoundlyenthusiastic temperament in his own peculiar way, he had ever avoidedthose scenes of disorder and bloodshed, which are of so frequentoccurrence in the forest and on the prairies; and this was actually thefirst instance in which he had ever beheld a human body that had fallenby human hands. Gershom had seen more of the peculiar life of thefrontiers than his companion, in consequence of having lived so closelyin contact with the "fire-water"; but even HE was greatly shocked withthe suddenness and nature of the Pottawattamie's end.
No attempt was made to bury the remains of Elksfoot, inasmuch asour adventurers had no tools fit for such a purpose, and any merelysuperficial interment would have been a sort of invitation to the wolvesto dig the body up again.
"Let him lean ag'in' the tree," said Waring, as they moved on toward thespot where the carcass of the deer was left, "and I'll engage nothin'touches him. There's that about the face of man, Bourdon, that skearsthe beasts; and if a body can only muster courage to stare them full inthe eye, one single human can drive before him a whull pack of wolves."
"I've heard as much," returned the bee-hunter, "but should not liketo be the 'human' to try the experiment That the face of man may haveterrors for a beast, I think likely; but hunger would prove more thana match for such fear. Yonder is our venison, Waring; safe where I leftit."
The carcass of the deer was divided, and each man shouldering hisburden, the two returned to the river, taking care to avoid the paththat led by the body of the dead Indian. As both labored with muchearnestness, everything was soon ready, and the canoe speedily left theshore. The Kalamazoo is not in general a swift and turbulent stream,though it has a sufficient current to carry away its waters without anyappearance of sluggishness. Of course, this character is not uniform,reaches occurring in which the placid water is barely seen to move;and others, again, are found, in which something like rapids, and evenfalls, appear. But on the whole, and more especially in the part of thestream where it was, the canoe had little to disturb it, as it glidedeasily down, impelled by a light stroke of the paddle.
The bee-hunter did not abandon his station without regret. He had chosena most agreeable site for his chiente, consulting air, shade, water,verdure, and groves, as well as the chances of obtaining honey. In hisregular pursuit he had been unusually fortunate; and the little pile ofkegs in the centre of his canoe was certainly a grateful sight to hiseyes. The honey gathered this season, moreover, had proved to be of anunusually delicious flavor, affording the promise of high prices andready sales. Still, the bee-hunter left the place with profound regret.He loved his calling; he loved solitude to a morbid degree, perhaps; andhe loved the gentle excitement that naturally attended his "bee-lining,"his discoveries, and his gains. Of all the pursuits that are more orless dependent on the chances of the hunt and the field, that ofthe bee-hunter is of the most quiet and placid enjoyment. He has thestirring motives of uncertainty and doubt, without the disturbingqualities of bustle and fatigue; and, while his exercise is sufficientfor health, and for the pleasures of the open air, it is seldom of anature to weary or unnerve. Then the study of the little animal thatis to be watched, and, if the reader will, plundered, is not withouta charm for those who delight in looking into the wonderful arcana ofnature. So great was the interest that le Bourdon sometimes felt in hislittle companions, that, on three several occasions that very summer,he had spared hives after having found them, because he had ascertainedthat they were composed of young bees, and had not yet got suff
icientlycolonized to render a new swarming more than a passing accident. Withall this kindness of feeling toward his victims, Boden had nothing ofthe transcendental folly that usually accompanies the sentimentalism ofthe exaggerated, but his feelings and impulses were simple and direct,though so often gentle and humane. He knew that the bee, like all theother inferior animals of creation, was placed at the dispositionof man, and did not scruple to profit by the power thus beneficentlybestowed, though he exercised it gently, and with a properdiscrimination between its use and its abuse.
Neither of the men toiled much, as the canoe floated down the stream.Very slight impulses served to give their buoyant craft a reasonablyswift motion, and the current itself was a material assistant. Thesecircumstances gave an opportunity for conversation, as the canoe glidedonward.
"A'ter all," suddenly exclaimed Waring, who had been examining the pileof kegs for some time in silence--"a'ter all, Bourdon, your trade is anoncommon one! A most extr'ornary and oncommon callin'!"
"More so, think you, Gershom, than swallowing whiskey, morning, noon,and night?" answered the bee-hunter, with a quiet smile.
"Aye, but that's not a reg'lar callin'; only a likin'! Now a man mayhave a likin' to a hundred things in which he don't deal. I set nothin'down as a business, which a man don't live by."
"Perhaps you're right, Waring. More die by whiskey than live bywhiskey."
Whiskey Centre seemed struck with this remark, which was introduced soaptly, and was uttered so quietly. He gazed earnestly at his companionfor near a minute, ere he attempted to resume the discourse.
"Blossom has often said as much as this," he then slowly rejoined; "andeven Dolly has prophesized the same."
The bee-hunter observed that an impression had been made, and he thoughtit wisest to let the reproof already administered produce its effect,without endeavoring to add to its power. Waring sat with his chin on hisbreast, in deep thought, while his companion, for the first time sincethey had met, examined the features and aspect of the man. At firstsight, Whiskey Centre certainly offered little that was inviting; buta closer study of his countenance showed that he had the remains of asingularly handsome man. Vulgar as were his forms of speech, coarse andforbidding as his face had become, through the indulgence which was hisbane, there were still traces of this truth. His complexion had oncebeen fair almost to effeminacy, his cheeks ruddy with health, and hisblue eye bright and full of hope. His hair was light; and all thesepeculiarities strongly denoted his Saxon origin. It was not so muchAnglo-Saxon as Americo-Saxon, that was to be seen in the physicaloutlines and hues of this nearly self-destroyed being. The heavinessof feature, the ponderousness of limb and movement, had all longdisappeared from his race, most probably under the influence of climate,and his nose was prominent and graceful in outline, while his mouthand chin might have passed for having been under the chisel of somedistinguished sculptor. It was, in truth, painful to examine that face,steeped as it was in liquor, and fast losing the impress left bynature. As yet, the body retained most of its power, the enemy havinginsidiously entered the citadel, rather than having actually subdued it.The bee-hunter sighed as he gazed at his moody companion, and wonderedwhether Blossom had aught of this marvellous comeliness of countenance,without its revolting accompaniments.
All that afternoon, and the whole of the night that succeeded, didthe canoe float downward with the current. Occasionally, some slightobstacle to its progress would present itself; but, on the whole, itsadvance was steady and certain. As the river necessarily followed theformation of the land, it was tortuous and irregular in its course,though its general direction was toward the northwest, or west a littlenortherly. The river-bottoms being much more heavily "timbered"--touse a woodsman term--than the higher grounds, there was little of thepark-like "openings" on its immediate banks, though distant glimpseswere had of many a glade and of many a charming grove.
As the canoe moved toward its point of destination, the conversation didnot lag between the bee-hunter and his companion. Each gave the othera sort of history of his life; for, now that the jug was exhausted,Gershom could talk not only rationally, but with clearness and force.Vulgar he was, and, as such, uninviting and often repulsive; still hisearly education partook of that peculiarity of New England which, ifit do not make her children absolutely all they are apt to believethemselves to be, seldom leaves them in the darkness of a besottedignorance. As usually happens with this particular race, Gershomhad acquired a good deal for a man of his class in life; and thisinformation, added to native shrewdness, enabled him to maintain hisplace in the dialogue with a certain degree of credit. He had a verylively perception--fancied or real--of all the advantages of being bornin the land of the Puritans, deeming everything that came of thegreat "Blarney Stone" superior to everything else of the same natureelsewhere; and, while much disposed to sneer and rail at all otherparts of the country, just as much indisposed to "take," as disposedto "give." Ben Boden soon detected this weakness in his companion'scharacter, a weakness so very general as scarce to need being pointedout to any observant man, and which is almost inseparable from half-wayintelligence and provincial self-admiration; and Ben was rather inclinedto play on it, whenever Gershom laid himself a little more open thancommon on the subject. On the whole, however, the communications wereamicable; and the dangers of the wilderness rendering the partiesallies, they went their way with an increasing confidence in eachother's support. Gershom, now that he was thoroughly sober, could impartmuch to Ben that was useful; while Ben knew a great deal that even hiscompanion, coming as he did from the chosen people, was not sorry tolearn. As has been, already intimated, each communicated to the other,in the course of this long journey on the river, an outline of his pastlife.
The history of Gershom Waring was one of every-day occurrence. He wasborn of a family in humble circumstances in Massachusetts, a communityin which, however, none are so very humble as to be beneath the paternalwatchfulness of the State. The common schools had done their duty byhim; while, according to his account of the matter, his only sister hadfallen into the hands of a female relative, who was enabled to impartan instruction slightly superior to that which is to be had from theservants of the public. After a time, the death of this relative, andthe marriage of Gershom, brought the brother and sister together again,the last still quite young. From this period the migratory life ofthe family commenced. Previously to the establishment of manufactorieswithin her limits, New England systematically gave forth her increaseto the States west and south of her own territories. A portion of thisincrease still migrates, and will probably long continue so to do; butthe tide of young women, which once flowed so steadily from thatregion, would now seem to have turned, and is setting back in a floodof "factory girls." But the Warings lived at too early a day to feelthe influence of such a pass of civilization, and went west, almost asa matter of course. With the commencement of his migratory life, Gershombegan to "dissipate," as it has got to be matter of convention to term"drinking." Fortunately, Mrs. Waring had no children, thus lessening ina measure the privations to which those unlucky females were obliged tosubmit. When Gershom left his birthplace he had a sum of money exceedinga thousand dollars in amount, the united means of himself and sister;but, by the time he had reached Detroit, it was reduced to less thana hundred. Several years, however, had been consumed by the way, thehabits growing worse and the money vanishing, as the family went furtherand further toward the skirts of society. At length Gershom attachedhimself to a sutler, who was going up to Michilimackinac, with a partyof troops; and finally he left that place to proceed, in a canoe of hisown, to the head of Lake Michigan, where was a post on the present siteof Chicago, which was then known as Fort Dearborn.
In quitting Mackinac for Chicago, Waring had no very settled plan. Hishabits had completely put him out of favor at the former place; anda certain restlessness urged him to penetrate still farther into thewilderness. In all his migrations and wanderings the two devoted femalesfollowed his fortunes; the one becaus
e she was his wife, the otherbecause she was his sister. When the canoe reached the mouth of theKalamazoo, a gale of wind drove it into the river; and finding adeserted cabin, ready built, to receive him, Gershom landed, and hadbeen busy with the rifle for the last fortnight, the time he had beenon shore. Hearing from some voyageurs who had gone down the lake that abee-hunter was up the river, he had followed the stream in its windingsuntil he fell in with le Bourdon.
Such is an outline of the account which Whiskey Centre gave of himself.It is true, he said very little of his propensity to drink, but this hiscompanion was enabled to conjecture from the context of his narrative,as well as from what he had seen. It was very evident to the bee-hunter,that the plans of both parties for the summer were about to be seriouslyderanged by the impending hostilities, and that some decided movementmight be rendered necessary, even for the protection of their lives.This much he communicated to Gershom, who heard his opinions withinterest, and a concern in behalf of his wife and sister that at leastdid some credit to his heart. For the first time in many months, indeed,Gershom was now PERFECTLY sober, a circumstance that was solely owing tohis having had no access to liquor for eight-and-forty hours. Withthe return of a clear head, came juster notions of the dangers anddifficulties in which he had involved the two self-devoted women whohad accompanied him so far, and who really seemed ready to follow him inmaking the circuit of the earth.
"It's troublesome times," exclaimed Whiskey Centre, when hiscompanion had just ended one of his strong and lucid statements of theembarrassments that might environ them, ere they could get back to thesettled portions of the country--"it's troublesome times, truly! I seeall you would say, Bourdon, and wonder I ever got my foot so deepinto it, without thinkin' of all, beforehand! The best on us will makemistakes, hows'ever, and I suppose I've been called on to make mine, aswell as another."
"My trade speaks for itself," returned the bee-hunter, "and any man cansee why one who looks for bees must come where they're to be found;but I will own, Gershom, that your speculation lies a little beyond myunderstanding. Now, you tell me you have two full barrels of whiskey--"
"Had, Bourdon--HAD--one of them is pretty nearly half used, I amafeared."
"Well, HAD, until you began to be your own customer. But here you are,squatted at the mouth of the Kalamazoo, with a barrel and a half ofliquor, and nobody but yourself to drink it! Where the profits are tocome from, exceeds Pennsylvany calculations; perhaps a Yankee can tell."
"You forget the Injins. I met a man at Mackinaw, who only took outin his canoe ONE barrel, and he brought in skins enough to set up agrocery, at Detroit. But I was on the trail of the soldiers, and meantto make a business on't, at Fort Dearborn. What between the soldiers andthe redskins, a man might sell gallons a day, and at fair prices."
"It's a sorry business at the best, Whiskey; and now you're fairlysober, if you'll take my advice you'll remain so. Why not make up yourmind, like a man, and vow you'll never touch another drop."
"Maybe I will, when these two barrels is emptied--I've often thoughtof doin' some sich matter; and, ag'in and ag'in, has Dolly and Blossomadvised me to fall into the plan; but it's hard to give up old habits,all at once. If I could only taper off on a pint a day, for a yearor so, I think I might come round in time. I know as well as you do,Bourdon, that sobriety is a good thing, and dissipation a bad thing; butit's hard to give up all at once."
Lest the instructed reader should wonder at a man's using the term"dissipation" in a wilderness, it may be well to explain that, in commonAmerican parlance, "dissipation" has got to mean "drunkenness." Perhapshalf of the whole country, if told that a man, or a woman, might beexceedingly dissipated and never swallow anything stronger than water,would stoutly deny the justice of applying the word to such a person.This perversion of the meaning of a very common term has probably arisenfrom the circumstance that there is very little dissipation in thecountry that is not connected with hard drinking. A dissipated womanis a person almost unknown in America; or when the word is applied, itmeans a very different degree of misspending of time, from that whichis understood by the use of the same reproach in older and moresophisticated states of society. The majority rules in this country,and with the majority excess usually takes this particular aspect;refinement having very little connection with the dissipation of themasses, anywhere.
The excuses of his companion, however, caused le Bourdon to muse, morethan might otherwise have been the case, on Whiskey Centre's condition.Apart from all considerations connected with the man's own welfare, andthe happiness of his family, there were those which were inseparablefrom the common safety, in the present state of the country. Boden was aman of much decision and firmness of character, and he was clear-headedas to causes and consequences. The practice of living alone had inducedin him the habits of reflection; and the self-reliance produced by hissolitary life, a life of which he was fond almost to a passion, causedhim to decide warily, but to act promptly. As they descended the rivertogether, therefore, he went over the whole of Gershom Waring's case andprospects, with great impartiality and care, and settled in his own mindwhat ought to be done, as well as the mode of doing it. He kept his owncounsel, however, discussing all sorts of subjects that were of interestto men in their situation, as they floated down the stream, avoiding anyrecurrence to this theme, which was possibly of more importance to themboth, just then, than any other that could be presented.
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