the Southerner, after emigrating to the North, is soon forced, in self
defence, or rather prompted by the laws of self preservation, to close
up the avenues of his liberality, and assume an attitude, or rather
take a position in society, unknown to him while a resident of a
Southern clime. The liberality of Southern people too often leads them
into recklessness in the management of their pecuniary transactions,
which frequently results in embarrassment and ruin. A Southerner to
his friend, never says _no_. He promptly and cheerfully complies with
his request, and, truly, the giver, if not more "blessed," appears to
be more happy than the receiver. Whatever they do, they seem to do it
cheerfully. They act as if they esteemed it a singular favor, to have
it in their power to relieve a friend. A Southern man will part with
his last dime to aid a friend, though, he may be forced, in less than
twenty four hours, to borrow money himself. I long lived among them,
embarrassed by a series of unprecedented misfortunes, and their
generosity I shall never forget. I shall carry the recollection of it
to my grave; it will, no doubt, soothe me on my dying bed. Dear
friends of the sunny South, in an evil hour I was separated from you,
and what I have suffered since both in body and mind, God only knows.
Ah! I could tell a _tale_, but I forbear. There is a marked contrast
in the manner in which strangers are treated North and South. Every
stranger in the South is presumed to be an honest man, until he proves
himself to be a rogue. Every stranger in the North, is presumed to be
a rogue, until he proves himself an honest man. Another Southern
peculiarity is, that no one can attack the character of another,
without incurring the risk of loosing his life. The slanderer in the
South is an outlaw, and the injured party incurs but little more risk
in stabbing, or shooting him, than he would in shooting a mad dog; for
public opinion justifies the deed, and a jury of his fellow citizens
will acquit him. This is literally and emphatically true, if the