I am not surprised at the views expressed by Mr. Slick
in the previous chapter. He has led too active a life,
and his habits and thoughts are too business-like to
admit of his enjoying retirement, or accommodating himself
to the formal restraints of polished society. And yet,
after making this allowance for his erratic life, it is
but fair to add that his descriptions were always
exaggerated; and, wearied as he no doubt was by the
uniformity of country life, yet in describing it, he has
evidently seized on the most striking features, and made
them more prominent than they really appeared, even to
his fatigued and prejudiced vision.

In other respects, they are just the sentiments we may
suppose would be naturally entertained by a man like the
Attache, under such circumstances. On the evening after
that on which he had described "Life in the Country" to
me, he called with two "orders" for admission to the
House of Commons, and took me down with him to hear the
debates.

"It's a great sight," said he. "We shall see all their
uppercrust men put their best foot out. There's a great
musterin' of the tribes, to-night, and the Sachems will
come out with a great talk. There'll be some sport, I
guess; some hard hittin', scalpin', and tomahawkin'. To
see a Britisher scalp a Britisher is equal to a bullfight,
anytime. You don't keer whether the bull, or the horse,
or the rider is killed, none of 'em is nothin' to you;
so you can enjoy it, and hurror for him that wins. I