]
--Yes, Sir,--the Master continued,--Sir being anybody that listened,
--there is neither flattery nor offence in the views which a
physiological observer takes of the forms of life around him. It won't
do to draw individual portraits, but the differences of natural groups of
human beings are as proper subjects of remark as those of different
breeds of horses, and if horses were Houyhnhnms I don't think they would
quarrel with us because we made a distinction between a "Morgan" and a
"Messenger." The truth is, Sir, the lean sandy soil and the droughts and
the long winters and the east-winds and the cold storms, and all sorts of
unknown local influences that we can't make out quite so plainly as
these, have a tendency to roughen the human organization and make it
coarse, something as it is with the tree I mentioned. Some spots and
some strains of blood fight against these influences, but if I should say
right out what I think, it would be that the finest human fruit, on the
whole; and especially the finest women that we get in New England are
raised under glass.
--Good gracious!--exclaimed the Landlady, under glass!
--Give me cowcumbers raised in the open air, said the Capitalist, who was
a little hard of hearing.
--Perhaps,--I remarked,--it might be as well if you would explain this
last expression of yours.
Pages:
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337