pity on themselves, and will force the Universe and the Laws
of Nature to have no "pity on" them? Meseems I could discover fitter
objects of pity!

In fact it was too clear, this excellent man had got a field for his
faculties which, in several respects, was by no means the suitable one.
To drill twelve hundred scoundrels by "the method of kindness," and of
abolishing your very tread-wheel,--how could any commander rejoice to
have such a work cut out for him? You had but to look in the faces of
these twelve hundred, and despair, for most part, of ever "commanding"
them at all. Miserable distorted blockheads, the generality; ape-faces,
imp-faces, angry dog-faces, heavy sullen ox-faces; degraded underfoot
perverse creatures, sons of _in_docility, greedy mutinous darkness,
and in one word, of STUPIDITY, which is the general mother of such.
Stupidity intellectual and stupidity moral (for the one always means
the other, as you will, with surprise or not, discover if you look)
had borne this progeny: base-natured beings, on whom in the course of
a maleficent subterranean life of London Scoundrelism, the Genius
of Darkness (called Satan, Devil, and other names) had now visibly
impressed his seal, and had marked them out as soldiers of Chaos and of
him,--appointed to serve in _his_ Regiments, First of the line, Second
ditto, and so on in their order. Him, you could perceive, they would
serve; but not easily another than him. These were the subjects whom our
brave Captain and Prison-Governor was appointed to command, and
reclaim to _other_ service, by "the method of love," with a tread-wheel
abolished.

Hopeless forevermore such a project. These abject, ape, wolf, ox, imp
and other diabolic-animal specimens of humanity, who of the very gods
could ever have commanded them by love? A collar round the neck, and a
cart-whip flourished over the back; these, in a just and steady human
hand, were what the gods would have appointed them; and now when, by
long misconduct and neglect, they had sworn themselves into the Devil's
regiments of the line, and got the seal of Chaos impressed on their
visage, it was very doubtful whether even these would be of avail for
the unfortunate commander of twelve hundred men! By "love," without hope
except of peaceably teasing oakum, or fear except of a temporary loss
of dinner, he was to guide these men, and wisely constrain
them,--whitherward? No-whither: that was his goal, if you will think
well of