the country. His
firmness, united to that of his cousin, however, put a stop to the
publication of the resolutions of Aristabulus's meeting, and when a
sufficient time had elapsed to prove that these prurient denouncers
of their fellow-citizens had taken wit in their anger, he procured
them, and had them published himself, as the most effectual means of
exposing the real character of the senseless mob, that had thus
disgraced liberty, by assuming its professions and its usages.

To an observer of men, the end of this affair presented several
strong points for comment. As soon as the truth became generally
known, in reference to the real ownership, and the public came to
ascertain that instead of hitherto possessing a right, it had, in
fact been merely enjoying a favour, those who had commit ted
themselves by their arrogant assumptions of facts, and their indecent
outrages, fell back on their self-love, and began to find excuses for
their conduct in that of the other party. Mr. Effingham was loudly
condemned for not having done the very thing, he, in truth, had done,
viz: telling the public it did not own his property; and when this
was shown to be an absurdity, the complaint followed that what he had
done, had been done in precisely such a mode, although it was the
mode constantly used by every one else. From these vague and
indefinite accusations, those most implicated in the wrong, began to
deny all their own original assertions, by insisting that they had
known all along, that Mr. Effingham owned the property, but that they
did not choose he, or any other man, should presume to tell them what
they knew already. In short, the end of this affair exhibited human
nature in its usual aspects of prevarication, untruth, contradiction,
and inconsistency, notwithstanding the high profession of liberty
made by those implicated; and they who had been the most guilty of
wrong, were loudest in their complaints, as if they alone had
suffered.

"This is not exhibiting the country to us, certainly, after so long
an absence, in its best appearance," said Mr. Effingham, "I must
admit, John; but error belongs to all regions, and to all classes of
institutions."

"Ay, Ned, make the best of it, as usual; but, if you do not come
round to my way of thinking, before you are a twelvemonth older, I
shall renounce prophesying. I wish we could get at the bottom of Miss
Effingham's thoughts, on this occasion."

"Miss Effingham has been gri