the crowd passed them idly by; and if he gave
this as a specimen of the manner in which the unfortunate poor were
treated in Scotland, he would not give a worse impression, nor make a
more unfair statement of the fact, than Mr. Thompson had done, nearly
without exception, in his statements of America. Such a spirit and
practice as this, pervaded the whole of Mr. Thompson's speeches. He
would select a few instances to enforce his meaning. There was a
single Presbyterian Church at Nashville, Tennessee. Now he, (Mr. B.)
happened, in the providence of God, to be somewhat acquainted with the
past history of that church; and was happy to call its present
benevolent minister his friend. He could consequently speak of it from
his own knowledge. Mr. Thompson said that a young man went to
Nashville, who, either through his own imprudence, or the violence of
the disjointed times, was arrested, tried by a popular committee,
found guilty of spreading seditious papers, and sentenced to be
whipped; that he had received twenty lashes, and was then discharged.
This he believed to be substantially true, and well remembered hearing
of the occurrence; and taking the young man's account of it as true,
he had been greatly shocked at it, and had now no idea of defending
it. But in Mr. Thompson's statement of the case, there was a minute
misrepresentation, which showed singular indifference to facts. Mr. T.
said the young man went to Tennessee to sell cottage bibles, in which
business he succeeded well, for the reason, adds the narrator, that
Bibles were scarce in the South; although he could not fail to know,
that before the period in question, every family in all those States
that would receive a Bible, had been furnished with one by the various
Bible Societies. This, however, was not the main reason for a
reference to this case; but was mentioned incidentally, to show the
nature of the feelings and accusations indulged in by this gentleman.
His account went on to say, sometimes that there were seven, sometimes
eleven elders of this Presbyterian Church. It was not intended to lay
any stress on the discrepancy; as the fault might be the reporter's.
But seven, or eleven; it was again and again charged, that all of
them, every one, was present, trying, and consenting to the punishment
of the unhappy young man, "plowing up his back," and mingling, perhaps
in the mob who cursed him, even for his prayers. To make the case
inexpressibly horrible, it