any
washin' or scrubbin', but can convart himself into himself ag'in, at any
time, in two minutes. The wages is good and the work light; then we have
rare chances in the stores, and round about among the farms. The law is
that an Injin must have what he wants, and no grumblin', and we take
care to want enough. If you'll be at the meetin', I'll tell you how
you'll know me."

"Ja, ja--dat ist goot; I vill be at der meetin', sartainly. Vhere might
it be?"

"Down at the village. The word came up this a'ternoon, and we shall all
be on the ground by ten o'clock."

"Vilt der be a fight, dat you meet so bunctually, and wid so moch
spirit?"

"Fight! Lord, no; who is there to fight, I should like to know? We are
pretty much all ag'in the Littlepages, and there's none of them on the
ground but two or three women. I'll tell you how it's all settled. The
meetin' is called on the deliberative and liberty-supportin' plan. I
s'pose you know we've all sorts of meetin's in this country?"

"Nein; I dought dere might be meetin's for bolitics, vhen der beople
might coome, but I don't know vhat else."

"Is't possible! What, have you no 'indignation meetin's' in Jarmany? We
count a great deal on our indignation meetin's, and both sides have'em
in abundance, when things get to be warm. Our meetin' to-morrow is for
deliberation and liberty-principles generally. We may pass some
indignation resolutions about aristocrats, for nobody can bear them
critturs in this part of the country, I can tell you."

Lest this manuscript should get into the hands of some of those who do
not understand the real condition of New York society, it may be well to
explain that "aristocrat" means, in the parlance of the country, no
other than a man of gentleman-like tastes, habits, opinions and
associations. There are gradations among the aristocracy of the State,
as well as among other men. Thus he who is an aristocrat in a hamlet,
would be very democratic in a village; and he of the village might be no
aristocrat in the town, at all; though, in the towns generally, indeed
always, when their population has the least of a town character, the
distinction ceases altogether, men quietly dropping into the traces of
civilized society, and talking or thinking very little about it. To see
the crying evils of American aristocracy, then, one must go into the
country. There, indeed, a plenty of cases exist. Thus, if there happen
to be a man whose property is assessed at