We must wag as the world does; and you know the proverb, What
makes the world wag, but the weight of the bag?"
"But if you were more in earnest, sir--or at least--I mean, if you were
not bound here by property and business, and an ancient family, and
things you could not get away from, and if you wanted only to be allowed
fair play, and treated as a man by other men, and be able to keep your
own money when you earned it, or at least to buy your own victuals with
it--what would you try to do, or what part of the country would you
think best to go to?"
"Dan, you must belong to a very clever family. It is useless to
shake your head--you must; or you never could put such questions, so
impossible to answer. In all this blessed island, there is no spot yet
discovered, where such absurd visions can be realized. Nay, nay, my
romantic friend; be content with more than the average blessings of
this land. You are not starved, you are not imprisoned, you are not even
beaten; and if you are not allowed to think, what harm of that? If you
thought all day, you would never dare to act upon your thoughts, and
so you are better without them. Tush! an Englishman was never born for
freedom. Good-night."
"But, sir, Squire Carne," cried Dan, pursuing him, "there is one
thing which you do not seem to know. I am driven away from this place
to-night; and it would have been so kind of you to advise me where to go
to."
"Driven away!" exclaimed Carne, with amazement.
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