And where does it come from--from the homes of New England? Oh, no! From Ireland, from Germany, from Portugal, from China, from Canadian-Acadie, that pastoral spot of which poets sing!
"Vileness, filth, baseness!" he said. "My God, has Berkshire come to this!"
It was a very foolish thing to say, and his calling upon his antiquated God was not only foolish, but useless. His God is not the God now.
He took a ride through the winding roads and wooded hills of that delightful land. His driver proposed to take him round by the "Limestone brook" to show him the new factory.
"Why, didn't you know? They are grinding up the white limestone, and they send away tons and tons on't every day."
"Used for? It's used for mixin'. They make three grades: the sody grade, and the flour grade, and the sugar grade."
"The deuce they do!"--that was a foolish exclamation. "Do you mean that they use this to mix with flour and sugar?"
The man laughed pityingly. "Of course they do. It makes 'em healthier. Flour and sugar is healthier and goes further with a little of this 'ere limestone dust mixed in--you see. It's cheaper too. This stuff is sold for fifty cents a hundred, and flour, you know, costs six dollars a hundred. Don't you see?"
The benighted infidel did see, and he indulged in some internal ejaculations; but he fled from the simple and sincere hills of Berkshire, and sought a solace in the coarse vulgarity and vice of Boston.
But I am neglecting to say what our _society_ proposes to do; and when I have told you _of course_ we shall expect you to subscribe.
"The Cheap Labor Society" proposes to introduce from Africa and China, in batches of one thousand each, as rapidly as possible, able-bodied men who will work cheap.
"To _develop the resources_" of the country is the end and aim of all honorable men. In other words, we want cheap men so that we may make cheap shoes, cheap hats, cheap mutton, and--cheap women.
We who are now here--_we_ do not wish to work at all. Work is a _curse_. The Bible has said so, and every noble-minded man has said so, and the clergy has said so, and we know it is and must be so. But yet there are people existing in the depths of Africa and China who it is believed will work rather than starve; and these we propose to bring as rapidly as our means will permit.