1823.] A wonderful Narrat 



families " the meek and quiet spirit, 

 which is ill the sight of God of great 

 price ;" they do not " put on the whole 

 armour of God," that they may be 

 able to withstand the temptations to 

 quarrel, — -to which they may be ex- 

 posed by their own or each other's 

 imprudence, or bad passions; they do 

 not make it a point to be prepared, 

 like true Christians, to " overcome evil 

 wilh good." No; their preparations 

 for quarrels are of an opposite charac- 

 ter. They not only provide means 

 for Jdlihig in self-defence, but means 

 for the invasion, annoyance, assault, 

 and destruction of each other, to gra- 

 tify ambition, or to revenge wrongs. 

 Their young men employ considerable 

 time every year in learning the art of 

 killing, and in rendering the horrid 

 M'ork of popular murder familiar to 

 their minds, that they may not only be 

 expert at the business, but unawed by 

 its atrocity. 



Several persons in each family are 

 set apart as ptofessional fighters or 

 man-killers ; these spend a great part 

 of llicir time in learning the various 

 methods of injuring and destroying 

 their bretluen. They arc educated in 

 the belief, that ^'fighting glory is the 

 greatest of all glories." Allured by 

 this ignus fatuus, and by the fatal pri- 

 vilege of wallowing in vice, they are 

 induced to surrender their natural 

 rights, to sink to the condition of 

 slaves, and to spend their day of pro- 

 bation in preparing to fight, or in 

 fighting, — according to the dictates of 

 their Patriarch. 



LETTER IV. 



It is obvious that these various me- 

 thods of preparing for future quarrels 

 are of the nature of menace and defi- 

 ance, tending to excite and cherish 

 jealousies and hatred between the 

 families. They betray a want of con- 

 fidence in each other, and an equal 

 want of confidence in God, as the pro- 

 tector of those who obey him. This is 

 not all: these preparations for strife 

 arc adapted to cherish that haughty, 

 vindictive spirit, from which hostilities 

 naturally proceed. This they deno- 

 minate the "martial spirit," and re- 

 gard it both as their glory and defence. 



It is a general sentiment in each 

 family, that when the Patriarch says 

 fight, it is so far from being sinlul to 

 shoot or stab a brother, that it is a 

 duty. Thus the head of each family 

 i3 .supposed to have power to supcr- 



ive of Tvio Families. 109 



sede the commands of his Maker,-* 

 to change crime to virtue, and to 

 aathorize what God forbids. Hence, 

 by the power of delusion, these two 

 families are prepared to fight and shed 

 each other's blood, without any feel- 

 ing of remorse or shame. y\t 



It must, however, be observed, that 

 in their pnst quarrels, while each party 

 declared itself to be innocent, eacli 

 with truth accused the other of injus- 

 tice, robbery, and murder. Eut this 

 seems to have been done for the pur- 

 poses of reproach, and to excite en- 

 mity, rather than from any proper 

 sense of each other's guilt. For it was 

 not uncommon for tlie fighters on one 

 side to praise those on the other, as 

 having bravely " done their duty," in 

 their exertions to kill them ! 



Anotlier sentiment is entertained by 

 each family, which has had a pernici- 

 ous influence; namely, that the first 

 offender in a quarrel is chargeable with 

 all the evils which ensue. So the 

 guilt of all the subsequent enormities 

 is thrown back on the first offence, in 

 a long train of moral evils. It henco 

 becomes an important question with 

 them, who was Ihe aggressor? This of 

 course is decided by each p.irty in it:? 

 own favour, and against the other. 

 Thus the members of each family quiet 

 their consciences in Ihe perpetration 

 of crimes of the blackest description. 



Prom the foregoing exhibition of 

 facts and sentiments, you will clearly 

 perceive that the expectations of a 

 future quarrel between these families 

 are but too well founded. For the 

 opinions they entertain, the passions 

 they cultivate, and the menacing 

 course which they mutually pursue, as 

 naturally tend to produce hostilities 

 as constant exposure to an infected 

 atmosphere tends to produce in men 

 disease and death, *' Their feet are 

 sw ift to shed blood ; destruction and 

 misery are in their ways; and the way 

 of peace have tliey not known!'' 

 Hence, prol)ably, will result all the 

 necessity there ever will be for another 

 quarrel between them. 



If no mention had been made of the 

 fact that these families were profes- 

 sors of Christianity, would you not 

 have inferred, from the account given 

 of. them, that they were " Northern 

 Barbarians," — the worshippers of 

 Odin? Alas! Christian families, not 

 ashamed of long and bloody quarrels 

 with each other ! Not ashamed tu 

 boast 



