140 THE LIFE OF PHILIP HENRY GOSSE. 



" the moment before in the act of stealing off. The 

 " initiated, however, can tell a real dead 'possum from 

 " one that is shamming, and the overseer directed my 

 " attention to the last joints of the tail. This, during 

 " life, is prehensile, used to catch and hold the twigs like 

 " a fifth hand ; and even in the hypocritical state in 

 *' which I saw it, the coil of the tail-tip was maintained, 

 " whereas in absolute death this would be relaxed per- 

 " manently. The propriety of correct classification was 

 " impressed on me during my examination. I inadver- 

 " tently spoke of it as ' a singular creature ; ' but creature, 

 " or rather * critter,' is much too honourable a term for 

 " such an animal, being appropriated to cattle. The 

 " overseer promptly corrected my mistake. * A 'possum, 

 " sir, is not a critter, but a varmint.' " 

 This letter is written, as will be observed, in capital 

 spirits. It is evident that his first months in Alabama 

 were very happy ones, and yet there were elements of dis- 

 comfort which did not fail to become accentuated. He 

 had not been received ungenerously ; on the contrary, a 

 rough and tolerant hospitality had desired to make " the 

 stranger " feel at home. But Philip Gosse was not emi- 

 nently pliable to social peculiarities. He was proud of his 

 pure enunciation, and was careful not to adopt an American 

 accent — his " British brogue " was in consequence brought 

 up as a charge against him ; nor could he throw aside a 

 latent jingoism, as we should call it to-day, a patriotism 

 that was apt to become truculent because it was in exile. 

 In Alabama the jealousy of the " British " was almost 

 humorously prominent ; the expression of contempt for 

 English opinion was so constant as to suggest an extreme 

 sensitiveness to that opinion. But Philip Gosse was almost 

 as thin-skinned on this point as the planters themselves, 

 and he found the continual dropping of ignorant prejudice 



