lving; if not his soul; yet manyof its better attributes; its sturdy force; its courage and constancy;its truth; its self…reliance; and all that gives the emphasis to manlycharacter。 Here was a fine prospect in the distance! Not that the Surveyorbrought the lesson home to himself; or admitted that he could be soutterly undone; either by continuance in office; or ejectment。 Yetmy reflections were not the most fortable。 I began to growmelancholy and restless; continually prying into my mind; todiscover which of its poor properties were gone; and what degree ofdetriment had already accrued to the remainder。 I endeavoured tocalculate how much longer I could stay in the Custom…House; and yet goforth a man。 To confess the truth; it was my greatest apprehension… asit would never be a measure of policy to turn out so quiet anindividual as myself; and it being hardly in the nature of a publicofficer to resign… it was my chief trouble; therefore; that I waslikely to grow grey and decrepit in the Surveyorship; and beemuch such another animal as the old Inspector。 Might it not; in thetedious lapse of official life that lay before me; finally be withme as it was with this venerable friend… to make the dinner…hour thenucleus of the day; and to spend the rest of it; as an old dogspends it; asleep in the sunshine or in the shade? A dreary lookforward this; for a man who felt it to be the best definition ofhappiness to live throughout the whole range of his faculties andsensibilities! But; all this while; I was giving myself veryunnecessary alarm。 Providence had meditated better things for methan I could possibly imagine for myself。 A remarkable event of the third year of my Surveyorship… to adoptthe tone of 〃P。 P。〃… was the election of General Taylor to thePresidency。 It is essential; in order to a plete estimate of theadvantages of official life; to view the incumbent at the iningof a hostile administration。 His position is then one of the mostsingularly irksome; and; in every contingency; disagreeable; that awretched mortal can possibly occupy; with seldom an alternative ofgood; on either hand; although what presents itself to him as theworst event may very probably be the best。 But it is a strangeexperience; to a man of pride and sensibility; to know that hisinterests are within the control of individuals who neither love norunderstand him; and by whom; since one or the other must needs happen;he would rather be injured than obliged。 Strange; too; for one who haskept his calmness throughout the contest; to observe thebloodthirstiness that is developed in the hour of triumph; and to beconscious that he is himself among its objects! There are few ugliertraits of human nature than this tendency… which I now witnessed inmen no worse than their neighbours… to grow cruel; merely because theypossessed the power of inflicting harm。 If the guillotine; asapplied to office…holders; were a literal fact; instead of one ofthe most apt of metaphors; it is my sincere belief; that the activemembers of the victorious party were sufficiently excited to havechopped off all our heads; and have thanked Heaven for theopportunity! It appears to me… who have been a calm and curiousobserver; as well in victory as defeat… that this fierce and bitterspirit of malice and revenge has never distinguished the many triumphsof my own party as it now did that of the Whigs。 The Democrats takethe offices; as a general rule; because they need them; and becausethe practice of many years has made it the law of political warfare;which; unless a different system be proclaimed; it were weakness andcowardice to murmur at。 But the long habit of victory has made themgenerous。 They know how to spare; when they see occasion; and whenthey strike; the axe may be sharp; indeed; but its edge is seldompoisoned with ill…will; nor is it their custom ignominously to kickthe head which they have just struck off。 In short; unpleasant as was my predicament; at best; I saw muchreason to congratulate myself that I was on the losing side; ratherthan the triumphant one。 if; heretofore; I had been none of thewarmest of partisans; I began now; at this season of peril andadversity; to be pretty acutely sensible with which party mypredilections lay; nor was it without something like regret and shame;that; according to a reasonable calculation of chances; I saw my ownprospect of retaining office to be better than those of myDemocratic brethren。 But who can see an inch into futurity; beyond hisnose? My head was the first that fell! The moment when a man's head drops off is seldom or never; I aminclined to think; precisely the most agreeable of his life。Nevertheless; like the greater part of our misfortunes; even soserious a contingency brings its remedy and consolation with it; ifthe sufferer will but make the best; rather than the worst; of theaccident which has befallen him。 In my particular case; theconsolatory topics were close at hand; and; indeed; had suggestedthemselves to my meditations a considerable time before it 。 In view of my previous weariness of office; andvague thoughts of resignation; my fortune somewhat resembled that of aperson who should entertain an idea of mitting suicide; and;although beyond his hopes; meet with the good hap to be murdered。 Inthe Custom…House; as before in the Old Manse; I had spent three years;a term long enough to rest a weary brain; long enough to break off oldintellectual habits; and make room for new ones; long enough; andtoo long; to have lived in an unnatural state; doing what was reallyof no advantage nor delight to any human being; and withholding myselffrom toil that would; at least; have stilled an unquiet impulse in me。Then; moreover; as regarded his unceremonious ejectment; the lateSurveyor was not altogether ill…pleased to be recognised by theWhigs as an enemy; since his inactivity in political affairs… histendency to roam; at will; in that broad and quiet field where allmankind may meet; rather than confine himself to those narrow pathswhere brethren of the same household must diverge from one another…had sometimes made it questionable with his brother Democratswhether he was a friend。 Now; after he had won the crown ofmartyrdom (though with no longer a head to wear it on); the pointmight be looked upon as settled。 Finally; little heroic as he was;it seemed more decorous to be overthrown in the downfall of theparty with which he had been content to stand; than to remain aforlorn survivor; when so many worthier men were falling; and; atlast; after subsisting for four years on the mercy of a hostileadministration; to be pelled then to define his position anew;and claim the yet more humiliating mercy of a friendly one。 Meanwhile the press had taken up my affair; and kept me; for aweek or two; careering through the public prints; in my decapitatedstate; like Irving's Headless Horseman; ghastly and grim; andlonging to be buried; as a politically dead man ought。 So much formy figurative self。 The real human being; all this time; with his headsafely on his shoulders; had brought himself to the fortableconclusion that everything was for the best; and; making an investmentin ink; paper; and steel…pens; had opened his long…disusedwriting…desk; and was again a literary man。 Now it was that the lucubrations of my ancient predecessor; Mr。Surveyor Pue; came into play。 Rusty through long idleness; some littlespace y intellectual machinery could bebrought to work upon the tale; with an effect in any degreesatisfactory。 Even yet; though my thoughts were ultimately muchabsorbed in the task; it wears; to my eye; a stern and sombreaspect; too much ungladdened by genial sunshine; too little relievedby the tender and familiar influences which soften almost everyscene of nature and real life; and; undoubtedly; should soften everypicture of them。 This uncaptivating effect is perhaps due to theperiod of hardly acplished revolution; and still seethingturmoil; in which the story shaped itself。 It is no indication;however; of a lack of cheerfulness in the writer's mind; for he washappier; while straying through the gloom of these sunlessfantasies; than at any time since he had quitted the Old Manse。 Someof the briefer articles; which contribute to make up the volume;have likewise been written since my involuntary withdrawal from thetoils and honours of public life; and the remainder are gleaned fromannuals and magazines; of such antique date that they have goneround the circle; and e back to novelty again。 Keeping up themetaphor of the political guillotine; the whole may be considered asthe POSTHUMOUS PAPERS OF A DECAPITATED SURVEYOR; and the sketchwhich I am now bringing to a close; if too autobiographical for amodest person to publish in his life…time; will readily be excusedin a gentleman who writes from beyond the grave。 Peace be with all theworld! My blessing on my friends! My forgiveness to my enemies! ForI am in the realm of quiet! The life of the Custom…House lies like a dream behind me。 The oldInspector… who; by…the…bye; I regret to say; was overthrown and killedby a horse; some time ago; else he would certainly have lived forever…he; and all those other venerable personages who sat with him at thereceipt of custom; are but shadows in my view; white…headed andwrinkled images;
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