compromising enemy of steam, and the sound,
pure, orthodox, and true monikin.''

"'That we recommend the said Jaw to the confidence of all monikins.'"

"'That we call upon the country to sustain us in our great, holy,
and glorious design, pledging ourselves, posterity, the bones of our
ancestors, and all who have gone before or who may come after us, to the
faithful execution of our intentions.

"'Signed,'"

"'PLAUSIBLE SHOUT, Chairman.'"

"'READY QUILL, Secretary.'"

"No sooner were these resolutions promulgated (for instead of being
passed at a full meeting, it is now understood they were drawn up
between Messrs. Shout and Quill, under the private dictation of Mr.
Jaw), than the public mind began seriously to meditate proceeding to
extremities. That perfection in the mechanic arts, which had hitherto
formed our pride and boast, now proved to be our greatest enemy. It is
thought that the leaders of this ill-directed party meant, in truth, to
confine themselves to certain electioneering effects; but who can stay
the torrent, or avert the current of prejudice! The stream was setting
against steam; the whole invention of the species was put in motion;
and in one year from the passage of the resolutions I have recited,
mountains were transported, endless piles of rocks were thrown into
the gulf, arches were constructed, and the hole of the safety-valve
was hermetically sealed. You will form some idea of the waste of
intelligence and energy on this occasion, when I add that it was found,
by actual observation, that this artificial portion of the earth was
thicker, stronger, and more likely to be durable than the natural. So
far did infatuation lead the victims, that they actually caused the
whole region to be sounded, and, having ascertained the precise locality
of the thinnest portion of the crust, John Jaw, and all the most zealous
of his followers, removed to the spot, where they established the seat
of their government in triumph. All this time nature rested upon her
arms, in the quiet of conscious force. It was not long, however, before
our ancestors began to perceive the consequences of their act, in
the increase of the cold, in the scarcity of fruits, and in the rapid
augmentation of the ice. The monikin enthusiasm is easily awakened in
favor of any plausible theory, but it invariably yields to physical
pressure. No doubt the human race, better furnished with the material of
physical resistance, does not exhib