ance of trade developed the Aguecheek. "Good
heavens!" said they, picking up the hats they has tossed with cheers
into the sky, and carefully brushing down the ruffled nap to its former
respectable smoothness, "this will never do! we can't frighten 'em!" So
they concluded to be frightened themselves, and ran back to their
comfortable apron-strings of opinion held by their grandmothers. Strange
as it seems, many of these are persons of piety, taste, and culture. Yet
their culture is retrospective, their taste mere dillettanteism, and
their piety conventional: to whatever is new in theology, or vital in
literature, (at least until the cobwebs of age begin to gather upon it,)
and especially to whatever tends to overthrow or greatly modify the
ancient order of things, they are unalterably opposed. If occasionally
one of them becomes desirous of keeping up with the times, or is forced
along momentarily by the stream of events, some defect of mental or
moral constitution prevents his progress; and you are sure to find him
soon or late returning to the point from which he started, like those
bits of drift-wood which are always bobbing up and down close under the
fall or circling round and round in the eddies. The trouble is, such
sticks float too lightly on the surface of things; if they carried more
heart-ballast, and would sink deeper, the current would bear them
on.--Another variety of the Conservative is the man who is really
progressive and right-minded, but extremely slow. Give him time, and he
is certain to form a just judgment, and range himself on the right side
at last. He goes with the rest only so far as they travel his road, and
his lagging is pretty sure to be atoned for by earnest endeavor in the
end. With these are to be classed numerous other varieties: those who
are "Hunkerish" on account of some strange spiritual obtuseness, or from
misanthropy, or perverseness, or self-conceit, or a cold and sluggish
temperament, or from weak, human sympathies governed by strong political
prejudice,--together with those countless larvae and tadpoles, the
small-fry of sons and nephews, of individuality yet undeveloped, who are
conservative because their fathers and uncles are conservative.

Such was the Opposition, to which we have devoted so many words,
because, though signally defeated, much of its power and influence
survives. The fact that it proved to be as large as it was is by no
means discouraging: that there should h