"
"And did you expect to meet those nose-jeweled gentry in the neutral
ground?"
"Certainly; we understand in England that the interior swarms with
them."
"And call you this the interior of America?" cried Lawton, again
halting, and staring the other in the face, with a surprise too
naturally expressed to be counterfeited.
"Surely, sir, I conceive myself to be in the interior."
"Attend," said Lawton, pointing towards the east. "See you not that
broad sheet of water which the eye cannot compass? Thither lies the
England you deem worthy to hold dominion over half the world. See you
the land of your nativity?"
"'Tis impossible to behold objects at a distance of three thousand
miles!" exclaimed the wondering priest, a little suspicious of his
companion's sanity.
"No! what a pity it is that the powers of man are not equal to his
ambition. Now turn your eyes westward; observe that vast expanse of
water which rolls between the shores of America and China."
"I see nothing but land," said the trembling priest; "there is no water
to be seen."
"'Tis impossible to behold objects at a distance of three thousand
miles!" repeated Lawton, pursuing his walk. "If you apprehend the
savages, seek them in the ranks of your prince. Rum and gold have
preserved their loyalty.
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