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would say that if he held the same opinions as more honest Mahometans, he would do as they do. In former days, custom made it honorable to steal a. neighbor's cattle, on the Scottish border; as many Americans now deem it respectable to take children from poor defenceless neighbors, and sell them like sheep in the market.
Sir Walter Scott says playfully, ‘I have my quarters and emblazonments free of all stain but Border Theft and High Treason, which I hope are gentlemanlike crimes.’
Yet the stealing of cattle does not now seem a very noble achievement in the eyes of honorable Scotchmen How will the stealing of children, within bounds prescribed by law and custom, appear to future generations of Americans?
Boston, J. P. Jewett and Company; Cleveland, Ohio: Jewett, Proctor and Worthington; London; Low and Company, 1854.
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