You sneer at your own State, you sneer at your own country, you defile the sacred ground! What are you, by the Almighty, who attack your native land in this, her hour of peril!" "Peril to my native land!" laughed Crailey.

"From Santa Anna ?" "The General's right, sir," exclaimed the elder Chenoweth indignantly, and most of the listeners appeared to agree with him.

"It's a poor time to abuse the President when he's called for volunteers and our country is in danger, sir!" "Who is in danger ?" answered Crailey, lifting his hand to still the clamor of approbation that arose.

"Is Polk in danger?
Or Congress?
But that would be too much to hope! Do you expect to see the Greasers in Washington?
No, you idiots, you don't! Yet there'll be plenty of men to suffer and die; and the first should be those who thrust this war on us and poor little Mexico; but it won't be they; the men who'll do the fighting and dying will be the country boys and the like of us from the towns, while Mr.Polk sits planning at the White House how he can get elected again.

I wish Tom were here, confound you! You listen to him because he always has the facts and I'm just an embroiderer, you think.
What's become of the gaudy campaign cry you were all wearing your lungs out with a few months ago?
'Fifty-four-forty or fight!' Bah! Polk twisted the lion's tail with that until after election.