The Book of Nullification/Chapter 2
CHAPTER II.
1. Now when James, the son of James, had returned to his people, he gathered together the captains, and the wise men, and the rulers of hundreds, and the rulers of tens, in all the land of Colleton, which is hard by Charleston.
2. And he cried aloud against John of Quincy, and against the statute, and against the tariff which he had ordained.
3. And he opened his mouth and said, "ye men of Colleton! lo, the people of the East, who are called Yankees, have smote your land with a scourge; they have despoiled you of your substance, and put chains upon your members; they have robbed your fields of their increase, and "the fox peeps forth from your ruined chateaus."
4. And the men of Colleton turned their eyes to the East, and to the West, for they knew not the thing which is called a "chateau;" they felt their arms for chains, but they were free.
5. And they looked forth on the fields, but they were fresh with verdure, and the land was without scourge; and they marvelled greatly at the words of James.
6. But James called aloud on the name of George the prophet.
7. And George answered in a voice like the rushing of many waters, and said unto the people, "awake, stand up, O men of Colleton, who have drunk at the hands of the Yankees, their cup of fury."
8. "Verily I say unto you, that although your fields are green, and your hands free, yet desolation, and destruction, and famine, shall surely come upon you, for by the spirit of John, the conjurer, I swear, that great and inconceivable are the evils which the tariff of John of Quincy, shall bring to pass.
9. "Wherefore, O men of Colleton, let not your hearts be faint, but hearken to the words of James, and wax stronger in the faith—for lo? I will show unto you a; hidden secret."
10. Then George waved his hand before the eyes of the men of Colleton, and they beheld in the air a host of Yankees, bearing from the fields of the South "forty of every hundred parts" of the increase thereof.
11. And he gave them to drink of certain liquor, which James and his companions had procured from the kingdom beyond the great waters, even from the land of Champaigne, and they waxed warm, and they felt the chains, and the shackles, whereof James had spoken.
12. And the men of Colleton were astonished at the power of George, and of James, the son of James, and they bowed down to them and worshipped them.
13. So the words of James, which he had spoken, were made manifest to them, and they gnashed their teeth and shouted aloud.
14. On that same day, James departed from among them, and went down by the sea to the city called Charleston.
15. Now it came to pass that John of Quincy was gathered to his fathers, and Andrew sat upon his throne.
16. And John the conjuror, and Robert the Nullifier, and George the prophet, and James, the son of James, feared in their hearts the power of Andrew, for he was a just man, and had the fear of the Lord before his eyes.
17. And they bowed before his throne, and spake in a loud voice to the people saying: "we, even we, are the faithful servants of Andrew, and will do honour to his name."
18. But the heart of John, the conjuror, was in secret turned against Andrew, and he was greatly wroth against him, and his countenance fell—for his soul coveted, strongly, the throne whereon Andrew sat.
19. Now when John the conjuror, had seen the power of George the prophet, and of James, the son of James, made manifest upon the men of Colleton, he gathered unto him all the wise men, and the rulers, and the captains, of his faction, to take secret counsel together
20. And George the prophet was in the midst of them; and Robert, and James, the son of James were not afar off.
21. Then John opened his mouth and said, "men and brethren, verily we have cried aloud against the Tariff ordained by John of Quincy, and my servants George and James have made ready the men of Colleton and of Edgefield, and we have sought to prepare all the provinces of the South.
22. "So that if it should come to pass that John of Quincy should continue to sit upon the throne, we could rend from him the provinces of the South, and place a King to reign over them.
23. "Then should we all have honour, and power, and distinction, and glory; and my servants George, and James, and Robert, would be set in high places.
24. "But now men and brethren behold, the people give more honour and love to Andrew than to me, and they bow down with veneration before him, and if we cry aloud against Andrew, as we did against John of Quincy, they will cast stones at us.
25. "Wherefore let us go forth to all the provinces of the South, and let us confound the understanding of the people, and let us, with one accord, declare to them that the King's counsellors at the great City are seeking to despoil them.
26. "And we will arouse them to vengeance, and we will send forth George the prophet, and Robert, and James, and there will be a mighty commotion.
27. "And we shall have meetings and feasts, and meat offerings, and drink offerings, over all the land of the South; and when the hour shall come, then shall we cause the people to nullify the Statute which was ordained in the reign of John of Quincy."
28. "And peradventure Andrew the King will wax wroth thereat, and will send forth a power to enforce the Statutes and Ordinances of the Realm; but we shall rejoice the more, for the South will become as a fiery furnace for Andrew, and the people will be as tigers when their garments are stained with blood.
29. "Then shall we be able to send forth a multitude against Andrew the King, and we will do battle with him, and we will rend asunder his dominions, and we will take to ourselves the rich provinces of the South, and set over them another King, and other Princes and Governors.
30. "And I John, will cast for ye all a Graven Image, which shall be endued with great power to blind the eyes of the people, and to shut their ears, and ye shall set it up in a high place, and ye shall bow down before it, and worship it.
31. "And the name of the Graven Image shall be called 'Nullification,' which being interpreted is Disunion,' and the place wherein ye shall set it up, shall be called 'Convention.'
32. And the counsel of John, the conjurer seemed good to all the chief men, and the rulers, and the captains, who were gathered before him, and they departed straightway every man to do his allotted part.