The Book of Nullification/Chapter 5
CHAPTER V.
1. Now there was a certain man of large stature and of weak sight, who dwelt in the city of Charleston, and he was a scribe, and his name was called Robert.
2. And the heart of Robert yearned towards the men who dwell in an Island beyond the great waters, and he loved them with all his Soul, so the men of Charleston called Robert, "the Englishman."
3. And Robert in his heart hated Andrew the King, who reigned over the realm of America; for the same Andrew it was, who slew near the great river Mississippi, thousands of enemies, who came from the distant Island which Robert loved.
4. And John the conjuror, saw into the heart of Robert the Englishman, and he wrote letters unto him, giving praises unto the graven image called Nullification, which John had made; and saying, that it was mighty, to make the provinces of the South one realm with the distant Island, towards which the heart of Robert yearned.
5. Now, Robert the Englishman had faith, and believed in the words of John, and he came also to the great Feast of Nullification, to do honour thereunto.
6. Then the rulers, and the elders, and the wise men, and all those who came unto the feast, gathered together, and were seated around the tables in the Great Hall of the city, and they did eat.
7. But James, who is surnamed "the deluded," and Robert the Nullifier, feared much, lest the eyes of William the just, should alight upon the graven image, Nullification, for they knew he would expose it to all the people.
8. So they set the Idol in a high place, and covered it over with a Cloth of Stripes and of Stars, and William saw the cloth, and believed it was the banner of the nation, and he knew not what was beneath.
9. And all the people did partake of the feast, for they nothing doubted but that they thereby made manifest their love and their veneration for the name of him whom they delighted to honour.
10. And they called aloud on William the just, and gave praises unto him, "as a cherished son of the South, disciplined in her best schools of chivalry and honour."
11. Then William arose before all the people, and gave thanks for the love wherewith they had honoured him, and he opened his mouth and said,
12. "Verily, O men of Charleston, ye have heard much clamour against the Statute of John of Quincy, even the Tariff, and ye have been entreated to resist the same, even though Andrew the King hath sworn to enforce all the Statutes of the Realm.
13. "And ye have been told by certain men, if ye will but take into your hands a cunning device called Nullification, ye will thereby be enabled to overthrow the power of the King, without peril to your lives or to the realm.
14. "But I say unto you, Men and Brethren, this saying is vain; of a surety Andrew the King will perform the oath which he has sworn; and if ye set at nought the statutes of the realm, Andrew will send a power against ye to enforce obedience.
15. "And ye must then do battle with Andrew, and if ye be subdued, then will ye be put to shame; and if ye gain the victory, then will ye have stained your raiment with the blood of brethren, and ye will have rent in twain the realm, and ye must make to yourselves another King.
16. "These, Men and Brethren, are the fruits of Nullification; and they were made manifest when Daniel and Edward broke the same in pieces, and held it up before the people, and those who made the cunning device have repented them of their work, and will peradventure confess the error of their ways."
17. And when William had thus spoken, the people shouted aloud with a great shout, and the great Hall shook thereat; and the cloth of stripes and stars which had been placed before William was blown aside, and the graven image, Nullification, stood manifest before all the people.
18. Then William turned his eyes upward toward Heaven, and he saw the graven image which had been set up on the high place, and he was greatly wroth, and he took in his hand the broad banner which had been used to conceal it.
19. And he waved the banner and cried aloud, "Behold, men of Charleston, the graven image Nullification hath been again set up to deceive you; the idolaters have not repented of their evil ways, and they yet bow down before strange gods.
20. "Wherefore let us arise and declare before all the world that this our banner shall no more give shelter to the offspring of the Sorcerer, but shall "ever wave, with undiminished lustre, over free, sovereign, and United States."
21. And the people arose with one accord and did as William counselled; and instantly the graven image fell from the place whereon it stood, and passing near the head of Robert the Englishman, struck upon the earth and was broken into fragments.
22. And Robert was stunned but not crushed, and from that day he went about the city like one possessed of a Devil, and many believed that Nullification had entered his brain.
23. But the people who were gathered together at the feast, were greatly wroth when they saw how Nullification had been set up before them, and they began to turn their eyes upon Robert the Nullifier, for they grievously suspected him.
24. Then Robert the Nullifier stood forth and said, "of a surety O men of Charleston, I repose not on a 'Bed of Roses,' for I am 'but as a messenger of defeat and disaster;' and although William hath spoken to you of the evil which I have sustained at the hands of Daniel, and of the man of Louisiana.
25. "Yet O friends! I have suffered and been humbled in the cause of 'State Rights,' and although our enemies have told ye that we bowed down before Nullification, and that we have here set up the graven image to be worshipped by you all, yet I beseech ye, put no faith in their words:
26. "For I swear unto you that the Nullification to which we bowed down, is not that which hath been crushed here before you, but it is the same Nullification which was set up in the distant country called Kentucky, by Thomas, whom ye all know, and who is surnamed Jefferson.
27. "Wherefore, O men of Charleston, be not wroth with me, for the work which was done by Thomas, for I am but an humble follower of his path; and if Nullification be evil in your sight, visit not the sin thereof upon my head."
28. And Robert the Nullifier said many words to the people, to blind their eyes to the error of his ways, and they held their peace, but their hearts were kindled against him, for they saw manifestly, that though his courage failed him, yet he repented not.
29. And they treasured up his words in their remembrance for a future day of reckoning, when he should be called to account for his stewardship.
30. And they were yet the more angry with Robert, because he laid his own sins at the door of Thomas, surnamed Jefferson, for the people knew that Thomas was a man without guile, and would not bow down before any Graven Image.