Narrative and Miscellaneous PapersDe Quincey, Thomas
General
Narrative and Miscellaneous Papers
De Quincey, Thomas
English essays; English fiction
And naturally, to match this order of debts, moving off so slowly, there
are funds that accumulate as slowly. My own funded half-crown is an
illustration. The half-crown will travel in the inverse order of the
granite pillar. The pillar and the half-crown move upon opposite tacks;
and there _is_ a point of time (which it is for Algebra to investigate)
when they will cross each other in the exact moment of their several
bisections--my aspiring half-crown tending gradually towards the fixed
stars, so that perhaps it might be right to make the man in the moon
trustee for that part of the accumulations which rises above the optics
of sublunary bankers; whilst the Ceylon pillar is constantly unweaving
its own granite texture, and dwindling earthwards. It is probable that
each of the parties will have reached its consummation about the same
time. What is to be done with the mustard-seed, Ceylon has forgotten to
say. But what is to be done with the half-crown and its surplus, nobody
can doubt after reading my last will and testament. After reciting a few
inconsiderable legacies to the three continents, and to the man in the
moon, for any trouble they may have had in managing the hyperbolical
accumulations, I go on to observe, that, when war is reported to have
taken itself off for ever, 'and no mistake,' (because I foresee many
false alarms of a perpetual peace,) a variety of inconveniences will
arise to all branches of the United Service, including the Horse
Marines. Clearly there can be no more half-pay; and even more clearly,
there is an end to full-pay. Pensions are at an end for 'good service.'
Allowances for wounds cannot be thought of, when all wounds shall have
ceased except those from female eyes--for which the Horse Guards is too
little advanced in civilization to make any allowance at all. Bargains
there will be no more amongst auctions of old Government stores.
Birmingham will be ruined, or so much of it as depended on rifles. And
the great Scotch works on the river Carron will be hungering for beef,
so far as Carron depended for beef upon carronades. Other arrears of
evil will stretch after the extinction of war.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account