THE DEMOLISHER.
Our contemporary “The Northern Luminary,” as that concentration of dullness and opacity has the effrontery to call itself, is, we see, at his old tricks again. In the present case he is amusing himself with nibbling and cavilling at our account of the great public political dinner given by the inhabitants of our good town to our independent member, Josiah Priggins of Parsley-green, Esq. Our veracious contemporary accuses us of having omitted all notice of the hisses with which, he says, some portions of Mr Priggins’s speech were received. He further charges us with passing over in silence certain “disgraceful disturbances” by which, he asserts, the evening was marked, and concludes by stigmatizing the meeting as one of the lowest in character, and most unruly in conduct, that ever brought odium on a respectable community.
Now, can our readers guess the secret of all this spleen on the part of “The Northern Luminary,” of which, by the way, a certain prominent feature of that gentleman’s face is no bad type? We will tell them: he was not invited to the dinner! And, more, let us tell him, had he presented himself, he would not have been admitted!
Here, then, is the whole secret of the affair, and having mentioned it, we have explained all, and need not say that the “hisses” and “disgraceful disturbances” are gratuitous inventions of the enemy—in other words, downright fabrications.
We had the honour of bring at the dinner in question, and sat the whole evening at Mr Priggins’s left hand, and, thus situated, if there had been hissing, we certainly must have heard it. But there was none. Not a single hiss; and for the truth of this assertion we unhesitatingly pledge our word of honour. So far from any part or parts of Mr Priggins’s speech being hissed, every sentiment, almost every word that gentleman uttered, was hailed with unanimous and unbounded applause. In fact, we never heard a speech that gave such general satisfaction. As to the “disgraceful disturbances,” these we leave to the party of which the Northern Luminary is the avowed supporter.
Has he forgotten the scene that occurred at the last public dinner of his friends at the Hog and Pigs Tavern? He may, but we have not.
This statement, of course, rouses the utmost wrath of the editor of the “Northern Luminary,” who to the Demolisher of his contemporary replies with a red-hot