“Then, father, what would you propose?”
“I see the answer in Yanna’s face. She knows, Antony, what I would say, if I could say the words as well as she can—‘So much the rather’——go on, Yanna.” And Yanna’s face lighted and lifted as she repeated with calm intensity:
“So much the rather Thou Celestial Light
Shine inward! and the mind through all her powers.
Irradiate!”
“The Inward Light! That is what is needed. These reformers talk too much, and think, and do, too little. Were there many Americans present?”
“The majority were foreigners. They were not ill-natured; they were even cheerful and good-tempered. They had their wives and children with them. They had beer to drink, and tobacco to smoke, and a good band of music. I heard ‘La Marseillaise’ played with a wonderful spirit. It set me on fire. I began to feel for my musket and to think of fighting.”
“We don’t want ‘La Marseillaise’ here, Antony. We have our own national hymns. The ‘Star Spangled Banner’ can set my heart thrilling and burning, without making me think of blood and murder. If social reformers will talk to the ‘Star Spangled Banner,’ and ‘The Red, White and Blue,’ they will do no harm, and perhaps they may even do some good.”
“However, father, most of the men I heard speak appeared to have a great deal of information and much practical wisdom.”