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"The Correspondence of Thomas Carlyle and Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1834-1872, Vol II."

--, since
morning, _has been_ on the road towards Liverpool and America,
and that the function of Mercy is quite extinct in this instance!
My reflections as I wandered home again were none of the
pleasantest. Of this Mr. --- I had heard some tradition, as of
an intelligent, accomplished, and superior man; such a man's
acquaintance, of whatever complexion he be, is and was always a
precious thing to me, well worth acquiring where possible; not
to say that any friend of yours, whatever his qualities
otherwise, carries with him an imperative key to all bolts and
locks of mine, real or imaginary. In fact I felt punished;--and
who knows, if the case were seen into, whether I deserve it?
What "business" it was that deprived me of a call from Mr. ---,
or of the possibility of calling on him, I know very well,--and
---, the little dog, and others know! But the fact in that
matter is very far different indeed from the superficial
semblance; and I appeal to all the _gentlemen_ that are in
America for a candid interpretation of the same.


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