Chapter IV
., Constable does get aid from Macney Napier, and others.
“And when I saw them all gathered together, I said unto myself, Of a truth the man which is crafty hath many in his host, yet, think I, that scarcely will these be found sufficient against them which are in the gates of the man who is clothed in plain apparel....
“Verily the man which is crafty shall be defeated, and there shall not escape one to tell of his overthrow.
“And while I was yet speaking, the hosts drew near, and the city was moved; and my spirit failed within me, and I was sore afraid, and I turned to escape away.
“And he that was like unto the messenger of a king, said unto me, Cry: and I said, What shall I cry? for the day of vengeance is come upon all those that ruled the nation with a rod of iron.
“And I fled into an inner chamber to hide myself, and I heard a great tumult, but I wist not what it was.”
It is very hard for us now to duly appreciate the crushing effect of this Caldee manuscript.
It is certainly humorous, after a fashion now so prevalent in America, and undoubtedly witty.
Among the Edinburgh people of that time, when every man knew his neighbour, the effect was absolutely prodigious. A yell of despairing pain arose from one portion of the Whig party, who, if they had no administrative power in their hands, had hitherto held a patent of all literary ability; and from the other portion came an equally discordant cry, which eventually culminated in a fierce accusation of blasphemy and irreligion. Perhaps, however, the strongest test we can apply to the power of this galling squib is the fact that every title bestowed in its pages has “stuck” to the individual against whom it was directed.
Blackwood was alarmed at the commotion he had caused, withdrew the obnoxious article from the second edition, suppressed it in what he could of the first, and in the second number inserted the following announcement:--“The editor has learnt with regret that an article in the first edition of last number, which was intended merely as a _jeu d’esprit_, has been construed so as to give offence to individuals justly entitled to respect and regard; he has, on that account, withdrawn it in the second edition, and can only add that, if what has happened could have been anticipated, the article in question certainly never would have appeared.” It was, however, too late, war had been declared to the knife, and Blackwood was nothing loath to continue the struggle.
“The conception of the Caldee MS.,” says Wilson’s son-in-law, Professor Ferrier, “and the first thirty-seven verses of