Page:A history of booksellers, the old and the new.djvu/245

209 WILLIAM BLA CKWOOD. 209 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 over- throw. "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 abso- lutely 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 blas- phemy 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 di- rected. Blackwood was alarmed at the commotion he had