Despotism: or, The last days of the American republic
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📖 Overview
- Title: Despotism: Or, The Last Days of the American Republic
- Author: Reuben Vose
- Publication: 1856, Hall & Willson (463 pages)
- Genre: Political fiction / social satire
- Context: Written during a period of intense debate over slavery, immigration, and religion in the U.S., the novel reflects fears of Catholic influence, wealth inequality, and the erosion of republican ideals.
In May 1856, I was walking leisurely toward the battery. A gentle breeze came from the west — the full moon was directly over my head, and the light was almost the splendour of a cloudless day. I sought the spot where once the stairs were placed on which the stranger steps as he lands on our soil. I found the place and stood mute as I gazed in astonishment at all around me.
from the introduction:
What a change! was the exclamation that escaped from my lips! Here, where I now stand, Washington once stood! An eminent poet has said that the spirit of Poetry if the goddess ever visits the earth in a visible form, would here hold her court.
Alas, he did not know what wicked aldermen could do! The evening previous I had called with a friend at the house at which a spiritual medium had arrived, and a few believers had called to congratulate the empiric. To exhibit his powers as a revealing medium, he gave conversations with Bacon, Washington, Franklin, Clinton, Webster, and others; and he asked me to converse with my lost friends through his agency. I proposed various questions to my departed relatives, and the answers astonished me! What can be the secret of this power? I must reflect on this deep mystery!
Alas, he did not know what wicked aldermen could do! The evening previous I had called with a friend at the house at which a spiritual medium had arrived, and a few believers had called to congratulate the empiric. To exhibit his powers as a revealing medium, he gave conversations with Bacon, Washington, Franklin, Clinton, Webster, and others; and he asked me to converse with my lost friends through his agency. I proposed various questions to my departed relatives, and the answers astonished me! What can be the secret of this power? I must reflect on this deep mystery!
With this unaccountable phenomenon, I was struggling to make some progress. I wished to comprehend some letters in their alphabet. I would reach the vestibule if I could not look into the magician's heathen temple.
the book details :Author: Reuben Vose
Publication date: 1856
Company: New York, Hall and Willson
Download 18.5 MB
the book details :
Download 18.5 MB