|
Everyone posted:I love that beyond Cassy being obviously pretty, the thing Flash admires most about her is her ruthlessness. He consistently likes bullies, liars, cheats and rogues so long as they aren’t actively harming him. E: Better perhaps to say he is contemptuous of people who can’t see through him. I know a guy who is a classic sociopath - not violent, but completely incapable of understanding other human beings as people instead of machines that reacted in predictable ways to predictable stimuli. Extremely fun to hang out with but not someone to trust at all. Perhaps appropriately, he ended up an entertainment lawyer in LA. Anyway he had the exact same thing: all his long term friends knew exactly what he was like and kept a prudent distance (and made sure he knew we knew), and everyone who trusted him got dicked over, repeatedly. Beefeater1980 fucked around with this message at 10:19 on Jul 3, 2020 |
#
?
Jul 3, 2020 10:11
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 10, 2024 15:37 |
|
|
Beefeater1980 posted:He consistently likes bullies, liars, cheats and rogues so long as they aren’t actively harming him. Oh, I get that. I just think it's kind of neat that with all his privilege, racism and misogyny, one of the people that Flashman actually respects is a black woman (escaped) slave. Of course, one reason that Flashman is able to respect her is that he is a clear-eyed, unsentimental sociopath who sees his society for what it is and exploits it for his own advancement. I'd love to see what Quentin Tarantino would do with a character like Cassie. Everyone fucked around with this message at 14:31 on Jul 3, 2020 |
|
#
?
Jul 3, 2020 14:24
|
|
|
Cassy tells Flashman he doesn't know anything about what it feels like to be put up on an auction block for examination and sale, and from there tells him her history: her father was a wealthy white man in Baton Rouge who took one of his slaves as a mistress after his wife died. She was raised to believe she was one of the family – until her father passed away, at which point her white “siblings” sold her and her mother. Her mother went to a plantation, and Cassy was sold to a pimp at the age of thirteen. She tried to run away and was caught and sentenced to ten lashes (which is where the other piece of paper came from). quote:“Can you understand what that did to me? Can you? For they make a spectacle of it—oh, yes! I was tied up naked, and whipped before an audience of men! Can you even begin to dream what it is like—the unbelievable, frightful shame of it? But how could I make you understand!” She was beating her fist on my knee by now, crying into my face. “You are a man—what would it do to you, to be stripped and bound and flogged before a pack of leering, laughing women?” Flashy tries to cheer her up, telling her that it's almost all over – all they have to do is get to Memphis, “raffle you off,” and hop on the steamboat. Cassy again asks him to swear that he'll stick by her. quote:“You do promise?” she begged me. “You will help me, and never desert me? Never, until I’m free?” It takes two days for Flashman and Cassy to reach Memphis, with one nasty encounter in a small town when a local yokel Flashy is asking for directions recognizes Little's wagon. Flashman placates him with a story about being Little's cousin, and the next day they abandon the wagon and walk the rest of the way to Memphis. quote:It was a fair-sized place, even in those days, for half the cotton in the world seemed to find its way there, but to my jaundiced eye it appeared to be made entirely out of mud. It had rained from first light, and by the time we had walked through the churned-up streets, and been splashed by wagons and by dam-fools who didn’t look where they were going, we were in a sorry state. But the crowded bustle of the place, and the foul weather, made me feel happier, because both lessened the chance of anyone recognising us. Making inquiries, Flashman finds there's a slave sale going on right this afternoon. He then goes to the steamboat office to find a boat going upriver. quote:(T)he ancient at the office window, wearing a dirty old pilot cap and a vacant expression, was both stone deaf and three parts senile; when I bawled my inquiries to him above the noise of the storm he responded with a hand to his ear and a bewildered grin. Flashman and Cassy find a room and get cleaned up, and Flashy notes that he still has the coat with Comber's letters sewn into it – Mandeville threw it in the cart with him. They go over the plan: after the auction, Flashman will get clothes and steamboat tickets, and after Cassy escapes, she'll come back to the room and they'll head for the boat, traveling as husband and wife. quote:If you’ve never seen a slave auction, I can tell you it’s no different from an ordinary cattle sale. The market was a great low shed, with sawdust on the floor, a block at one end for the slaves and auctioneer, and the rest of the space taken up with the buyers and spectators—wealthy traders on seats at the front, very much at ease, casual buyers behind, and more than half the whole crew just spectators, loafers, bumarees and sightseers, spitting and gossiping and haw-hawing. The place was noisy and stank like the deuce, with clouds of baccy smoke and esprit de corps hanging under the beams. (“Forty-rod” whiskey was a cheap but powerful rotgut so called because it was supposedly strong enough to kill you from forty rods away.) The auctioneer barely looks at the bill of sale Flashman shows him, and asks if he's an underground railroad agent who decided to sell his charge instead of going all the way to Canada. quote:The crowd round him all haw-hawed immensely at this, and said he was a prime case, which relieved my momentary horror at his question, and the auctioneer said he didn’t give a drat, anyhow, and where the hell was Eli Bowles’s n(...)’s papers, because he hadn’t got them, and they’d drive a man out of his mind in this country, what with their finickin’ regulations, and would they get the hell out of his way so he could start the sale? No, he wouldn’t put up Jackson’s buck Perseus, because he was rotten with pox, and everyone knew it; Jackson had better put him out to stud over in Arkansas, where nobody noticed such things. No, he wouldn’t take notes of hand from any but dealers he knew—he’d enough tarnation paper as it was, and his clerk just used it to confuse him and line his own pockets, and he knew all about it, and one of these days wouldn’t he make that clerk’s rear end warm for him. And, strike him dumb, but his bottle was half empty and he hadn’t even started the sale yet—would they git out from under his feet or did they want to be still biddin’ their bollix off at two in the morning? Flashy leaves Cassy with the other slaves and finds a place to watch the show – and it is a show, with the auctioneer keeping up a steady stream of patter to amuse the crowd. quote:“See this here old wench of Masterson’s, who died last week. Masterson died, that is, not her. Not a day over forty, an’ a prime cook. Well, y’only had to look at the belly Masterson had on him; that’s testimony enough, I reckon. Yes sir, it was her fine cookin’ that kilt him—now then, what say? Eight hunnert to start—nine, for the best vittles-slinger ’tween Evansville an’ the Gulf.” Or again: “This buck of Tomkins, he sired more saplin’s than Methuselah—that’s why they call him George, after George Washington, the father of his country. Why, ’thout this boy, the n(...)r pop’lation’d be only half what it is—we wouldn’t hardly be havin’ this sale today, but for this randy little hero. There was talk of a syndicate to send him back to Afriky to keep the numbers up—now then, who’ll say a thousand?” This only inflames the crowd further, and Cassy and the auctioneer let the bidding get to $1,700 before she finally slips out of her dress, which runs the price up to $2,500 almost immediately. Finally, there are only two bidders left, and Cassy, with a bit of casual posing, manages to work them all the way to $3,400 before one of them drops out.
|
|
#
?
Jul 4, 2020 17:32
|
|
|
$3,400.00 in 1845 (I can't remember the exact year in which this adventure takes place) would be about $94,500.00 in 2019 dollars according to some calculator I just googled.
|
|
#
?
Jul 4, 2020 22:28
|
|
|
How are u posted:$3,400.00 in 1845 (I can't remember the exact year in which this adventure takes place) would be about $94,500.00 in 2019 dollars according to some calculator I just googled. It's early 1849 at this point, Flashman having left the Mandeville plantation after Christmas.
|
|
#
?
Jul 5, 2020 01:50
|
|
|
If someone has it in their back pocket a brief explainer on slave economics would be interesting. I'm getting the sense that trafficking in literal human misery was insanely profitable.
|
|
#
?
Jul 5, 2020 02:01
|
|
|
sebmojo posted:If someone has it in their back pocket a brief explainer on slave economics would be interesting. I'm getting the sense that trafficking in literal human misery was insanely profitable. It could be. Quite a few people made big money in the slave trade. That said, one of the reasons for the Civil War was the North standing in the way of expanding slavery to the various western territories. Slavery needed to expand to survive. It needed labor-poor areas (like the less settled territories) as markets. Without those new markets there's a big surplus of slaves and the profitability chokes and dies. One caveat to all that is that the above is based on my memories of stuff I've read earlier and not really an in-depth examination. So, anyone else should feel free to jump in and expand on those points and any others.
|
|
#
?
Jul 5, 2020 02:09
|
|
|
Flashman collects the money, still wondering how Cassy is going to get away. quote:It was the deuce of a lot of cash to be carrying—or so I thought. I didn’t know America well then, or I’d have realised that they don’t think twice about carrying and dealing in sums that in England would be represented by a banker’s draft. Odd, in such a wild country, but they like to have their cash about ’em, and don’t mind killing in its defence. Flashman visits a tailor to get himself some new clothes, and then a dressmaker for Cassy, where he splurges on new outfits for her. (“I’ve never numbered meanness with cash among my many faults, and I do like my women to have the very finest clothes to take off, and all the little vanities to go with ’em.”) Eventually, he accumulates two trunks of clothes, which he has sent to the Missouri, and also has the dressmaker send a boy to buy tickets on the Missouri for “Mr. and Mrs. Montague” while he's going over the dresses. Flashman returns to the room, where he takes Comber's papers out of the old coat and sews them into the waistband of his new pants, and then sits down to wait and see if Cassy returns, getting increasingly nervous as it gets later and later. Cassy finally slips in through the window after eight o'clock. quote:She was plastered from head to foot with mud, her dress was reduced to a torn, sodden rag, her eyes were wild, and she was panting like a spent dog. Cassy thinks she's lost the slave catchers, but they'll be turning the town upside down looking for her. They have dogs, but Flashman points out dogs won't be much use in the rain and wind. Meanwhile, Flashy is calculating whether it would be better to bolt on his own or take her along, and decides it would be safer to stick with her for now. Cassy is exhausted, terrified, and unable to move, and Flashy gets to work cleaning her up, toweling her dry, and getting her into new clothes while trying to get her motivated again and listening for the sounds of pursuit. quote:“I can’t run any longer!” she sobbed. “I can’t!” She tossed her head from side to side, crying with fatigue. “I just want to lie down and die!” (Gamp = umbrella.) Flashman drags Cassy outside and finds a carriage to take them to the levee, and has to almost carry her up the gangplank of the Missouri and to their stateroom. They both collapse there, until the boat whistle sounds and the wheels start moving. After a few hours, they're finally recovered enough for Flashman to order a meal and champagne, and Cassy is able to get off the bed. quote:“I don’t believe it. But we are here.” She put her face in her hands. “God bless you—oh, God bless you! Without you, I’d be—back yonder.” Flashman carries Cassy off to bed, where they spend the next couple of days. quote:(S)he said later that she had never willingly made love to a man before, and I believed her. I suppose if you’ve been a good-looking female slave, used to being hauled into bed by a lot of greasy planters whether you like it or not, it sours you against men, and when you meet a fine upstanding lad like me, who knows when to tickle rather than slap—well, you’re grateful for the change, and make the most of it. But whatever the reasons, the upshot was that Mr and Mrs Montague spent that night and the rest of next day in passionate indulgence, never bothering about the world outside, and that was how I came adrift yet again.
|
|
#
?
Jul 5, 2020 20:39
|
|
|
When they come up for air, Flashman goes out for a walk on the deck, while Cassy stays in the room – she doesn't want to risk being seen until they get to the free states. Flashman reflects on his adventures so far and his plan for the future: along the Ohio River to Louisville, from there to Pittsburgh, where he can leave Cassy to make her way to Canada or wherever, while he goes on to New York and England. (“And Flashy the Vampire could go to work on his father-in-law—I was looking forward to that, rather.”) Back in the stateroom, Flashman and Cassy settle down for a proper meal. quote:That night she tasted port for the first time in her life; I recall her sipping it and setting down the glass, and saying: The next morning, Flashman is on the deck again and stops to chat with another passenger. He asks when the boat will arrive in Louisville, since it seems they should have gotten there already. quote:He looked at me in amazement, removed his cigar, and says: After a moment of horror, Flashman realizes what happened: the mostly-deaf shipping agent in Memphis must have just heard “Louis” when Flashy was yelling at him, and named the wrong boat. And since he didn't buy the tickets in person there was no chance of correcting his mistake. Which means they're going in the wrong direction, deeper into slave territory. Cassy is furious when Flashman tells her about the situation, but after a blazing argument they finally settle down, barely on speaking terms. They arrive in St. Louis and find things so busy that there are no berths to be found going upriver for two days. They spend those days lurking in a hotel room, except for Flashy taking one trip out to buy a Colt revolver just in case. quote:At the same time I was able to take a look at the town, which interested me, because in those days St Louis was a great swarming place that never went to bed, and was full of every species of humanity from the ends of America and beyond. There were all the Mississippi characters, steamboat people, n(...)s, planters, and so on, and in addition the place was choc-a-bloc with military from the Mexican war, with Easterners and Europeans on their way to the Western gold fields, with hunters and traders from the plains, men in red shirts and buckskins, bearded to the eyes and brown as nuts, salesmen and drummers, clergymen and adventurers, ladies in all the splendours of the Eastern salons shuddering delicately away from the sight of some raucous mountain savage crouched vomiting in the muddy roadway with his bare backside, tanned black as mahogany, showing through his cutaway leather leggings. There were skinners with their long whips, sharps in tall hats with paste pins in their shirts, tall hard men chewing tobacco with their long coats thrown back to show the new five- and six-shooters stuck in their belts; there was even a fellow in a kilt lounging outside a billiard saloon with a bunch of yarning loafers as they eyed the white and yellow whores, gay as peacocks, tripping by along the boardwalk. From the levee, crammed with bales and boxes and machinery, to the narrow, mud-churned streets uptown, it was all bustle and noise and hurry, and stuck in the middle was the church St Louis was all so proud of, with its Grecian pillars and pointed fresco-just like a London club with a spire stuck on top. The last bit probably refers to the Basilica of St. Louis, King of France, which had been built about 15 years earlier.  While walking back to the hotel, Flashman stops to glance at an office with bills and notices on display, and sees this posted: quote:
Returning to the hotel, Flashman shares the bad news with Cassy, and she starts going over the map. It will take two days for them to get from St. Louis to Louisville, but she points out the Ohio River is the border between free and slave states; even if they disembark in a free state like Indiana or Ohio, there's still a risk of slave catchers, who can and do cross the river to capture runaway slaves on free soil. She says they have to at least go as far as Pittsburgh to get out of danger, which is a five-day trip.
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2020 20:53
|
|
|
I hope Cassy can end up escaping 
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2020 21:53
|
|
|
How are u posted:I hope Cassy can end up escaping Escaping and drinking port every night. Go Cassy! We believe in you!
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2020 22:51
|
|
|
They board the boat the next day and lurk in their stateroom again until the boat has finally left the Mississippi and is traveling up the Ohio. They pass Cincinnati, which Cassy says is full of slave catchers, in the evening. quote:But at breakfast time next day there was a rude awakening. The weather had grown colder and colder throughout our journey, and now when you looked overside there were great cakes of dirty brown and green ice riding down the current, and a powdering of snow lying on the Ohio bank. The fellows in the saloon were of opinion that the boat would go no farther than Portsmouth, if that far; the captain wouldn’t risk her in this kind of weather. Finally, the captain comes down and announces the boat can't get to Portsmouth (in Ohio) The passengers are unhappy about this, especially one, who introduces himself as Congressman Albert J. Smith and says he's due in Portsmouth tonight to attend a meeting with his colleague, Mr. Lincoln, for a discussion of “the slave question.” The captain, clearly a southerner, sneers at him, and Flashy is left wondering if it might be a good idea to turn back and avoid the possibility of running into Lincoln again. But Cassy refuses to return to Cincinnati. She hopes they can get a local ferry from Kentucky across to Ohio, and then travel on to Columbus. They disembark at Fisher's Landing and find that there's no ferry but there might be one running later. Cassy doesn't want to wait in Kentucky any longer than they have to, so they start walking upriver toward Portsmouth. quote:So we set off together, carrying our bags, along the lonely little road that wound among the trees by the river. It was a cold, grey afternoon, with a keen wind sighing among the branches, and through the trunks the brown Ohio ran by, with the massive floes grinding and booming in the brown water. There was low cloud and a threat of snow, and a dank chill in the air that was not just the weather. Cassy was silent as we walked, but her words still sounded in my ears, and although I told myself we were safe enough by this time, surely, I found myself ever glancing back along the deserted muddy track, lying drear and silent under the winter sky. As it's getting dark in the early afternoon, they arrive at a small town opposite Portsmouth. The river here is almost completely choked with ice, and there's no chance of a ferry. The local innkeeper tells them that the river will probably freeze entirely overnight, and they can just walk across in the morning. As they settle down to wait, they hear dogs barking further down the road. quote:And then came the sound of footsteps, and men’s voices, and presently the door was shoved open, and half a dozen or so rough fellows came in and bawled for the landlord to bring them a jug of spirits and some food. I didn’t like the look of them by half, big tough-looking men with pistols in their belts and two of them carrying rifles; their leader was a tall, black-bearded villain with a broken nose who gave me a hard stare and a curt good day and then strode to the door to curse the dogs leashed up outside. I felt Cassy sink shuddering against me, and just caught her whisper: Flashman eavesdrops on their conversation: they're looking for some other escaped slave who's probably hiding nearby and hoping, like Flashman and Cassy, to make it across the river. One of them says it's too bad they can't cross the river tonight to the abolitionist meeting in Portsmouth where “that son-of-a-bitch of an Illinoy lawyer” is going to be speaking and bust it up to “discourage some o' these n(...)r-lovin' duffers.” Cassy is near panic. She's wearing a veil and gloves so the slave-catchers can't necessarily see she's black, but still she can't stand being around them any more. Flashman can tell she means it, so he tries to act natural as they thank the innkeeper and start for the door. Before they can get out, though, the leader of the slave catchers, Buck, calls after them, telling them that there's no ferry running anywhere nearby on the river and they're best off staying here. Flashman says they're moving on anyway, and Buck asks if the woman with him is white or not. quote:Sickened, I turned to face him. “And if she is not?” says I. Flashman answers for her, giving her name as Belinda and his as J. C. Stubbs. Buck pulls out some papers, going through them, and unpleasantly says he suspects Flashman might actually be Mr. Fitzroy Howard, who sold a slave named Cassy in Memphis a few days ago. Flashman, realizing he can't lie his way out of this, whips out his newly purchased revolver. Shaking and red in the face with terror, he orders the slave catchers to drop their guns and get down on the floor. But he can't figure out what to do next: if he runs, the slave catchers, who know this area better than he does, are bound to catch him. He needs some way to delay them. quote:A sudden inspiration struck me, and I glanced at Cassy; she was at my elbow, quivering like a hunted beast, and if she too was terrified at least it wasn’t with the terror that is helpless. Our hero, ladies and gentlemen. But as Flashman leaves the inn, one of the slave catchers' dogs lunges at him, and he falls down – luckily, just far enough that its leash can't reach him. As he gets up, the gun goes off, Cassy screams, and she comes running out toward the river. Flashman runs after her, trying to figure out what to do. They can't outrun the catchers, they can't hide because of the dogs.... quote:The same thoughts must have been in Cassy’s mind, for as I closed on her, and heard the din of shouting rise a hundred yards behind me, she suddenly checked, and with a despairing cry leaped down the bank to the water’s edge. With the dogs barking and men shouting behind, there's no other choice. quote:I took a race down the bank and jumped, my feet flew from under me on the ice, and I came down with a sickening crash. I staggered up, plunging over the mass of frozen cakes locked like a great raft ahead of me, and saw Cassy steadying herself for a leap on to a level floe beyond. She made it, and I tumbled down the hummocks and leaped after her. Somehow I kept my footing, and slithered and slipped across the floe, which must have been thirty yards from side to side. Note that Cassy goes back to save Flashman, while he was perfectly ready to ditch her a few minutes ago. But there's more to come. They stumble across the ice, seeing Portsmouth's lights not far away, but Flashman's leg gives out with Buck and the catchers just a few hundred yards behind them. quote:Cassy’s voice was crying: As Fraser mentions in a footnote, this echoes the famous “Eliza crossing the ice” scene from Uncle Tom's Cabin (published a year later, in 1850), and he speculates that Harriet Beecher Stowe might have met Cassy and gotten the story from her. Uncle Tom's Cabin, ch. 8 posted:A thousand lives seemed to be concentrated in that one moment to Eliza. Her room opened by a side door to the river. She caught her child, and sprang down the steps towards it. The trader caught a full glimpse of her just as she was disappearing down the bank; and throwing himself from his horse, and calling loudly on Sam and Andy, he was after her like a hound after a deer. In that dizzy moment her feet to her scarce seemed to touch the ground, and a moment brought her to the water’s edge. Right on behind they came; and, nerved with strength such as God gives only to the desperate, with one wild cry and flying leap, she vaulted sheer over the turbid current by the shore, on to the raft of ice beyond. It was a desperate leap—impossible to anything but madness and despair; and Haley, Sam, and Andy, instinctively cried out, and lifted up their hands, as she did it.  This is the most famous scene in the book, and was repeatedly reenacted in “Uncle Tom Shows” that traveled the country in the late 19th/early 20th century. In reality, Stowe might have been inspired by a real woman who crossed the semi-frozen Ohio to escape slavery in 1838. (If you search a bit, you can find dozens of depictions of this scene in theater posters and the like -- and in most of them, Eliza has been lightened until she's practically white.)
|
|
#
?
Jul 7, 2020 13:52
|
|
|
Fraser can really write a tense action scene, dang.
|
|
#
?
Jul 7, 2020 17:04
|
|
|
Selachian posted:Note that Cassy goes back to save Flashman, while he was perfectly ready to ditch her a few minutes ago. But there's more to come. I appreciate that Flashman runs into many people who evince all of the heroic qualities he lacks. It would be easy to soften his character by making everyone around him just as rotten as he is, but Fraser doesn't do that. quote:As Fraser mentions in a footnote, this echoes the famous “Eliza crossing the ice” scene from Uncle Tom's Cabin (published a year later, in 1850), and he speculates that Harriet Beecher Stowe might have met Cassy and gotten the story from her. I also appreciate how completely shameless Fraser is in Gumping Flashman through the 19th century. 
|
|
#
?
Jul 7, 2020 18:30
|
|
|
Tulul posted:
In fairness to him, he was probably the first popular writer to do the “Oh look, there’s Queen Victoria, Abraham Lincoln, Oscar Wilde and Marie Curie all coming down the road” kind of story.
|
|
#
?
Jul 7, 2020 22:18
|
|
|
Somehow Flashman and Cassy manage to limp into Portsmouth ahead of the catchers, and Flashman sees a signboard advertising the meeting with Congressmen Lincoln and Smith. He realizes that right now, an abolitionist meeting is the safest place for them, and as townspeople gather around them to see what's going on, demands to know where he can find Mr. Lincoln. While some of the people turn to delay the catchers, others guide Flashman and Cassy to Judge Payne's house, where Lincoln is staying. quote:We were in a big, well-lit hall, and I remember the carpet was deep red, and there was a fine mural painted on the wall above the stairs. People were hurrying out of the rooms; two or three gentlemen, and a lady who gave a little shriek at the sight of us. The hazards of too many aliases. Flashman incoherently explains the situation, but manages to get across that Cassy is a runaway slave and asks them to save her. The stout man, Judge Payne, orders his servant to close the door – but not fast enough to keep Buck and the slave catchers from shoving their way through. Buck announces he's a licensed slave catcher, and he's entitled by the law to pursue a slave wherever they might run. quote:Then Lincoln says, very quietly: Lincoln puts himself in Buck's path to answer. quote:“On the subject of the law,” says he, “you say she’s a runaway, and that this man stole her. We don’t know the truth about that, though, do we? Perhaps they tell a different tale. I know a little law myself, friend, and I would suggest that if you have a claim on these two persons, you should pursue it in the proper fashion, which is through a court. An Ohio court,” he added. “And I’d further advise you, as a legal man, not to prejudice your case by aimed house-breaking. Or, for that matter, by dirtying this good lady’s carpet. If you have a just claim, go and enter it, in the proper place.” He paused. “Good night, sir.” Buck only sneers at the “mighty fancy goddam legal beanpole.” Why does he need to waste time with court? He's here, he has his men and guns, and he's not leaving without Flashman and Cassy. quote:“I see,” says Lincoln, not moving. “Well, I’ve put my case to you, in fair terms, and you’ve answered it—admirably, after your own lights. And since you won’t listen to reason, and believe that might is right—well. I’ll just have to talk in your terms, won’t I? So—” “Who's-yar” is a version of Hoosier, the etymologically uncertain term for people from Indiana. A “chawbacon” is a hick, and “shirt-tail” here also implies a poor, backwoods upbringing, where people can't even afford to buy pants for their children. In the face of Lincoln's challenge, Buck hesitates. quote:As a fellow bully and coward, I can say that Buck behaved precisely as I should have done in his place. He glared and breathed hard, but that was his limit. And then through the open door came the distant sound of raised voices, and a hurrying of many feet on the road. Buck backs down and leaves the house, but not without a final threat to come back – with the law, this time. The abolitionists fetch a doctor to treat Flashman's wound, and then move him and Cassy to another house in case Buck or another catcher shows up with a warrant. Flashman is laid in bed to recuperate, and Lincoln sits down with him. quote:“Now, sir,” says he, pointing that formidable head of his at me, “may I hear from you at some length? I last parted from a respectable British naval officer in Washington; tonight I meet a wounded fugitive running an escaped slave across the Ohio. I’m not only curious, you understand—I’m also a legislator of my country, a maker and guardian of its laws which, on your behalf, I suspect I have broken fairly comprehensively this night. I feel I’m entitled to an explanation. Pray begin, Mr Comber.”
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2020 14:53
|
|
|
He say's he's a Hoosier but Lincoln was born in Kentucky. They did move to Indiana when he was young though.
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2020 15:39
|
|
|
Selachian posted:Somehow Flashman and Cassy manage to limp into Portsmouth ahead of the catchers, and Flashman sees a signboard advertising the meeting with Congressmen Lincoln and Smith. He realizes that right now, an abolitionist meeting is the safest place for them, and as townspeople gather around them to see what's going on, demands to know where he can find Mr. Lincoln. While some of the people turn to delay the catchers, others guide Flashman and Cassy to Judge Payne's house, where Lincoln is staying. That last bit is better if you’ve read the accounts of Lincoln being a stone badass street fighting machine, just whipping rear end three and four at a time. Those stories are probably bullshit, or at least wildly exaggerated, but it’s interesting that Lincoln is presented that way in this scene.
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2020 16:32
|
|
|
Lincoln 
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2020 17:44
|
|
|
How are u posted:Lincoln
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2020 17:48
|
|
|
Veni Vidi Ameche! posted:That last bit is better if you’ve read the accounts of Lincoln being a stone badass street fighting machine, just whipping rear end three and four at a time. Those stories are probably bullshit, or at least wildly exaggerated, but it’s interesting that Lincoln is presented that way in this scene. This is one of the interesting things to me about Frasier's writings. It often grates on me when authors of historical fiction put historical figures in it, but it never really does when Frasier does it and I think it's because he manages to capture and present the judgment of history really well. Lincoln is presented authentically and coherently but as a genius, sly, tough motherfucker. Bismarck is presented as a political chessmaster who is never beaten. Lady Sale is a clear-eyed realist about the Afghans. Even the more negative portrayals just illustrate what the general perception is, like with the British commander in Afghanistan, but they do it in a way that makes for coherent characters. I suspect that most of the portrayals aren't very historically accurate, but I like them anyway because it's almost like he's taking the myths and creating realistic portraits from them.
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2020 17:52
|
|
|
Lincoln's character is even better in the audiobook form, I remember it having a very low, threatening tone across that scene.
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2020 18:13
|
|
|
Flashman tells Lincoln the truth – at least, from “New Orleans on,” including his encounter with Crixus, Randolph and the steamboat, the Mandevilles, and Cassy and the slave cart. He does leave out the business with Annette Mandeville, instead saying that Omohundro visited the Mandeville plantation and ratted him out. (Presumably he also leaves out his stay in Susie's whorehouse.) quote:“Well,” and then a long pause. “That’s quite a story.” Another pause. “Yes, sir, that is quite a story.” He coughed. “Haven’t heard anything to touch it since last time I was in the Liberal Club. There’s—nothing you wish to add to it—at all? No detail you may have, uh, overlooked?” Flashman is a bit annoyed, but Lincoln says he's already talked with Cassy and she confirms much of the story. He also says that George Randolph has showed up in Canada – somehow surviving being shot and run under the Sultana's paddlewheel. No mention, however, of what happened to the five Underground Railroad agents who pretended to be slaves with him. quote:“You’re sure there’s nothing further you wish to tell me, Mr Comber?” Lincoln notes that “Arnold Fitzroy Prescott, or whatever his name is” is guilty of slave-stealing and an accessory to two murders, and that by helping Flashman, he's also partly guilty of those crimes. While he's not sorry, it would be a good idea for Flashman to get out of the area quickly as possible before the law catches up with him. Lincoln can take care of himself, and the abolitionists will see that Cassy gets somewhere beyond the reach of slave-catchers. quote:“Indeed, sir,” says I. “The sooner I can reach England—” Needless to say, the last thing Flashman wants is to go back to New Orleans, where his previous crimes might catch up with him. quote:“Have no fear of that,” says he. “No one is going to connect the eminently respectable Lieutenant Comber, R.N., with all those goings on far away up the river. That was the work of some scoundrel called Arnold FitzPrescott or Prescott FitzArnold or someone.(...)” Lincoln won't be dissuaded. As a Congressman, he sees it as his duty to enforce the laws – and that includes making sure an important witness gets to a trial where he's needed. Flashman tries to wriggle and argue his way out, to the point where Lincoln wonders if there's “an outraged husband waiting for you in Orleans, or something of that order.” But Flashy can't find any way to get out of it without admitting he's not actually Comber, and finally has to agree. Lincoln promises to have a U.S. marshal escort him. (“You'll be safe that way, and you won't run the risk of straying again.”) quote:It was some consolation to think that I’d fooled Mr Lincoln some of the time, at least; he believed I had a spark of decency, apparently. So I thought it best to respond with a few modest and manly phrases about saving an innocent soul from bondage, but he interrupted me with his hand on the door. A tale, as we now know, that will never appear in the Flashman Papers. Flashman is angry at being outmaneuvered, but has to admit it could be worse: after what he's been through, he could be dead or enslaved on a plantation. While he's recovering, several abolitionists visit him to shake his hand and hail him as a hero. quote:One of my visitors I even assailed with a thrown boot; he was a small boy, I suspect a child of the house, who came in when I was alone and asked: “Is it right you got shot up the rear end, mister? Say, can I see?” I missed him, unfortunately. Cassy leaves that evening via Underground Railroad, bound for Canada, since it's not safe for her to stay so close to slave territory. quote:(W)hen she came to say good-bye the ugly Mrs Payne was on hand to see fair play, with Cassy looking uncommonly demure and rather uncomfortable in a drab brown gown and poke bonnet. I gathered she hadn’t realised that I’d done my level best to desert her on the far bank of the Ohio, for she thanked me very prettily for all my help, while Mrs Payne stood with her hands in her muff, nodding severe approval. Selachian fucked around with this message at 19:12 on Jul 9, 2020 |
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2020 06:15
|
|
|
Selachian posted:
God, I love this bit. Flashman is basically mocking the abolitionists, who are just as much bigoted assholes as any slave owner. It's clear he knows that Cassie is way smarter than they are. It's great that Flashman respects Cassie as much or more than pretty much any white man he's known.
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2020 04:12
|
|
|
Everyone posted:It's great that Flashman respects Cassie as much or more than pretty much any white man he's known. To be fair, that's not saying much
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2020 05:49
|
|
|
Flashman travels back to New Orleans escorted by the promised marshal, and then is handed back over to the U.S. Navy. Captain Bailey, who's given charge of him, says that they've heard rumors that “Lieutenant Comber” might have been involved in slave-stealing and the Underground Railroad; while he's personally all for that, the current state of the government and law means he can't officially approve. The government doesn't want a lot of noise about “Comber's” activities, let alone trouble with Britain – all they want is for him to testify and then get right out of the country and back home. Flashman asks if he really needs to testify, and Bailey explains the procedure: first the ship itself has to be judged to be a slaver, confiscated, and condemned, and only then can the crew be charged with slave-trading and possibly piracy, since Spring and the others fired on Navy ships. However, everything hangs on whether they can prove the Balliol College was a slaver, and they have to prove it beyond any doubt, since the New Orleans courts are naturally more sympathetic to slavers, and there's a lot of money and influence behind the slave trade. In fact, after Spring was brought to New Orleans he was almost immediately bailed out and supplied with a team of high-powered lawyers. Mrs. Spring was successful in destroying all the ship's papers, and Spring's lawyers have supplied papers to show that the Balliol College is registered in Mexico and owned by some “bloody Dago with a name long as your leg.” Flashman points out that the Balliol College was carrying slave gear when captured, but the captain says the equipment laws don't apply here. However, there were the slaves aboard, which is a strong piece of evidence against Spring, but not enough by itself. So that's why they need “Comber's” testimony. Fortunately, the adjudication process isn't a trial, so there's no discovery – the Balliol College team doesn't know "Lieutenant Comber" is going to testify. He's scheduled for the day after tomorrow. Bailey takes him to meet the lawyer representing the Navy in court: quote:The counsel was a lordly man from Washington with a fine aristocratic beak and silver hair falling to his shoulders. His name was Clitheroe, and he talked to the air a yard above my head; to hear him, the business would be over in a couple of hours at most, and then he would be able to get back to Washington and direct his talents to something worth while. Clitheroe hands Flashman over to his assistant, Dunne, who takes him into a side office, chats with him a little, and then excuses himself. quote:He went out, leaving me alone, and then the door opened and in comes a prodigious fat man, with a round face and spectacles, for all the world like some Friar Tuck in a high collar. He closed the door carefully, beamed at me, and says: Flashman is surprised that the defending attorney is allowed to speak to him alone, but Anderson explains that he has an “agreement” with Dunne, and goes on: quote:“Now, very briefly, Mr—er—Comber, when we heard that you were to testify, my client, Captain Spring, was mystified. Indeed, sir—do you know, he even seemed to doubt your existence? However, you will know why, I dare say. I made rapid inquiry, obtained a description of you, and when this was conveyed to my client—why, sir, a great light dawned upon him. Oh, he was thunderstruck, and I needn’t go into distressing detail about what he said—but he understood your, ha-ha, position, and the steps you had taken to safeguard yourself when the Balliol College was arrested some months ago.” Anderson suggests that it would be a very good idea if “Lieutenant Comber's” evidence turned out to be inconclusive. quote:“It amounts to this, sir. If my client is cleared, as I feel bound to tell you I believe he will be—for we have more shots in our locker than friend Clitheroe dreams of—then we have no interest in directing attention to the antecedents of Lieutenant Comber. If Captain Spring is not cleared—” he shook his head solemnly “—then when the crew of the Balliol College are arraigned for slave-trading and so forth, their number will be greater by one than it is at present.” He departs, leaving Flashman on the horns of a dilemma. If he gives the same testimony he did in Washington, Spring will be convicted but Anderson will expose him as a fake. If he keeps his mouth shut, what will the Navy do? They can't arrest him, but they will investigate him, and who knows what they'll turn up? By the time the day of the adjudication rolls around, Flashman still hasn't decided what to do. quote:I was beyond caring, I suppose, but I remember I stood muttering to myself before a mirror as I brushed my hair: “Come on, Flashy, my boy, they haven’t got you yet. Remember Gul Shah’s dungeon; remember Rudi’s point at your throat in the Jotunberg cellar, remember the Ghazis coming at you on the road above Jugdulluk; remember the slave cart in Mississippi; remember de Gautet drawing a bead on you. Well, you’re still here, ain’t you? Your backside is better enough for you to run again, if need be—bristle up the courage of the cornered rat, put on a bold front, and to hell with them. Bluff, my boy—bluff, shift and lie for the sake of your neck and the honour of Old England.” And now for the grand climax of Flash for Freedom! -- a courtroom scene! Besides Flashman, the prosecution side includes Clitheroe and Dunne, Captain Bailey, and “two of the prettiest yellow girls you ever saw, all in New Orleans finery,” whispering and giggling to each other. The benches fill up with spectators, and finally Anderson arrives with Captain Spring. quote:The last time I had seen him he had been rolling on his own deck with Looney’s bullet in his back; he looked a trifle paler now, but the beard and tight-buttoned jacket were as trim as ever, and when the pale eyes looked across directly into my own, I saw his lips twitch and the scar on his forehead began to darken. He stared at me fixedly for a full minute, with his hands clenched on the table before him, and then Anderson whispered in his ear, and he sat back, looking slowly about the court. He didn’t look like a prisoner, I’ll say that for him; if anyone looked guilty you may have three guesses who it was. The adjudicator finally arrives and quickly runs through the facts of the case. Anderson points out the Balliol College is not an American ship and does not have an American master, but Clitheroe counters that ownership is disputed, that it was carrying slaves for America in violation of the law, and that it fired on an American ship upon being challenged. Anderson and Clitheroe spend most of the morning fighting over various fiddly bits of procedure, and when they're finally resolved, Anderson starts making his case. He points out that everything turns on whether the Balliol College was carrying slaves for America – if she was not, her ownership is immaterial and Fairbrother's ship had no right to challenge her. Clitheroe reads Captain Fairbrother's testimony about the capture – Fairbrother himself being at sea once again. Anderson rises to respond. quote:“An interesting statement,” says he. “A pity that we cannot cross-examine the deponent, since he isn’t here. However, may I point out that the statement takes us no further so far as the status of the coloured people on board the Balliol College is concerned. Negroes were found—” Spring is sworn in to testify. quote:“I sailed from Brest, in France, with a cargo of trade goods for the Dahomey coast,” says he. “There we exchanged them for a general cargo of native produce, largely palm oil, which I conveyed to Roatan, in the Bay Islands. Thence I was proceeding in ballast for Havana, when I was intercepted by an American brig and sloop, who without justification that I could see, ordered me to heave to and fired upon me. I resisted, and my ship was presently boarded by these Navy pirates, who seized my ship, my person, and my crew!” His voice was rising, and the red scar burning. “We were carried in chains to New Orleans—I myself had been grievously wounded in defence of my ship, and I have since been held here, my ship confined, and myself and my owners deprived of its use, with subsequent loss to ourselves. I have protested in the strongest terms at this illegal detention, for which an accounting will be demanded not only of the person involved, but of his government.” And in true Spring fashion he growled: “Qui facit per alium facit per se holds as good in American law as in any I dare say. That I was carrying slaves in contravention of this country’s enactments I emphatically deny—” Anderson asks why he didn't allow the Navy to search his ship, if he was innocent. quote:Spring made noises in his throat. “Do I have to tell an American court, of all places? I responded to a signal to heave to, from an American vessel, in precisely the manner in which an American captain would have replied to a similar demand from a British naval ship. In short, sir, I defied it.” The crowd gets a laugh out of that. Clitheroe quizzes Spring on his ship's origin and ownership, trying to trip him up, asks him why his ship's hold had slave shelves (he says they're for carrying palm oil containers) and asks him why Mrs. Spring threw the ship's papers overboard. Spring says he was being “attacked by pirates” and didn't want his papers to fall into their hands, and that his lawyers have already submitted copies -- the faked ones that show Mexican ownership. Clitheroe goes on: quote:“There were, according to the affidavit we have heard, negroes aboard your ship—about a dozen women. They were found on deck, with slave shackles beside them. Evidence will be given that they had been chained, and that you had been preparing to cast them overboard, to destroy the evidence of your crime.” He paused, and there wasn’t a sound in court. “You are on oath, Captain Spring. Who were those women?” Selachian fucked around with this message at 13:55 on Jul 10, 2020 |
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2020 06:32
|
|
|
Hahaha oh man is he gonna try and put himself forward as saving them? That's some Flashman hilarity right there.
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2020 13:47
|
|
|
McTimmy posted:Hahaha oh man is he gonna try and put himself forward as saving them? That's some Flashman hilarity right there. I'm just amazed at how much stuff happens in these book. I recall thinking that the bit where Flash gets sent to India was the end of the first book, but nope. And here I figured that Cassie going to Canada with Flash heading to New Orleans was the end, but still, nope.
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2020 15:11
|
|
|
How will Flashy wiggle his way out of this one??
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2020 18:26
|
|
|
How are u posted:How will Flashy wiggle his way out of this one?? What is "Lying his rear end off with great sincerity, Alex?"
|
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2020 00:57
|
|
|
General shock in the audience, and Flashy thinks Spring has destroyed his side's case. Clitheroe immediately asks the adjudicator to render judgement, but Anderson requests they continue through all the evidence. Clitheroe reluctantly calls on the two women, Drusilla and Messalina. quote:“Now, if you will answer for both, Messalina. I believe you were in a place called Roatan—the Bay Islands, you might call it, a few months ago. What were you doing there?” The women point out Captain Spring, and then Flashman, saying, “He was awful kind to us” (at which the anonymous comedian in the crowd says, “I bet he was”). Clitheroe continues, getting the women to explain that they were told they were going to Havana and then to New Orleans, where they'd be put to work in “Miz Rivers' who'-house.” The women also testify that they were slaves in Roatan. quote:“Thank you. And as slaves you were sent aboard the ship, to be taken to Havana, and thence sold to Mrs Rivers’…ah…whore-house in New Orleans. But by the favour and mercy of God, the ship was captured by the United States Navy and—” Clitheroe leaned forward impressively “—you were brought to New Orleans and there set free. Is this not so?” Under questioning, the women tell Anderson they were both born slaves in America; they ended up in Roatan when their owners took them south and then abandoned them. quote:“The other girls on the ship with you—were they also American-born? You don’t know—of course not. And they have not been cited as witnesses in this case, and can’t be called now, accordingly.” Anderson glanced knowingly across the court at Clitheroe, who was looking like a man who sees a ghost. “May I refresh the court’s memory by referring to the enactment of 1820”—he rattled off a string of numbers while he leafed through a large tome. “Here we have it. Briefly it defines as piracy and illegal slave-trading—” he paused impressively “—the transportation for enslavement of any coloured person who is not already a slave under American law.” Clitheroe immediately puts up a protest and demands to be allowed to call the other women who were transported on the Balliol College, but the adjudicator refuses: if he didn't choose his witnesses carefully enough, that's his fault. (Wonder if he left the selection of the witnesses to Dunne too?) quote:“I protest!” cries Clitheroe, his white hair flung back. “I protest—but very well, sir—you shall hear my last witness, who will prove my case for me!” And as my heart shot into my mouth he turned and boomed: Flashman reluctantly takes the stand and swears in. Clitheroe leads him through his story and then finally asks if he witnessed the Balliol College taking on slaves in Africa, rather than palm oil, as Spring claimed. Anderson objects, saying that an American court has no interest in what the British captain of a Mexican ship might have done in Africa, and he and Clitheroe start throwing precedents at each other. quote:“May I make a point, sir?” says Anderson. “I respectfully suggest that it would ill become an American court to deny to a British master the very rights which we insist upon for our own captains where British justice is concerned. We demand that our captains be not interfered with unless they expressly break British law; it cannot be argued that what Captain Spring was doing thousands of miles away, in a Mexican ship, is any concern of ours.” Clitheroe turns to Flashman's account of the capture of Balliol College, in particular his testimony about the women being fastened together with a heavy chain in order to possibly throw them overboard before capture. Time for some equivocation! quote:“Sir, I have reflected much on this matter in the past few months. That the slaves were shackled, and the anchor chain passed between those shackles, is true—I myself released them later. But in strict justice I must add that the shackling was performed by the late Mr Sullivan, mate of the Balliol College, and it was followed by a most violent altercation between Sullivan and Captain Spring.” Clitheroe, furious, declares that Flashman is contradicting the testimony he gave when he first arrived in Washington. Anderson promptly shoots that down by pointing out that Flashman's earlier testimony has not been entered into evidence, and the adjudicator goes along with it. quote:“We will hear the witness,” says the adjudicator. “Not what you say he once said, Mr Clitheroe. You must not lead the witness, sir—as you should know.” Someone had greased his palm, right enough. Clitheroe, seeing his case slipping away, now demands to know if Flashman knows about non-American slaves carried on Balliol College and if they were in danger of being thrown overboard, whoever gave the order. Flashy plays dumb: gosh, I'm just a simple British sailor, I don't understand these complicated American laws and I didn't think to ask where the slaves were from. Clitheroe is getting increasingly angry as Flashman keeps giving noncommittal answers, and in the audience, Captain Bailey is practically strangling. quote:“I have answered your questions to the best of my ability, sir,” says I. “If I am scrupulous, I must say I find it hard that I should be blamed for that.” Clitheroe goes for one last try, saying that Flashman's initial testimony mentioned that he had copies of Spring's papers that proved he was involved in the slave trade, and whether that was true. quote:My heart lurched, because I had seen the way out. I held my breath a moment, to make my face red, and let it out slowly. I drew myself up, and glared at him with all the venom I could muster. Selachian fucked around with this message at 07:50 on Jul 11, 2020 |
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2020 02:33
|
|
|
Selachian posted:Flashman lies his rear end off And once again, injustice prevails.
|
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2020 02:54
|
|
|
It really depends on your perspective. From Flashy's perspective it seems that great justice was served indeed.
|
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2020 03:57
|
|
|
The court is adjourned, and Clitheroe and Bailey drag Flashman into private to yell at him, but he returns their indignation: it's not his fault they bungled their case so badly, and he was assured in Washington that he could keep his evidence secret, after all. Bailey isn't having it: quote:“Your conduct, sir, gives me the gravest suspicions,” says he. “I don’t know—this is a deplorable affair! But we’ll go into this, sir, believe you me; we’ll get to the bottom—” Finally, they go back in, the lawyers make their final statements, and the adjudicator gives his finding: the Navy has not proven that there were sufficient grounds for Fairbrother to have assumed Balliol College was carrying slaves, so it cannot be confiscated. He returns the ship to Spring, and tells him he's free to go. Spring says he'll leave New Orleans right away. Bailey and Clitheroe storm off while the crowd gathers to congratulate Spring and Anderson. And Flashman is left to figure out what to do. He has no escort now, but Bailey and the Navy will probably be expecting him to return soon so they can put on the squeeze about his disappointing testimony. And the longer he stays in America, the more chance someone will connect him to the murders and slave-stealing in Mississippi. Maybe he could hide out with Susie again, or... quote:And then it struck me, all in a moment, the dazzling thought. It was fearful, at first, but as I considered it, on the steps leading down to the street, it seemed the only safe way. It was the answer, surely—and I found my legs taking me off to one side, behind a pillar, where I thought some more, and then I stepped out into the busy street, and walked across to the far side, and took refuge beneath a tree, waiting. Flashy waits outside the court until he sees the person he wants. quote:“Captain Spring,” says I. “Captain Spring—it’s me.” Flashy points out that he helped get Spring off, and then mentions that he still has Comber's papers. If Spring leaves him in America, the Navy will eventually get those papers, but if Spring takes him back, he'll turn them over. quote:“You’ll have them, captain,” I repeated. “I promise.” Of course, those of you have read ahead know that Flashy doesn't get back to England just yet – he's headed for the first part of Flashman and the Redskins, but that's still several books away. Flash for Freedom! wraps up with an editor's note: quote:Flashman concluded this portion of his memoirs by attaching to the last page of manuscript a clipping, cracked and faded with age, from a newspaper (probably, from its type face and extreme column width, the Glasgow Herald) dated January 26, 1849. The news it contains was, of course, unknown to him when he left New Orleans homeward bound. It reads, in part:
|
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2020 18:59
|
|
|
Selachian posted:Of course, those of you have read ahead know that Flashy doesn't get back to England just yet – he's headed for the first part of Flashman and the Redskins, but that's still several books away. My hopes that that book involves Flashman traveling forward in time to get involved with the Washington Redskins are probably somewhat forlorn, yes?
|
|
#
?
Jul 12, 2020 02:23
|
|
|
Everyone posted:My hopes that that book involves Flashman traveling forward in time to get involved with the Washington Redskins are probably somewhat forlorn, yes? He'll probably give them the name idea
|
|
#
?
Jul 12, 2020 04:05
|
|
|
Also the next book was the first one I really liked when I read these as a teenager (probably shouldn't have started at age 13 but they were a favourite of my Dad's so I was eager), so I'm excited
|
|
#
?
Jul 12, 2020 04:39
|
|
|
Congratulations on finishing the book! And the next two are my favorites.
|
|
#
?
Jul 12, 2020 06:36
|
|
|
Popping back in to say that I can come back in to take Flashman and the Dragon when it comes round to it, if Selachian doesn’t object. China’s my specialist subject, as it were.
|
|
#
?
Jul 12, 2020 10:54
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 10, 2024 15:37 |
|
|
So is Flashman any less racist than his contemporaries? Because he seems every bit as dismissive and contemptuous of the "natives" wherever he goes, he's just better at evaluating potential threats. Or maybe he just grasps the reality behind all the colonialist and slaver sophism: all the glories of their civilization are piled on a heap of corpses, with another heap of peoples being forced down; there is no truth to their civilized ways but violence. But he's perfectly fine with that, as long as he doesn't get hurt.
|
|
#
?
Jul 13, 2020 06:51
|
|
