But if you did not know the man's name, why let him go
away supposing that you did?"
"Oh, if he was fool enough to make such a mistake, I was not going
to undeceive him--no, no! Let the enemies of old England make the
most of all their blunders and mistakes, they will have no help
from me; but enough of the fellow, Belle; let us now have tea, and
after that--"
"No Armenian," said Belle; "but I want to ask a question: pray are
all people of that man's name either rogues or fools?"
"It is impossible for me to say, Belle, this person being the only
one of the name I have ever personally known. I suppose there are
good and bad, clever and foolish, amongst them, as amongst all
large bodies of people; however, after the tribe had been governed
for upwards of thirty years, by such a person as old Fraser, it
were no wonder if the greater part had become either rogues or
fools: he was a ruthless tyrant, Belle, over his own people, and
by his cruelty and rapaciousness must either have stunned them into
an apathy approaching to idiotcy, or made them artful knaves in
their own defence. The qualities of parents are generally
transmitted to their descendants--the progeny of trained pointers
are almost sure to point, even without being taught: if,
therefore, all Frasers are either rogues or fools, as this person
seems to insinuate, it is little to be wondered at, their parents
or grandparents having been in the training-school of old Fraser!
But enough of the old tyrant and his slaves.
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