The party was composed mostly of woodmen and boatmen, who had promptly
and willingly obeyed the doctor's summons. Like most men of their class
in that locality, they were hardy and reckless; they had not that
healthy horror of a mortal combat which the moralist would gladly see.
Dr. Vaudelier had always been their friend; had always promptly and
kindly aided them in their necessities, whether moral, physical, or
pecuniary. As he had laved the fevered brows of their wives and
children, so had he said prayers over their dead, in the absence of a
clergyman. He had exhorted the intemperate and the dishonest, and with
his purse relieved the needy in their distress. They were not
ungrateful; they appreciated his many kindnesses, and rejoiced in an
opportunity to serve him. These men, notwithstanding their rude speech,
their rough exteriors, and their reckless dispositions, were
true-hearted men. They reciprocated the offering of a true friendship,
not by smooth speeches and unmeaning smiles, but by actions of manly
kindness. The philosopher in ethics may say what he pleases of the
refinements of sympathy; we would not give a single such heart as those
gathered on Cottage Island for a whole army of puling, sentimental,
hair-splitting moralizers.
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