私人浴室。*自由水

私人浴室。*自由水

As far back in my childhood as my memory will reach, the word free was always a household word. I was early taught fully the meaning of liberty—the right of all created beings to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” the injustice and ignominy of slavery, and the inalienable right of all men to free speech and a free press. On the rostrum exhibition days, as a boy, my declamations were selected for their patriotic character and their declarations for liberty and freedom. “Give me libetty or give me death”—“The land of the free and the home of the brave”— and ‘ With freedom's soil beneath our feet and freedom’s banner waving o’er us”—were shouted out at the fullest extent of my youthful lungs. And, on through the years, the word free, attached to anything, was a direct appeal to this early prejudice, and often beguiled me, even against my better judgment, to an advocacy of it.

At the time, however, when the cry “free water” was flung out upon the breeze in my own city, appealing to the sentiment, the prejudices.and the ignorance of the people, sufficiently so as to obtain a majority vote in its favor, I will confess "a change came o’er the spirit of my dreams.” Naturally, now, as before to the contrary. I am inclined to look at the word ‘free” rather suspiciously. I am now inclined to reason thus ; If anything is to be supplied free to A, at the expense of B,for—of course,everything that costs money has got to be paid for, I mast know, before approving the idea, if the benefit accruing to B is commensurate with the burden of the extra expense imposed upon him.