imitation of first person essay

MR . FRANKLIN AND MR . LYNDON DISCUSS THE VIRTUOUS LIFE

Dear Son

It is with great pleasure and gratitude for your most recent missive received this third day of October , that I must write at once in the hope of conveying the most unusual and perhaps enlightening conversation I entertained last evening at the home of one , Mr . Charles B . Lyndon , of Concord and New York , though how Mr . Lyndon explains the bifurcation of his very self leads me to wonder if he might be a Papist in Puritan woolens , given the Roman

belief in the bi-location of their many saints Suffice it to say such thoughts of sainthood and the conduct precedent to such an exalted (dare I say , unenlightened ) station stands within this correspondence very close to the we held under discussion at the wide oak table in Mr . Lyndon 's kitchen , accompanied by his daughter Elizabeth , on the retirement of his wife , Matilda

Mr . Lyndon and I and his daughter (Mr . Lyndon being a progressive soul in many ways , who saw no reason why his daughter should not be included in our after-dinner discussion , though of course she was not allowed to smoke tobacco ) set about like Socrates ' devotees with the proposition stated admirably by my host that the virtuous life is one that can be lived (though his exact word was the imprecise attained ) with an exercise of constant vigilance , diligence and hard , hard work . Far be it from me to openly argue with a host whose very wife had fed me so well yet I was struck so with the open and apparent inconsistency and contradiction hidden in plain sight , that I rose from my chair , walked about the kitchen with my hands behind my back , leaned into the table lowered myself so that my face rested like a balloon on a string but a few inches from Mr . Lyndon 's nose and , with the boldness that has served me so well in life , despite a ruffled feather here or there , I uttered the expletive 'balderdash ' and re-took my seat

Mr . Lyndon 's daughter , the plain but intelligent Elizabeth , held her hand to her lips as her father nearly sputtered his surprise , though without displeasure . Perhaps he believes us to be better acquainted than we are and relies upon that familiarity , real or apparent , to afford him the easier avenue of good humor rather than the more difficult and adversarial stance taken on by the lightly insulted

Your reasoning , Mr . Franklin ' he said , the question implicit in the salutation , and I set about framing my argument as one sets about building a house that will withstand summer 's heat and winter 's cold

Are you a Papist , Mr . Lyndon ' I asked , and he sat back , again surprised if not outright offended , and replied , No , sir . You know that I am a member of the First Congregational Church of Lexington , and a proud member at that

Then Mr . Lyndon ' I said , Insofar as you and your...