The Ancestral Footstep 4.5.23

The Ancestral Footstep -  "Not a whit," said the old man. "England will never understand America; for England never does understand a foreign country; and whatever you may say about kindred, America is as much a foreign country as France itself. These two hundred years of a different climate and circumstances--of life on a broad continent instead of in an island, to say nothing of the endless intermixture of nationalities in every part of the United States, except New England--have created a new and decidedly original type of national character. It is as well for both parties that they should not aim at any very intimate connection. It will never do."

• "Not a whit," said the old man.
• "England will never understand America; for England never does understand a foreign country.
• And whatever you may say about kindred, America is as much a foreign country as France itself.
• These two hundred years of a different climate and circumstances--of life on a broad continent instead of in an island, to say nothing of the endless intermixture of nationalities in every part of the United States.
• Except New England--have created a new and decidedly original type of national character.
• It is as well for both parties that they should not aim at any very intimate connection.
• It will never do.