Sam Slick The Clockmaker by Thomas Chandler Haliburton
Sam Slick the Clockmaker is a fictional character by Thomas Chandler Haliburton, a Nova Scotian judge and writer. He is a Yankee peddler who travels through the English colonies of North America, selling clocks and other wares. He is also a shrewd observer of human nature. A keen satirist of the social and political foibles of his time. The book is a collection of short stories and sketches, each of which features Sam Slick telling a tale to a group of Nova Scotians. The stories are full of wit and humor. But they also contain serious commentary on the state of society in British North America.- One of the most famous stories in the book is "The Attaché; or, Sam Slick in England." In this story, Sam Slick travels to England. His amusement is by the hand of the upper class. He has a positive impression of their wealth and luxury. However he is also critical of their snobbery and arrogance.
- In another story, "The Old Judge; or, Life in a Colony," Sam Slick tells the story of a Nova Scotian judge. This character has an obsession with the law. The judges devotion to the law is such that he neglects his family and his farm. Sam Slick's story is a satire of the legal profession and its obsession with formalism.
