AN ELECTION CHRONICLE.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume II, Issue 110, 14 April 1871, Page 3

AN ELECTION CHRONICLE.

And it came to pass in process of time that the electors of Molino must choose two men to represent them in the Council of the State. And behold there was a certain Abdallah, one of the shepherd-kings of the country, who was desirous above all things that they should choose him as one. He dwelt not in the Molino, and had neither part nor lot in all that region ; but he was one of a tribe whose chief dwellingplace was nigh at hand, and moreover he was reputed to have riches in abundance. So Abdallah the shepherd-king saddled his ass and journeyed over the whole region, and as he went he gathered together the''people, and spake unto them concerning the public topics of the day. And Abdallah was young in years and inexperienced, and knew nothing; therefore, before proceeding on his journey he took counsel with his kinsmen and friends as to what he should say. So, wherever he went he repeated his story like unto that bird called the parrotus, which men who go down to the sea in ships bring home from distant lands. After finishing his story, one or two of the listeners rose to prove him by questions. On these occasions it became apparent that he knew nothing, and less than nothing of public affairs. His kinsmen and friends strictly charged him to express liberal opinions regarding settlement on the lands. For some time the country had been full of discontent, arising out of a law called the Hundreds law. By this law the people, over and above the price of the land to the Crown, had to pay to the shepherd-kings of the country for each acre two shillings and sixpence c rrent coin of the realm. To this law therefore they objected, and Abdallah the shepherd king objected to it also ; not because the people had to pay this sum, but because his pasture ground, being in a golden region, would then come under a previous law, which would entitle him to even a larger allowance than that written in the Hundreds law. But he did not tell the people this, and some, thinking that his views were self-sacrificing in the extreme, believed in him and cried out, " Great is Abdallah the shepherd-king." One of the customs of the country was very peculiar, and moreover it had a peculiar name. It consisted of treating, at a house of entertainment, all who happened to be present. He who paid the reckoning was said, in the language of the' country, " to shout." Now, Abdallah, the shepherd-king, was in all his wanderings a liberal patron of this peculiar custom. The gold and silver he had spent in " shouting " in these his political wanderings no man knoweth,'and probably no man ever will know. So Abdallah the shepherd-king with his fair promises and his liberal patronage of the peculiar custom called " shouting," succeeded in attaching to himself divers of the unstable and unreflecting As for the shepherd-kings of the country, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy, not for the words which Abdallah spake or the shouting which he practised, but for the way they knew he would act should he obtain a seat in the Council of the State. But the people as a whole did not believe in him. They believed that, notwithstanding his fine promises and other things, he would—if successful in the object on which he had set his heart—be simply a blind supporter of Macnoroundo, and his bosom friend the American citizen. And in process of time the day arrived when the electors should record their votes. The people of Balmolino were desirous that Abdallah the shepherd-king should succeed, for he had promised them that in the event of succeeding he should become their neighbor, and spend among them his gold and his silver. Never before nor since was such a day seeu at Balmolino. The citizens were greatly excited, and the streets and bars of the houses of entertainment were full to overflowing. Chariots crossed the river by the great bridge and pursued their way to the island called Molino to brine; up the electors to vote for Abdallah the shepherd-kmg. Boats also plied on the river to the name intent, so that the '• free and independents " had the right of choice between land and water carriage. Chariots also proceeded to the southwards to meet the electors from the country districts, and drive them to the poll. A nd far'over hill and dale chariots wended their way to bring in the aged and the feeble to vote for Abdallah. Laborers also were despatched to those husbandmen who,

provided their place were supplied, were willing to leave their labor in the fields and record their votes in favor of the shepherd-king. The recipients of the gold and the silver, which were scattered with so liberal a hand, were well pleased, but thoughtful people said that Abdallah must have some other object in view than the good of his country. The moment an elector entered the district he was pounced upon by the friends and admirers of the shepherd-king, who helped all manner of abuse upon the opposing candidates, but exalted to the skies their own favorite. Nevertheless all their efforts were of no avail. The old members sLood J too high in the estimation of the people to receive any injury at the hands of j Abdallah, his kinsmen, or his friends. ! Howbeit, in the evening great was the joy at Balmolino, for Abdali ih the shepherd-king stood at the h a«i of the poll. But on the morrow, when all the lists came in, their joy was turned into sorrow, for Abdallah was found in the ranks of the unsuccessful. And Abdallah the shepherd-king was wroth, and his countenance fell, and he cried with a loud voice and said, " Hearken unto me, 0 men of Balmolino. Had I been better known I should have been successful." But Abdallah was in error. His pasture grounds were in the valley called Ida, and he dwelt there, and he aspired to represent this region in the Council of the State ; but being aware that the inhabitants of Ida knew him well, he did not offer his services unto them, for he doubted the result. They preferred a certain Strongarmius, a stranger in the land, and who followed a very humble calling, for he wandered over the country extracting human teeth. Had A'bdallah the shepherd-king been as well known in the Molino as as in the valley called Ida, he would have had an equally humble following. But Abdallah must now retire to his sheep pastures, and watch his flocks grazing on of the hills. For this occupation he may be fitted ; indeed, in the opinion of the dwellers in the land he is much better qualified for tending his flocks and his herds than for taking part in the great Council of the State.—' Bruce Herald.'