Chapter II.

Southland Times, Issue 714, 23 August 1867, Page 2

Chapter 11.

Tt» the fourth year of the reign of Satrap Menz in the land of South, it came to pass that all the wise men. in the land of South gathered together in council. And the first wise man opened his mouth and said, give ear to what the son of O. O. has to say. As we. are soon to become the greatest, the richest, and the mightiest people on earth, — I need not add, that we are already the wisest people there ever was, since the days of Solomon— that we do betake ourselves to build two very large tables ; for when the iron horses do come from the land of En, we will then send them to the mine of : gold, and at their return, with many chariots full of gold! we will then make a great feast ; yea, such a feasting will we have as shall surpass aU the feasting of former ages, and ages to come j for we will kill and roast on©

thousand of oxen, and five thousand of J sheep, and puddings we mil? have as large as wine butts, and wine and rum we will have in such plenty — as the water now running in our streets after a rainfall ; and we will have music and songs, yea, the song of " The good golden times are coming lads," and he all merry and feast and sing and shout for one whole moon ; and 1 do move that we do build the tables j at the water-side, where the breeze blows cool from the great sea, and that these tables be built very very strong, each table with a hundred legs, and each leg be made of one whole tree from our stately forest, and then when these iron horses bring twenty chariots full of gold from the gold mine of Ota, we will then measure out the gold on these tables, by the gomer and the epha, and surely we will then be very very merry for many a long day, and sing and dance and shout gold ! gold ! for ever. I have said my sayings, let this noble council act upon it, or propose something better. And then the son of Tar took the word and said : Listen to my words ye sons of the land of South. Sixty winters have come and passed over my head and left their hoary color on my hair. Long experience sharpens men's understanding, and men's judgment ripeneth by the length of years like the olive in the length of summer days. Our land, the land of South, it is true is a goodly land ; the dwellers of our land are bat small in number, even so small that a child may count them ; our standing as a people is but of yesterday, of our wisdom nothing is known beyond the walls of this hail. Therefore if the son of Tar should say that we, this council, be very cautious as to what we do, and consider well before we act, for lam told that these iron horses cost a great deal of money, and that the iron roads can't be carried over hill and dale, nor through the water ; these iron horses are great gibbers when made to go up hill, and as for travelling through swamps or water they will not do at all, they being very water-shy. And as the roads for these iron horses have to be made very even, the rivers bridged over, the swamps filled up till they become dry land, now to do all this will cost a very great sum of money, of which we have but little, and if these resolutions be carried, we would have to borrow great sums of money, and run in debt, which I both abhor. As for the gold it may, after all, but prove a golden bubble ; when once burst all is lost; as for the great tables and feasting, I have set my face against it. And then the son of Chal opened his mouth, and said : " Let us have the iron horses, and chariots, and iron roads, the tables, and the feastings ; as for the money, never let your minds be troubled about it. Forlookye, there are plenty of usurers ready at a wink to lend us aU the money we want ; the land of South has good credit. Debts is the order of the day. No country prospereth better than England ; and England has the greatest debt ; it is then by being in debt, that a country prospereth ; let us follow their example, run in debt, and we are sure to prosper. I have said my saying." And another wise man took the word, and said : " Well hast thou spoken thou son of Chal ; speculation is my motto ; debt and speculation are twin disters whom I have always courted, they never \ prove false, except to the fool : they reward the wise with riches, honors, and bitters. Now, whereas this august Council is known to small and great to be the wisest, of all the other Councils in the land of Zea, and our wisdom has never for one moment been doubted, I, the son of Nes, do therefore move that we do apply to the usurers, and that we take monies on usury — yea, as much as this august Council shall think proper in its potent wisdom, to pay for the iron horses, chariots, roads, and tables, and that, besides, we do buy a strong steam ship, and tow the heavy laden ships into our harbors ; and that we do make even onr streets in this great city of Incar, and pave them with fine stone, and that said- streets be made wide, yea, for ten chariots to run abreast in them; and that we make fine sidewalks, paved with the stately pine of our forest, and that we make them twenty cubits wide, to give room for the inhabitants of hoops to walk twelve abreast; and last, but not least, that we count 100 pieces of gold into the hands of Heralds, called now News papers, to proclaim to the world at large what this august Gouncil in the land of South has decreed. And then it came to pass, when the son of Nes had finished his sayings, there was floating a murmur of applause through the hall of the Council, and this murmur was like the words of a man who talks in a dream. And one muttered, let us have debts, gold, tables ; and another muttered, wisdom is ruling supreme ; and a third muttered, happy, thrice happy is the land which has councillors as wise as the land of South; and a fourth said, a seminary of wisdom indeed, from far lands they will come to learn wisdom and speculation in the records of this noble Council ; and another said the words of the wise are immortal, gold and silver perish, but "wisdom's fame endureth for ever, (To he continued.)