her
side by espousing the other's cause, but must always keep the rod and
the gun close by thy side, so that when these emergencies arise and
thou doth scent danger in the air thou canst quietly withdraw from the
scene of action and chase the festive bison over the distant prairies
or revel in piscatorial pleasure on the placid waters of a secluded
lake until the working majority hath discovered some method of
relieving thee of the necessity of committing thyself, and then, O
Robert. thou canst return and complacently inform the disappointed
party that the result would have been far different had not thou been
called suddenly away. Thou canst thus preserve the friendship of all
parties, and their votes are more essential to thee than the mere
adoption of measures affecting the prosperity of thy people. When the
requirements of the people of thy city become too great for thee alone
to administer to all their wants, the great family of Okons, the
lineal descendants of the sea kings from the bogs of Tipperary, will
come to thy aid. Take friendly counsel with them, as to incur their
displeasure will mean thy downfall. Let all the ends thou aimest at be
to so dispose of the offices within thy gift that the Okons, and the
followers of the Okons, will be as fixed in their positions as are the
stars in their orbits."

After delivering this strange astrological exhortation the dusky
maiden slowly retreated toward the entrance of a nearby cavern, the
paleface meandered forth to survey the ground of his future greatness
and the voyageur resumed his lonely journey toward the setting sun.

* * * * *

CHAPTER II.--A TERRIBLE REALITY.

After the lapse of more than four score of years the voyageur from the
frigid North returned from his philanthropic visit to the red man. A
wonderful change met the eye. A transformation as magnificent as it
was bewildering had occurred. The same grand old bluffs looked proudly
down upon the Father of Water. The same magnificent river pursued
its unmolested course toward the boundless ocean. But all else had
changed. The hostile warrior no longer impeded the onward march of
civilization, and cultivated fields abounded on every side.
Steamers were hourly traversing the translucent waters of the great
Mississippi; steam and electricity were carrying people with the
rapidity of lightning in every direction; gigantic buildings appeared
on the earth's surface, visible in