he purposes of the court. A poll was opened for the election of another
sheriff; and here began the contest. The majority of the common hall,
headed by the two sheriffs of the former year, refused to acknowledge
the mayor's right of appointing one sheriff, but insisted that both must
be elected by the livery. Papillon and Dubois were the persons whom the
country party agreed to elect: Box was pointed out by the courtiers.
The poll was opened; but as the mayor would not allow the election
to proceed for two vacancies, the sheriffs and he separated, and
each carried on the poll apart. The country party, who voted with the
sheriffs for Papillon and Dubois, were much more numerous than those who
voted with the mayor for Box: but as the mayor insisted chat his
poll was the only legal one, he declared Box to be duly elected. All
difficulties, however, were not surmounted. Box, apprehensive of the
consequences which might attend so dubious an election, fined off; and
the mayor found it necessary to proceed to a new choice. When the matter
was proposed to the common hall, a loud cry was raised, "No election! No
election!" The two sheriffs already elected, Papillon and Dubois,
were insisted on as the only legal magistrates. But as the mayor still
maintained, that Box alone had been legally chosen, and that it was
now requisite to supply his place, he opened books anew; and during the
tumult and confusion of the citizens, a few of the mayor's partisans
elected Rich, unknown to and unheeded by the rest of the livery. North
and Rich were accordingly sworn in sheriffs for the ensuing year; but
it was necessary to send a guard of the train bands to protect them
in entering upon their office. A new mayor of the court party was
soon after chosen, by means, as is pretended, still more violent and
irregular.

Thus the country party were dislodged from their stronghold in the
city; where, ever since the commencement of factions in the English
government, they had, without interruption, almost without molestation,
maintained a superiority. It had been happy, had the partialities,
hitherto objected to juries, been corrected, without giving place to
partialities of an opposite kind: but in the present distracted state
of the nation, an equitable neutrality was almost impossible to be
attained. The court and church party, who were now named on juries, made
justice subservient to their factious views; and the king had a prospect
of obtaining f