he noise was
about. As soon as he appeared the band struck up 'See, the Conquering
Hero Comes,' and Major Slott lowered the flag, and General Trumps
waved his hat, and the guard fired a salute, and everybody cheered.

"Bill bowed and made a little speech, and said how honored he was by
such a demonstration, and he said he felt certain of victory, and when
he was in office he would do his best to serve his fellow-citizens
faithfully. Bill thought it was a political serenade; and when he got
through, General Trumps cried,

"'Bring out the twins.'

"Bill looked puzzled for a minute, and then he says,

"'I don't think I understand you. What d'you say?'

"'Bring out the twins,' said Judge Twiddler. 'Less look at 'em.'

"'Twins!' says Bill. 'Twins! Why, what d'ye mean, judge?'

"'Why, the twins. Rush 'em out. Hold 'em in the window, so's we can
see 'em,' said Major Slott.

"'Gentlemen,' said Bill, 'there must be some little, some slight
mistake respecting the--that is, you must have been misinformed about
the--the--er--er--Why, there are no twins about this house.'

"Then they thought he was joking, and the band broke in with 'Listen
to the Mocking-bird,' and Bill came down to find out the drift of
Judge Twiddler's remarks. And when he really convinced them that
there wasn't a twin anywhere about the place, you never saw a worse
disgusted crowd in your life. Mad as fury. They said they had no idea
Bill Slocum would descend to such trickery as that.

"So they broke up. The judge went back to the court-room so indignant
he sentenced a prisoner for twenty years, when the law only allowed
him to give ten. The supervisors, they took their spite out by docking
the school-teachers half a day and cutting off the cranberry sauce
from the turkey dinner at the jail. General Trumps got drunk as an
owl. The City Councils held an adjourned meeting and raised the water
rent on Slocum, and Jenkins' nigger burst in the head of the big drum
with a brick. Mad's no word for it. They were wild with rage.

"And that killed Bill. They beat him by two hundred majority at the
election, just on account of old Mrs. Martin misunderstanding him.
Rough, wasn't it? But it don't seem to me like the fair thing on
Bill."

Mr. Slocum was defeated, despite the fact that he wished to succeed.
Mr. Walsh, it appears, was disappointed, in the same contest, in a
wholly different manner. Mr. Walsh was the predecessor of our present
coroner, Mr. Maginn.