who is an attendant there, because the idiot did not
understand enough to carry in wood, which the people have hired Mark
Sheffels to carry in. Think of it," he added, quite forgetting the
nature of his testimony and that he was now speaking for dictation and
not for an audience to hear, and going off into a most scorching and
brilliant arraignment of the entire system in which such brutality could
occur, "a poor helpless idiot, unable to frame in his own disordered
mind a single clear sentence, being beaten by a sensible, healthy brute
too lazy and trifling to perform the duties for which he was hired and
which he personally is supposed to perform."

There was more to the effect, for instance, that the American people and
the people of this county should be ashamed to think that such crimes
should be permitted and go unpunished, and that this was a fair sample.
The clerk, realizing the importance of Mr. White in the community, and
the likelihood of his following up his charges very vigorously, quietly
followed his address in a very deferential way, jotting down such
salient features as he had time to write. When he was through, however,
he ventured to lift his voice in protest.

"You know, Mr. White," he said, "Sheffels is a member of our party, and
was appointed by us. Of course, now, it's too bad that this thing should
have happened, and he ought to be dropped, but if you are going to make
a public matter of it in this way it may hurt us in the election next
month."

The old patriarch threw back his head and gazed at him in the most
blazing way, almost without comprehension, apparently, of so petty a
view.

"What!" he exclaimed. "What's that got to do with it? Do you want the
Democratic Party to starve the poor and beat the insane?"

The opposition was rather flattened by the reply, and left the old
gentleman to storm out. For once, at least, in this particular instance,
anyhow, he had purified the political atmosphere, as if by lightning,
and within the month following the offending attendant was dropped.

Politics, however, had long known his influence in a similar way. There
was a time when he was the chief political figure in the county, and
possessed the gift of oratory, apparently, beyond that of any of his
fellow-citizens. Men came miles to hear him, and he took occasion to
voice his views on every important issue. It was his custom in those
days, for instance, when he had anything of special importance