Flattered by the proposal, and foreseeing no difficulties or expense, I replied that, provided no good local man intended to come forward, I would ride up to Grassmere, which was the head station, in the course of the week. I was promptly assured that no local man was coming forward; and, therefore, I should be elected without opposition, and consequently without any expense: in short, I should walk over the course. A day or so before starting, however, I heard that Mr. Orson Hogsbristle, a very respectable merchant and financier of Melbourne, intended to contest the election on the Conservative and banking-interest side; so that the favoured man of the miners would not exactly walk over the course: but, as the chairman of his committee remarked, 66 very nearly." Thus encouraged, I mounted my old thorough-bred mare (a model of ugliness, but well able to carry me sixty miles in the day), and arrived at Grassmere, taking up my quarters for the night at the Grassmere Hotel: and to work I went "electioneering."

The day of nomination dawned brightly on the creeks and forestmounts round Grassmere. Forth stepped my proposer and seconder, in front of Clover's Hotel, addressing the electors to the effect that I was "a fit and proper person to represent the constituency of Grassmere-onthe-Honeycomb and Quartzreef-on-the-Hill." Forth stepped a proposer and seconder, with a similar proposition in favour of Mr. Orson Hogsbristle. But just as the show of hands was about to be called for, to our surprise two electors stepped forward and nominated a "local man "- to wit, Mr. Cad Doll-y-Brodd, who, his proposer informed us, was descended from one of the minor Welsh kings of a remote period. Whatever his descent, he was at this time the proprietor of a general store of chandlery, ironmongery, tents, tar, &c., which was managed by his wife, while Mr. Doll-y-Brodd drove his own dray about the country, and frequently to Melbourne. He might, therefore, be considered a very "fit and proper person," being conversant with the wants of both places, and his own locality in particular. This excited great indignation in all my supporters, who continued to protest against it as an absurdity; adding, that it was certain to prove the ruin of Doll-y-Brodd, as all the respectable miners and mill-owners would desert his store: indeed, three sacks of oats, a dozen picks and shovels, a ton of hay, and several pounds of gunpowder and brown sugar, which had been ordered only the day before, were at once countermanded, just to show him that he was flying in the face of the "higher orders," by allowing himself to be nominated. While my partisans were thus displaying their great displeasure, the supporters of Mr. Orson Hogsbristle never troubled themselves at the circumstance, and, in fact, seemed far rather disposed to treat the nomination of the local descendant of the Welsh kings as a joke. I also regarded it in somewhat the same light, and was, furthermore, impressed with the belief that most of his "committee" were considerably indebted to Mrs. Doll-y-Brodd for blankets, tools, tobacco, and other stores.

And now commenced a species of electioneering work which offers

some new features to the denizens of the mother country. The township of Grassmere was the place of nomination, and for the final declaration of the poll; but quite as many of the electors resided in other parts of the district. For instance, Quartzreef-on-the-Hill was nearly forty miles. distant; its younger mining sister, Boo-boo, was five miles beyond that; and the township of Blefuscue, on the Goulburn river, was again a ride of nine miles through plashy swamp and arid bush. At this period there were no attempts at a public conveyance, many places, after a few hours' rain, being almost impassable; howbeit, electors had to be "canvassed" and "addressed" at each of these places: so to work we all went, my friends and I. We commenced by immediately holding an election meeting at the Grassmere Hotel; at the same hour Mr. Hogsbristle held a rival meeting at the Mount Ararat Inn, while Mr. Doll-y-Brodd rode off to Quartzhill. Directly "our side" heard this, I was exhorted to gallop after him, which I did, and addressed the electors. I then galloped away to the Boo-boo diggings, where I met Mr. Doll-y-Brodd returning from Blefuscue, to which place I afterwards had also to betake myself. Meantime, Mr. Hogsbristle had to go through the same labour, though in a different fashion. This gentleman, being gouty and cumbrous, required "steps" (a "leg-up" was out of the question) to enable him to get into a saddle, and a "tackle" to bring him down; but these aids to horsemanship not being available in bush travelling, the landlord of the "Mount Ararat" undertook to drive him in a light American trap, made of lancewood, with leather springs; and my opponent was thus enabled to meet Mr. Doll and myself in succession on our way back to Grassmere. The reader may picture to himself the three rival candidates scouring the country to these distant places, one of us arriving at a locality just as his rival was departing, meeting one another in the bush, or catching glimpses from afar in this election steeple-chase; and, in some cases, leaving a friend to speak, in order to gallop off to the next place and secure the only one good-sized room to be found before an opponent could arrive. Between Mr. Doll-y-Brodd and myself this race for the poll was unceasing; but the career of the heavy Mr. Hogsbristle soon came to an end by the dashing "whip" who drove him running against a stump with one wheel, while his horse's head went jam into the fork of a tree, whereby the whole concern came to grief. No bones were broken, as, indeed, in certain conditions of mental exaltation they scarcely ever are, happen what may; but the horse, the trap, the harness, and the residue of a twodozen case of wine and brandy were damaged irretrievably.

An active life in the open air puts everything else, for the time being, clean out of the mind; so I have been near forgetting, even in this narrative, the more disagreeable part of my election contest;-the having to be put through your political facings, and to be catechized-to stand fire singly against a mixed mass of educated minds and grossly ignorant minds -shrewd men, coached-up by my opponents, or drunken brutes sent to prevent me from being heard, or to torment me with some offensive

and insulting question, turning upon personalities, or a local reminiscence monstered or made ridiculous; not to mention some outrageous accusation invented by some ingenious fabricator. Talk of "eating dirt!" that seems to me only one portion of what you have to swallow at an election; and the most exasperating part of the business is the necessity of keeping your temper: once get into a rage, the whole body of electors, friends, and opponents fall into convulsions of laughter, and it is all over with you for that day; probably you lose your election in consequence, since a man in a passion cannot suppress his scorn.

On the grand day of election Mr. Doll-y-Brodd did not make his appearance on the hustings, and Mr. Hogsbristle, by my consent, preceded me. I little thought of the advantage thus thrown into his hands. Mr. Hogsbristle was evidently well versed in electioneering tactics, and he used his opportunity in the most skilful and unscrupulous manner. I could hardly trust my ears in listening to what he said of me: I did not recognize myself in any way; nor, indeed, could I recognize anybody resembling this "fancy sketch" of me. He was determined to show us that, if he could not ride, he could talk; and he talked so long that, before my turn came, everybody's patience was worn out. I endeavoured now and then (on the most unpleasant occasions) to interrupt him by calling out "Time! time!" but he said there was plenty of time, and he could assure the honourable gentleman he had not half done; which caused great merriment at my expense. However, my turn came at last, and I got through very well, keeping to political principles, without personalities; with the single exception of a commentary on the equestrian bacchic and acrobatic performances of Mr. Hogsbristle in the bush, which produced screams of laughter. But the most unwarrantable of the election dodges resorted to by Mr. Hogsbristle was perpetrated in my absence. A Melbourne newspaper happened to arrive that evening, containing some remarks on a notorious character in Sydney, whose name was not mentioned for fear of an action for libel: the passage concluded with, “the ruffian-like atrocity of his recent proceedings, and the deep degradation of his past career." This was marked and handed round the room, with the whisper of, "That's meant for Mr. -," naming me; though everybody in Melbourne knew very well that it referred to matters in Sydney ten years before I left England. With a "bush" constituency, however, the manœuvre was likely to be extensively successful; but the insidious attempt, added to the unprovoked personalities previously launched at me by Mr. Hogsbristle, caused a reaction in my favour with many, and an increased energy among the rest, so that there now seemed no doubt as to the result of the election. Mr. Hogsbristle had no chance, it was said, and Mr. Doll-y-Brodd had "not the ghost of a chance."

A new phase in this contest was now developed. It was discovered that Mr. Hogsbristle, who piqued himself upon knowing how elections were managed in the mother country, had procured the nomination of Mr. Doll-y-Brodd with a view of "dividing the Liberal interest;" and

his supporters finding, as the polling-day approached, that my election was pretty secure, were sent about to canvass for Mr. Doll-y-Brodd as well as himself: if a man would not vote for the Conservative and banking interest, would he not vote for the diggers' real friend, who kept a large and convenient store? As for the Gold Commissioner and other high officials of the Camp (my "occupation" in those quarters being gone), and their dependants, Mr. Hogsbristle had long since secured their votes, and done the usual dinner and supper-party convivialities, which are supposed to cement the bonds of friendship on these occasions.

Once more I had galloped off to Quartzreef-on-the-Hill; thence to the rich mines of Boo-boo; thence to the township of Blefuscue, calling upon the independent electors of each of those places to do their duty to the country of their adoption; and returning at full speed, I reached the Grassmere Hotel before the declaration of the poll. There was great excitement among the crowd, and soon a general rush and shouting outside informed me that the results of the polling were about to be declared. Did I hear rightly? The thing seemed incredible. I was at the bottom of the poll! Yells, shouts, and hisses followed the declaration. I was just one below Mr. Hogsbristle; but the richest part of the whole business was, that this experienced gentleman, having successfully divided the Liberal interest, had overshot the mark, so that Mr. Doll-y-Brodd distanced us both. Distanced, do I say-he had nearly double the number of votes obtained by either of us. "local man " had become the duly elected member for the constituency of Grassmere-on-the-Honeycomb, and Quartzreef-on-the-Hill, including the Boo-boo mines, and the township of Blefuscue; and all the indignant oaths and unconstitutional threats of the chief mining proprietors and mill-owners of Grassmere could not affect his title.

The

After the event, it was not difficult to understand how the result came about. One might have foreseen it from the debts on Mrs. Dolly's books for stores, of which we all knew; from Mr. Hogsbristle's suicidal assistance; from the ballot; and, above all, from the numerical power of the vote by the "miner's right" and manhood suffrage.

A little episode of this electioneering drama is too characteristic, though distasteful to the writer, not to be recorded. Having held a meeting at a certain public-house in the bush in the evening, the night was so dark that an attempt to return before morning was out of the question. The electors kept it up to a late hour after I had retired to what was anything but a "balmy couch," and where sleep was rendered almost impossible by the ingress of the fumes of the worst tobacco, and the noise of the singing and dancing. At last, the tumult having subsided into a series of intermittent gasps and snores, forming the closing bars of this serenade, I fell asleep-a sleep deep beyond dreams, the sort of sleep a man might have who had had his head punched all over. Awaking in the morning with the din and hoof-clatter still going on in my brain, and the sun shining full on my face, I saw that it was time for me to be again

in the saddle. But all was quiet in the house. Eight o'clock in a bush inn, and nobody moving! However, I prepared to sally forth, reconciling myself without much vexation to the probability of no breakfast. But my bedroom door would not open; something heavy lay against it. By dint of vigorous and sustained pushes I forced open the door sufficiently to enable me to squeeze through sideways, and I then stepped over the body of a man in a drunken sleep, who lay, as Chaucer says of a corpse, gaping upright." I found the whole floor of the house was covered, as in a field of battle next day, with bodies in the same condition, and had to step over these drunken corpses one after another, in order to make my way out at the front door: standing on the threshold, with the sun darting his golden beams into the den of beasts, I could not forbear ejaculating as I turned away, "And these are the men who are to elect me!-these are the men I am to represent!"

The excitement at Grassmere was not abated by the result of the election. Mr. Doll-y-Brodd, confounded by his victory, would have resigned his seat; but Mrs. Dolly had got it into her head that while serving customers she would be called " my lady," and nothing could shake her conviction or induce her to consent to her spouse's resignation. As for Mr. Hogsbristle, he was so disgusted and indignant, that he started off the next morning at daybreak for Melbourne, without a word of thanks for all that had been done for him. Meantime the Quartzreef proprietors, crushing-mill owners, and miners of the "higher orders," who had been beaten by the numerical power of the lower orders, determined to give a public dinner at the Grassmere Hotel to the man of their choice. About one hundred and twenty sat down. The room was tastefully decorated with fragrant evergreens and other shrubs; and on the wall appeared the representation of a certain constellation of the northern hemisphere, intended to be emblematic of my antecedents, the stars being represented by different-sized rosettes of violets, gathered from the fort of Mount Ararat and in the valleys round Grassmere-a graceful compliment from the corny hands of men in red flannel-shirts and blue jumpers though it should be remembered that a gold-mining community comprises men of all classes; not only hardy adventurers, but a good sprinkling of more refined elements. The chair was filled by Dr. Pigeonhouse (chairman of my committee), who did the honours with an air of medico-political benevolence; and the "speeches" were received with hearty applause, as were the songs: especially one written for the occasion by Captain Pepperfrog, in which none of my opponents were spared.

The next morning, after breakfast, a cavalcade assembled in front of Clover's Grassmere Hotel, to do me honour by seeing me off on my return towards Melbourne. Electors on horseback, in gigs, dogcarts, bakers' carts, farmers' carts, settlers' traps, and one or two large drays, awaited my advent. When my mare was led forth, she was observed to be so out of condition from her recent work, that a friendly