seemed too
black in the white frame of the hat, produced in the good old woman's
eyes, although she could not tell why, the painful impression of the
first lightning flash when the storm is beginning and the apprehension
of the thunderbolt follows the rapid meeting of the fluids.

Le Merquier read his report. The slow, lifeless, monotonous voice, the
Lyonnais accent, soft and drawling, with which the advocate kept time
by a movement of the head and shoulders almost like an animal, presented
a striking contrast to the savage conciseness of the conclusions. First,
a rapid sketch of the electoral irregularities. Never had universal
suffrage been treated with such primitive, uncivilized disrespect. At
Sarlazaccio, where Jansoulet's opponent seemed likely to carry the day,
the ballot-box was destroyed during the night preceding the counting.
The same thing, or almost the same, happened at Levie, at Saint-Andre,
at Avabessa. And these offences were committed by the mayors themselves,
who carried the boxes to their houses, broke the seals and tore up the
ballots, under cover of their municipal authority. On all sides fraud,
intrigue, even violence. At Calcatoggio an armed man, blunderbuss in
hand, stood at the window of an inn just opposite the mayor's office
throughout the election; and whenever a supporter of Sebastiani,
Jansoulet's opponent, appeared on the square, the man pointed his weapon
at him: "If you go in, I'll blow out your brains!" Moreover, when we see
police commissioners, justices of the peace, sealers of weights and
measures daring to transform themselves into electoral agents,
intimidating and seducing a people notorious for their subjection to all
these tyrannical little local influences, have we not proof positive of
unbridled license? Why, even the priests, consecrated pastors, led
astray by their zealous interest in the poor-box and the maintenance of
their impoverished churches, preached a veritable crusade in favor of
Jansoulet's election. But an even more powerful, although less
respectable, influence was set at work for the good cause,--the
influence of bandits. "Yes, bandits, Messieurs, I am not jesting."--And
thereupon followed a sketch in bold colors of Corsican banditti in
general and the Piedigriggio family in particular.

The Chamber listened with close attention and with considerable
uneasiness. The fact was that it was an official candidate whose actions
were being thus described, and those s