bout trifles, and he, to whom was confided the great
affairs of a state, ought to attach the utmost importance to a grave
exterior, which commonly was of more account with his constituents than
any other quality. Any one could tell whether he was grave or not,
but it was by no means so easy a matter to tell whether he or his
constituents had the greater cause to appear so. Noah promised to be
discreet, and we parted, not to meet again until we assembled to be
sworn in.

Before continuing the narrative, I will just mention that we disposed
of our commercial investments that morning. All the Leaphigh opinions
brought good prices; and I had occasion to see how well the brigadier
understood the market by the eagerness with which, in particular, the
Opinions on the State of Society in Leaplow were bought up. But, by one
of those unexpected windfalls which raise up so many of the chosen of
the earth to their high places, the cook did better than any of us. It
will be remembered, that he had bartered an article of merchandise
that he called slush against a neglected bale of Distinctive Leaplow
Opinions, which had no success at all in Leaphigh. Coming as they did
from abroad, these articles had taken as novelties in Bivouac, and he
sold them all before night, at enormous advances; the cry being that
something new and extraordinary had found its way into the market.

CHAPTER XXVI. HOW TO ENACT LAWS--ORATORY, LOGIC, AND ELOQUENCE; ALL
CONSIDERED IN THEIR EVERY-DAY ASPECTS.

Political oaths are very much the same sort of thing everywhere, and I
shall say no more about our inauguration than simply to state it took
place as usual. The two houses were duly organized, and we proceeded,
without delay, to the transaction of business. I will here state that
I was much rejoiced to find Brigadier Downright among the Bobees,
the captain whispering that most probably he had been mistaken for an
"immigrunt," and chosen accordingly.

It was not a great while before the Great Sachem sent us a
communication, which contained a compte rendue of the state of the
nation. Like most accounts it is my good fortune to receive, I thought
it particularly long. Agreeably to the opinions of this document, the
people of Leaplow were, by a good deal, the happiest people in the
world; they were also considerably more respected, esteemed, beloved,
honored, and properly appreciated, than any other monikin community,
and, in short, they were the admir