t the color which has hitherto been deemed to be black, is
really lead-color."

Hereupon, the Honorable Mr. Smut took his seat, leaving the house to its
own ruminations. The leaders of the Perpendiculars, foreseeing that
if they got half-way this session, they might effect the rest of
their object the next, determined to accept the compromise; and the
resolution, amended, passed by a handsome majority. So this important
point was finally decided for the moment, leaving great hopes among
the Perpendiculars of being able to lay the Horizontals even flatter on
their backs than they were just then.

The next question that presented itself was of far less interest,
exciting no great attention. To understand it, however, it will be
necessary to refer a little to history. The government of Leapthrough
had, about sixty-three years before, caused one hundred and twenty-six
Leaplow ships to be burned on the high seas, or otherwise destroyed.
The pretence was, that they incommoded Leapthrough. Leaplow was much too
great a nation to submit to so heinous an outrage, while, at the same
time, she was much too magnanimous and wise a nation to resent it in an
every-day and vulgar manner. Instead of getting in a passion and loading
her cannon, she summoned all her logic and began to reason. After
reasoning the matter with Leapthrough for fifty-two years, or until
all the parties who had been wronged were dead, and could no longer
be benefited by her logic, she determined to abate two-thirds of her
pretensions in a pecuniary sense, and all her pretensions in an honorary
sense, and to compromise the affair by accepting a certain insignificant
sum of money as a salve to the whole wrong. Leapthrough conditioned
to pay this money, in the most solemn and satisfactory manner; and
everybody was delighted with the amicable termination of a very
vexatious and a seemingly interminable discussion. Leapthrough was quite
as glad to get rid of the matter as Leaplow, and very naturally, under
all the circumstances, thought the whole thing at length done with,
when she conditioned to pay the money. The Great Sachem of Leaplow, most
unfortunately, however, had a "will of iron," or, in other words, he
thought the money ought to be paid as well as conditioned to be paid.
This despotic construction of the bargain had given rise to unheard-of
dissatisfaction in Leapthrough, as indeed might have been expected; but
it was, oddly enough, condemned with some hea