hard. He was
the _Landessaeckelmeister_ (Treasurer), and the law makes him personally
responsible for every farthing which passes through his hands. Having,
with the consent of the Council, invested thirty thousand francs in a
banking-house at Rheineck, the failure of the house obliged him to pay
this sum out of his own pocket. He did so, and then made preparations to
leave the Canton in case his resignation was not accepted.

For most of the places from ten to fourteen candidates were named, and
when these were reduced to two, nearly equally balanced in popular
favor, the voting became very spirited. The apparitor, who was chosen on
account of his strength of voice (the candidates for that office must be
tested in this respect), had hard work that day. The same formula must
be repeated before every vote, in this wise: "Herr Landamman,
gentlemen, faithful and beloved fellow-citizens and brethren of the
Union, if it seems good to you to choose so-and-so as your treasurer for
the coming year, so lift up your hands!" Then, all over the dark mass,
thousands of hands flew into the sunshine, rested a moment, and
gradually sank with a fluttering motion, which made me think of leaves
flying from a hillside forest in the autumn winds. As each election was
decided, and the choice was announced, swords were lifted to show the
location of the new official in the crowd, and he was then brought upon
the platform with fife and drum. Nearly two hours elapsed before the
gaps were filled, and the government was again complete.

Then followed the election of judges for the judicial districts, which,
in most cases, were almost unanimous re-elections. These are repeated
from year to year, so long as the people are satisfied. Nearly all the
citizens of Outer-Rhoden were before me; I could distinctly see three
fourths of their faces, and I detected no expression except that of a
grave, conscientious interest in the proceedings. Their patience was
remarkable. Closely packed, man against man, in the hot, still sunshine,
they stood quietly for nearly three hours, and voted upwards of two
hundred and seven times before the business of the day was completed. A
few old men on the edges of the crowd slipped away for a quarter of an
hour, in order, as one of them told me, "to keep their stomachs from
giving way entirely," and some of the younger fellows took a schoppin of
_Most_ for the same purpose; but they generally returned and resumed
their pla