resented. The choice was by
acclamation; for it was acknowledged on all sides that Deacon Mason was
as square a man as there was in town.

The newly-elected Moderator took the chair and called upon the clerk to
read the warrant for the meeting. This was soon done, and the
transaction of the town's business begun in earnest. It will be, of
course, impossible and unnecessary to give a complete and connected
account of all that took place in town meeting on that day. For such an
account the trader is referred to the columns of the "Eastborough
Express," for it was afterwards acknowledged on all sides that the
account of the meeting written by Mr. Sylvester Chisholm was the most
graphic and comprehensive that had ever appeared in that paper. We have
to do only with those items in the warrant that related directly or
indirectly to those residents of the town with whom we are interested.

When the question of appropriating a certain sum for the support of the
town Almshouse was reached, Obadiah Strout sprang to his feet and called
out, "Mister Moderator," in a loud voice. He was recognized, and
addressed the chair as follows:

"Mister Moderator, before a vote is taken on the questions of
appropriatin' for the support of the town poor, I wish to call the
attention of my fellow-citizens to a matter that has come to my
knowledge durin' the past year. A short time ago a man who had been a
town charge for more than three years, and whose funeral expenses were
paid by the town, was discovered by me to be the only brother of a man
livin' in Boston, who is said to be worth a million dollars. A very
strange circumstance was that the son of this wealthy man, and a nephew
of this town pauper, has been livin' in this town for several months,
and spendin' his money in every way that he could think of to attract
attention, but it never occurred to him that he could have used his
money to better advantage if he had taken some of it and paid it to the
town for takin' care of his uncle. These facts are well known to many of
us here, and I move that a ballot--"

Tobias Smith had been fidgeting uneasily in his seat while Strout was
speaking, and when he mentioned the word "ballot," he could restrain
himself no longer, but jumped to Bids feet and called out in his
stentorian voice, "Mister Moderator, I rise to a question of privilege."

"I have the floor," shouted Strout, "and I wish to finish my remarks.
This is only an attempt of the oppo