wn here I've got so I just can't hold in any
more."

"Is it as bad as that, Mr. Redbrook?" asked Austen, with a serious glance
at the farmer's face.

"It's so bad I don't know how to begin," said the member from Mercer, and
paused suddenly. "But I don't want to hurt your feelings, Austen, seeing
your father is--where he is."

"Go on," said Austen, "I understand."

"Well," said Mr. Redbrook, "it just makes me tremble as an American
citizen. The railrud sends them slick cusses down here that sit in the
front seats who know all this here parliamentary law and the tricks of
the trade, and every time any of us gets up to speak our honest minds,
they have us ruled out of order or get the thing laid on the table until
some Friday morning when there ain't nobody here, and send it along up to
the Senate. They made that fat feller, Doby, Speaker, and he's stuffed
all the important committees so that you can't get an honest measure
considered. You can talk to the committees all you've a mind to, and
they'll just listen and never do anything. There's five hundred in the
House, and it ain't any more of a Legislature than a camp-meetin' is.
What do you suppose they done last Friday morning, when there wahn't but
twenty men at the session? We had an anti-pass law, and all these fellers
were breakin' it. It forbid anybody riding on a pass except railroad
presidents, directors, express messengers, and persons in misfortune, and
they stuck in these words, 'and others to whom passes have been granted
by the proper officers.' Ain't that a disgrace to the State? And those
twenty senators passed it before we got back on Tuesday. You can't get a
bill through that Legislature unless you go up to the Pelican and get
permission of Hilary--"

Here Mr. Redbrook stopped abruptly, and glanced contritely at his
companion.

"I didn't mean to get goin' so," he said, "but sometimes I wish this
American government'd never been started."

"I often feel that way myself, Mr. Redbrook," said Austen.

"I knowed you did. I guess I can tell an honest man when I see one. It's
treason to say anything against this Northeastern louder than a whisper.
They want an electric railrud bad up in Greenacre, and when some of us
spoke for it and tried to get the committee to report it, those cheap
fellers from Newcastle started such a catcall we had to set down."

By this time they were at the Widow Peasley's, stamping the snow from off
their boots.

"How gener