were thrust upon me, my political
party tendered me the nomination for mayor of the city; but when I
ascertained the fact that I would be obliged to bribe the 300 roosters
on the fence who held the balance of power, and who must be paid two
dollars each to persuade them to come off their perch and vote, I
preferred the $600 to the empty honor, and declined.

It is said that dame fortune knocks once at every man's door, but
the old woman sent to mine later, her ugly-faced unmarried daughter,
mis-fortune. At the request of some of the Boston newspapers, I wrote
an account for the press of my Florida journey and observations, which
attracted much attention and many callers, among whom were the F----
brothers, of Boston, who painted the attractions of a town of Orange
County in such glowing colors, that I was induced to visit said place
in summer accompanied by my friend, lawyer S---- of Newburyport.

We found even the summer climate very agreeable the location very
attractive, and the general prospects for a northern colony there
quite promising. We wandered through the woods far and wide, shooting
quail, an occasional wild turkey, caught fish from the numerous
beautiful lakes, sleeping sometimes under the pines, then in houses,
whose owners were away visiting with no thought of locking their doors
in this land where thieving was unknown. We led a real Bohemian life
in Arcady, quietly bonding hundreds of acres of land, and having
located a hotel and townsite between two charming lakes, leaving a
Mr. G---- W---- a friend of the F---- brothers, as superintendent, to
secure more lands and to cut avenues, we went home, where we formed a
syndicate stock company of which I was elected general manager, with
full powers to sell $50,000 of stock with which to pay for the bonded
lands and the building of a hotel.

I sold the stock at $100 per share, giving one acre of land with each
share of said stock. This would have been a very successful
enterprise had it not been for the cunning duplicity and greed of our
superintendent, who proceeded diligently to "feather his own nest"
at our expense. I accomplished my task of raising funds very
successfully, and the next winter moved with my family to A----,
taking with us a competent engineer, a Mr. H----, to survey and stake
the lands.

Here I unearthed the rascality of the superintendent, who, beside
taking our salary and commission for buying lands, had extorted large
commissions a