"I want you to have her with you as much
as you can. I want you to know her; and I
want her to know me here, and get accustomed
to me. You will do this, Aunt Margaret?"

Mrs. Hazeldean rose from her seat, and stood
beside him again.

"You are determined upon this, Archie?"
she said.

"Quite determined. Aunt Margaret. If you
refuse to help me I will set to work some other
way. Only of course you will keep my secret
for the present."

"I have never seen any reason to distrust
your judgment," said Mrs. Hazeldean.

"Well, do not begin now. Will you promise
me?"

"You must first give me a fortnight to buy
a new gown, and have it made."

"A new gown!" said Sir Archie.

"A new gown," said Mrs. Hazeldean. "I
must have an excuse for bringing her here at
first. I must send for a fine new dress, and
borrow Hester from the castle to make it up.
When you see me wear that gown you may ask
for my opinion of your plans."

FAR WESTERN LAWGIVERS AND
PREACHERS.

OF course there must be a legislature as soon
as a rude territory is organised, and somebody
must "run" for it, and somebody be elected in
all the divisions to sit in the local parliament,
and all who are so chosen have the title of
"honourable." Indeed, it seems as if in these
parts of the world every government official,
except the policeman, has this handle to his
name. It does not always follow that these
honourables are the worthiest men to be had, any
more than it always follows that honourable
members of the British parliament comprise the
flower of our British intellect; but one thing
is certain, in the West, at least, and probably
over the whole of America, that the legislature
is almost sure to contain the wordiest members
of society; for to speak, or "make a few
remarks" on something, is absolutely indispensable
to a Western man.

In the wilder parts of the settlements
members of legislature have often been elected, not
so much for their talents, as for being "good
hands at poker," or "great on a spree," and one
of these ("the honourable gentleman from Mariposa"),
on getting up to speak in the
California legislature, and essaying several times
without much effect, was greeted with shouts
of "Git out. Oh! git out." They mistook
their man, however, for, as one of his supporters
remarked before his election, "He ain't much
on the speak, but jist git him mad once, and
he'll give 'em fits." "Look ye here, gentlemen,"
he remarked, cocking a Derringer pistol,
"ye may holler 'Git out, git out' as long as
God'll let ye, but my speech is already begun,
and the next man who shouts 'Git out' in the
house will bring to his ears the ominous click
of small arms. What is it the gentlemen wish,
and what would they have? Is my life so
dear, or my peace so sweet, that it must be
purchased at the expense of incapacitating a
few on ye for militairy service? No, sir-ee!
I know not what course others would take,
but as for me, I will finish my speech or there'll
be a dead senator found round these premises
in about fifteen seconds by the clock." He
was allowed to finish at his leisure.

The late Dr. Henry, formerly surveyor-general
of Washington territory, among the many
genial stories he used to tell, and which still
keep his memory green, had one at the expense
of his territorial legislature. A hotel-keeper in
one of the fashionable towns in the eastern
states used to stand at the head of the table and
read out the bill of fare in what the elocution
teachers call a "clear articulate voice," though
there was a printed carte on the table. This
irritated his aristocratic customers until at
last one said, "Say, Cap., why do you read out
the bill of fare? Do you think we can't read?"
"Oh, gentlemen," was the reply, "you will
excuse me, I hope. It is solely the force of
habit. I once kept a ho-tel in Washington
territory, and most of the legislatoor boarded
with me, and I'm blessed if half o' them could
read or write!"

It is a matter of history that when the
convention met to form a constitution for California,
and on the usual preamble being read, "that
all men should be judged by a jury of their
peers," an Oregonian, who happened to be a
delegate, moved, to the great amusement of the
other members, that the word "peers" should
be struck out: " This warn't a monarchy—
there warn't no peers in this here state!"

Disgraceful scenes of drunkenness are
sometimes seen in these legislatures, but in this
they do not stand alone. One of the Californian
members of the United States Senate is
distinguished as "the sober senator," such a
virtue being rather uncommon in the present
Congress men from that state. Corruption in
these state legislatures prevails to a frightful
extent, and is so open that newspapers will
even have the hardihood to give a list of the
sums paid to each senator for his vote. In the
more refined states official embezzlements are
styled "pickings," but in the Far West and
Pacific states plain English suffices, and they
are well known as "stealings." More than
once prominent government officials have asked
me, while in social intercourse, how much salary
I got for such an office. I would tell them.
"Wal," would be the reply, "that ain't much
for this country, but of course you have got
your little stealings?" I was naturally rather
inclined to resent the insinuation of robbing
my government or employers of any sort, until
they would assure me that they meant no harm.
It was the regular thing there, everybody did
it. " Why, sir, do you think I can support my
family on fifteen hundred dollars a year in
greenbacks at sixty cents to the dollar, or that
I would come up to this one-horse place after