Electioneering in the States,
generally speaking, is carried on with good-humour; and
when there is no real cause of squabbling, the object of
the aspirant is to get the laugh in his favour. The orator
we introduce to the English public is Mr Daniel R.
Russell, a candidate for the Auditorship in Mississippi.]
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN--I rise--but there is no use telling you that;
you know I am up as well as I do. I am a modest man--very--but I
never lost a picayune by it in my life. Being a scarce commodity
among candidates, I thought I would mention it, for fear if I did
not, you never would hear it. Candidates are generally considered as
nuisances, but they are not; they are the politest men in the world,
shake you by the hand, ask how's your family, what's the prospect
for crops, &c.--and I am the politest man in the state. Davy
Crockett says the politest man he ever saw, when he asked a man to
drink, turned his back so that he might drink as much as he pleased.
I beat that all hollow: I give a man a chance to drink twice if he
wishes, for I not only turn my back, but shut my eyes! I am not only
the politest man, but the best electioneerer: you ought to see me
shaking hands with the vibrations, the pump-handle and pendulum, the
cross-cut and wiggle-waggle. I understand the science perfectly, and
if any of the country candidates wish instructions, they must call
upon me. Fellow-citizens, I was born--if I hadn't been I wouldn't
have been a candidate; but I am going to tell you where: 'twas in
Mississippi, but 'twas on the right side of the negro line; yet that
is no compliment, as the negroes are mostly born on the same side.
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