Southern sentinel. [volume] (Plaquemine, Parish of Iberville [La.]) 1848-1858, 1854-06-17
"wHAT.MAN A I DAREm

MAN DARE, I X
This exclamation, it will be recollected, wa.
made by Macbeth, of ~Shakspearian notoriety
on a certain occasion, when the appearance o.
Banquo's ghost transfxed him with fear. Pre-
ciseIy the same kind of alarm, it seemed to Us,
had taken possession of the Democratic wire
pullers and controllers in this place, on last
Monday morning, when the rumor became &C.
| neral throughout our town, started 1t seems a.
the head quarters of, not the "unterrlfed' OUT
| the terrified in this instance, that an actual 10
ma fde. unmistakable Know Nothing, was IN
the field as d candidate for Selectman, 10 De
elected on that day. Of course, such a decia'
ration coming from so veritable a source, crea-
ted unusual alarm and excitement, and as a
consequence to be expected, the very best ana
most popular of the "indomitables" was brot
out to defeat the quiet gentleman, against
whom so serious a charge had been made, OF
being the invisible party's candidate.
As the sun approached the zenith, sending
forth its melting rays, the excitement and con>
sternation increased, and the perspiration stood
in large drops upon the foreheads of those
who were running hither and thilher, e~lectio~
neering who never electioneered before, drum
ming up recruits from every imaginable nook
and corner of our town and marching them to
the polls, to defeat what their nervous move
ments gave reason to believe they thought to
be an invincibiIity, so powerful a name has the
Know Nothings already achieved throughout
the land.
All this was vastly interesting to those Of
who took but little interest in the matter.
The hubbub and the flush of anxiety increased
as the blood became more and more heated by
the burning sun. THAT'S it, pitch in your
votes ~ exclaimed one of the commissioners,
who knew by the cut of the voters jib that
he wasn't a Know Nothing, swell show the
Know Nothings the road to Jordanw And
thus the rank and file did pitch in" with a real
vengeance. Never, within our wide land, we
doubt, was there such an excitement among a
few hundred people about electing an Alder
man. The whole civilized world seemed to
have been represented on this occasion. There
were Paddy Hagerty and his friends, from
Erin's Green Isle; Mr.. Thompson, from some
where near Cornwall; Monsieur Gratiot, from
the vine-clad fields of La Belle France and
Mvnheer Won Steitenbach, from Rudolstadt on
the Saale, &c, &C., from other and more dis.
tant parts of the habitable globe-all intent,
it appeared, upon electing an Alderman for our
rising and rapidly becoming distinguished viii
lage, and for the purpose also of showing the
Know Nothings that they were "no where" in
Plaquemine.
But the eventual hour arrived, and the box
was closed which was so soon to disclose the
result. The votes were slowly ta>
ken from their sacred repository, and counted
amidst an awful Stiffness. A few minutes suf-
feed to perform the momentous work. At
the last paper pellet was unfolded and its
contents proclaimed. JENNA! there was a
then! There was a regular fright
about, wheel'-a pulling down of hats over
heir eyes by some-o,hers showing their hands
their breeches pockets and walking off
majestically-while the stage manager and
prompter, with hat in one hand and the other
to and fro and cutting the air, seemed
10 be saying as Macbeth said.
"What man dare zoe dare!
Approach thou like the rugged Russian bear,
The arm'd Rhinoceros, or the Hyrcan tiger,
Take any shape bm that"-
md reH defeat you!-during which gesticu'
alton, we saw the commissioner, who talked
,bout showing the Know Nothings "the road
Jordan" making a straight coat-tail along
he back track around the Court House.
The votes, on being counted, stood thus:
Know Nothing, 4o-+Stovepipe, SO.
*The name by which the opponents of the
Know Nothings are known in New Orleans, as
We understand.