The Oxford intelligencer., 1860-09-19
A Chapterupon Hobby Horses.

Y A Chapter upon Hobby Horses.
The county elections are now at hand;
and, as is usual at sueh periods, wherever
two or three of the sovereigns are gathered
together, there are to be found in the midst
Of them swarm of candidates, each astride
of his own peculiar hobby horse, upon which
he wishes, if he does not expect, to ride into
the public favor, and thereby secure the Of
fee, fat or otherwise, which is the object of
his aspirations
The Offices which the people of the county
will in few days be called upon to fill, are,
all of them, either Judicial, or strictly minis
terial, in their character; and politics, there
fore, can properly have nothing whatever to
do with any of them. The only question,
legitimatcly presenting itself to the voters,
is-"Who, among the several candidates, are
best qualified to discharge the duties of the
offices which they respectively solicit at our
hands 7" This question, however, is one
which the great mass of voters habitualy
overlook aud the candidates, as class, are
undoubtedly content that they should do SO.
That office-secker, for example, who has
mounted the democratic" hobby, and who
is full of confidence in the surprising speed
and bottom of that well-trained animal, would
be quite unwilling to stand upon his natural
"pegs," and be compelled to rely solely upon
his own personal racing qualities for success /;
while the candidate who is prancing about
upon the "squatter sovereignty" or the
constitutional Union" or "the University"
hobby, would equally lament the necessity of
dismounting, as circumstance likely, in his
opinion, materially to diminish his chances
of carrying off the purse. However, there
are moments when the faith of some of these
hopeful gentlemen, in the ability of the nags
they have selected to carry them through the
canvass, is manifestly shaken; and their
conduct, at such times, is almost painfully
ludcrous. Alarmed by some unexpected
act of rearing or rccalcitration on the part of
his sober-looking steed, the frightened candi-
date alghts in haste, and holds'a council Of
friendly jockeys to consult upon the propri-
ETY. of further risking his life upon beast
that has given such indications of vicious
and intractable temper; and, only half re-as-
sured by their unanimous opinion that "thc
critter is perfectly safe, and sure to win," he
afterwards goes about, leading his hobby by
the bride, anxious, yet afraid, to vault again
into the saddle, and cursing the luckless
hour, when, deceived by appearances, and
with very slender knowledge of horse-hesh,
he was 6Ver-persuaded into the selection of
brute which has already proved to be fcro-
cious and refractory, and which seems, to
him, rather to promise to break his riders
neck than to carry him in triumph to the
winningpost.
Some of these hesitating equestrians will,
no doubt, "scrcw up their courage to the
sticking point" as they behold their com
pctitors nearing the goal and, hastily re-
mounting, they will assay TO make up by
desperate riding for the time they have lost
in trembling indecision; and the end of all
this will probably be, that, when the race
is over, divers of these adventurous horsemcn
will be found rolling in the dust, with aching
bones and rucful visagcs, eager to get rid,
upon any terms, of the "racing stock" that
bore them so i'll upon the scene Of their dis
aster. "