We must not pass by that exquisite likeness of the demagogue in Second
Samuel. "Absalom rose up early and stood beside the way of the gate; and
it was so that when any man that had a controversy came to the king for
judgment, then Absalom called unto him and said, Of what city art thou?
and he said, Thy servant is one of the tribes of Israel. And Absalom said
unto him, See, thy matters are good and right, but there is no one deputed
of the king to hear thee." Things are getting very loose in the
government; the country is going to the dogs. The present administration
has been so long in power, that it has grown careless of the interests of
the people. Absalom said, moreover, "O that I were made Judge in the land;
that any man which hath any suit or any cause might come unto me, and I
would do him justice!" We need a change. Put our party in power and see
whether the rights of the people will not be better regarded; see whether
there will not be reform in all departments of the government, and better
times in the nation. "And it was so that when any man came to him to do
him obeisance, he put forth his hand and took him and kissed him." Really,
here we have the origin of the hand shaking candidate of to-day. Here are
the beginnings of that cajolery of the "poor laboring man," "the honest
farmer," "the oppressed people," which the modern aspirant to office so
earnestly affects. "And in this manner did Absalom to all Israel that
came unto the King for judgment; so Absalom stole the hearts of the men of
Israel." In one point the comparison between Absalom and his later
imitators fails. Absalom, it will be remembered, closed his career by
getting hung upon a tree. It is greatly to be regretted that many of our
modern demagogues do not complete the parallel.