第48章

potentates-afterithadmadehimknownallovertheworld，evenas

avoicecryingfromshoretoshore-itfinallypersuadedhis

countrymentoselecthimforthepresidency。Beforethistime-indeed，

assoonashebegantogrowcelebrated-hisadmirershadfoundoutthe

resemblancebetweenhimandtheGreatStoneFace；andsomuchwere

theystruckbyit，thatthroughoutthecountrythisdistinguished

gentlemanwasknownbythenameofOldStonyPhiz。Thephrasewas

consideredasgivingahighlyfavorableaspecttohispolitical

prospects；for，asislikewisethecasewiththePopedom，nobody

everbecomespresidentwithouttakinganameotherthanhisown。

Whilehisfriendsweredoingtheirbesttomakehimpresident，

OldStonyPhiz，ashewascalled，setoutonavisittothevalley

wherehewasborn。Ofcourse，hehadnootherobjectthantoshake

handswithhisfellow-citizens，andneitherthoughtnorcaredabout

anyeffectwhichhisprogressthroughthecountrymighthaveupon

theelection。Magnificentpreparationsweremadetoreceivethe

illustriousstatesman；acavalcadeofhorsemensetforthtomeethim

attheboundarylineofthestate，andallthepeoplelefttheir

businessandgatheredalongthewaysidetoseehimpass。Amongthese

wasErnest。Thoughmorethanoncedisappointed，aswehaveseen，he

hadsuchahopefulandconfidingnature，thathewasalwaysreadyto

believeinwhateverseemedbeautifulandgood。Hekepthisheart

continuallyopen，andthuswassuretocatchtheblessingfromon

high，whenitshouldcome。Sonowagain，asbuoyantlyasever，hewent

forthtobeholdthelikenessoftheGreatStoneFace。

Thecavalcadecameprancingalongtheroad，withagreatclattering

ofhoofsandamightycloudofdust，whichroseupsodenseandhigh

thatthevisageofthemountain-sidewascompletelyhiddenfrom

Ernest’seyes。Allthegreatmenoftheneighborhoodwerethereon

horseback：militiaofficers，inuniform；thememberofCongress；the

sheriffofthecounty；theeditorsofnewspapers；andmanyafarmer，

too，hadmountedhispatientsteed，withhisSundaycoatuponhis

back。Itreallywasaverybrilliantspectacle，especiallyasthere

werenumerousbannersflauntingoverthecavalcade，onsomeofwhich

weregorgeousportraitsoftheillustriousstatesmanandtheGreat

StoneFace，smilingfamiliarlyatoneanother，liketwobrothers。If

thepicturesweretobetrusted，themutualresemblance，itmustbe

confessed，wasmarvellous。Wemustnotforgettomentionthatthere

wasabandofmusic，whichmadetheechoesofthemountainsringand

reverberatewiththeloudtriumphofitsstrains；sothatairyand

soul-thrillingmelodiesbrokeoutamongalltheheightsandhollowsas

ifeverynookofhisnativevalleyhadfoundavoicetowelcomethe

distinguishedguest。Butthegrandesteffectwaswhenthefar-off

mountain-precipiceflungbackthemusic；forthentheGreatStoneFace

itselfseemedtobeswellingthetriumphantchorus，in

acknowledgmentthat，atlength，themanofprophecywascome。

Allthiswhilethepeoplewerethrowinguptheirhatsandshouting，

withenthusiasmsocontagiousthattheheartofErnestkindledup，and

helikewisethrewuphishat，andshouted，asloudlyastheloudest，

“Huzzaforthegreatman！HuzzaforOldStonyPhiz！”Butasyethehad

notseenhim。

“Hereheis，now！”criedthosewhostoodnearErnest。“There！

There！LookatOldStonyPhizandthenattheOldManoftheMountain，

andseeiftheyarenotaslikeastwotwin-brothers！”

Inthemidstofallthisgallantarray，cameanopenbarouche，

drawnbyfourwhitehorses；andinthebarouche，withhismassivehead

uncovered，sattheillustriousstatesman，OldStonyPhizhimself。

“Confessit。”saidoneofErnest’sneighborstohim，“theGreat

StoneFacehasmetitsmatchatlast！”

Now，itmustbeownedthat，athisfirstglimpseofthecountenance

whichwasbowingandsmilingfromthebarouche，Ernestdidfancy

thattherewasaresemblancebetweenitandtheoldfamiliarfaceupon

themountain-side。Thebrow，withitsmassivedepthandloftiness，and

alltheotherfeatures，indeed，wereboldlyandstronglyhewn，asif

inemulationofamorethanheroic，ofaTitanicmodel。Butthe

sublimityandstateliness，thegrandexpressionofadivine

sympathy，thatilluminat