best example of satire in Oregon literature. Certainly nothing written since in the state has created the stir that it did. To give as much of an idea as possible of its flavor, its dedication will be quoted, its characters will be speculatively identified, and a short dialogue will be taken from one of its scenes.
Dedication of the Melodrame
As it hath been the usual custom of authors of all time to dedicate their productions to some one of the distinguished patrons of science or literature, your humble servant, "following in the footsteps of his illustrious predecessors," would humbly beg to present the following play to the
"Association of Gentlemen," (?)
who have so largely contributed, of late, to
the advance of polite literature—the
fine arts, and the promotion of
the pure, chaste, and ele-
gant anglo saxon clas-
sics, by their
dignified and able contributions to the
"VOX POPULI",
WHICH HAS RECENTLY CLOSED ITS SHORT, BRILLIANT,
AND EVENTFUL CAREER
FOLLOWED BY A "HOST OF MOURNERS."
I have been the more induced to make this dedication, as the governor of our infant territory has unkindly deprived this learned body of the territorial library.
I would also here respectfully suggest to all authors, the propriety of contributing each a copy of their works towards forming a new library, to be lodged in the archives of Salem, and the keys to be hung at the belt of the honorable O. C. Pratt, the modern "Petros", on which rests the fabric of progressive democracy, and against which the "gates of hell" can only prevail.
The only apology your humble author sees fit to offer for the many defects which are to be found in his production, tha... ... s not poetry... ... in the words of Ben Johnson — "truth". Yours, with respect,
