Vidal Gore — Eighteen Seventy [2988]

Justice Bradley is the fifteenth member of the commission, and his vote will decide the election, since the votes of the other fourteen members (amongst them Garfield) are already known to be split seven to seven no matter what evidence is presented them in their lofty capacity as keepers of the national conscience, as duly sworn detectors of fraudulent election returns, as sole electors of the nineteenth president. — Vidal Gore, Eighteen Seventy, 2988

Note

This sentence craftily employs metaphorical language, presenting the members of the commission as “keepers of the national conscience,” which amplifies the gravity of their decision-making role.