it. Mr Parkinson took it home with | posed to resist any further concessions him; it was in the printer's hands to either Roman Catholics or Dissenthat night, and by seven o'clock in ters, because I think that they cannot the morning, was stuck up plentifully be made safely or advantageously. on all the walls in Grilston, and, in Gentlemen, there is a point at which fact, all over the borough:toleration becomes anarchy; and I am desirous to keep as far from that point as possible. "To the Independent Electors of the Borough of Yatton. "I earnestly deprecate putting our Agricultural or Commercial and Manufacturing interests into competition with each other, as needless and mischievous. Both are essential elements in the national welfare; both should be upheld to the utmost but if circumstances should unhappily bring them into inevitable conflict, I avow myself heart and soul a friend to the Agricultural interest. 66 Gentlemen, I know not whether it would be more derogatory to your character, or to mine, to exact or give pledges as to my conduct on any particular measure, great or small, which may come before Parliament. It ap pears to me both absurd and ignominious, and inconsistent with every "GENTLEMEN,—I hope you will not consider me presumptuous, in venturing to offer myself to your notice as a candidate for the honour of representing you in Parliament. In point of years, I am, I have reason to believe, even younger than the gentleman whom I have come forward to oppose. But, indeed, for the fact of his being personally a comparative stranger to you, I should have paused long before contesting with him the representation of a borough on which he has unquestionably certain legitimate claims. The moment, however, that I had read his Address, I resolved to come forward and oppose him. Gentlemen, the chief ground on which I am in-true principle of representation. One, duced to take this step, is, that I disapprove of the tone and spirit of that Address, and hold opinions entirely opposed to all those which it expresses, and which I have no hesitation in saying I consider to be unworthy of any one seeking so grave a trust as that of representing you in Parlia ment. As for my own opinions, they are in all essential respects identical with those of the gentlemen who have during a long series of years represented you, and especially with those of my highly honoured and gifted friend, Mr Aubrey. Gentlemen, my own family is not unknown to you, nor are the opinions and principles which for centuries they have consistently supported, and which are also mine. "I am an affectionate and uncompromising friend of our glorious and venerable Established Church, and of its union with the State; which it is my inflexible determination to support by every means in my power, as the most effectual mode of securing civil and religious liberty. I am dis however, I willingly give you that I will endeavour to do my duty, by consulting your interests as a part of the general interests of the nation. I trust that I shall never be found uncourteous or inaccessible; but I am confident that none of you will entertain unreasonable expectations concerning my power to serve you individually or collectively. Gentlemen, having entered into this contest, I pledge myself to fight it out to the last; and, if I fail, to retire with good-humour. My friends and I will keep a vigilant eye on any attempts which may be made to resort to undue influence, or coercion; which, however, I cannot suppose will be the case. "Gentlemen, this is the best account I can give you, within the limits of such an Address as the present, of my political opinions, and of the motives which have induced me to come forward; and I shall, within a day or two, proceed to call upon you personally. In the mean while I remain, Gentlemen, your Delamere! It was some time before faithful servant, "GEOFFRY LOVEL DELAMERE. "FOTHERINGHAM CASTLE, 7th Dec. 18-." Two or three days afterwards there arrived at Mr Aubrey's, in Vivian Street, two large packets, franked "DE LA ZOUCH," and addressed to Mr Aubrey, containing four copies of the foregoing "Address," accompanied by the following hurried note : "FOTHERINGHAM, 8th Dec. 18-. "MY DEAR AUBREY,-What think you of this sudden and somewhat Quixotic enterprise of Geoffry? I fear it is quite hopeless-but there was no resisting his importunities. I must say he is going into the affair (which has already made a prodigious stir down here) in a very fine spirit. His Address is good, is it not? The only thing I regret is, his entering the lists with such a creature as that fellow Titmouse-and, moreover, being beaten by him.-Yours ever faithfully and affectionately, "DE LA ZOUCH. "P.S.-You should only see little Dr Tatham since he has heard of it. He spins about the village like a humming-top! I hope that, as far as his worldly interests are concerned, he is not acting imprudently: but I will take care of that, for I love and reverence the little Doctor. Our dear love to the ladies. (In great haste.)" This letter was read with almost suspended breath by Mr Aubrey, and then by Mrs and Miss Aubrey. With still greater emotion were the printed enclosures opened and read. Each was held in a trembling hand, its reader's colour going and coming. Miss Aubrey's heart beat faster and faster; she turned very pale- but with a strong effort recovered herself. Then taking the candle, she withdrew with a hasty and excited air, taking her copy of the Address with her to her own room; and there burst into tears, and wept for some time. She felt her heart dissolving in tenderness towards she could summon resolution enough to return. When she did, Mrs Aubrey made a faint effort to rally her; but each, on observing the traces of the other's recent and strong emotion, was silent, and with difficulty preserved any semblance of a calm demeanour. Equally strong emotions, but of a different description, were excited in the bosoms of certain persons at Yatton Hall, by the appearance of Mr Delamere's address. 'Twas Mr Bar nabas Bloodsuck, (junior),— -a middlesized, square-set young man, of about thirty, with a broad face, a very flat nose, light frizzly hair, and deep-set grey eyes-a bustling, confident, hardmouthed fellow-who, happening to be stirring in the main street of Grilston early in the morning of the 8th December 18-, beheld a man in the act of sticking up Mr Delamere's Address against a wall. Having prevailed on the man to part with one, Mr Bloodsuck was within a quarter of an hour on horseback, galloping down to Yatton-almost imagining himself to be carrying with him a sort of hand-grenade, which might explode in his pocket as he went on. He was ushered into the breakfast-room, where sate Mr Gammon and Mr Titmouse, just finishing their morning meal. "My stars-good morning! gents,but here's a kettle of fish!" quoth Mr Bloodsuck with an excited air, wiping the perspiration from his forehead; and then plucking out of his pocket the damp and crumpled Address of Mr Delamere, he handed it to Mr Gammon, who changed colour on seeing it, and read it over in silence. Mr Titmouse looked at him with a disturbed air; and having finished his mixture of tea and brandy, “Eh— e-eh, Gammon !-I say' "he stammered-"what's in the wind? 'Pon my soul, you look-eh?" Nothing but a piece of good fortune, for which you are indebted to your distinguished friend Mr Phelim O'Something," replied Gammon bitterly, "whose precious Address has called forth for you an opponent whom you would not otherwise have had." "Hang Mr O'Doodle!" exclaimed Titmouse; "I-'pon my precious soul -I always thought him a-a fool and a knave. I'll make him pay me the money he owes me!" and he strode up and down the room, with his hands thrust furiously into his pockets. "You had perhaps better direct your powerful mind to this Address," quoth Mr Gammon, with a blighting smile, as it slightly concerns you:" and handing it to Titmouse, the latter sat down to try and obey him. "What? 'Pon my soul-for my borough? For Yatton?” "Yes, and one who will fight you tooth and nail." "'Pon-my-precious soul! What a cursed scamp! What a most infernal black- -Who is it?" "No blackguard, sir," interrupted Gammon, sternly; "but-a gentleman, perhaps, even, every way equal to yourself," he added with a cruel smile, "the Honourable Mr Delamere, the son and heir of Lord De la Zouch." "By jingo! you don't say so! Why, he's a hundred thousand a-year," interrupted Titmouse, turning pale. "That cock won't really fight, though, eh?" inquired Mr Bloodsuck, as he resumed his seat after helping himself to an enormous slice of cold Oh, that he has, at least," interbeef at the side table. posed Mr Bloodsuck, who had nearly "I think it will," replied Mr Gam-finished a rapid and disgusting breakmon thoughtfully and presently con- fast; "and two such bitter Tories, tinued, after a pause, with a visible you never saw or heard of before-for, effort to speak calmly, "it is useless like father, like son.' to say anything about the haughty intolerant Toryism it displays; that is all fair; but is it not hard, Mr Bloodsuck, that when I had written an Address which would have effectually "Egad is it?" inquired Titmouse, completely crestfallen. Well! and what if-eh, Gammon? Isn't it?" "It is a very serious business, sir, indeed," quoth Gammon, gravely. "By Jove-isn't it a cursed piece of What? Come into my borough? He might as well come into my house! Isn't one as much mine as the other? It's as bad as housebreaking-but we're beforehand with him, any how, with those prime chaps at Gr- "Mr Bloodsuck's teeth chattered; he glanced towards the door; and Gammon gave Titmouse a look which almost paralysed, and at all events silenced him. "Mr Phelim O'Doodle owes me three-impudence! hundred pounds, Gammon, and I hope you'll get it for me at once; 'pon my soul, he's a most cursed scamp," quoth Titmouse furiously, looking up with an air of desperate chagrin, on hear ing Gammon's last words. That gentleman, however, took no notice of him, and proceeded, addressing Mr Bloodsuck, I have weighed every word in that Address. It means mischief. It has evidently been well considered; it is calm and determinedand we shall have a desperate contest, or I am grievously mistaken." "E-e-eh? E-h? What, Gammon?" inquired Titmouse, who, though his eye appeared, in obedience to Gammon, to have been travelling over the all-important document which he held in his hand, had been listening with trembling anxiety to what was said by his companions. "I say that we are to have a contested election: that you won't walk over the course, as you might have done. Here's a most formidable opponent started against you!" 'They'll bleed freely?" said Bloodsuck, by-and-by, with a desperate effort to look concerned-whereas he was in a secret ecstasy at the profitable work in prospect for their house. "Lord De la Zouch would not have entered into this thing if he had not some end in view which he considers attainable-and as for money "Oh, as for that," said Bloodsuck, with a matter-of-fact air, "ten thousand pounds to him is a mere drop in the bucket." "O Lord! O Lord! and must I spend money too?" inquired Titmouse, with a look of ludicrous alarm. "We must talk this matter over alone, Mr Bloodsuck," said Gammon | his coat with a matter-of-fact air; but anxiously-"shall we go to Grilston, the words of Titmouse caused Mr or will you fetch your father hither?" Gammon suddenly to dart first at one, "Pon my soul, Gammon," quoth and then at the other of the speakTitmouse desperately, and snapping ers, a keen penetrating glance; and his finger and thumb, "those cursed presently his expressive counteAubreys, you may depend on't, are at nance showed that surprise had been the bottom of all this' succeeded by deep chagrin, which soon settled into gloomy thoughtfulness. "That there's not the least doubt of," quoth Bloodsuck, as he buttoned up BOOK THE SEVENTH. CHAPTER I. THE GREAT GAME AT CHESS, BETWEEN MR GAMMON, AND MR CRAFTY; WHICH TYPIFIES AN ENGLISH ELECTION, AND HOW IT IS LOST, AND WON. THERE had not been a contested election at Yatton, until the present one between Mr Delamere and Mr Titmouse, for a long series of years; its two members having been, till then, owing to the smallness of the constituency, their comparative unanimity of political sentiment, and the dominant influence of the Yatton family, returned, pretty nearly, as a matter of course. When, therefore, quiet little Yatton, for such it was, albeit politically enlarged by the new Act, became the scene of so sudden and hot a contest as that memorable and great one which I am going to describe, and under such novel and exciting circumstances, it seemed in a manner quite beside itself. The walls were everywhere covered with glaring placards—red, blue, green, yellow, white, purple-judiciously designed to stimulate the electors into a calm and in friend, like that of many others of his ['Twas thus that the name of our little species, was attached to great public questions, somewhat after the manner of a kettle tied to a dog's tail.] But others were to be met with, of a more elaborate and impressive character. Here is one of the latter class. "Electors of Yatton!! Be not de- vote for MR DELAMERE!!!!" telligent exercise of their important mongering Peer should command his If a certain Boroughfunctions. Here are the inscriptions upon a few of them : "Vote for TITMOUSE, the MAN of the PEOPLE!" "TITMOUSE and CIVIL and RELIGIOUS LIBERTY!" "TITMOUSE and CHEAP ALE!" son to vote for the REPEAL of the Great Bill which enfranchised the inhabitants of Grilston, Succombe, and Warkleigh-would not that son obey him? How would this be, MR DELAMERE?" 'Twas not, to give the devil his due, Mr Titmouse's fault that his placards did not contain many vulgar personTION!" alities against his opponent; but owing "TITMOUSE and NEGRO EMANCIPA-entirely to Mr Gammon's want of the TION!" requisite wit, and spirit. That gentle "VOTE for TITMOUSE and No MIS- man felt, in fact, that such a candidate TAKE!" as Mr Delamere afforded but few sali |