wo; nor was she of a nature to take plunges of that
sort. The next day, as I lay back in my seat in the parlour-car and
gazed at the autumn landscape, I indulged in a luxurious contemplation
of the picture she had made as she stood on the lawn under the trees
in the early morning light, when my carriage had driven away; and I had
turned, to perceive that her eyes had followed me. I was not in love
with her, of course. I did not wish to return at once to Elkington, but
I dwelt with a pleasant anticipation upon my visit, when the campaign
should be over, with George.

XIII.

"The good old days of the Watling campaign," as Colonel Paul Varney is
wont to call them, are gone forever. And the Colonel himself, who
stuck to his gods, has been through the burning, fiery furnace of
Investigation, and has come out unscathed and unrepentant. The flames of
investigation, as a matter of fact, passed over his head in their vain
attempt to reach the "man higher up," whose feet they licked; but him
they did not devour, either. A veteran in retirement, the Colonel is
living under his vine and fig tree on the lake at Rossiter; the vine
bears Catawba grapes, of which he is passionately fond; the fig tree,
the Bartlett pears he gives to his friends. He has saved something
from the spoils of war, but other veterans I could mention are not so
fortunate. The old warriors have retired, and many are dead; the
good old methods are becoming obsolete. We never bothered about those
mischievous things called primaries. Our county committees, our state
committees chose the candidates for the conventions, which turned around
and chose the committees. Both the committees and the conventions--under
advice--chose the candidates. Why, pray, should the people complain,
when they had everything done for them? The benevolent parties, both
Democratic and Republican, even undertook the expense of printing the
ballots! And generous ballots they were (twenty inches long and five
wide!), distributed before election, in order that the voters might have
the opportunity of studying and preparing them: in order that Democrats
of delicate feelings might take the pains to scratch out all the
Democratic candidates, and write in the names of the Republican
candidates. Patriotism could go no farther than this....

I spent the week before election in the city, where I had the
opportunity of observing what may be called the charitable side of
politics. For a whole m