at this election, Mr. Pile," said Sir Thomas. Mr.
Pile looked him hard in the face. "At least I do, Mr. Pile. I can
answer for myself." Mr. Pile turned away his face, and opened his
mouth, and put his hand upon his stomach, and made a grimace, as
though,--as though he were not quite as well as he might be. And such
was the case with him. The idea of purity of election at Percy-cross
did in truth make him feel very sick. It was an idea which he hated
with his whole heart. There was to him something absolutely mean and
ignoble in the idea of a man coming forward to represent a borough in
Parliament without paying the regular fees. That somebody, somewhere,
should make a noise about it,--somebody who was impalpable to him, in
some place that was to him quite another world,--was intelligible.
It might be all very well in Manchester and such-like disagreeable
places. But that candidates should come down to Percycross and talk
about purity there, was a thing abominable to him. He had nothing to
get by bribery. To a certain extent he was willing to pay money in
bribery himself. But that a stranger should come to the borough and
want the seat without paying for it was to him so distasteful, that
this assurance from the mouth of one of the candidates did make him
very sick.

"I think you'd better go back to London, Sir Thomas," said Mr. Pile,
as soon as he recovered himself sufficiently to express his opinion.

"You mean that my ideas as to standing won't suit the borough."

"No, they won't, Sir Thomas. I don't suppose anybody else will tell
you so,--but I'll do it. Why should, a poor man lose his day's wages
for the sake of making you a Parliament man? What have you done for
any of 'em?"

"Half an hour would take a working man to the poll and back," argued
Sir Thomas.

"That's all you know about elections. That's not the way we manage
matters here. There won't be any place of business agait that day."
Then Mr. Trigger whispered a few words to Mr. Pile. Mr. Pile repeated
the grimace which he had made before, and turned on his heel although
he was in his own parlour, as though he were going to leave them.
But he thought better of this, and turned again. "I always vote Blue
myself," said Mr. Pile, "and I don't suppose I shall do otherwise
this time. But I shan't take no trouble. There's a many things that I
don't like, Sir Thomas. Good morning, Sir Thomas. It's all very well
for Mr. Trigger. He knows where the butter lies f