of
an interview. But my correspondents came from every quarter of the land.
Some offered me their services; others favoured me with their views on
things in general. It was seldom I took the trouble to reply to them.
One gentleman, I fear, will never forgive me. He was an orator; he sent
me testimonials on the subject from such leading organs of public opinion
as _The Eatanswill Gazette_ or _The Little Pedlington Observer_, of the
most wonderful character. Evidently as an orator he was above all Greek,
above all Roman fame, and he was quite willing to come and speak at my
meetings, which was very kind, as he assured me that no candidate for
whom he had spoken was ever defeated at the poll. I ought to have
retained his services, I ought to have sent him a cheque, or my thanks.
Doubtless he would have esteemed them, especially the latter. Alas! I
did nothing of the kind.

But oh! the wearisome canvassing, which seems to be the only way to
success. Meetings are of little avail, organisation is equally futile,
paid agency simply leads the candidate into a Serbonian bog, where

Whole armies oft have perished.

It is house-to-house visitation that is the true secret now. As far as I
carried it out I was successful, though I did not invariably embrace the
wife of the voter or kiss the babies. The worst of it is, it takes so
much time. Now and then your friend is supernaturally wise. You must
stop and hear all he has to say, or you make him an enemy. Some
people--and I think they were right--seemed to think a candidate has no
business to canvass electors at all. One highly respectable voter seemed
really angry as he told me, with a severity worthy of a judge about to
sentence a poor wretch to hanging, it was quite needless for me to call,
that he was not going to disgrace his Baptist principles. Passing a
corner public one Saturday I was met with a friendly recognition. "We're
all going to oblige you, Sir," said the spokesman of the party, in a tone
indicating that either he had not taken the Temperance pledge, or that he
was somewhat lax in his observance of it, "and now you must oblige us
will you?" Him I left a sadder and a wiser man, as I had to explain that
the trifling little favour he sought at my hands might invalidate my
election. One female in a Peabody Building was hurt because I had in my
haste given a postman's rap at the door, instead of one more in use in
genteel society. In many a model