lodging-house I found a jolly widow,
who, in answer to my appeal if there were any gentlemen, seemed to
intimate that the male sex were held in no particular favour. The
Conservative female was, as a rule, rather hard and sarcastic, and I was
glad to beat a retreat, as she gave me to understand that she was not to
be deceived by anything I might say, and that she should take care how
her husband voted. Now and then I was favoured with a dissertation on
the evil of party, but I could always cut that short by the remark, "Oh,
I see you are going to vote for the Conservative candidate!"--a remark
which led to a confession that in reality such was the case. The newly
enfranchised seemed proud of their privilege. It was not from them I got
the reply which I often heard where I should have least expected it, "Oh,
I never interfere in politics." People who had fads were a great bore.
One man would not vote for me because I was not sound on the Sunday
question; others who were of the same political opinions as myself would
not support me because I laughed at their pet theories. But the great
drawback was that I had come forward without leave from the party chiefs,
and hence their toadies, lay or clerical, sternly held aloof. Barely was
I treated uncourteously, except when my declaration that I was a Radical
led to an intimation on the part of the voter that the sooner I cleared
out the better.

I would suggest that all canvassing be prohibited--you want to get at the
public opinion of the borough, and that you do not obtain when you extort
a promise from a voter who has no definite opinion himself. Public
meetings and an advertisement or circular should be sufficient; but there
are many voters who will not take the trouble to attend, and a public
meeting, even if enthusiastic, is no criterion of what the vote will be.
It is easy to get up a public meeting if a candidate will go to the
necessary expense; and it is easier still to spoil one if the opposition
committee can secure the services of a few roughs or an Irishman or two.
Democratic Socialists I also found very efficient in that way, unable as
they would have been to carry a candidate, or to hold a public meeting
themselves. One of the funniest performances was, after you had had your
say, to reply to the questions. As a rule, the questioner thinks chiefly
of himself. He likes the sound of his voice, and he sits down with a
self-satisfied smile--if he be an old