er to
send him to Parliament, the city in which I was born must be very
much altered since I was a young man."

And so finishing his speech, Sir Roger retired within, and recruited
himself in the usual manner.

Such was the flood of eloquence at the Dragon of Wantly. At the White
Horse, meanwhile, the friends of the de Courcy interest were treated
perhaps to sounder political views; though not expressed in periods
so intelligibly fluent as those of Sir Roger.

Mr Moffat was a young man, and there was no knowing to what
proficiency in the Parliamentary gift of public talking he might yet
attain; but hitherto his proficiency was not great. He had, however,
endeavoured to make up by study for any want of readiness of speech,
and had come to Barchester daily, for the last four days, fortified
with a very pretty harangue, which he had prepared for himself in
the solitude of his chamber. On the three previous days matters
had been allowed to progress with tolerable smoothness, and he had
been permitted to deliver himself of his elaborate eloquence with
few other interruptions than those occasioned by his own want of
practice. But on this, the day of days, the Barchesterian roughs were
not so complaisant. It appeared to Mr Moffat, when he essayed to
speak, that he was surrounded by enemies rather than friends; and in
his heart he gave great blame to Mr Nearthewinde for not managing
matters better for him.

"Men of Barchester," he began, in a voice which was every now and
then preternaturally loud, but which, at each fourth or fifth word,
gave way from want of power, and descended to its natural weak tone.
"Men of Barchester--electors and non-electors--"

"We is hall electors; hall on us, my young kiddy."

"Electors and non-electors, I now ask your suffrages, not for the
first time--"

"Oh! we've tried you. We know what you're made on. Go on, Snip; don't
you let 'em put you down."

"I've had the honour of representing you in Parliament for the last
two years and--"

"And a deuced deal you did for us, didn't you?"

"What could you expect from the ninth part of a man? Never mind,
Snip--go on; don't you be out by any of them. Stick to your wax and
thread like a man--like the ninth part of a man--go on a little
faster, Snip."

"For the last two years--and--and--" Here Mr Moffat looked round to
his friends for some little support, and the Honourable George, who
stood close behind him, suggested that he had gone throu