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"Haviland's chance is entirely desperate, is it not ?" said I. "Bad enough, certainly," answered my agent; "but you must not yet judge from figures. Haviland is keeping back his sure votes, and is at present trying his strength among the unknown and uncertain part of the freeholders, who certainly come in slowly as yet. I don't know exactly the amount of the force which Lord Daventry can absolutely command; but without material assistance, I am confident that it cannot overtake us."

During the fifth, sixth, and seventh days Jackson kept ahead, but I gained rapidly upon him; and on the eighth I passed him. Haviland's proportion of increase fell considerably short even of Jackson's. At the close of the eighth day, the state of the gross poll was

Sydenham
Jackson

Haviland

1672

1598

414.

The result of the ensuing day was an augmentation of my majority to 245.

On the tenth morning, Colonel Haviland withdrew from the

contest.

"Lord

"It has turned out as I expected," said my agent. Daventry's object was to try his strength at the least possible expense; and accordingly, his plan was to go on receiving voluntary contributions until he had just time enough left to bring up and poll his own people, and then, if he found that they, together with the votes he had already, would not make a majority, to give up the contest, and thus save the cost of bringing up his sure freeholders. The field is now virtually ours; for, though Jackson will go on, his reserve is not so great as our own, to say nothing of a large proportion of his votes being bad. I shall, however, to guard against accidents, bring the remainder of our people up as fast as possible.

During the whole of that day I went on adding strength to strength, while Jackson's votes, dribbling in by twos and threes, announced that his resources were nearly exhausted. Hence I and my committee judged, that, by the morrow, his pledge of polling out the county would be redeemed, and that I should be returned accordingly.

The anxiously-expected morrow came, and Jackson was still at his post, intending, as we presumed, to poll a few for form's sake, previously to his taking leave of the hustings. But no sooner were the books opened, than, to our astonishment and alarm, we saw the booth of the Radical candidate filled by a rush of freeholders. Nicholls, who had only just arrived upon the hustings, (having been absent since the day preceding, in

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order to collect, as he had mentioned, the remainder of my voters,) hurried away to inquire the cause, while I and my committee retired to their room, having left Spencer as my representative. In ten minutes, Nicholls returned to the com mittee-room, as pale as death.

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Well, what news? what's the matter?" was the eager in

quiry.

"D

lesced!"

-n their souls!" cried Nicholls, "they've coa

"What! who! nonsense-impossible !”

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By G! it's true; the Haviland people are pouring into Jackson's booths like a spring-tide."

"Confound it! the devil! who could have thought of such a thing? What shall we do?"

My committee seemed, indeed, to be all knocked of a heap by this intelligence. Sir Michael Hanbury was utterly powerless to think, speak, or move. Mr. Brixton could only curse; and Mr. Leonard contented himself with observing

"Upon my soul, Sir Matthew, this is a very pretty piece of business."

He who spoke nearest to the purpose was a gentleman of the name of Simpson, who, turning to my agent, addressed him in these terms:

"Well, Mr. Nicholls, what do you say to it?"

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Stop a moment," answered he, speaking as if from a reverie, and standing apart with his fingers upon his forehead.

The fact is, Nicholls was, to a certain extent, a responsible person. This very clever, though somewhat too confident fellow, had plumed himself upon superseding the functions of the committee, (which he had, for the most part, composed of arrant incapables,) and monopolizing the management of the. election. I and my friends had placed almost implicit confidence in his prudence, foresight, and activity; he knew that his reputation was in danger; and he felt like a general who has failed in the enterprise which he officiously undertook to accomplish. I said nothing; but my silence was more painful to him than any reproaches that I could have used.

We all expected therefore the opinion of Mr. Nicholls. After a considerable pause, he broke the ominous silence.

"It was almost impossible for me, or any one of us, to foresee this stratagem of the Havilands; for I am quite persuaded that Jackson, twenty-four hours ago, did not dream of the support which he is now receiving. What are the articles of the treaty between him and Lord Daventry, we are not likely to be at present informed; but I suppose he thinks it less dangerous to his own interests, to let Mr. Jackson be returned, than to suffer Sir Matthew to get a footing in the county. Jackson, it is impossible to deny, will have a large majority; but I am

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quite sure that an immense number of his present votes are bad, so I think it will be much better for us to go on to the last, and then try the chance of a petition. It will save scarcely a hundred pounds to retire at this time of day, because I've got all our remaining votes ready. If Sir Matthew were to go the hustings, and expose in very strong language this profligate coalition, some substantial effect might be produced.'

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"But," said I," does any of the Haviland party appear ostensibly identified with this new reinforcement?"

"Most undoubtedly," returned my agent. "Dawkins, the agent of Lord Daventry, has them under his command; they amount, I understand, to nearly a thousand. You cannot, you know, attack the coalition until the close of the poll to-day; so that, in the mean time, I'll endeavour to obtain for you some farther information."

There was no other alternative than to adopt this advice, which was plausible enough; for, if his suspicions touching the soundness of the waggoner's votes could be brought to the proof, a committee of the House might eventually declare me the sitting member. When I returned to the hustings, the polling had commenced, and the Jacksonians hailed me with a shout of triumphant derision.

At the end of the day, the books were as follows:

Jackson 2208-Sydenham 2132.

As soon as Jackson had returned thanks briefly, according to his wont, I addressed the electors. With the mere knowledge of the fact of the coalition, (for Nicholls had been unable to collect any farther intelligence of authenticity, the Haviland's and Jackson having made their arrangements with the utmost attention to secrecy,) I proceeded to make my attack. I am not going to inflict my speech at length upon the reader, but only to give an extract substance of what I said.

"Either," said I, "this coalition has been accomplished by a gross compromise of public principles, or you have been from the first deluded by the semblance of principles which had no real existence. The latter was always my opinion; and now you yourselves see how this lacker of patriotism and integrity falls off from him who so vaunted himself in these qualities, as soon as they are put to the proof, and discovers the baseness of his real character. I make no comment on this new instance of the shameless reprobateness of the Havilands, because can expect no less from them, for I believe you have long since duly estimated that family. But that the gentleman whose only recommendations to your notice were his declared inte.grity and attachment to your cause, the supposed extraordinary sincerity of which was suffered to compensate for the absence of many-I may say all other advantages; that he whose watchwords, being the sentiments of public virtue, whose de

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nunciations of political depravity, and chiefly, whose hatred of the Havilands, expressed in the strongest terms which the language can afford, tempted many hundreds of honest and unsuspicious freeholders to give him their suffrages; that this honourable gentleman, I repeat, having gained from you all that you have to give, should immediately betray your confidence, cast behind him his much-vaunted professions, and, to crown his personal ambition, embrace the contaminating union of that family, to oppose which, and for no other purpose, he was avowedly called into political existence-does, I confess, alternately fill me with disgust and indignation. I am unable to draw up the curtain before the dark particulars of this iniquitous bargain; but this one indubitable truth I can tell the honourable gentleman, that, having sold himself to the House of Daventry, when he is sent back to his betrayed constituents, his political existence is at an end for ever."

The speech, of which the preceding extract formed a part, produced the desired effect upon the audience. So completely did it succeed in impressing upon them the sense of Jackson's delinquency in accepting the support of the Havilands, that he was attacked with a storm of hisses and execrations; and the next day, when he attempted to excuse himself, (although he had certainly ample room for defence,) all his endeavours were used in vain to obtain a hearing. My speech was likewise attended with consequences directly favourable to myself; for several freeholders who had fully intended to vote for my opponent, gave their suffrages to me.

On the thirteenth day I had polled my last man. bers then were,

Jackson 2868-Sydenham 2427.

The num

The Sheriff accordingly declared Benjamin Jackson, Esquire, duly elected, amidst the greatest uproar and confusion. The new member was partly chaired; but the rage of the populace would not permit the ceremony to be completed. I, on the contrary, received the most extravagant demonstrations of popular applause. "Sydenham and Independence!" was their favourite cry.

A few days afterward, I was invited to a public dinner, and went thereto. This entertainment I need not describe, for it had no features distinguishing it from the common character of such feasts. Sir Michael Hanbury presided. My health was drunk with nine times nine; whereupon I delivered a speech, beginning with overpowered feelings, and ending with an ele gantly rounded sentence.

CHAPTER X.

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THUS terminated my brief political connection with the county of S———; for, notwithstanding the orators of the George and Dragon dinner unanimously declared that my defeat was in fact a triumph, it was one which I felt no ambition to achieve a second time. To give my friends their due, however, I must not omit to mention that they offered to defray my expenses; but this proposal I declined. My agent seriously took to heart the unfortunate issue of his undertaking; not that he was deeply affected by my disappointment, and "money thrown away,' but at himself being outwitted by the Havilands. Nevertheless, he persisted in affirming that as soon as Parliament met, I should be voted in on my petition, and in the mean time he busily employed himself in scrutinizing Jackson's freeholders. Having determined, however, to pass some time in the political world, I was obliged to have recourse to my dernier resort; namely, my seat for P- Accordingly, as soon as the tumult of the county election had subsided, I wrote to Mr. Langley, my locum tenens, stating my wish to come into Parliament, and expressing, in the most obliging terms, my regret, that the failure of my recent attempt obliged me to request that he would, at his earliest convenience, apply for some office under the Crown, in order to vacate his seat for the borough.

In a few days, I received a satisfactory answer from this gentleman, who was my cousin-german. He stated that he was in expectation of a peerage, which (as I knew) had long been promised him; and he had been given to understand, that it was intended to include him in a new batch, which was shortly to be gazetted. He requested, therefore, that I would wait until this took place; to which proposal I of course acceded.

.

The elective franchise of P- was lodged in the corpora tion, consisting of twelve persons. These had formerly been all dependents of my family, who had permitted them to make their money of one seat, provided they returned, without murmur or hesitation, the Sydenham nominee for the other. This voluntary resignation of one-half of their rights did not arise from any gratuitous moderation on the part of my ancestors; but it was their policy, in order to secure the borough against the encroachments of the Havilands, who had long wished to possess this eligible snuggery. But they had never been able to succeed in this attempt, for the worthy burgesses knew when they were well off, and uniformly met the endeavours of the Haviland agents with one question-Will Lord Daventry afford us greater advantages than we enjoy in our present situation? This was impossible; so that, though they frequently

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