Part 11 (1/2)

It did fail, for it never paid its way It reached, if I reht, a circulation of nearly 10,000--perhaps on one or two occasions one beyond that But the enterprise had been set on foot on a syste short of a very large circulation Literary h when afloat it will sustain it Time is wanted,--or the hubbub, and flurry, and excitement created by ubiquitous sesquipedalian advertiseether may be effective, but they must be backed by economy and patience

I think, upon the whole, that publishers theazines, when they have been able to give ti certainly has ever been done better than _Blackwood's_ The _Cornhill_, too, after Thackeray had left it and before Leslie Stephen had taken it, see the hands of proprietor and publisher The proprietor, at any rate, knohat he wants and what he can afford, and is not so frequently tempted to fall into that worst of literary quicksands, the publishi+ng of matter not for the sake of the readers, but for that of the writer I did not so sin very often, but often enough to feel that I was a coward ”My dear friend, my dear friend, this is trash!+” It is so hard to speak thus,--but so necessary for an editor! We all remember the thorn in his pillohich Thackeray coive way on behalf of some literary aspirant whose work did not represent itself to ood; and as often as I did so, I broke my trust to those who employed me Now, I think that such editors as Thackeray and myself--if I may for the moment be allowed to couple men so unequal--will always be liable to commit such faults, but that the natures of publishers and proprietors will be less soft

Nor do I knohy the pages of a azine should be considered to be open to any aspirant who thinks that he can write an article, or why the azine should be doomed to read all that may be sent to him The object of the proprietor is to produce a periodical that shall satisfy the public, which hethe services of writers of acknowledged ability

CHAPTER XVI

BEVERLEY

Very early in life, very soon after I had become a clerk in St

Martin's le Grand, when I was utterly irievously into debt, I was asked by an uncle of mine, as himself a clerk in the War Office, what destination I should like best for my future life He probably le, whether to remain in the Post Office or to leave it, whether I should prefer the town or the country I replied that I should like to be a Meiven to sarcasm, rejoined that, as far as he kne clerks in the Post Office did become Members of Parliament I think it was the remembrance of this jeer which stirred me up to look for a seat as soon as I hadthe public service My uncle was dead, but if I could get a seat, the knowledge that I had done so ht travel to that bourne froht there feel that he had done ht that to sit in the British Parliahest object of alishlishman should set before himself a seat in Parliament as a probable or even a possible career; but that the her position than the randest work that a man can do,--that of all studies the study of politics is the one in which a man may make himself most useful to his fellow-creatures,--and that of all lives, public political lives are capable of the highest efforts So thinking,--though I are that fifty-three was too late an age at which to commence a new career,--I resolved withnow at an age beyond sixty, I can say that one any change They are nohat they becas and convictions Nor do I find in enerally in row old I consider myself to be an advanced, but still a Conservative-Liberal, which I regard not only as a possible but as a rational and consistent phase of political existence I can, I believe, in a very feords, make known ht of me should know that, I will endeavour to do so

It must, I think, be painful to all men to feel inferiority It should, I think, be a matter of some pain to all men to feel superiority, unless when it has been won by their own efforts We do not understand the operations of Alhty wisdom, and are therefore unable to tell the causes of the terrible inequalities that we see,--why some, why so many, should have so little to make life enjoyable, so h their own ifts poured out to thee the hand of God and His wisdom, but still we are struck with awe and horror at the misery of many of our brethren We who have been born to the superior condition,--for in thison a platform with dukes and princes, and all others to whoiven,--cannot, I think, look upon the inane, unintellectual, and tost-bound life of those who cannot even feed the of injustice, so has induced in many enthusiastic but unbalanced ht by a proclaimed equality In their efforts suchthe ordinances of the Creator For the h it be awestruck by apparent injustice, that this inequality is the work of God Make all men equal to-day, and God has so created them that they shall be all unequal to-morrow The so-called Conservative, the conscientious philanthropic Conservative, seeing this, and being surely convinced that such inequalities are of divine origin, tells himself that it is his duty to preserve them He thinks that the preservation of the welfare of the world depends on the maintenance of those distances between the prince and the peasant by which he finds himself to be surrounded;--and perhaps, I may add, that the duty is not unpleasant, as he feels hih he sees so, and sees that very clearly, sees only a little The divine inequality is apparent to him, but not the equally divine di place on all sides is apparent enough; but it is apparent to him as an evil, the consummation of which it is his duty to retard He cannot prevent it; and therefore the society to which he belongs is, in his eyes, retrograding He will even, at ti that, under the gentle pressure supplied by his and holdfasts which he may add, the movement would be slower than it would become if subjected to his proclaimed and absolute opponents Such, I think, are Conservatives;--and I speak of men ith the fear of God before their eyes and the love of their neighbours warm in their hearts, endeavour to do their duty to the best of their ability

Using the term which is now common, and which will be best understood, I will endeavour to explain how the equally conscientious Liberal is opposed to the Conservative He is equally aware that these distances are of divine origin, equally averse to any sudden disruption of society in quest of some Utopian blessedness;--but he is alive to the fact that these distances are day by day becoards this continual diminution as a series of steps towards that hu to help the h he knows, as they coo down to meet them What is really in his mind is,--I will not say equality, for the word is offensive, and presents to the iinations of men ideas of communism, of ruin, and insane de that, however, he knows that he uards, lest he be telad to be accompanied on his way by the repressive action of a Conservative opponent Holding such views, I think I a myself an advanced Conservative-Liberal A man who entertains in histhe condition of his fellows, I regard as a political intriguer, a charlatan, and a conjurer,--as one who thinks that, by a certain a, he may raise himself in the estimation of the world

I am aware that this theory of politics will seem to many to be stilted, overstrained, and, as the Ah-faluten

Many will declare that the majority even of those who call themselves politicians,--perhaps even of those who take an active part in politics,--are stirred by no such feelings as these, and acknowledge no such s, Liberals or Conservatives, partly by education,--following their fathers,--partly by chance, partly as openings come, partly in accordance with the bent of their s as to distances and the diminution of distances No doubt it is so;--and in the battle of politics, as it goes, men are led further and further away from first causes, till at last a measure is opposed by one simply because it is advocated by another, andthe dictation of their leaders, and not their own individual judgh hardly acknowledged, it is still apparent On aluers, the clever conjurers, to whoareater results To the minds that create and lead and sway political opinion, some such theory is, I think, ever present

The truth of all this I had long since taken ho of it for thirty years, and had never doubted But I had always been aware of a certain visionary weakness about ard to politics A man, to be useful in Parliament, must be able to confine hi a little bit of a little thing at a ti connected with the duty on mushrooms, and then be satisfied with himself when at last he has induced a Chancellor of the Exchequer to say that he will consider the impost at the first opportunity He must be content to be beaten six times in order that, on a seventh, his work may be found to be of assistance to some one else He must remember that he is one out of 650, and be content with 1-650th part of the attention of the nation If he have grand ideas, he must keep them to himself, unless by chance he can work his way up to the top of the tree In short, he must be a practical man

Now I knew that in politics I could never become a practical man I should never be satisfied with a soft word froing my over-taxed ketchup in his face

Nor did it seeood speaker I had no special gifts that way, and had not studied the art early enough in life to overcome natural difficulties I had found that, with infinite labour, I could learn a few sentences by heart, and deliver theain, if there were so special to be said, I could say it in a coh I were in a hurry, and with the fear before ht to be prolix But I had no power of co, as a public speaker should always do, that which I had studied with that which occurred to me at the moment It must be all lesson,--which I found to be best; or else all i special oninto Parliament,--that the tione by But still I had an almost insane desire to sit there, and be able to assure myself that my uncle's scorn had not been deserved

In 1867 it had been suggested to me that, in the event of a dissolution, I should stand for one division of the county of Essex; and I had proh the promise at that tiated to this by the late Charles Buxton, a reatly loved, and as very anxious that the county for which his brother had sat, and hich the faarded as the thraldom of Toryism But there was no dissolution then Mr Disraeli passed his Reform Bill, by the help of the Liberalof a new Parliament was postponed till the next year By this new Reform Bill Essex was portioned out into three instead of two electoral divisions, one of which--that adjacent to London--would, it was thought, be altogether Liberal After the proiven, the perfore sum of money absolutely in vain, it was felt by some that I should be selected as one of the candidates for the new division,--and as such I was proposed by Mr Charles Buxton But another gentlees to support me, was put forward by what I believe to have been the defeating interest, and I had to give way At the election this gentleman, with another Liberal, who had often stood for the county, were returned without a contest Alas! alas! They were both unseated at the next election, when the great Conservative reaction took place

In the spring of 1868 I was sent to the United States on a postal mission, of which I will speak presently While I was absent the dissolution took place On my return I was somewhat too late to look out for a seat, but I had friends who knew the weakness of my ambition; and it was not likely, therefore, that I should escape the peril of being put forward for soh as to which the Liberal party would not choose that it should go to the Conservatives without a struggle At last, after one or two others, Beverley was proposed to me, and to Beverley I went

I ent, from undue persuasion exercised towardssat there himself,--and he sits there now at this moment He understood Yorkshi+re,--or at least the East Riding of Yorkshi+re, in which Beverley is situated,--certainly better than any one alive He understood all the , and he kneell the traditions, the condition, and the prospect of the Liberal party I will not give his name, but they who knew Yorkshi+re in 1868 will not be at a loss to find it ”So,” said he, ”you are going to stand for Beverley?” I replied gravely that I was thinking of doing so ”You don't expect to get in?” he said Again I was grave I would not, I said, be sanguine, but nevertheless I was disposed to hope for the best ”Oh no!” continued he, with good-huet in I don't suppose you really expect it But there is a fine career open to you You will spend 1000, and lose the election Then you will petition, and spend another 1000 You will throw out the elected h will be disfranchised For a beginner such as you are, that will be a great success” And yet, in the teeth of this, fro to Beverley!

The borough, which returned twobeen represented by Sir Henry Edwards, of who that he had contracted a close intimacy with it for the sake of the seat

There had been many contests, many petitions, h it all, Sir Henry had kept his seat, if not with permanence, yet with a fixity of tenure next door to pereht at this time have returned a member of each colour quietly;--but there were spirits there who did not love political quietude, and it was at last decided that there should be two Liberal and two Conservative candidates Sir Henry was joined by a young rouped with Mr Maxwell, the eldest son of Lord Herries, a Scotch Rohbourhood

When the time came I went down to canvass, and spent, I think, the ht of my manhood In the first place, I was subject to a bitter tyranny fro what they could, or said that they were doing so, to secure me a seat in Parliament, and I was to be in their hands for at any rate the period of my candidature On one day both of us, Mr Maxwell and I, wanted to go out hunting We proposed to ourselves but the one holiday during this period of intense labour; but I was assured, as was he also, by a publican orking for us, that if we committed such a cri to evening every day I was taken round the lanes and by-ways of that uninteresting town, canvassing every voter, exposed to the rain, up to my knees in slush, and utterly unable to assume that air of triumphant joy hich a jolly, successful candidate should be invested At night, every night I had to speak so of others,--which was o to the Minster Church, I was told that was quite useless, as the Church party were all certain to support Sir Henry! ”Indeed,” said the publican, oes there in a kind of official profession, and you had better not allow yourself to be seen in the same place” So I stayed away and oland church in Beverley would on such an occasion have welcomed a Liberal candidate I felt h, to as opposed all that was pretty, and all that was nice, and all that was--ostensibly--good

But perhaps est sense of discomfort arose from the conviction that my political ideas were all leather and prunella to thefor my doctrines, and could not be ht to Beverley either to beat Sir Henry Edwards,--which, however, no one probably thought to be feasible,--or to cause hireatest possible amount of trouble, inconvenience, and expense There were, indeed, two points on which a portion of my wished-for supporters seemed to have opinions, and on both these two points I was driven by my opinions to oppose them Some were anxious for the Ballot,--which had not then become law,--and some desired the Permissive Bill I hated, and do hate, both these reat people to free itself from the evil results of vicious conduct by unreat evil from which this country had already done much to emancipate itself by extended electoral divisions and by an increase of independent feeling These, I thought, and not secret voting, were the weapons by which electoral intimidation should be overcome And as for drink, I believe in no Parliaradual effect of ood at Beverley, should have been able to s such gnats as those I would s nothing, and was altogether the wrong man