is fatter than the people
here seem to approve."

"If his purse be fat," said old Mr. Tregear, "that will carry off any
personal defect." Lord Silverbridge asked whether the candidate was
not too fat to make speeches. Miss Tregear declared that he had made
three speeches daily for the last week, and that Mr. Williams the
rector, who had heard him, declared him to be a godless dissenter.
Mrs. Tregear thought that it would be much better that the place
should be disfranchised altogether than that such a horrid man should
be brought into the neighbourhood. "A godless dissenter!" she said,
holding up her hands in dismay. Frank thought that they had better
abstain from allusion to their opponent's religion. Then Mr. Tregear
made a little speech. "We used," he said, "to endeavour to get
someone to represent us in Parliament, who would agree with us on
vital subjects, such as the Church of England and the necessity of
religion. Now it seems to be considered ill-mannered to make any
allusion to such subjects!" From which it may be seen that this old
Tregear was very conservative indeed.

When the old people were gone to bed the two young men discussed the
matter. "I hope you'll get in," said Silverbridge. "And if I can do
anything for you of course I will."

"It is always good to have a real member along with one," said
Tregear.

"But I begin to think I am a very shaky Conservative myself."

"I am sorry for that."

"Sir Timothy is such a beast," said Silverbridge.

"Is that your notion of a political opinion? Are you to be this
or that in accordance with your own liking or disliking for some
particular man? One is supposed to have opinions of one's own."

"Your father would be down on a man because he is a dissenter."

"Of course my father is old-fashioned."

"It does seem so hard to me," said Silverbridge, "to find any
difference between the two sets. You who are a true Conservative are
much more like to my father, who is a Liberal, than to your own, who
is on the same side as yourself."

"It may be so, and still I may be a good Conservative."

"It seems to me in the House to mean nothing more than choosing one
set of companions or choosing another. There are some awful cads who
sit along with Mr. Monk;--fellows that make you sick to hear them,
and whom I couldn't be civil to. But I don't think there is anybody I
hate so much as old Beeswax. He has a contemptuous way with his nose
which makes me long to pull i