d make
occasion for himself. He thought that he could do better than Mr.
Westmacott,--put more stuff in what he had got to say. And, whatever
might happen to him, he would hold up his head. Why should he not be
as good a man as Westmacott? It was the man that was needed,--not
the outside trappings. Then he asked himself a question whether, as
trappings themselves were so trivial, a man was necessarily mean who
dealt in trappings. He did not remember to have heard of a bootmaker
in Parliament. But there should be a bootmaker in Parliament
soon;--and thus he plucked up his courage.

On his journey down to Percycross he had thought that immediately on
his return to London he would go across to Hendon, and take advantage
of his standing as a candidate for the borough; but as he returned he
resolved that he would wait till the election was over. He would go
to Polly with all his honours on his head.

CHAPTER XXII.

RALPH NEWTON'S DECISION.

Ontario Moggs was at Percycross when Ralph Newton was making his
formal offer to Polly Neefit. Ralph when he had made his offer
returned to London with mixed feelings. He had certainly been
oppressed at times by the conviction that he must make the offer even
though it went against the grain with him to do so;--and at these
moments he had not failed to remind himself that he was about to make
himself miserable for life because he had been weak enough to take
pecuniary assistance in the hour of his temporary necessities from
the hands of Polly's father. Now he had made his offer; it had not
been accepted, and he was still free. He could see his way out of
that dilemma without dishonour. But then that dilemma became very
much smaller to his sight when it was surmounted,--as is the nature
with all dilemmas; and the other dilemma, which would have been
remedied had Polly accepted him, again loomed very large. And as he
looked back at the matrimonial dilemma which he had escaped, and
at Polly standing before him, comely, healthy, and honest, such a
pleasant armful, and so womanly withal,--so pleasant a girl if only
she was not to be judged and sentenced by others beside himself,--he
almost thought that that dilemma was one which he could have borne
without complaint. But Polly's suggestion that they should allow a
year to run round in order that they might learn to know each other
was one which he could not entertain. He had but three days in which
to give an answer to his uncle,