o can voice our needs and who has
sympathies with our struggles."

"And have you thought of anyone?"

"Ay," replied the other, "we have."

"Who?"

"His name is Paul Stepaside," was the reply. "We've had him in our
minds for months. In fact, we've thought of him ever since he went to
gaol, in Manchester, a year ago."

To say that Paul was surprised at this proposal is but to suggest the
state of his feelings. For years he had had all sorts of romantic
ideas as to what the future of his life was to be, and thoughts
concerning a parliamentary career were not strange to him. Now,
however, that an actual proposal had been made, he could scarcely
believe his own ears. Ever since he had come to Brunford he had been
interested in political questions, and had been a popular speaker,
young as he was, on many political platforms. He remembered the vision
he had on the day he came out of prison. He had determined to work and
live for these people of Brunford, to ameliorate their woes, and to
bring more sunshine into their lives. But to go into Parliament, to
take his part in the legislation of the country; to stand face to face
with men whose names he held almost in awe, was too wonderful to be
true. Still, there were the facts: these men had come to him, telling
him that Mr. Carcliffe, the present Member, had either resigned or was
going to resign, and suggested to him that when an election came he
should fight their battle.

Well, why should he not do it? He was no longer a poor man. It is
true his position in the financial world was far from being a safe one,
but he had calculated concerning the future with great care, and he
believed that in a few years' time his position would be secured. He
believed in the cause these men stood for, too, and he could fight
their battles wholeheartedly. Above and beyond all this, moreover, was
something else which he scarcely dared to put into words. He had not
seen the young girl who had so strangely affected him since their
meeting in the fields, more than a year before, but the memory of that
meeting remained with him. At the back of all his plans for the future
was the thought of her, and although he did not know it, he had made up
his mind to win her as his wife. The difficulties seemed almost
insurmountable. She belonged to a class far removed from his own, and
he knew by the look on her face that she regarded him with anger, if
not with contempt. To her he was