" said Mr. Crewe, "I haven't the slightest doubt of my
nomination, either. I do not hesitate to say, however, that the expenses
of this campaign, at this early stage, seem to me out of all proportion.
Let me see what you have there."
The Honourable Timothy Wading had produced a typewritten list containing
some eighty towns and wards, each followed by a name and the number of
the delegates therefrom--and figures.
"They'd all be enthusiastic Crewe men--if they could be seen by the
right party," declared Mr. Tooting.
Mr. Crewe ran his eye over the list.
"Whom would you suggest to see 'em?" he asked coldly.
"There's only one party I know of that has much influence over 'em," Mr.
Tooting replied, with a genial but deferential indication of his friend.
At this point Mr. Crewe's secretary left the room on an errand, and the
three statesmen went into executive session. In politics, as in charity,
it is a good rule not to let one's right hand know what the left hand
doeth. Half an hour later the three emerged into the sunlight, Mr.
Tooting and Mr. Watling smoking large cigars.
"You've got a great lay-out here, Mr. Crewe," Mr. Watling remarked. "It
must have stood you in a little money, eh? Yes, I'll get mileage books,
and you'll hear from me every day or two."
And now we are come to the infinitely difficult task of relating in a
whirlwind manner the story of a whirlwind campaign--a campaign that was
to make the oldest resident sit up and take notice. In the space of four
short weeks a miracle had begun to show itself. First, there was the
Kingston meeting, with the candidate, his thumb in his watch-pocket,
seated in an open carriage beside Mr. Hamilton Tooting,--a carriage
draped with a sheet on which was painted "Down with Railroad Ring Rule."
The carriage was preceded by the Kingston Brass Band, producing
throbbing martial melodies, and followed (we are not going to believe
the State Tribune any longer) by a jostling' and cheering crowd. The
band halts before the G.A.R. Hall; the candidate alights, with a bow of
acknowledgment, and goes to the private office until the musicians are
seated in front of the platform, when he enters to renewed cheering and
the tune of "See, the Conquering Hero Comes!"
An honest historian must admit that there were two accounts of this
meeting. Both agree that Mr. Crewe introduced himself, and poured a
withering sarcasm on the heads of Kingston's prominent citizens. One
account
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