he had denounced with his whole force in 'Liberty,
Equality, Fraternity.' No combination could have been contrived which
would have set before him more clearly the characteristics of the party
of which he still considered himself to be a member.

From the beginning he felt himself to be, in some respects, in a false
position. 'My dislike of the business,' he says at starting, 'is not the
least due to weakness or over-delicacy, but to a deep-rooted disgust at
the whole system of elections and government by constituencies like
this.' Three days' experience do not change his view. It is, he says,
'hateful work--such a noise, such waste of time, such unbusinesslike,
raging, noisy, irregular ways, and such intolerable smallness in the
minds of the people, that I wonder I do not do it even worse.' He
could scarcely stand a month of it for a certainty of the
Solicitor-Generalship. On the day before the poll he observes that 'it
is wretched, paltry work.' A local paper is full of extracts from his
'Liberty, Equality, Fraternity,' which, he fears, will not help him.
However, 'it was very good fun writing it.' And meanwhile, Mr. Jenkins
was making speeches which showed that 'his heart beat in unison with the
people's,' and speaking 'earnest words' on Sunday afternoon to boys on a
training ship. Even an enthusiastic speech from one of Fitzjames's
supporters at a large meeting, which was followed by a unanimous vote of
approval, 'nearly made him sick--it was so unspeakably fulsome.' It was
no wonder that he should be inclined to be disgusted with the whole
business.

Considering the general uncongeniality of the surroundings, the most
remarkable thing was that he made so good a fight as he did. He was
encouraged by the presence of his brother by adoption and affection,
Frederick Gibbs. 'No one,' he reports, 'could be kinder or more
sensible; and he is as cool as a cucumber, and not shocked by my cynical
heresies.' From Frederick Gibbs, as he afterwards reports, he has
received the 'best and wisest' advice on every point. The 'cynical
heresies' to which he refers were simply those already expounded in his
book. He said precisely what he thought, and as vigorously as he could
say it. A campaign paper, called the 'Torch,' published by some of his
supporters, sums up the difference between him and Mr. Jenkins. 'Mr.
Stephen's liberalism,' says the 'Torch,' 'is much nearer to radicalism
than the liberalism of Mr. Jenkins. Mr. Stephen's