He was not in accord with those who declare that a
Parliament is a collection of windbags which puff, and blow, and
crack to the annoyance of honest men. But to him Parliament was a
debating place, by having a majority in which, and by no other
means, he,--or another,--might become the great man of the day. By
no other than parliamentary means could such a one as he come to
be the chief man. And this use of Parliament, either on his own
behalf or on behalf of others, had been for so many years present
to his mind, that there seemed to be nothing absurd in an
institution supported for such a purpose. Parliament was a club so
eligible in its nature that all Englishmen wished to belong to it.
They who succeeded were acknowledged to be the cream of the land.
They who dominated in it were the cream of the cream. Those two
who were elected to be the chiefs of the two parties had more of
cream in their composition than any others. But he who could be
the chief of the strongest party, and who therefore, in accordance
with the prevailing arrangements of the country, should have the
power of making dukes, and bestowing garters and appointing
bishops, he who by attaining the first seat should achieve the
right of snubbing all before him, whether friends or foes, he,
according to the feelings of Sir Timothy, would have gained an
Elysium of creaminess not to be found in any other position on the
earth's surface.
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