Canvassing was of course the business of the hour, and
canvassing is a business which cannot be done indoors. It was soon
decided that the rain should go for nothing. Could an agreement
have been come to with the Carbottles it might have been decided
that both parties should abstain, but as that was impossible the
Tregear party could not afford to lose the day. As Mr Carbottle,
by reason of his fatness and natural slowness, would perhaps be
specially averse to walking about in the slush and mud, it might
be that they would gain something; so after breakfast they started
with umbrellas,--Tregear, Silverbridge, Mr Newcomb the curate, Mr
Pinebott the conservative attorney, with four or five followers
who were armed with books and pencils, and who ticked off on the
list of the voters the names of the friendly, the doubtful, and
the inimical.
Parliamentary canvassing is not a pleasant occupation. Perhaps
nothing more disagreeable, more squalid, more revolting to the
senses, more opposed to personal dignity, can be conceived. The
same words have to be repeated over and over again in the
cottages, hovels, and lodgings of poor men and women who only
understand that the time has come round in which they are to be
flattered instead of being the flatterers.
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