Meantime the candidates raised knockers, rang bells, bowed, expounded
their views, praised their virtues, begged for votes, and greatly and
strangely did the youngest of them enlarge his knowledge of his
countrymen. But he had an insatiable appetite, and except in relation
to Mr. Cougham, considerable tolerance. With Cougham, he was like a
young hound in the leash. They had to run as twins; but Beauchamp’s
conjunct would not run, he would walk. He imposed his experience on
Beauchamp, with an assumption that it must necessarily be taken for the
law of Beauchamp’s reason in electoral and in political affairs, and
this was hard on Beauchamp, who had faith in his reason. Beauchamp’s
early canvassing brought Cougham down to Bevisham earlier than usual in
the days when he and Seymour Austin divided the borough, and he
inclined to administer correction to the Radically-disposed youngster.
“Yes, I have gone all over that,” he said, in speech sometimes, in
manner perpetually, upon the intrusion of an idea by his junior.
Cougham also, Cougham had passed through his Radical phase, as one does
on the road to wisdom. So the frog telleth tadpoles: he too has
wriggled most preposterous of tails; and he has shoved a circular flat
head into corners unadapted to its shape; and that the undeveloped one
should dutifully listen to experience and accept guidance, is devoutly
to be hoped. Alas! Beauchamp would not be taught that though they were
yoked they stood at the opposite ends of the process of evolution.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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