In the first place, there was already division in the camp; for so soon as it became known that Sir Roland, whilst still professing Tory principles, intended to give his adhesion to the bill which was before the country for the reform of the franchise, a strong party, including large numbers of wealthy men, at once seceded from him, and in a short time it was announced that young Viscount Lanherne was coming forward in the Tory interest to dispute the seat with Sir Roland; whilst in the extreme Whig or Radical interest a candidate was forthcoming in the person of Mr. Morval, a wealthy and influential middle-class man, whose power and importance in the place had been steadily growing during the past years, and who promised to bring a strong army of voters to the poll when the day should come. The defection of these old-fashioned and “rabid” Tories from the ranks of Sir Roland was a serious blow, for hitherto he had always counted securely upon every vote this section of the community had to give. It was a distinct split in the ranks, and a very serious one. The young Viscount, though personally popular in society, was only a lad fresh from Oxford, and knew nothing of the bulk of his constituents. He had practically no chance of success, yet greatly endangered Sir Roland’s seat, and was in great danger of making it a present to the Radical candidate. From a common-sense standpoint it was a grave error of judgment, but when party feeling runs high, common-sense too often goes to the wall. There was a large section in the county who absolutely refused to give any vote to a man not pledged to fight the Reform Bill tooth and nail. By this section Sir Roland was looked upon as a turncoat and renegade; nor could the old-fashioned soundness of his Conservative principles on other questions condone the fact that he stood pledged to the support of this measure, which was looked upon as the first step towards the overthrow of the existing constitution. Neither did the Whig and Radical section trust the policy of Sir Roland. They had too long been accustomed to regard him as the Tory candidate to look upon him with favouring eyes now. In plain English, the appearance of another Tory candidate in the field, pledged to the old-fashioned Tory policy, had taken the wind out of his sails, and made his position an anomalous one. He found himself in the quandary so many do who try to adopt a moderate and liberal policy without giving up altogether the older traditions in which they have been reared: he was suspected and distrusted by a large section on both sides, and regarded as one who was neither “fish, flesh, fowl, nor good red herring,” a position not a little galling and irritating to a man who had hitherto carried all before him with easy assurance.