Parliament was dissolved three months after, on 25th June, and immediately the electoral battle was waged with greater intensity. Mr. Gladstone came down to Edinburgh on the 30th June to begin a tour of the county, and the eyes of the whole country were turned upon Midlothian and the fate of the great leader of the Liberal party. Charmed with the flow of eloquence, crowded audiences hung upon his lips, and, no doubt, led away with the popular enthusiasm with which he was on all hands greeted, Mr. Gladstone's supporters overlooked the influence that had silently but surely been working against his return, and were incredulous as to the possibility of defeat, while a too confident committee were thought to have relaxed their efforts. One Radical writer had no hesitation in saying, that 'as to the result of the election, no one seems to have any doubt. It is fully admitted that Colonel Wauchope is in many respects an admirable candidate, but to compare him with Mr. Gladstone is looked upon by the latter gentleman's followers as almost ludicrous!' The result was nevertheless looked forward to with the utmost interest. Speculation ran high; and while the odds were certainly in favour of Mr. Gladstone, an element of uncertainty was daily growing as the polling-day drew near, which only whetted public curiosity the more. [Sidenote: Getting into a funk] It was even said that the Colonel himself, in view of his rapidly increasing popularity, was beginning to be apprehensive that he was actually to be elected--a result he {123} neither expected nor greatly wished. 'I am getting into a funk,' he remarked--whether seriously or not we cannot tell--when his agents told him he was likely to win the seat from Mr. Gladstone. 'You know, I don't want to go into Parliament; I want to be Commander of the Black Watch.' He had stood forward when asked as the champion of his party. He had opposed what he considered the errors of the Liberals. He would have none of Mr. Gladstone's Home Rule policy. He was opposed to the Disestablishment of the Church of Scotland. He was against the enforcement of an eight hours limit of labour as an infringement of individual liberty, while he held that the foreign policy of the country under Liberal Governments had not always commanded public confidence. For three years he had earnestly and well enunciated the principles for which he contended, but as to turning Mr. Gladstone out of his seat at last, we can well believe that he shrank from the bare possibility of it as the day of the poll approached.