While the two candidates, attended by their sounding bands, and
civil and smiling friends, were making their public demonstrations and
canvassing the electors, as if thereby they exercised the slightest
possible influence over one single voter on either side; as I have
already intimated, the battle was being fought by two calm and crafty
heads, in two snug and quiet little rooms in Grilston--one at the Hare
and Hounds, the other at the Woodlouse Inn; of course, I mean Mr.
Crafty, and Mr. Gammon. The former within a very few hours saw that the
issue of the struggle lay with the Quaint Club; and from one of his
trusty emissaries--a man whom no one ever saw in communication with him,
who was a mere stranger in Grilston, indifferent as to the result of the
election, but delighting in its frolics; who was peculiarly apt to get
sooner drunk than any one he drank with--Mr. Crafty ascertained, that
though the enlightened members of the Quaint Club had certainly formed a
predilection for the principles of Mr. Titmouse, yet they possessed a
candor which disposed them to hear all that might be advanced in favor
of the principles of his opponent.
Mr. Crafty's first step was to ascertain what had been already done or
attempted on behalf of Mr. Delamere, and also of Mr. Titmouse; then the
exact number of the voters, whom he carefully classified. He found that
there were exactly four hundred who might be expected to poll; the new
electors amounting in number to one hundred and sixty, the old ones to
two hundred and forty, and principally scot-and-lot voters. In due time
he ascertained, that of the former class only _thirty-six_ could be
relied upon for Mr. Delamere. The tenants of the Yatton property within
the borough amounted to one hundred and fifteen. They had been canvassed
by Mr. Delamere and his friends with great delicacy; and twenty-three of
them had voluntarily pledged themselves to vote for him, and risk all
consequences; intimating that they hated and despised their new landlord
as much as they had loved their old one, whose principles they
understood to be those of Mr. Delamere. Then there remained a class of
"_accessibles_," (to adopt the significant language of Mr. Crafty,) in
number one hundred and twenty-five. These were persons principally
resident in and near Yatton, subject undoubtedly to strong and direct
influence on the part of Mr. Titmouse, but still not absolutely at his
command. Of these no fewer than seventy had pledged themselves in favor
of Mr. Delamere; and, in short, thus stood Mr. Crafty's calculations as
to the probable force on both sides:--
DELAMERE. TITMOUSE.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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