The end of his ordeal was not yet, however. Alderman Slocock had a few questions to ask.
Would the Candidate be good enough to enlighten the Committee as to the nature of his views upon the subject of Free Trade?
Sir, I shall be most happy, said the Candidate, smiling graciously. Gentlemen, my views on the subject of Free Trade are those of Mr. Balsquith, and it is a matter upon which I trust his judgment implicitly.
The Committee was much gratified by this statesmanlike reply.
And the question of the House of Lords? said Alderman Slocock. The Committee would be happy to have the Candidate's views upon that vexed subject.
The views of the Candidate in respect of the House of Lords were those of Mr. Balsquith; that also was a subject upon which he trusted Mr. Balsquith's judgment implicitly.
This answer was equally successful; and as it did duty for all the questions that followed, the Candidate was guilty of nothing that was likely to efface the highly favorable effect he had already created. Therefore he was able to return to the best hotel in Blackhampton reasonably secure in the conviction that he was about to be chosen as the official representative of the Rags.
Of course he would be, he was promptly informed by
