The morning call., 1893-11-26

ana become dspirited and llstless, however
falr they may look in rich toilets. O'd
people who have TO bow tn the ways OF the
world and find il second nature take pleas
ure In watching the unfolding nf the
drama Of life ana are especially interested
ln schemes of their own-mostly match
making, tuft-huntlng and plotting to
achleve social distinction. The oDera
night after night and the two or three
royal drawing-rooms at st. James Palace
are all part of the stage-setiing before
which society struts and masquerades.
Plain Nathan Murgatroyd saw all this
excitement and would fain have kept out
OF much of it, but as a dutiful father of
family he sacrii ed himself for the cause
ana worked harder in the pursuit OF pleas
ure than ever he had done in business.
he had not the highest motives In going
10 Parliament, but he was not worse nor
better than hundreds OF others, and 1t was
gratifying to see how his family circle ap-
proved of him playing the unselfsh part
OF patriot. In those days the private
member was not expected to !Dfiict himself
upon the House. but for ths sake of his
constituents he made one speech on the
very lively topic, for the bucolic mind. OF
the malt tax and was hon0red With i've
lines OF report in the Times. which Jndi-
clouS condensation omitted all reference
to his nervousness. 1t was q OF the rhetor-
lcal effort of Single Speech Ham itOn, but
out OF go members there must be few
who are not born orators. There were
many birds of a feather who congratulated
nlm upon that achievement, and Runfit
thought he had honored the constituency
as Lord Plantagenet Fitzfuddle never had
done.
Those were stirring times In the politics
OF Britain The great question of enlarg-
ing the franchise was being fought out by
The Liberals under Gladstone and Radicals
under MIR. Bright. and that master of
maneuvers. Disraeli, stole the clothes of
MS opponents, as the phrase went. while
they We're bathing, and himself carried a
much amended household suffrage meas
ure. The honorable member for Rumfit
hai MS share in that glory. Unfortunately
he did not profit much bv the electoral
changes, nor did Rumfit In short the ups
and downs of political success were never
more strangely illustrated than In the case
OF that venal town.
The almost undisguised and certg nly
prevalent corruption of the past in scores
Oh towns and counties received a check
from referring petitions against the return
OF members to the Judges of the law
instead OF to the House of Commons CON-
mittees. The Judges conducted their in
oIlrles lmpartially and thoroughly and
found out much that never came to the
surface before lax tribunal. whose mem
Ders had themselves participated in venali-
ties and were quite ready to wink at them
III OtnerS, III not too glarlng.
Ihree years after Nathan had tasted the
pleasures OF patriotism in Parliament,
Rumht was again called upon to return
member, and Lord Plantagenet Firzfuddle
ana Natnan were again the candid teS.
Inc latter again proved invincible, but
there were ugly rumGrs as to how he OBJ
.ained MS majority. A petition to unseat
nim was presented, and two judges came
down from London, in state and prefer
natural solemnity. and threw the town
into panic. They discovered how numer-
Gus are the ways of cheating the law and
making corruption appear innocence.
four weeks before the Parliamentary
election Rumht passed through the throes
OF an election OF municipal councillors.
The election Of score of men to adj.
minister affairs locally was an event not
ignored by voters with itching calms or
COWS 10 iced on the freemen's pastures.
put Whatever the payne is in DAYS gone
py had been they now jumped to an
unheard OF figure. and somehow the town
was formed with surprising unanimi;y.
mysterious agents paid out money galore
10 voters VINO filed past them IN the dark
ana d o questions were asked. But all this
venailty only had relation ostensbly to
the municipal election. The Parliament
aEy election. month after, was as pure as
purlsts could desire. Not man in Rum
NJ could be produced who had taken a
orloe Tor his vote. The town for once
nac behaved with exemplary integrity.
1t was all the more astonishing that just
1our weeks before everybody had been
waiiowing IN flagrant electoral iniquity.
30 everybody Thought Nathan's seat was
safe and that his opponent would but
nave the pleasure Of paying the costs for
MS folly. But the decision had an un-
expected turn and sent Rumft into
iamentati0n for years.
The learned judges took the view that
RrE a -
tute OF public virtue. A great mass of its
voters had been proved to be corrupt a
month before the parliamentary contest
Could such borough. slow in all things
slough OFF its shame within month? No,
years would not eradicate the infamy.
Those who voted like hirelings at the civic
polling could not have become em blems of
adamantine patriotism within month
They were simply involved in conspiracy
ef peculiar cunning and ingenuity. The
one bribe was intended to cover two events,
but whether that was the case or not did
not matter. By wading in corruption
month before they were unfit to vote under
any circumstances in the eyes of the COM
mon law, totally irrespective of any special
statutes. Therefore must Rumtit be pun
lShed by having the election declared void
Never before had decision so Solomon
like in sagaclty been rendered on the
bench. The appalling result was that the
returning a member, and gnashed its
teeth metaphorically at having been de-
prived Of honor and showers of money.
"Tha parted wi over much brass this
time," said Richard Brogden to Royden,
the agent. "Tha's ruined Rumtt!'
Hang Rumfitw calculated the LAWYER,
Oblivious of the fact that it was already
drowned.
The good town frotbed and fumed over
the disgrace of being convicted of corrup-
tion in the very bone and marrow, but help
there was none for its disease. 1t had
sinned unforgiyeably.
Nathan concluded that the charms of
public life, and representing such set of
Unsuitable leeches. were not overpOwer-
ing, and again became blunt country
gentleman. AS to his spouse, she graft
fed some of her aims. Nathan did not be-
come baronet or knight and she did
not become Lady Murgatroyd. but she
continued part of the fashionable world
and had the pride of seeing her daughters
enter into alliances unimpeachably eligible.
ID. j. MCRoBERTS.
A Story on Stewart.
Buffalo Commercial.
Thav ora faIIipo ooof sfnrv I'm Wa sh