‘Mud and stones and waving hats,
And broken heads and putrid cats,
Are offerings made to aid the cause
Of order, government, and laws.’
But especially is he struck by the amount of eating and drinking that appears inseparable from an election in his time:
‘’Tis strange how much a splendid larder
Lights up electioneering ardour;
You soon awake to patriæ amor
When stirred about with ale and clamour.’
Sterling, though singing of
‘Those high days when Aleborough proudly sent
Her man to sit in England’s Parliament,’
makes the plot of his poem turn upon a love affair in which one of the candidates embarks, and for the sake of which, indeed, he pretends to solicit the votes of the electors. There are, however, a few passages descriptive of electioneering phenomena. We are told, for instance, how one of the candidates went out to canvass:
‘With smiling look and word, and promise bold,
And dainty flatteries meet for young and old,
The tender kiss on squalling mouths impressed,
The glistening ribbon for the maiden’s breast,
Grave talk with men how this poor Empire thrives,
The high-priced purchase for their prudent wives,
The sympathizing glance, the attentive ear,
The shake of hands laboriously sincere.’
We have, too, a graphic picture of the nomination day, telling how
‘Ten public-houses opening for the Blues
Their floods of moral influence diffuse,
And each of seven its blameless nectar sheds
To nerve the spirits of the valiant Reds.’
By-and-by we read: