CHAPTER XLVII. ELECTION ROW-BABEL-THE BEGINNING AND THE END OF POLITICAL ECONOMY. ILLCOMBE was excited. He shouted and gesticu lated foaming at the mouth, amid a Babel of sounds from the gentlemen on the polling-booth and the crowd before it. He hoped the people would hear him -(“Bah, bah; down with the wool-comber; go and shear the hogs; he's at it naw, and gets more den than wool"); false accusations of an interested traitor and enemy ("Pitch it into him, Simon, give it strong; ah, that's ony a little go, man; you're givin' us fustian for woollen, Simon, that's not fair, come play t' honourable naw when we've made you a M.P. man.") He insisted upon being heard and permitted to rebut the—(“Ha, ha, ha! he insists upon being heard; you're hard enough already, Simon-in t' heart, I mean. Dost want a victim or two to Moloch, old boy-shouldst like a nice fat chilt, or wouldst have a boy to send through t' fire? thou❜lt make hondred per cent. on its wages, man; that'll please thee, Simon. Hurra—bah ”)—unjust on their part as well as dishonourable on his. (Ha, ha, ha! bah! and a thousand discordant sounds.) All this while the Borough Reeve was attempting to persuade Mr. Willcombe to retire and leave the matter in the hands of the people, who were not to be permanently affected in their opinions by a clap-trap oration from a hustings. But Simon resisted his solicitations for several minutes, attempting in vain to secure a hearing for his rejoinder. His opponents were determined that he should not be heard, and the agitation and confusion which the controversy occasioned in the crowd afforded an excellent opportunity for some mischievous young sprigs of the landed interest for playing some pranks which they had evidently contemplated and provided for. An old woman was at hand, apparently by accident, with a basket of eggs. She pressed as far into the crowd as regard for the safety of her precious cargo would permit. She scolded loudly every one that pushed her, and seemed loaded with curses for any unfortunate wight who jostled her person or hustled her basket. But still she kept her eye on certain persons, who occasionally also gave her a look of recognition over the shoulder. When the row was fairly begun and the confusion at its height, she was surrounded by a swell of customers. Her eggs were disposed of in the twinkling of an eye, such an eye as that of the angel which Mahomet met, which was several miles long and proportionately broad, and the weapons of offensive warfare were as rapidly distributed amongst the crowd of politicians. She had higgled considerably about the sale of them, for one of the youths had very inconsiderately offered her double prices for the rotten ones, and she was evidently disposed to maintain and prove upon oath that they were all rotten together, when another, with more money than brains, in order to |