All this he may have done, and done it well, but when the actual
moment arrives for him to stand upon his feet and address his
constituents, no longer for the purpose of making them believe in his
opinions, but in order to make them believe in himself, he is more than
mortal if he does not feel something very unpleasantly resembling fear.
It is one thing to express a truth, it is another to set one's self upon a
pedestal and declare that one represents it, and is in one's own person
the living truth itself. John was too honest and true a man not to feel a
positive reluctance to singing his own praises, and yet that is what most
electioneering consists in.
But to be elected a senator in Massachusetts is a complicated affair. A
man who intends to succeed in such an enterprise must not let the grass
grow under his feet. In a few hours the whole machinery of election must
be at work, and before night he would have to receive all sorts and
conditions of men and electioneering agents. The morning papers did not
contain any notice of the senator's death, as they had already gone to
press when the news reached them, if indeed it was as yet public property.
Pages:
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170