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 give her the chance. Let her attend to the piano. That, in the opinion of South-West Blackhampton, was so much more important.

The dissolution of Parliament occurred in the middle of November. A crowded and glorious fortnight followed. Notts Forest were beaten; a draw was made with Sunderland; and on the very eve of the poll Tottenham Hotspur received a most crushing reverse.

For the second time in its ignoble history, Protection was not only dead but damned.

It was all over bar the shouting, even before the fateful day had dawned. The Flag-Waggers could hardly raise a waggle; the sitting member realized already that he had lost his seat. Blackhampton went solidly for the Rags, and the best inside right in England—never mind Steve Bloomer!—was hoisted with a noble majority to the top of the poll.

Unparalleled scenes were enacted in Market Square. The horses were taken out of the New Member's carriage, and he and his charming wife were drawn in triumph through the principal streets.

A deputation with Alderman Slocock at its head waited on the New Member at his committee room the morning after the declaration of the poll. The Rovers hoped in all humility that their famous inside right would not desert them now.

Desert the Rovers! Nothing was further from the