The Candidate: A Political Romance
a true product of the _Monitor_, a worshipper of accomplished facts, a
supporter of every old convention, believing that anything new or in
rough attire was bad. Although he would have denied it if accused, he
nearly always confounded manners with morals, and to him the opinion of
Europe was final. Hence the _Monitor_ and Churchill were well suited to
each other. Moreover, Churchill enjoyed the society of the great--that
is, of those who seemed to him to be the great--and he had an admirable
flexibility of temperament; while easily able and willing to be very
nasty to those whom he thought of an inferior grade, he was equally able
and willing to be extremely deferential to those whose grade he
considered superior. He was also intolerant in opinion, thinking that
any one who differed from him on the subjects of the day was necessarily
a scoundrel, wherein he was again in perfect accord with the _Monitor_.
It was, therefore, with an acute delight, blossoming into exultation,
that Churchill slipped away from his associates and hastened towards the
hotel where the financial magnates were staying. These were really great
men, not the productions of a moment, thrown briefly into the
lime-light, but solid like the pyramids. Mr. Goodnight must be worth
forty millions, at the least, and he was a power in many circles.
Churchill thrilled with delight that such a being should hint to him to
come and be talked to, and he was more than ever conscious of his own
superiority to his professional associates.
Churchill was not awed by the hotel clerk, but haughtily asked that his
card be sent at once to Mr. Goodnight, and he concealed his pride when
the message came back that he be shown up as soon as possible. He
received it as the natural tribute to his importance, and he took his
time as he followed the guiding hall-boy. But at the door of Mr.
Goodnight his manner changed; it became deferential, as befitted modest
merit in the presence of true and recognized greatness.
Mr. Goodnight was hospitable; there was no false pride about him; he was
able in being great to be simple also, and Mr. Crayon and the others
present shared his attractive manner.
"Ah, Mr. Churchill," he said, as he shook hands heartily with the
correspondent, "it gives me pleasure, indeed, to welcome you here. We
noticed your bearing in Chicago, and we were impressed by it. We
therefore had an additional pleasure when we learned that you were the
correspondent of the _Monitor_, New York's ablest and most conservative
journal. The American press grows flippant and unreliable nowadays, Mr.
Churchill, but the waves of sensationalism wash in vain around the solid
base of the old _Monitor_. There she stands, as steady as ever, a
genuine light-house in the darkness."
Mr. Goodnight, being a member of Congress, was able to acquire and to
exhibit at convenient times a certain poetical fervor which impressed
several kinds of people. Now his associates rubbed their hands in
admiration, and Churchill flushed with pleasure. A compliment to the
_Monitor_ was also a compliment to him, for was he not the very spirit
and essence of the _Monitor_?
"Before we get to business," continued Mr. Goodnight, in the most
gratifyingly intimate manner, "suppose we have something just to wet our
throats and promote conversation. This town, I believe, is famous for
beer, but it is not impossible to get champagne here; in any event, we
shall try it."
He rang, the champagne was brought, opened, and drunk, and Churchill
glowed with his sense of importance. These were men of many millions,
twice his age, but he was now one with them. Certainly none of his
associates would have been invited by them to such a conference, and he
was able to appreciate the fact.
"We want you, Mr. Churchill, to tell us something about Grayson," said
Mr. Goodnight, in a most kindly tone; "not what all the world knows,
those superficial facts which the most careless observer may glean, but
something intimate and personal; we want you to give us an insight into
his character, from which we may judge what he is likely to do or
become. You know that he is from the West, the Far West, likely to be
afflicted with local and provincial views, not to say heresies, and
great vested interests within his own party feel a little shaky about
him. We cannot have a revolutionary, or even a parochial, character in
the presidential chair. Those interests which are the very bulwark of
the public must be respected. We must watch over him, and in order to
know how and what to watch, we must have information. We rely upon you
to furnish us this information."
Churchill was intensely gratified at this tribute to his merit, but he
was resolved not to show it even to these great men. Instead, he
carelessly emptied his champagne glass, rubbed his chin thoughtfully,
and then asked with a certain fulness of implication:
"Upon what precise point do you wish information, Mr. Goodnight? Of
course, I have not been with Mr. Grayson very long, but I can say
truthfully that I have observed him closely within that time, and
perhaps no phase of a rather complicated character has escaped me."
"We feel quite sure of that," said Mr. Crayon, speaking for the first
time, and using short, choppy sentences. "_Monitor_, as I happen to
know, is extremely careful in the selection of its men, and this, I am
journalist enough to understand, is most important errand upon which it
can now send member of its staff."
Churchill bowed courteously to the deserved compliment, and remained
silent while Mr. Goodnight resumed the thread of talk.
"What we want to know, Mr. Churchill," he said, "is in regard to the
elements of stability in his character. Will he respect those mighty
interests to which I have just alluded? Is he, as a comparatively young
man, and one wholly ignorant of the great world of finance, likely to
seek the opinion and advice of his elders? You know that we have the
best wishes in the world for him. His interests and ours, if he but
perceives it, run together, and it is our desire to preserve the utmost
harmony within the party."
Churchill bowed. Their opinion and his agreed in the most wonderful
manner. It was hard to say, in his present exalted state, whether this
circumstance confirmed their intelligence or his, but it certainly
confirmed somebody's.
"I have already taken note of these facts," he said, in the indifferent
tone of one whose advice is asked often, "and I have observed that Mr.
Grayson's character is immature, and, for the present at least,
superficial. But I think he can be led; a man with a will not very
strong can always be led, if those with stronger wills happen to be
near, and Mr. Grayson's faults are due to weakness rather than vice."
There was an exchange of significant looks among Mr. Goodnight, Mr.
Crayon, and their friends, and then an emphatic nodding of heads, all of
which indicated very clearly to Churchill that they admired his
acuteness of perception, and were glad to have their own opinion
confirmed by one who observed so well.
"Wouldn't it be well to lay these facts before the readers of the
_Monitor_?" suggested Mr. Goodnight, mildly. "We all know what a
powerful organ the _Monitor_ is, and what influence it has in
conservative circles. It would be a hint to Mr. Grayson and his friends;
it would show him the path in which he ought to walk, and it would save
trouble later on in the campaign."
Churchill's heart thrilled again. This was a greater honor even than he
had hoped for; he was to sound the mighty trumpet note of the campaign,
but his pride would not let him show the joy that he felt.
"In giving these views--and I appreciate their great importance--shall I
quote you and Mr. Crayon?" he asked, easily.
Mr. Goodnight mused a few moments, and twiddled his fingers.
"We want the despatch to appear in the shape that will give it the
greatest effect, and you are with us in that wish, Mr. Churchill," he
said, confidingly. "Now this question arises: if our names appear it
will look as if it were a matter between Mr. Grayson and ourselves
personally, which is not the case; but if it appears on the authority of
the _Monitor_ and your own, which is weighty, it will then stand as a
matter between Mr. Grayson and the people, and that is a fact past
denying. Now, what do you think of it yourself, Mr. Churchill?"
Since they left it so obviously to his intelligence, Churchill was bound
to say that they were right, and he would write the warning, merely as
coming from the great portion of the public that represented the solid
interests of the country, the quiet, thinking people who never indulged
in any foolish chase after a will-o'-the-wisp.
Mr. Goodnight and Mr. Crayon made many further suggestions about the
points of the despatch, but they admitted ingenuously that they were not
able to write, that they possessed no literary and effective style, that
it would be for Mr. Churchill to clothe their crude thoughts--that is,
if he approved of them--in trenchant phrase and brilliant style.
There was such an air of good-fellowship, and Churchill admitted to
himself so freely that these men might make suggestions worth while,
that he decided, moreover, as the hour was growing late, to write the
despatch there and then, and tell to the world through the columns of
the _Monitor_, not what Jimmy Grayson ought to do, but all the things
that he ought not to do, and they were many. The most important of these
related to the tariff and the currency, which, in the view of Mr.
Goodnight and his friends, should be left absolutely alone.
Paper was produced, and Churchill began to write, often eliciting words
of admiration from the others at the conciseness and precision with
which he presented his views. It was cause for wonder, too, that they
should find themselves agreeing with him so often, and they admired,
also, the felicity of phrasing with which he continued to present all
these things as the views of a great public, thus giving the despatch
the flavor of news rather than opinion. When it was finished--and it
would fill two full columns of the _Monitor_--the line was quite clearly
drawn between what Jimmy Grayson could do and what he could not do--and
Churchill was proud of the conviction that none but himself had drawn
it. Mr. Grayson, reading this--and he certainly would read it--must know
that it came from inspired sources, and he would see straight before him
the path in which it was wise for him to walk. Churchill knew that he
had rendered a great service, and he felt an honest glow.
"I think I shall file this at once," he said, "as it is growing late,
and there is an hour's difference between here and New York."
They bade him a most complimentary adieu, suggesting that they would be
glad to hear from him personally during the campaign, and announcing
their willingness to serve him if they could; and Churchill left the
hotel, contented with himself and with them. When he was gone, they
smiled and expressed to each other their satisfaction. In fifteen
minutes swift operators were sending Churchill's despatch eastward.
V
"KING" PLUMMER
Meanwhile the evening was proving of no less interest to Harley than to
Churchill, although in a quite different way. He had noticed, when they
parted at the hotel door, the apparent sadness, or, rather, the touch of
the pathetic in the manner of Miss Morgan, and he observed it again when
they were all reunited at the hotel table. Heretofore she had been
light, ironical, and bearing a full share in the talk, but now she
merely replied when spoken to directly, and her tone had the tinge of
melancholy. Mr. and Mrs. Grayson looked at her more than once, as if
they were about to refer to some particular subject, but always they