We hear that
at Oil City the flavour of petroleum is hardly considered to be
disagreeable, and so it was with the flavour of coal at Tankerville.
And we know that at Oil City the flavour of petroleum must not be
openly declared to be objectionable, and so it was with coal at
Tankerville. At Tankerville coal was much loved, and was not thought
to be dirty. Mr. Ruddles was very much begrimed himself, and some
of the leading Liberal electors, upon whom Phineas Finn had already
called, seemed to be saturated with the product of the district. It
would not, however, in any event be his duty to live at Tankerville,
and he had believed from the first moment of his entrance into the
town that he would soon depart from it, and know it no more. He felt
that the chance of his being elected was quite a forlorn hope, and
could hardly understand why he had allowed himself to be embarrassed
by so very unprofitable a speculation.
Phineas Finn had thrice before this been chosen to sit in
Parliament--twice for the Irish borough of Loughshane, and once for
the English borough of Loughton; but he had been so happy as hitherto
to have known nothing of the miseries and occasional hopelessness of
a contested election.
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