Perhapshisgreatesttopicofall，though，isthepeople。Ifafighttakesplaceinapopuloustown，inwhichmanynosesarebroken，andafewwindows，theyounggentlemanthrowsdownthenewspaperwithatriumphantair，andexclaims，’Here’syourpreciouspeople！’Ifhalf—a—dozenboysrunacrossthecourseatracetime，whenitoughttobekeptclear，theyounggentlemanlooksindignantlyround，andbegsyoutoobservetheconductofthepeople;ifthegallerydemandahornpipebetweentheplayandtheafterpiece，thesameyounggentlemancries’No’and’Shame’tillheishoarse，andtheninquireswithasneerwhatyouthinkofpopularmoderationNOW;inshort，thepeopleformanever—failingthemeforhim;andwhentheattorney，onthesideofhiscandidate，dwellsuponitwithgreatpowerofeloquenceatelectiontime，asheneverfailstodo，theyounggentlemanandhisfriends，andthebodytheyhead，cheerwithgreatviolenceagainstTHEOTHERPEOPLE，withwhom，ofcourse，theyhavenopossibleconnexion。Inmuchthesamemannertheaudienceatatheatreneverfailtobehighlyamusedwithanyjokesattheexpenseofthepublic—alwayslaughingheartilyatsomeotherpublic，andneveratthemselves。
IfthepoliticalyounggentlemanbeaRadical，heisusuallyaveryprofoundpersonindeed，havinggreatstoreoftheoreticalquestionstoputtoyou，withaninfinitevarietyofpossiblecasesandlogicaldeductionstherefrom。Ifhebeoftheutilitarianschool，too，whichismorethanprobable，heisparticularlypleasantcompany，havingmanyingeniousremarkstoofferuponthevoluntaryprincipleandvariouscheerfuldisquisitionsconnectedwiththepopulationofthecountry，thepositionofGreatBritaininthescaleofnations，andthebalanceofpower。Thenheisexceedinglywellversedinalldoctrinesofpoliticaleconomyaslaiddowninthenewspapers，andknowsagreatmanyparliamentaryspeechesbyheart;nay，hehasasmallstockofaphorisms，noneofthemexceedingacoupleoflinesinlength，whichwillsettlethetoughestquestionandleaveyounothingtosay。Hegivesalltheyoungladiestounderstand，thatMissMartineauisthegreatestwomanthateverlived;andwhentheypraisethegoodlooksofMr。
Hawkinsthenewmember，sayshe’sverywellforarepresentative，allthingsconsidered，buthewantsalittlecallingtoaccount，andheismorethanhalfafraiditwillbenecessarytobringhimdownonhiskneesforthatvoteonthemiscellaneousestimates。Atthis，theyoungladiesexpressmuchwonderment，andsaysurelyaMemberofParliamentisnottobebroughtuponhiskneessoeasily;
inreplytowhichthepoliticalyounggentlemansmilessternly，andthrowsoutdarkhintsregardingthespeedyarrivalofthatday，whenMembersofParliamentwillbepaidsalaries，andrequiredtorenderweeklyaccountsoftheirproceedings，atwhichtheyoungladiesuttermanyexpressionsofastonishmentandincredulity，whiletheirlady—mothersregardtheprophecyaslittleelsethanblasphemous。
Itisextremelyimprovingandinterestingtoheartwopoliticalyounggentlemen，ofdiverseopinions，discusssomegreatquestionacrossadinner—table;suchas，whether，ifthepublicwereadmittedtoWestminsterAbbeyfornothing，theywouldorwouldnotconveysmallchiselsandhammersintheirpockets，andimmediatelysetaboutchippingallthenosesoffthestatues;orwhether，iftheyoncegotintotheTowerforashilling，theywouldnotinsistupontryingthecrownontheirownheads，andloadingandfiringoffallthesmallarmsinthearmoury，tothegreatdiscomposureofWhitechapelandtheMinories。Uponthese，andmanyothermomentousquestionswhichagitatethepublicmindinthesedesperatedays，theywilldiscoursewithgreatvehemenceandirritationforaconsiderabletimetogether，bothleavingoffpreciselywheretheybegan，andeachthoroughlypersuadedthathehasgotthebetteroftheother。