Mr. Crewe had another standing offer to be one of five men to start a farming experiment station—­which might pay dividends.  He, was a church warden; president of a society for turning over crops (which he had organized); a member of the State Grange; president of the embryo State Economic League (whatever that was); and chairman of the Local Improvement Board—­also a creation of his own.  By these tokens, and others too numerous to mention, it would seem that the inhabitants of Leith would have jumped at the chance to make such a man one of the five hundred in their State Legislature.

To Whitman is attributed the remark that genius is almost one hundred per cent directness, but whether or not this applied to Mr. Humphrey Crewe remains to be seen.  “Dynamics” more surely expressed him.  It would not seem to be a very difficult feat, to be sure, to get elected to a State Legislature of five hundred which met once a year:  once in ten years, indeed, might have been more appropriate for the five hundred.  The town of Leith with its thousand inhabitants had one representative, and Mr. Crewe had made up his mind he was to be that representative.

There was, needless to say, great excitement in Leith over Mr. Crewe’s proposed venture into the unknown seas of politics.  I mean, of course, that portion of Leith which recognized in Mr. Crewe an eligible bachelor and a person of social importance, for these qualities were not particularly appealing to the three hundred odd farmers whose votes were expected to send him rejoicing to the State capital.

“It is so rare with us for a gentleman to go into politics, that we ought to do everything we can to elect him,” Mrs. Pomfret went about declaring.  “Women do so much in England, I wonder they don’t do more here.  I was staying at Aylestone Court last year when the Honourable Billy Aylestone was contesting the family seat with a horrid Radical, and I assure you, my dear, I got quite excited.  We did nothing from morning till night but electioneer for the Honourable Billy, and kissed all the babies in the borough.  The mothers were so grateful.  Now, Edith, do tell Jack instead of playing tennis and canoeing all day he ought to help.  It’s the duty of all young men to help.  Noblesse oblige, you know.  I can’t understand Victoria.  She really has influence with these country people, but she says it’s all nonsense.  Sometimes I think Victoria has a common streak in her—­and no wonder.  The other day she actually drove to the Hammonds’ in a buggy with an unknown lawyer from Ripton.  But I told you about it.  Tell your gardener and the people that do your haying, dear, and your chicken woman.  My chicken woman is most apathetic, but do you wonder, with the life they lead?”

Mr. Humphrey Crewe might have had, with King Charles, the watchword “Thorough.”  He sent to the town clerk for a check-list, and proceeded to honour each of the two hundred Republican voters with a personal visit.  This is a fair example of what took place in the majority of cases.