CHAPTER XVIII.

K. K. K. AS A FACTOR IN POLITICS.

Late Announcement of the Earl of Beaconsfield before an Assembly of Englishmen--The Secret Societies of Europe--True Status with Regard to Current Politics--Combining the Offices of Regulator and _Vigilante_ with that of Politician--Its Generical Belongings--Few Friends Unconnected with its Patronage--Negative Issue which it Introduced into the Great Campaign--Occupying a Voice in Southern Counsels--Unprincipled Plagiaries--Dangerous Sentimentalism Awakened at the North 172