EVEN the venue had a name which would not have sounded out of place during Gladstone's Midlothian Campaign - the Edinburgh Corn Exchange.
When the elder statesman embarked on his tour in 1878 he was 69, seeking a fourth term as Prime Minister and his campaign lasted two years. Nicola Sturgeon is 44, is about to become her party's leader and First Minister of Scotland for the first time. Her six-date tour is for a few weeks.
Gladstone's campaign themes were a vision of the ideal world order combining universalism and inclusiveness, appealing to group feeling and the sense of concern for others. Not everything has changed in 136 years.
Ms Sturgeon promised to govern Scotland for all its people — not just those who voted for the SNP or Yes on September 18.
And she declared that in spite of the referendum defeat, change was coming: "Where that change leads us will not be dictated by politicians. It will be driven, in the words of the US Constitution, by 'We the people'.
"Make no mistake, I know where I want that change to lead. To Scotland being an independent nation, and I believe it will."
All 20,000 tickets for Ms Sturgeon's tour were snapped up within 24 hours and 1,650 people - SNP members plus some non-members brought along by friends - packed into the Corn Exchange last night.
There were queues outside before the doors opened and T-shirts were being snapped up from the merchandising stall, bearing the words: "Nicola Sturgeon: the tour". One fan showed off a tattoo on his chest, bearing the exact number of Yes votes in the referendum - 1,617,989. Another wore a Scotland football shirt with "Sturgeon" on the back.
Still to come are political rallies of unprecedented size in modern times, the biggest being the Hydro in Glasgow with a capacity of 12,961. The Caird Hall in Dundee holds 1,950, Easterbrook Hall in Dumfries 700, the Eden Court Theatre in Inverness 990 and the Music Hall in Aberdeen 1,350.
The SNP had 25,600 members on referendum day and this has risen to more than 82,000. With Ms Sturgeon the only candidate to succeed Alex Salmond she had no hustings to take part in, so the tour is designed to put across her vision for the party.
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