man,
and
made
an
adroit
movement
forwards
as
if
he
were
very
anxious
to
see
the
Globe
newspaper
.
In
the
course
of
two
or
three
hours
these
gentlemen
met
again
in
the
green
drawing-room
of
Monmouth
House
.
Mr.
Rigby
was
sitting
on
the
sofa
by
Lord
Monmouth
,
detailing
in
whispers
all
his
gossip
of
the
morn
:
Lord
Eskdale
murmuring
quaint
inquiries
into
the
ear
of
the
Princess
Lucretia
.
Madame
Colonna
made
remarks
alternately
to
two
gentlemen
,
who
paid
her
assiduous
court
.
One
of
these
was
Mr.
Ormsby
;
the
school
,
the
college
,
and
the
club
crony
of
Lord
Monmouth
,
who
had
been
his
shadow
through
life
;
travelled
with
him
in
early
days
,
won
money
with
him
at
play
,
had
been
his
colleague
in
the
House
of
Commons
;
and
was
still
one
of
his
nominees
.
Mr.
Ormsby
was
a
millionnaire
,
which
Lord
Monmouth
liked
.
He
liked
his
companions
to
be
very
rich
or
very
poor
;
to
be
his
equals
,
able
to
play
with
him
at
high
stakes
,
or
join
him
in
a
great
speculation
;
or
to
be
his
tools
,
and
to
amuse
and
serve
him
.
There
was
nothing
which
he
despised
and
disliked
so
much
as
a
moderate
fortune
.
The
other
gentleman
was
of
a
different
class
and
character
.
Nature
had
intended
Lucian
Gay
for
a
scholar
and
a
wit
;
necessity
had
made
him
a
scribbler
and
a
buffoon
.
He
had
distinguished
himself
at
the
University
;
but
he
had
no
patrimony
,
nor
those
powers
of
perseverance
which
success
in
any
learned
profession
requires
.
He
was
good-looking
,
had
great
animal
spirits
,
and
a
keen
sense
of
enjoyment
,
and
could
not
drudge
.
Moreover
he
had
a
fine
voice
,
and
sang
his
own
songs
with
considerable
taste
;
accomplishments
which
made
his
fortune
in
society
,
and
completed
his
ruin
.
In
due
time
he
extricated
himself
from
the
bench
and
merged
into
journalism
,
by
means
of
which
he
chanced
to
become
acquainted
with
Mr.
Rigby
.
That
worthy
individual
was
not
slow
in
detecting
the
treasure
he
had
lighted
on
—
a
wit
,
a
ready
and
happy
writer
,
a
joyous
and
tractable
being
,
with
the
education
,
and
still
the
feelings
and
manners
,
of
a
gentleman
.
Frequent
the
Sunday
dinners
which
found
Gay
a
guest
at
Mr.
Rigby
's
villa
;
numerous
the
airy
pasquinades
he
left
behind
,
and
which
made
the
fortune
of
his
patron
.
Flattered
by
the
familiar
acquaintance
of
a
man
of
station
,
and
sanguine
that
he
had
found
the
link
which
would
sooner
or
later
restore
him
to
the
polished
world
that
he
had
forfeited
,
Gay
laboured
in
his
vocation
with
enthusiasm
and
success
.
Willingly
would
Rigby
have
kept
his
treasure
to
himself
;
and
truly
he
hoarded
it
for
a
long
time
,
but
it
oozed
out
.
Rigby
loved
the
reputation
of
possessing
the
complete
art
of
society
.
His
dinners
were
celebrated
at
least
for
their
guests
.
Great
intellectual
illustrations
were
found
there
blended
with
rank
and
high
station
.
Rigby
loved
to
patronize
;
to
play
the
minister
unbending
,
and
seeking
relief
from
the
cares
of
council
in
the
society
of
authors
,
artists
,
and
men
of
science
.
He
liked
Dukes
to
dine
with
him
and
hear
him
scatter
his
audacious
criticisms
to
Sir
Thomas
or
Sir
Humphrey
.
They
went
away
astounded
by
the
powers
of
their
host
,
who
had
he
not
fortunately
devoted
those
powers
to
their
party
,
must
apparently
have
rivalled
Vandyke
,
or
discovered
the
Safety
lamp
.
Now
in
these
dinners
,
Lucian
Gay
who
had
brilliant
conversational
powers
,
and
who
possessed
all
the
resources
of
boon
companionship
would
be
an
invaluable
ally
.
He
was
therefore
admitted
,
and
inspired
both
by
the
present
enjoyment
,
and
the
future
to
which
it
might
lead
,
his
exertions
were
untiring
,
various
,
most
successful
.
Rigby
's
dinners
became
still
more
celebrated
.
It
however
necessarily
followed
that
the
guests
who
were
charmed
by
Gay
,
wished
Gay
also
to
be
their
guest
.
Rigby
was
very
jealous
of
this
,
but
it
was
inevitable
;
still
by
constant
manoeuvre
,
by
intimations
of
some
exercise
some
day
or
other
of
substantial
patronage
in
his
behalf
,
by
a
thousand
little
arts
by
which
he
carved
out
work
for
Gay
which
prevented
him
often
accepting
invitations
to
great
houses
in
the
country
,
by
judicious
loans
of
small
sums
on
Lucian
's
notes
of
hand
and
other
analogous
devices
,
Rigby
contrived
to
keep
the
wit
in
a
very
fair
state
of
bondage
and
dependence
.
One
thing
Rigby
was
resolved
on
:
Gay
should
never
get
into
Monmouth
House
.
That
was
an
empyrean
too
high
for
his
wing
to
soar
in
.
Rigby
kept
that
social
monopoly
distinctively
to
mark
the
relation
that
subsisted
between
them
as
patron
and
client
.
It
was
something
to
swagger
about
when
they
were
together
after
their
second
bottle
of
claret
.
Rigby
kept
his
resolution
for
some
years
which
the
frequent
and
prolonged
absence
of
the
Marquess
rendered
not
very
difficult
.
But
we
are
the
creatures
of
circumstances
;
at
least
the
Rigby
race
particularly
.
Lord
Monmouth
returned
to
England
one
year
and
wanted
to
be
amused
.
He
wanted
a
jester
;
a
man
about
him
who
would
make
him
—
not
laugh
for
that
was
impossible
,
but
smile
more
frequently
,
tell
good
stories
,
say
good
things
,
and
sing
now
and
then
,
especially
French
songs
.
Early
in
life
Rigby
would
have
attempted
all
this
,
though
he
had
neither
fun
,
voice
,
nor
ear
.
But
his
hold
on
Lord
Monmouth
no
longer
depended
on
the
mere
exercise
of
agreeable
qualities
,
he
had
become
indispensable
to
his
Lordship
by
more
serious
,
if
not
higher
,
considerations
.
And
what
with
auditing
his
accounts
,
guarding
his
boroughs
,
writing
him
,
when
absent
,
gossip
by
every
post
,
and
when
in
England
,
deciding
on
every
question
and
arranging
every
matter
,
which
might
otherwise
have
ruffled
the
sublime
repose
of
his
patron
's
existence
,
Rigby
might
be
excused
if
he
shrank
a
little
from
the
minor
part
of
table
wit
,
particularly
when
we
remember
all
his
subterranean
journalism
;
hisacid
squibs
,
and
his
malicious
paragraphs
,
and
,
what
Tadpole
called
,
his
"
slashing
"
articles
.
These
"
slashing
articles
"
were
,
indeed
,
things
which
had
they
appeared
as
anonymous
pamphlets
,
would
have
obtained
the
contemptuous
reception
,
which
in
an
intellectual
view
,
no
compositions
more
surely
deserved
:
but
whispered
as
the
productions
of
one
behind
the
scenes
,
and
appearing
in
the
pages
of
a
party
review
,
they
were
passed
off
as
genuine
coin
,
and
took
in
great
numbers
of
the
lieges
,
especially
in
the
country
.
They
were
written
in
a
style
apparently
modelled
on
the
briefs
of
those
sharp
attorneys
,
who
weary
advocates
with
their
clever
common
place
;
teasing
with
obvious
comment
and
torturing
with
inevitable
inference
.
The
affectation
of
order
in
the
statement
of
facts
had
all
the
lucid
method
of
an
adroit
pettifogger
.
They
dealt
much
in
extracts
from
newspapers
,
quotations
from
the
Annual
Register
,
parallel
passages
in
forgotten
speeches
,
arranged
with
a
formidable
array
of
dates
rarely
accurate
.
When
the
writer
was
of
opinion
he
had
made
a
point
,
you
may
be
sure
the
hit
was
in
italics
,
that
last
resource
of
the
Forcible
Feebles
.
He
handled
a
particular
in
chronology
as
if
he
were
proving
an
alibi
at
the
Criminal
Court
.
The
censure
was
coarse
without
being
strong
,
and
vindictive
when
it
would
have
been
sarcastic
.
Now
and
then
there
was
a
passage
which
aimed
at
a
higher
flight
,
and
nothing
can
be
conceived
more
unlike
genuine
feeling
,
or
more
offensive
to
pure
taste
.
And
yet
perhaps
the
most
ludicrous
characteristic
of
these
factious
gallimaufreys
,
was
an
occasional
assumption
of
the
high
moral
and
admonitory
tone
,
which
when
we
recurred
to
the
general
spirit
of
the
discourse
and
were
apt
to
recall
the
character
of
its
writer
,
irresistibly
reminded
one
of
Mrs.
Cole
and
her
prayer
book
.
To
return
to
Lucian
Gay
.
It
was
a
rule
with
Rigby
that
no
one
,
if
possible
,
should
do
anything
for
Lord
Monmouth
but
himself
;
and
as
a
jester
must
be
found
,
he
was
determined
that
his
Lordship
should
have
the
best
in
the
market
,
and
that
he
should
have
the
credit
of
furnishing
the
article
.
As
a
reward
,
therefore
,
for
many
past
services
and
a
fresh
claim
to
his
future
exertions
,
Rigby
one
day
broke
to
Gay
that
the
hour
had
at
length
arrived
when
the
highest
object
of
reasonable
ambition
on
his
part
,
and
the
fulfilment
of
one
of
Rigby
's
long
cherished
and
dearest
hopes
were
alike
to
be
realized
.
Gay
was
to
be
presented
to
Lord
Monmouth
and
dine
at
Monmouth
House
.
The
acquaintance
was
a
successful
one
;
very
agreeable
to
both
parties
.
Gay
became
an
habitual
guest
of
Lord
Monmouth
when
his
patron
was
in
England
;
and
in
his
absence
,
received
frequent
and
substantial
marks
of
his
kind
recollection
,
for
Lord
Monmouth
was
generous
to
those
who
amused
him
.
In
the
meantime
,
the
hour
of
dinner
is
at
hand
.
Coningsby
,
who
had
lost
the
key
of
his
carpet
bag
,
which
he
finally
cut
open
with
a
pen-knife
that
he
found
on
his
writing
table
,
and
the
blade
of
which
he
broke
in
the
operation
,
only
reached
the
drawing-room
as
the
figure
of
his
grandfather
,
leaning
on
his
ivory
cane
and
following
his
guests
,
was
just
visible
in
the
distance
.
He
was
soon
overtaken
.
Perceiving
Coningsby
,
Lord
Monmouth
made
him
a
bow
,
not
so
formal
a
one
as
in
the
morning
,
but
still
a
bow
,
and
said
,
"
I
hope
you
liked
your
drive
.
"
CHAPTER
VI
.
A
Little
dinner
,
not
more
than
the
Muses
,
with
all
the
guests
clever
,
and
some
pretty
,
offers
human
life
and
human
nature
under
very
favourable
circumstances
.
In
the
present
instance
too
,
every
one
was
anxious
to
please
,
for
the
host
was
entirely
well-bred
,
never
selfish
in
little
things
,
and
always
contributed
his
quota
to
the
general
fund
of
polished
sociability
.
Although
there
was
really
only
one
thought
in
every
male
mind
present
,
still
,
regard
for
the
ladies
,
and
some
little
apprehension
of
the
servants
,
banished
politics
from
discourse
during
the
greater
part
of
the
dinner
,
with
the
occasional
exception
of
some
rapid
and
flying
allusion
which
the
initiated
understood
,
but
which
remained
a
mystery
to
the
rest
.
Nevertheless
an
old
story
now
and
then
well
told
by
Mr.
Ormsby
,
a
new
joke
now
and
then
well
introduced
by
Mr.
Gay
,
some
dashing
assertion
by
Mr.
Rigby
,
which
though
wrong
was
startling
;
this
agreeable
blending
of
anecdote
,
jest
,
and
paradox
;
kept
everything
fluent
,
and
produced
the
degree
of
mild
excitation
which
is
desirable
.
Lord
Monmouth
sometimes
summed
up
with
an
epigrammatic
sentence
,
and
turned
the
conversation
by
a
question
,
in
case
it
dwelt
too
much
on
the
same
topic
.
Lord
Eskdale
addressed
himself
principally
to
the
ladies
;
inquired
after
their
morning
drive
and
doings
,
spoke
of
new
fashions
,
and
quoted
a
letter
from
Paris
.
Madame
Colonna
was
not
witty
,
but
she
had
that
sweet
Roman
frankness
which
is
so
charming
.
The
presence
of
a
beautiful
woman
,
natural
and
good
tempered
,
even
if
she
be
not
a
L'Espinasse
or
a
De
Staël
,
is
animating
.
Nevertheless
,
owing
probably
to
the
absorbing
powers
of
the
forbidden
subject
,
there
were
moments
when
it
seemed
that
a
pause
was
impending
,
and
Mr.
Ormsby
,
an
old
hand
,
seized
one
of
these
critical
instants
to
address
a
good-natured
question
to
Coningsby
,
whose
acquaintance
he
had
already
cultivated
by
taking
wine
with
him
.
"
And
how
do
you
like
Eton
?
"
asked
Mr.
Ormsby
.
It
was
the
identical
question
which
had
been
presented
to
Coningsby
in
the
memorable
interview
of
the
morning
,
and
which
had
received
no
reply
;
or
rather
had
produced
on
his
part
a
sentimental
ebullition
that
had
absolutely
destined
or
doomed
him
to
the
church
.
"
I
should
like
to
see
the
fellow
who
did
not
like
Eton
,
"
said
Coningsby
,
briskly
,
determined
this
time
to
be
very
brave
.
"
'
Gad
I
must
go
down
and
see
the
old
place
,
"
said
Mr.
Ormsby
,
touched
by
a
pensive
reminiscence
.
"
One
can
get
a
good
bed
and
bottle
of
port
at
the
Christopher
,
still
?
"
"
You
had
better
come
and
try
,
Sir
,
"
said
Coningsby
.
"
If
you
will
come
some
day
and
dine
with
me
at
the
Christopher
,
I
will
give
you
such
a
bottle
of
Champagne
as
you
never
tasted
yet
.
"
The
Marquess
looked
at
him
,
but
said
nothing
.
"
Ah
!
I
liked
a
dinner
at
the
Christopher
,
"
said
Mr.
Ormsby
,
"
after
mutton
,
mutton
,
mutton
every
day
,
it
was
not
a
bad
thing
.
"
"
We
had
venison
for
dinner
every
week
last
season
,
"
said
Coningsby
,
"
Buckhurst
had
it
sent
up
from
his
park
.
But
I
do
n't
care
for
dinner
.
Breakfast
is
my
lounge
.
"
"
Ah
!
those
little
rolls
and
pats
of
butter
!
"
said
Mr.
Ormsby
.
"
Short
commons
though
.
What
do
you
think
we
did
in
my
time
?
—
We
used
to
send
over
the
way
to
get
a
mutton
chop
.
"
"
I
wish
you
could
see
Buckhurst
and
me
at
breakfast
,
"
said
Coningsby
,
"
with
a
pound
of
Castle
's
sausages
!
"
"
What
Buckhurst
is
that
,
Harry
?
"
inquired
Lord
Monmouth
,
in
a
tone
of
some
interest
,
and
for
the
first
time
calling
him
by
his
christian
name
.
"
Sir
Charles
Buckhurst
,
Sir
,
a
Berkshire
man
;
Shirley
Park
is
his
place
.
"
"
Why
that
must
be
Charley
's
son
,
Eskdale
,
"
said
Lord
Monmouth
:
"
I
had
no
idea
he
could
be
so
young
.
"
"
He
married
late
you
know
,
and
had
nothing
but
daughters
for
a
long
time
.
"
"
Well
,
I
hope
there
will
be
no
Reform
Bill
for
Eton
,
"
said
Lord
Monmouth
,
musingly
.
The
servants
had
now
retired
.
"
I
think
Lord
Monmouth
,
"
said
Mr.
Rigby
,
"
we
must
ask
permission
to
drink
one
toast
to-day
.
"
"
Nay
,
I
will
myself
give
it
,
"
he
replied
.
"
Madame
Colonna
,
you
will
I
am
sure
join
us
when
we
drink
—
the
Duke
!
"
"
Ah
!
what
a
man
!
"
exclaimed
the
Princess
.
"
What
a
pity
it
is
you
have
a
House
of
Commons
here
.
England
would
be
the
greatest
country
in
the
world
if
it
were
not
for
that
House
of
Commons
.
It
makes
so
much
confusion
!
"
"
Do
n't
abuse
our
property
,
"
said
Lord
Eskdale
,
"
Lord
Monmouth
and
I
have
still
twenty
votes
of
that
same
body
between
us
.
"
"
And
there
is
a
combination
,
"
said
Rigby
,
"
by
which
you
may
still
keep
them
.
"
"
Ah
!
now
for
Rigby
's
combination
?
"
said
Lord
Eskdale
.
"
The
only
thing
that
can
save
this
country
,
"
said
Rigby
,
"
is
a
coalition
on
a
sliding
scale
.
"
"
You
had
better
buy
up
the
Birmingham
Union
and
the
other
bodies
,
"
said
Lord
Monmouth
,
"
I
believe
it
might
all
be
done
for
two
or
three
hundred
thousand
pounds
;
and
the
newspapers
too
.
Pitt
would
have
settled
this
business
long
ago
.
"
"
Well
,
at
any
rate
we
are
in
,
"
said
Rigby
,
"
and
we
must
do
something
.
"
"
I
should
like
to
see
Grey
's
list
of
new
peers
,
"
said
Lord
Eskdale
.
"
They
say
there
are
several
members
of
our
club
in
it
.
"
"
And
the
claims
to
the
honour
are
so
opposite
,
"
said
Lucian
Gay
,
"
one
on
account
of
his
large
estate
;
another
,
because
he
has
none
;
one
because
he
has
a
well-grown
family
to
perpetuate
the
title
;
another
,
because
he
has
no
heir
,
and
no
power
of
ever
obtaining
one
.
"
"
I
wonder
how
he
will
form
his
cabinet
?
"
said
Lord
Monmouth
,
"
the
old
story
wo
n't
do
.
"
"
I
hear
that
Baring
is
to
be
one
of
the
new
cards
;
they
say
it
will
please
in
the
city
,
"
said
Lord
Eskdale
.
"
I
suppose
they
will
pick
out
of
hedge
and
ditch
everything
that
has
ever
had
the
semblance
of
liberalism
.
"
"
Affairs
in
my
time
were
never
so
complicated
,
"
said
Mr.
Ormsby
.
"
Nay
,
it
appears
to
me
to
lie
in
a
nutshell
,
"
said
Lucian
Gay
,
"
one
party
wishes
to
keep
their
old
boroughs
,
and
the
other
to
get
their
new
peers
.
"
CHAPTER
VII
.
The
future
historian
of
the
country
will
be
perplexed
to
ascertain
what
was
the
distinct
object
which
the
Duke
of
Wellington
proposed
to
himself
in
the
political
manoeuvres
of
May
,
1832.
It
was
known
that
the
passing
of
the
Reform
Bill
was
a
condition
absolute
with
the
King
;
it
was
unquestionable
,
that
the
first
general
election
under
the
new
law
must
ignominiously
expel
the
Anti-Reform
Ministry
from
power
;
who
would
then
resume
their
seats
on
the
Opposition
benches
in
both
houses
with
the
loss
not
only
of
their
boroughs
,
but
of
that
reputation
for
political
consistency
,
which
might
have
been
some
compensation
for
the
parliamentary
influence
of
which
they
had
been
deprived
.
It
is
difficult
to
recognise
in
this
premature
effort
of
the
Anti-Reform
leader
to
thrust
himself
again
into
the
conduct
of
public
affairs
,
any
indications
of
the
prescient
judgment
which
might
have
been
expected
from
such
a
quarter
.
It
savoured
rather
of
restlessness
than
of
energy
;
and
while
it
proved
in
its
progress
not
only
an
ignorance
on
his
part
of
the
public
mind
,
but
of
the
feelings
of
his
own
party
,
it
terminated
under
circumstances
which
were
humiliating
to
the
Crown
,
and
painfully
significant
of
the
future
position
of
the
House
of
Lords
in
the
new
constitutional
scheme
.
The
Duke
of
Wellington
has
ever
been
the
votary
of
circumstances
.
He
cares
little
for
causes
.
He
watches
events
rather
than
seeks
to
produce
them
.
It
is
a
characteristic
of
the
military
mind
.
Rapid
combinations
,
the
result
of
a
quick
,
vigilant
,
and
comprehensive
glance
,
are
generally
triumphant
in
the
field
;
but
in
civil
affairs
,
where
results
are
not
immediate
;
in
diplomacy
and
in
the
management
of
deliberative
assemblies
,
where
there
is
much
intervening
time
and
many
counteracting
causes
;
this
velocity
of
decision
,
this
fitful
and
precipitate
action
,
is
often
productive
of
considerable
embarrassment
,
and
sometimes
of
terrible
discomfiture
.
It
is
remarkable
that
men
celebrated
for
military
prudence
are
often
found
to
be
headstrong
statesmen
.
A
great
general
in
civil
life
is
frequently
and
strangely
the
creature
of
impulse
;
influenced
in
his
political
movements
by
the
last
snatch
of
information
;
and
often
the
creature
of
the
last
aid-de-camp
who
has
his
ear
.
We
shall
endeavour
to
trace
in
another
chapter
the
reasons
which
on
this
,
as
on
previous
and
subsequent
occasions
,
induced
Sir
Robert
Peel
to
stand
aloof
,
if
possible
,
from
official
life
,
and
made
him
reluctant
to
re-enter
the
service
of
his
Sovereign
.
In
the
present
instance
,
even
temporary
success
could
only
have
been
secured
by
the
utmost
decision
,
promptness
and
energy
.
These
were
all
wanting
:
some
were
afraid
to
follow
the
bold
example
of
their
leader
;
many
were
disinclined
.
In
eight
and
forty
hours
it
was
known
there
was
a
"
hitch
.
"
The
Reform
party
,
who
had
been
rather
stupified
than
appalled
by
the
accepted
mission
of
the
Duke
of
Wellington
,
collected
their
scattered
senses
,
and
rallied
their
forces
.
The
agitators
harangued
,
the
mobs
hooted
.
The
City
of
London
,
as
if
the
King
had
again
tried
to
seize
the
five
members
,
appointed
a
permanent
committee
of
the
Common
Council
to
watch
the
fortunes
of
the
"
great
national
measure
,
"
and
to
report
daily
.
Brookes
'
,
which
was
the
only
place
that
at
first
was
really
frightened
,
and
talked
of
compromise
,
grew
valiant
again
;
while
young
Whig
heroes
jumped
upon
club
tables
,
and
delivered
fiery
invectives
.
Emboldened
by
these
demonstrations
,
the
House
of
Commons
met
in
great
force
,
and
passed
a
vote
which
struck
,
without
disguise
,
at
all
rival
powers
in
the
State
;
virtually
announced
its
supremacy
;
revealed
the
forlorn
position
of
the
House
of
Lords
under
the
new
arrangement
;
and
seemed
to
lay
for
ever
the
fluttering
phantom
of
regal
prerogative
.
It
was
on
the
9th
of
May
that
Lord
Lyndhurst
was
with
the
King
,
and
on
the
15th
all
was
over
.
Nothing
in
parliamentary
history
so
humiliating
as
the
funereal
oration
delivered
that
day
by
the
Duke
of
Wellington
over
the
old
constitution
,
that
,
modelled
on
the
Venetian
,
had
governed
England
since
the
accession
of
the
House
of
Hanover
.
He
described
his
Sovereign
,
when
his
Grace
first
repaired
to
his
Majesty
,
as
in
a
state
of
the
greatest
"
difficulty
and
distress
,
"
appealing
to
his
never
failing
loyalty
to
extricate
him
from
his
trouble
and
vexation
.
The
Duke
of
Wellington
representing
the
House
of
Lords
sympathizes
with
the
King
,
and
pledges
his
utmost
efforts
for
his
Majesty
's
relief
.
But
after
five
days
'
exertion
,
this
man
of
indomitable
will
and
invincible
fortunes
,
resigns
the
task
in
discomfiture
and
despair
,
and
alleges
as
the
only
and
sufficient
reason
of
his
utter
and
hopeless
defeat
,
that
the
House
of
Commons
had
come
to
a
vote
which
ran
counter
to
the
contemplated
exercise
of
the
prerogative
.
From
that
moment
power
passed
from
the
House
of
Lords
to
another
assembly
.
But
if
the
peers
have
ceased
to
be
magnificoes
,
may
it
not
also
happen
that
the
Sovereign
may
cease
to
be
a
Doge
?
It
is
not
impossible
that
the
political
movements
of
our
time
,
which
seem
on
the
surface
to
have
a
tendency
to
democracy
,
have
in
reality
a
monarchical
bias
.
In
less
than
a
fortnight
's
time
the
House
of
Lords
,
like
James
II
;
having
abdicated
their
functions
by
absence
,
the
Reform
Bill
passed
;
the
ardent
monarch
,
who
a
few
months
before
had
expressed
his
readiness
to
go
down
to
parliament
,
if
necessary
,
in
a
hackney-coach
to
assist
its
progress
,
now
declining
personally
to
give
his
assent
to
its
provisions
.
In
the
protracted
discussions
to
which
this
celebrated
measure
gave
rise
,
nothing
is
more
remarkable
than
the
perplexities
into
which
the
speakers
of
both
sides
are
thrown
,
when
they
touch
upon
the
nature
of
the
representative
principle
.
On
one
hand
it
was
maintained
,
that
under
the
old
system
the
people
were
virtually
represented
;
while
on
the
other
,
it
was
triumphantly
urged
,
that
if
the
principle
be
conceded
,
the
people
should
not
be
virtually
,
but
actually
represented
.
But
who
are
the
people
?
And
where
are
you
to
draw
a
line
?
And
why
should
there
be
any
?
It
was
urged
that
a
contribution
to
the
taxes
was
the
constitutional
qualification
for
the
suffrage
.
But
we
have
established
a
system
of
taxation
in
this
country
of
so
remarkable
a
nature
,
that
the
beggar
who
chews
his
quid
as
he
sweeps
a
crossing
,
is
contributing
to
the
imposts
.
Is
he
to
have
a
vote
?
He
is
one
of
the
people
,
and
he
yields
his
quota
to
the
public
burthens
.
Amid
these
conflicting
statements
and
these
confounding
conclusions
,
it
is
singular
that
no
member
of
either
house
should
have
recurred
to
the
original
character
of
these
popular
assemblies
,
which
have
always
prevailed
among
the
northern
nations
.
We
still
retain
in
the
antique
phraseology
of
our
statutes
,
the
term
which
might
have
beneficially
guided
a
modern
Reformer
in
his
re-constructive
labours
.
When
the
crowned
Northman
consulted
on
the
welfare
of
his
kingdom
,
he
assembled
the
Estates
of
his
realm
.
Now
an
estate
is
a
class
of
the
nation
invested
with
political
rights
.
There
appeared
the
estate
of
the
clergy
,
of
the
barons
,
of
other
classes
.
In
the
Scandinavian
kingdoms
to
this
day
,
the
estate
of
the
peasants
sends
its
representatives
to
the
Diet
.
In
England
,
under
the
Normans
,
the
Church
and
the
Baronage
were
convoked
,
together
with
the
estate
of
the
Community
,
a
term
which
then
probably
described
the
inferior
holders
of
land
,
whose
tenure
was
not
immediate
of
the
Crown
.
This
Third
Estate
was
so
numerous
,
that
convenience
suggested
its
appearance
by
representation
;
while
the
others
,
more
limited
,
appeared
,
and
still
appear
,
personally
.
The
Third
Estate
was
reconstructed
as
circumstances
developed
themselves
.
It
was
a
Reform
of
Parliament
when
the
towns
were
summoned
.
In
treating
the
House
of
the
Third
Estate
as
the
House
of
the
People
,
and
not
as
the
House
of
a
privileged
class
,
the
Ministry
and
Parliament
of
1831
virtually
conceded
the
principle
of
Universal
Suffrage
.
In
this
point
of
view
the
ten
pound
franchise
was
an
arbitrary
,
irrational
and
impolitic
qualification
.
It
had
,
indeed
,
the
merit
of
simplicity
,
and
so
had
the
constitutions
of
Abbé
Siéyès
.
But
its
immediate
and
inevitable
result
was
Chartism
.
But
if
the
Ministry
and
Parliament
of
1831
had
announced
that
the
time
had
arrived
when
the
Third
Estate
should
be
enlarged
and
reconstructed
,
they
would
have
occupied
an
intelligible
position
;
and
if
,
instead
of
simplicity
of
elements
in
its
reconstruction
,
they
had
sought
,
on
the
contrary
,
various
and
varying
materials
which
would
have
neutralised
the
painful
predominance
of
any
particular
interest
in
the
new
scheme
,
and
prevented
those
banded
jealousies
which
have
been
its
consequences
,
the
nation
would
have
found
itself
in
a
secure
condition
.
Another
class
not
less
numerous
than
the
existing
one
,
and
invested
with
privileges
not
less
important
,
would
have
been
added
to
the
public
estates
of
the
realm
;
and
the
bewildering
phrase
"
the
People
"
would
have
remained
what
it
really
is
,
a
term
of
natural
philosophy
,
and
not
of
political
science
.
During
this
eventful
week
of
May
,
1832
,
when
an
important
revolution
was
effected
in
the
most
considerable
of
modern
kingdoms
,
in
a
manner
so
tranquil
,
that
the
victims
themselves
were
scarcely
conscious
at
the
time
of
the
catastrophe
,
Coningsby
passed
his
hours
in
unaccustomed
pleasures
and
in
novel
excitement
.
Although
he
heard
daily
from
the
lips
of
Mr.
Rigby
and
his
friends
that
England
was
for
ever
lost
,
the
assembled
guests
still
contrived
to
do
justice
to
his
grandfather
's
excellent
dinners
;
nor
did
the
impending
ruin
that
awaited
them
prevent
the
Princess
Colonna
from
going
to
the
opera
,
whither
she
very
good-naturedly
took
Coningsby
.
Madame
Colonna
indeed
gave
such
gratifying
accounts
of
her
dear
young
friend
,
that
Coningsby
became
daily
a
greater
favourite
with
Lord
Monmouth
,
who
cherished
the
idea
that
his
grandson
had
inherited
not
merely
the
colour
of
his
eyes
,
but
something
of
his
shrewd
and
fearless
spirit
.
With
Lucretia
,
Coningsby
did
not
much
advance
.
She
remained
silent
and
sullen
.
She
was
not
beautiful
;
pallid
,
with
a
lowering
brow
,
and
an
eye
that
avoided
meeting
another
's
.
Madame
Colonna
,
though
good-natured
,
felt
for
her
something
of
the
affection
for
which
step-mothers
are
celebrated
.
Lucretia
,
indeed
,
did
not
encourage
her
kindness
,
which
irritated
her
step-mother
,
who
seemed
seldom
to
address
her
but
to
rate
and
chide
;
Lucretia
never
replied
,
but
looked
dogged
.
Her
father
,
the
Prince
,
did
not
compensate
for
this
treatment
.
The
memory
of
her
mother
,
whom
he
had
greatly
disliked
,
did
not
soften
his
heart
.
He
was
a
man
still
young
;
slender
,
not
tall
;
very
handsome
,
but
worn
;
a
haggard
Antinous
;
his
beautiful
hair
daily
thinning
;
his
dress
rich
and
effeminate
;
many
jewels
,
much
lace
;
he
seldom
spoke
,
but
was
polished
,
though
moody
.
At
the
end
of
the
week
,
Coningsby
returned
to
Eton
.
On
the
eve
of
his
departure
,
Lord
Monmouth
desired
his
grandson
to
meet
him
in
his
apartments
on
the
morrow
before
Coningsby
quitted
his
roof
.
This
farewell
visit
was
as
kind
and
gracious
as
the
first
one
had
been
repulsive
.
Lord
Monmouth
gave
Coningsby
his
blessing
and
ten
pounds
,
desired
that
he
would
order
a
dress
,
anything
he
liked
,
for
the
approaching
Montem
,
which
Lord
Monmouth
meant
to
attend
;
and
informed
his
grandson
that
he
should
order
that
in
future
a
proper
supply
of
game
and
venison
should
be
forwarded
to
Eton
for
the
use
of
himself
and
his
friends
.
CHAPTER
VIII
.
After
eight
o'clock
school
,
the
day
following
the
return
of
Coningsby
,
according
to
custom
,
he
repaired
to
Buckhurst
's
room
,
where
Henry
Sydney
,
Lord
Vere
,
and
our
hero
held
with
him
their
breakfast
mess
.
They
were
all
in
the
fifth
form
,
and
habitual
companions
,
on
the
river
or
on
the
Fives
'
Wall
,
at
cricket
or
at
football
.
The
return
of
Coningsby
,
their
leader
alike
in
sport
and
study
,
inspired
them
today
with
unusual
spirits
,
which
,
to
say
the
truth
were
never
particularly
depressed
.
Where
he
had
been
,
what
had
he
seen
,
what
he
had
done
,
what
sort
of
fellow
his
grandfather
was
,
whether
the
visit
had
been
a
success
—
here
were
materials
for
almost
endless
inquiry
.
And
,
indeed
,
to
do
them
justice
,
the
last
question
was
not
the
least
exciting
to
them
;
for
the
deep
and
cordial
interest
which
all
felt
in
Coningsby
's
welfare
far
outweighed
the
curiosity
which
,
under
ordinary
circumstances
,
they
would
have
experienced
on
the
return
of
one
of
their
companions
from
an
unusual
visit
to
London
.
The
report
of
their
friend
imparted
to
them
unbounded
satisfaction
;
when
they
learned
that
his
relative
was
a
splendid
fellow
;
that
he
had
been
loaded
with
kindness
and
favours
;
that
Monmouth
House
,
the
wonders
of
which
he
rapidly
sketched
,
was
hereafter
to
be
his
home
;
that
Lord
Monmouth
was
coming
down
to
Montem
;
that
Coningsby
was
to
order
any
dress
he
liked
,
build
a
new
boat
if
he
chose
,
and
,
finally
,
had
been
tipped
in
a
manner
worthy
of
a
Marquess
and
a
grandfather
.
"
By
the
bye
,
"
said
Buckhurst
when
the
hubbub
had
a
little
subsided
,
"
I
am
afraid
you
will
not
half
like
it
,
Coningsby
:
but
,
old
fellow
,
I
had
no
idea
you
would
be
back
this
morning
,
I
have
asked
Millbank
,
to
breakfast
here
.
"
A
cloud
stole
over
the
clear
brow
of
Coningsby
.
"
It
was
my
fault
,
"
said
the
amiable
Henry
Sydney
;
"
but
I
really
wanted
to
be
civil
to
Millbank
and
as
you
were
not
here
,
I
put
Buckhurst
up
to
ask
him
.
"
"
Well
,
"
said
Coningsby
,
as
if
sullenly
resigned
,
"
never
mind
;
but
why
you
should
ask
an
infernal
manufacturer
!
"
"
Why
the
Duke
always
wished
me
to
pay
him
some
attention
,
"
said
Lord
Henry
,
mildly
.
"
His
family
were
so
civil
to
us
when
we
were
at
Manchester
.
"
"
Manchester
,
indeed
!
"
said
Coningsby
;
"
if
you
knew
what
I
did
about
Manchester
!
A
pretty
state
we
have
been
in
London
this
week
past
with
your
Manchesters
and
Birminghams
!
"
"
Come
—
come
,
Coningsby
,
"
said
Lord
Vere
,
the
son
of
a
Whig
minister
;
"
I
am
all
for
Manchester
and
Birmingham
.
"
"
It
is
all
up
with
the
country
I
can
tell
you
,
"
said
Coningsby
,
with
the
air
of
one
who
was
in
the
secret
.
"
My
father
says
it
will
all
go
right
now
,
"
rejoined
Lord
Vere
.
"
I
had
a
letter
from
my
sister
yesterday
.
"
"
They
say
we
shall
all
lose
our
estates
though
,
"
said
Buckhurst
;
"
I
know
I
shall
not
give
up
mine
without
a
fight
.
Shirley
was
besieged
,
you
know
,
in
the
civil
wars
;
and
the
rebels
got
infernally
licked
.
"
"
I
think
that
all
the
people
about
Beaumanoir
would
stand
by
the
Duke
,
"
said
Lord
Henry
,
pensively
.
"
Well
—
you
may
depend
upon
it
you
will
have
it
very
soon
,
"
said
Coningsby
.
"
I
know
it
from
the
best
authority
.
"
"
It
depends
whether
my
father
remains
in
,
"
said
Lord
Vere
.
"
He
is
the
only
man
who
can
govern
the
country
now
.
All
say
that
.
"
At
this
moment
Millbank
came
in
.
He
was
a
good-looking
boy
,
somewhat
shy
,
and
yet
with
a
sincere
expression
in
his
countenance
.
He
was
,
evidently
,
not
extremely
intimate
with
those
who
were
now
his
companions
.
Buckhurst
,
and
Henry
Sydney
,
and
Vere
welcomed
him
cordially
.
He
looked
at
Coningsby
with
some
constraint
,
and
then
said
:
"
You
have
been
in
London
,
Coningsby
?
"
"
Yes
,
I
have
been
there
during
all
the
row
.
"
"
You
must
have
had
a
rare
lark
.
"
"
Yes
,
if
having
your
windows
broken
by
a
mob
be
a
rare
lark
.
They
could
not
break
my
grandfather
's
though
.
Monmouth
House
is
in
a
court
yard
.
All
noblemen
's
houses
should
be
in
court
yards
.
"
"
I
was
glad
to
see
it
all
ended
very
well
,
"
said
Millbank
.
"
It
has
not
begun
yet
,
"
said
Coningsby
.
"
What
?
"
said
Millbank
.
"
Why
—
the
revolution
.
"
"
The
Reform
Bill
will
prevent
a
revolution
,
my
father
says
,
"
said
Millbank
.
"
By
Jove
!
here
's
the
goose
,
"
said
Buckhurst
.
At
this
moment
there
entered
the
room
a
little
boy
,
the
scion
of
a
noble
house
,
bearing
a
roasted
goose
which
he
had
carried
from
the
kitchen
of
the
opposite
inn
,
the
Christopher
.
The
lower
boy
or
fag
,
depositing
his
burthen
,
asked
his
master
whether
he
had
further
need
of
him
,
and
Buckhurst
after
looking
round
the
table
and
ascertaining
that
he
had
not
,
gave
him
permission
to
retire
;
but
he
had
scarcely
disappeared
when
his
master
singing
out
"
Lower
boy
,
St.
John
,
"
he
immediately
re-entered
and
demanded
his
master
's
pleasure
,
which
was
,
that
he
should
pour
some
water
in
the
tea-pot
.
This
being
accomplished
,
St.
John
really
made
his
escape
and
retired
to
a
pupil
room
,
where
the
bullying
of
a
tutor
,
because
he
had
no
derivations
,
exceeded
,
in
all
probability
,
the
bullying
of
his
master
,
had
he
contrived
in
his
passage
from
the
Christopher
to
have
upset
the
goose
or
dropped
the
sausages
.
In
their
merry
meal
,
the
Reform
Bill
was
forgotten
.
Their
thoughts
were
soon
concentred
in
their
little
world
,
thought
it
must
be
owned
that
visions
of
palaces
and
beautiful
ladies
did
occasionally
flit
over
the
brain
of
one
of
the
company
.
But
for
him
especially
there
was
much
of
interest
and
novelty
.
So
much
had
happened
in
his
absence
!
There
was
a
week
's
arrears
for
him
of
Eton
annals
.
They
were
recounted
in
so
fresh
a
spirit
and
in
such
vivid
colours
,
that
Coningsby
lost
nothing
by
his
London
visit
.
All
the
bold
feats
that
had
been
done
,
and
all
the
bright
things
that
had
been
said
;
all
the
triumphs
,
and
all
the
failures
,
and
all
the
scrapes
;
how
popular
one
master
had
made
himself
,
and
how
ridiculous
another
;
all
was
detailed
with
a
liveliness
,
a
candour
,
and
a
picturesque
ingenuousness
,
which
would
have
made
the
fortune
of
a
Herodotus
or
a
Froissart
.
"
I
'll
tell
you
what
,
"
said
Buckhurst
,
"
I
move
that
after
twelve
is
called
,
we
five
go
up
to
Maidenhead
.
"
"
Agreed
—
agreed
!
"
CHAPTER
IX
.
Millbank
was
the
son
of
one
of
the
wealthiest
manufacturers
of
Lancashire
.
His
father
,
whose
opinions
were
of
a
very
democratic
bent
,
sent
his
son
to
Eton
,
though
he
disapproved
of
the
system
of
education
pursued
there
,
to
show
that
he
had
as
much
right
to
do
so
as
any
Duke
in
the
land
.
He
had
,
however
,
brought
up
his
only
boy
with
a
due
prejudice
against
every
sentiment
or
institution
of
an
aristocratic
character
,
and
had
especially
impressed
upon
him
in
his
school
career
to
avoid
the
slightest
semblance
of
courting
the
affections
or
society
of
any
member
of
the
falsely
held
superior
class
.
The
character
of
the
son
,
as
much
as
the
influence
of
the
father
,
tended
to
the
fulfilment
of
these
injunctions
.
Oswald
Millbank
was
of
a
proud
and
independent
nature
;
reserved
,
a
little
stern
.
The
early
and
constantly
reiterated
dogma
of
his
father
,
that
he
belonged
to
a
class
debarred
from
its
just
position
in
the
social
system
,
had
aggravated
the
grave
and
somewhat
discontented
humour
of
his
blood
.
His
talents
were
considerable
,
though
invested
with
no
dazzling
quality
.
He
had
not
that
quick
and
brilliant
apprehension
,
which
,
combined
with
a
memory
of
rare
retentiveness
,
had
already
advanced
Coningsby
far
beyond
his
age
,
and
made
him
already
looked
to
as
the
future
hero
of
the
school
.
But
Millbank
possessed
one
of
those
strong
industrious
volitions
whose
perseverance
amounts
almost
to
genius
,
and
nearly
attains
its
results
.
Though
Coningsby
was
by
a
year
his
junior
,
they
were
rivals
.
This
circumstance
had
no
tendency
to
remove
the
prejudice
which
Coningsby
entertained
against
him
,
but
its
bias
on
the
part
of
Millbank
had
a
very
contrary
effect
.
The
influence
of
the
individual
is
nowhere
so
sensible
as
at
school
.
There
the
personal
qualities
strike
without
any
intervening
and
counteracting
causes
.
A
gracious
presence
,
noble
sentiments
,
or
a
happy
talent
,
make
their
way
there
at
once
,
without
preliminary
inquiries
as
to
what
set
they
are
in
,
or
what
family
they
are
of
,
how
much
they
have
a
year
,
or
where
they
live
.
Now
on
no
spirit
had
the
influence
of
Coningsby
,
already
the
favourite
,
and
soon
probably
to
become
the
idol
,
of
the
school
,
fallen
more
effectually
than
on
that
of
Millbank
,
though
it
was
an
influence
that
no
one
could
suspect
except
its
votary
,
or
its
victim
.
At
school
,
friendship
is
a
passion
.
It
entrances
the
being
;
it
tears
the
soul
.
All
loves
of
after
life
can
never
bring
its
rapture
,
or
its
wretchedness
;
no
bliss
so
absorbing
,
no
pangs
of
jealousy
or
despair
so
crushing
and
so
keen
!
What
tenderness
and
what
devotion
;
what
illimitable
confidence
;
infinite
revelations
of
inmost
thoughts
;
what
ecstatic
present
and
romantic
future
;
what
bitter
estrangements
and
what
melting
reconciliations
;
what
scenes
of
wild
recrimination
,
agitating
explanations
,
passionate
correspondence
;
what
insane
sensitiveness
,
and
what
frantic
sensibility
;
what
earthquakes
of
the
heart
,
and
whirlwinds
of
the
soul
,
are
confined
in
that
simple
phrase
—
a
schoolboy
's
friendship
!
'
Tis
some
indefinite
recollection
of
these
mystic
passages
of
their
young
emotion
,
that
makes
grey-haired
men
mourn
over
the
memory
of
their
schoolboy
days
.
It
is
a
spell
that
can
soften
the
acerbity
of
political
warfare
,
and
with
its
witchery
can
call
forth
a
sigh
even
amid
the
callous
bustle
of
fashionable
saloons
.
The
secret
of
Millbank
's
life
was
a
passionate
admiration
and
affection
for
Coningsby
.
Pride
,
his
natural
reserve
and
his
father
's
injunctions
,
had
however
hitherto
successfully
combined
to
restrain
the
slightest
demonstration
of
these
sentiments
.
Indeed
Coningsby
and
himself
were
never
companions
,
except
in
school
,
or
in
some
public
game
.
The
demeanour
of
Coningsby
gave
no
encouragement
to
intimacy
to
one
,
who
,
under
any
circumstances
,
would
have
required
considerable
invitation
to
open
himself
.
So
Millbank
fed
in
silence
on
a
cherished
idea
.
It
was
his
happiness
to
be
in
the
same
form
,
to
join
in
the
same
sport
with
Coningsby
;
occasionally
to
be
thrown
in
unusual
contact
with
him
,
to
exchange
slight
and
not
unkind
words
.
In
their
division
they
were
rivals
;
Millbank
sometimes
triumphed
,
but
to
be
vanquished
by
Coningsby
was
for
him
not
without
a
degree
of
wild
satisfaction
.
Not
a
gesture
,
not
a
phrase
from
Coningsby
,
that
he
did
not
watch
and
ponder
over
and
treasure
up
.
Coningsby
was
his
model
,
alike
in
studies
,
in
manners
,
or
in
pastimes
;
the
aptest
scholar
,
the
gayest
wit
,
the
most
graceful
associate
,
the
most
accomplished
playmate
:
his
standard
of
the
excellent
.
Yet
Millbank
was
the
very
last
boy
in
the
school
who
would
have
had
credit
given
him
by
his
companions
for
profound
and
ardent
feeling
.
He
was
not
,
indeed
,
unpopular
.
The
favourite
of
the
school
like
Coningsby
,
he
could
under
no
circumstances
,
ever
have
become
;
nor
was
he
qualified
to
obtain
that
general
graciousness
among
the
multitude
,
which
the
sweet
disposition
of
Henry
Sydney
or
the
gay
profusion
of
Buckhurst
,
acquired
without
an
effort
.
Millbank
was
not
blessed
with
the
charm
of
manner
.
He
seemed
close
and
cold
;
but
he
was
courageous
,
just
and
inflexible
;
never
bullied
,
and
to
his
utmost
would
prevent
tyranny
.
The
little
boys
looked
up
to
him
as
to
a
stern
protector
.
His
word
throughout
the
school
too
was
a
proverb
:
and
truth
ranks
a
great
quality
among
boys
.
In
a
word
,
Millbank
was
respected
by
those
among
whom
he
lived
,
and
schoolboys
scan
character
more
nicely
than
men
suppose
.
A
brother
of
Henry
Sydney
,
quartered
in
Lancashire
had
been
wounded
recently
in
a
riot
,
and
had
received
great
kindness
from
the
Millbank
family
,
in
whose
immediate
neighbourhood
the
disturbance
had
occurred
.
The
kind
Duke
had
impressed
on
Henry
Sydney
to
acknowledge
with
cordiality
to
the
younger
Millbank
at
Eton
,
the
sense
which
his
family
entertained
of
these
benefits
;
but
though
Henry
lost
neither
time
nor
opportunity
in
obeying
an
injunction
,
which
was
grateful
to
his
own
heart
,
he
failed
in
cherishing
,
or
indeed
creating
any
intimacy
with
the
object
of
his
solicitude
.
A
companionship
with
one
who
was
Coningsby
's
relative
and
most
familiar
friend
,
would
at
the
first
glance
have
appeared
,
independent
of
all
other
considerations
,
a
most
desirable
result
for
Millbank
to
accomplish
.
But
perhaps
this
very
circumstance
afforded
additional
reasons
for
the
absence
of
all
encouragement
with
which
he
received
the
overtures
of
Lord
Henry
.
Millbank
suspected
that
Coningsby
was
not
affected
in
his
favour
,
and
his
pride
recoiled
from
gaining
by
any
indirect
means
,
an
intimacy
which
to
have
obtained
in
a
plain
and
express
manner
,
would
have
deeply
gratified
him
.
However
the
urgent
invitation
of
Buckhurst
and
Henry
Sydney
,
and
the
fear
that
a
persistance
in
refusal
might
be
misinterpreted
into
churlishness
,
had
at
length
brought
Millbank
to
their
breakfast-mess
,
though
when
he
accepted
their
invitation
,
he
did
not
apprehend
that
Coningsby
would
have
been
present
.
It
was
about
an
hour
before
sunset
,
the
day
of
this
very
breakfast
,
and
a
good
number
of
boys
in
lounging
groups
,
were
collected
in
the
Long
Walk
.
The
sports
and
matches
of
the
day
were
over
.
Criticism
had
succeeded
to
action
in
sculling
and
in
cricket
.
They
talked
over
the
exploits
of
the
morning
;
canvassed
the
merits
of
the
competitors
,
marked
the
fellow
whose
play
or
whose
stroke
was
improving
,
glanced
at
another
,
whose
promise
had
not
been
fulfilled
;
discussed
the
pretensions
,
and
adjudged
the
palm
.
Thus
public
opinion
is
formed
.
Some
too
might
be
seen
with
their
books
and
exercises
,
intent
on
the
inevitable
and
impending
task
.
Among
these
,
some
unhappy
wight
in
the
remove
wandering
about
with
his
hat
after
parochial
fashion
,
seeking
relief
in
the
shape
of
a
verse
.
A
hard
lot
this
,
to
know
that
you
must
be
delivered
of
fourteen
verses
at
least
in
the
twenty-four
hours
,
and
to
be
conscious
that
you
are
pregnant
of
none
.
The
lesser
boys
,
urchins
of
tender
years
,
clustered
like
flies
round
the
baskets
of
certain
vendors
of
sugary
delicacies
that
rested
on
the
Long
Walk
wall
.
The
pallid
countenance
,
the
lack-lustre
eye
,
the
hoarse
voice
clogged
with
accumulated
phlegm
,
indicated
too
surely
the
irreclaimable
and
hopeless
votary
of
lollypop
—
the
opium
eater
of
schoolboys
.
"
It
is
settled
,
the
match
to-morrow
shall
be
between
Aquatics
and
Drybobs
,
"
said
a
senior
boy
;
who
was
arranging
a
future
match
at
cricket
.
"
But
what
's
to
be
done
about
Fielding
Major
?
"
inquired
another
.
"
He
has
not
paid
his
boating
money
,
and
I
say
he
has
no
right
to
play
among
the
Aquatics
before
he
has
paid
his
money
.
"
"
Oh
!
but
we
must
have
Fielding
Major
,
he
's
such
a
devil
of
a
swipe
.
"
"
I
declare
he
shall
not
play
among
the
Aquatics
if
he
does
not
pay
his
boating
money
.
It
is
an
infernal
shame
.
"
"
Let
us
ask
Buckhurst
.
Where
is
Buckhurst
?
"
"
Have
you
got
any
toffy
?
"
inquired
a
dull
looking
little
boy
in
a
hoarse
voice
of
one
of
the
vendors
of
scholastic
confectionary
.
"
"
Tom
Trot
,
Sir
.
"
"
No
;
I
want
toffy
.
"
"
Very
nice
Tom
Trot
,
Sir
.
"
"
No
,
I
want
toffy
;
I
have
been
eating
Tom
Trot
all
day
.
"
"
Where
is
Buckhurst
?
We
must
settle
about
the
Aquatics
.
"
"
Well
,
I
for
one
will
not
play
if
Fielding
Major
plays
amongst
the
Aquatics
.
That
's
settled
.
"
"
Oh
!
nonsense
;
he
will
pay
his
money
if
you
ask
him
.
"
"
I
shall
not
ask
him
again
.
The
captain
duns
us
every
day
.
It
's
an
infernal
shame
.
"
"
I
say
Burnham
,
where
can
one
get
some
toffy
?
This
fellow
never
has
any
.
"
"
I
'll
tell
you
;
at
Barnes
'
on
the
bridge
.
The
best
toffy
in
the
world
.
"
"
I
'll
go
at
once
.
I
must
have
some
toffy
.
"
"
Just
help
me
with
this
verse
,
Collins
,
"
said
one
boy
to
another
in
an
imploring
tone
,
"
that
's
a
good
fellow
.
"
"
Well
,
give
it
us
:
first
syllable
in
fabri
is
short
;
three
false
quantities
in
the
two
first
lines
!
You
're
a
pretty
one
.
There
,
I
have
done
it
for
you
.
"
"
That
's
a
good
fellow
.
"
"
Any
fellow
seen
Buckhurst
?
"
"
Gone
up
the
river
with
Coningsby
and
Henry
Sydney
.
"
"
But
he
must
be
back
by
this
time
.
I
want
him
to
make
the
list
for
the
match
to-morrow
.
Where
the
deuce
can
Buckhurst
be
?
"
And
now
as
rumours
rise
in
society
we
know
not
how
,
so
there
was
suddenly
a
flying
report
in
this
multitude
,
the
origin
of
which
no
one
in
their
alarm
stopped
to
ascertain
,
that
a
boy
was
drowned
.
Every
heart
was
agitated
.
What
boy
?
When
—
where
—
how
?
Who
was
absent
?
Who
had
been
on
the
river
today
?
Buckhurst
.
The
report
ran
that
Buckhurst
was
drowned
.
Great
were
the
trouble
and
consternation
.
Buckhurst
was
ever
much
liked
;
and
now
no
one
remembered
anything
but
his
good
qualities
.
"
Who
heard
it
was
Buckhurst
?
"
said
Sedgwick
,
captain
of
the
school
,
coming
forward
.
"
I
heard
Bradford
tell
Palmer
it
was
Buckhurst
,
"
said
a
little
boy
.
"
Where
is
Bradford
?
"
"
Here
.
"
"
What
do
you
know
about
Buckhurst
?
"
"
Wentworth
told
me
that
he
was
afraid
Buckhurst
was
drowned
.
He
heard
it
at
Brocas
;
a
bargeman
told
him
about
a
quarter
of
an
hour
ago
.
"
"
Here
's
Wentworth
—
here
's
Wentworth
!
"
a
hundred
voices
exclaimed
,
and
they
formed
a
circle
round
him
.
"
Well
,
what
did
you
hear
Wentworth
?
"
asked
Sedgwick
.
"
I
was
at
Brocas
,
and
a
bargeman
told
me
that
an
Eton
boy
had
been
drowned
up
stream
,
and
the
only
Eton
boat
up
stream
to-day
,
as
I
can
learn
is
Buckhurst
's
.
That
is
all
.
"
There
was
a
murmur
of
hope
.
"
Oh
!
come
,
come
,
"
said
Sedgwick
,
"
there
is
some
chance
.
Who
is
with
Buckhurst
;
who
knows
?
"
"
I
saw
him
walk
down
to
Brocas
with
Vere
,
"
said
a
boy
.
"
I
hope
it
is
not
Vere
,
"
said
a
little
boy
with
a
tearful
eye
,
"
he
never
lets
any
fellow
bully
me
.
"
"
Here
's
Maltravers
,
"
halloed
out
a
boy
,
"
he
knows
something
.
"
"
Well
,
what
do
you
know
Maltravers
?
"
"
I
heard
Boots
at
the
Christopher
say
that
an
Eton
boy
was
drowned
,
and
that
he
had
seen
a
person
who
was
there
.
"
"
Bring
Boots
here
,
"
said
Sedgwick
.
Instantly
a
band
of
boys
rushed
over
the
way
,
and
in
a
moment
the
witness
was
produced
.
"
What
have
you
heard
,
Sam
,
about
this
accident
?
"
said
Sedgwick
.
"
Well
,
Sir
,
I
heerd
a
young
gentleman
was
drowned
above
Monkey
Island
,
"
said
Boots
.
"
And
no
name
mentioned
?
"
"
Well
,
Sir
,
I
believe
it
was
Mr.
Coningsby
.
"
A
general
groan
of
horror
.
"
Coningsby
—
Coningsby
!
By
Heavens
,
I
hope
not
,
"
said
Sedgwick
.
"
I
very
much
fear
so
,
"
said
Boots
;
"
as
how
the
bargeman
who
told
me
,
saw
Mr.
Coningsby
in
the
lock-house
laid
out
in
flannels
.
"
"
I
had
sooner
any
fellow
had
been
drowned
than
Coningsby
,
"
whispered
one
boy
to
another
.
"
I
liked
him
,
the
best
fellow
at
Eton
,
"
responded
his
companion
,
in
a
smothered
tone
.
"
What
a
clever
fellow
he
was
!
"
"
And
so
deuced
generous
!
"
"
He
would
have
got
the
medal
if
he
had
lived
.
"
"
And
how
came
he
to
be
drowned
,
for
he
was
such
a
fine
swimmer
!
"
"
I
heerd
Mr.
Coningsby
was
a
saving
another
's
life
,
"
continued
Boots
in
his
evidence
,
"
which
makes
it
in
a
manner
more
sorrowful
.
"
"
Poor
Coningsby
!
"
exclaimed
a
boy
,
bursting
into
tears
,
"
I
move
the
whole
school
goes
into
mourning
.
"
"
I
wish
we
could
get
hold
of
this
bargeman
,
"
said
Sedgwick
.
"
Now
stop
,
stop
,
do
n't
all
run
away
in
that
mad
manner
;
you
frighten
the
people
.
Charles
Herbert
and
Palmer
,
you
two
go
down
to
Brocas
and
inquire
.
"
But
just
at
this
moment
,
an
increased
stir
and
excitement
were
evident
in
the
long
walk
;
the
circle
round
Sedgwick
opened
,
and
there
appeared
Henry
Sydney
and
Buckhurst
.
There
was
a
dead
silence
.
It
was
impossible
that
suspense
could
be
strained
to
a
higher
pitch
.
The
air
and
countenance
of
Sydney
and
Buckhurst
were
rather
excited
than
mournful
or
alarmed
.
They
needed
no
inquiries
,
for
before
they
had
penetrated
the
circle
they
had
become
aware
of
its
cause
.
Buckhurst
,
the
most
energetic
of
beings
,
was
of
course
the
first
to
speak
.
Henry
Sydney
,
indeed
,
looked
pale
and
nervous
;
but
his
companion
,
flushed
and
resolute
,
knew
exactly
how
to
hit
a
popular
assembly
and
at
once
came
to
the
point
.
"
It
is
all
a
false
report
;
an
infernal
lie
;
Coningsby
is
quite
safe
,
and
nobody
is
drowned
.
"
There
was
a
cheer
that
might
have
been
heard
at
Windsor
Castle
.
Then
,
turning
to
Sedgwick
,
in
an
under
tone
Buckhurst
added
:
"
It
is
all
right
,
but
by
Jove
we
have
had
a
shaver
!
I
will
tell
you
all
in
a
moment
,
but
we
want
to
keep
the
thing
quiet
,
and
so
let
the
fellows
disperse
and
we
will
talk
afterwards
.
"
In
a
few
moments
,
the
Long
Walk
had
reassumed
its
usual
character
;
but
Sedgwick
,
Herbert
,
and
one
or
two
others
turned
into
the
Playing
fields
where
,
undisturbed
and
unnoticed
by
the
multitude
,
they
listened
to
the
promised
communication
of
Buckhurst
and
Henry
Sydney
.
"
You
know
we
went
up
the
river
together
,
"
said
Buckhurst
.
"
Myself
,
Henry
Sydney
,
Coningsby
,
Vere
,
and
Millbank
.
We
had
breakfasted
together
,
and
after
twelve
agreed
to
row
up
.
Well
we
went
up
much
higher
than
we
had
intended
.
About
a
quarter
of
a
mile
before
we
had
got
to
Maidenhead
Lock
we
pulled
up
;
Coningsby
was
then
steering
.
Well
,
we
fastened
the
boat
to
,
and
were
all
of
us
stretched
out
in
the
meadow
,
when
Millbank
and
Vere
said
they
should
go
and
bathe
in
the
Lock
Pool
.
The
rest
of
us
were
opposed
;
but
after
Millbank
and
Vere
had
gone
about
ten
minutes
,
Coningsby
,
who
was
very
fresh
,
said
he
had
changed
his
mind
and
should
go
and
bathe
,
too
.
So
he
left
us
.
He
had
scarcely
got
to
the
pool
when
he
heard
a
cry
.
There
was
a
fellow
drowning
.
He
threw
off
his
clothes
and
was
in
in
a
moment
.
The
fact
is
this
,
Millbank
had
plunged
in
the
pool
and
found
himself
in
some
eddies
,
caused
by
the
meeting
of
two
currents
.
He
called
out
to
Vere
not
to
come
and
tried
to
swim
off
.
But
he
was
beat
,
and
seeing
he
was
in
danger
,
Vere
jumped
in
.
But
the
stream
was
so
strong
from
the
great
fall
of
water
from
the
lasher
above
,
that
Vere
was
exhausted
before
he
could
reach
Millbank
and
nearly
sank
himself
.
Well
,
he
just
saved
himself
;
but
Millbank
sank
as
Coningsby
jumped
in
.
What
do
you
think
of
that
?
"
"
By
Jove
!
"
exclaimed
Sedgwick
,
Herbert
and
all
.
The
favourite
oath
of
schoolboys
perpetuates
the
divinity
of
Olympus
.
"
And
now
comes
the
worst
.
Coningsby
caught
Millbank
when
he
rose
;
but
he
found
himself
in
the
midst
of
the
same
strong
current
that
had
before
nearly
swamped
Vere
.
What
a
lucky
thing
that
he
had
taken
it
into
his
head
not
to
pull
to-day
!
Fresher
than
Vere
,
he
just
managed
to
land
Millbank
and
himself
.
The
shouts
of
Vere
called
us
,
and
we
arrived
to
find
the
bodies
of
Millbank
and
Coningsby
apparently
lifeless
,
for
Millbank
was
quite
gone
,
and
Coningsby
had
swooned
on
landing
.
"
"
If
Coningsby
had
been
lost
,
"
said
Henry
Sydney
,
"
I
never
would
have
shown
my
face
at
Eton
again
.
"
"
Can
you
conceive
a
position
more
terrible
?
"
said
Buckhurst
.
"
I
declare
I
shall
never
forget
it
as
long
as
I
live
.
However
there
was
the
Lock
House
at
hand
;
and
we
got
blankets
and
brandy
.
Coningsby
was
soon
all
right
;
but
Millbank
,
I
can
tell
you
,
gave
us
some
trouble
.
I
thought
it
was
all
up
.
Did
n't
you
