f books
lining the room. "Here's a multitude of counsellors, a great deal of the
world's wisdom so far as it has been reduced to print, and I'll swear I
could go through it from end to end without learning how I should judge
a problem like Sim MacTaggart."

She would have left him then, but he stopped her with a smiling
interrogation. "Well?" he said.

She waited.

"What about the customary privilege?" he went on.

"What is that?"

"Why, you have not said 'I told you so.'"

She smiled at that. "How stupid of me!" said she. "Oh! but you forgave
my Frenchman, and for that I owe you some consideration."

"Did I, faith?" said he. "'Twas mighty near the compounding of a felony,
a shocking lapse in a Justice-General. To tell the truth, I was only
too glad, in MacTaggart's interest, while he was ill, to postpone
disclosures so unpleasant as are now the talk of the country; and like
you, I find him infinitely worse in these disclosures than I guessed."

The Duchess went away, the Duke grew grave, reflecting on his duty. What
it clearly was he had not decided until it was late in the evening, and
then he sent for his Chamberlain.

CHAPTER XL -- THE DAY OF JUDGMENT

Simon went to the library and saw plainly that the storm was come.

"Sit down, Simon, sit down," said his Grace and carefully sharped a pen.

The Chamberlain subsided in a chair; crossed his legs; made a mouth as
if to whistle. There was a vexatious silence in the room till the Duke
got up and stood against the chimney-piece and spoke.

"Well," said he, "I could be taking a liberty with the old song and
singing 'Roguery Parts Good Company' if I were not, so far as music
goes, as timber as the table there and in anything but a key for music
even if I had the faculty. Talking about music, you have doubtless not
heard the ingenious ballant connected with your name and your exploits.
It has been the means of informing her Grace upon matters I had
preferred she knew nothing about, because I liked to have the women I
regard believe the world much better than it is. And it follows that
you and I must bring our long connection to an end. When will it be most
convenient for my Chamberlain to send me his resignation after 'twelve
years of painstaking and intelligent service to the Estate,' as we might
be saying, on the customary silver salver?"

Simon cursed within but outwardly never quailed.

"I know nothing about a ballant," said he coolly, "but as fo