untry. And so the row was renewed and prolonged,
and the gentlemen assembled, members and strangers together, passed a
pleasant evening.

Before he sat down, Phineas made one allusion to that former
scuttling of the ship,--an accusation as to which had been made
against him so injuriously by Mr. Bonteen. He himself, he said, had
been called impractical, and perhaps he might allude to a vote which
he had given in that House when last he had the honour of sitting
there, and on giving which he resigned the office which he had then
held. He had the gratification of knowing that he had been so far
practical as to have then foreseen the necessity of a measure which
had since been passed. And he did not doubt that he would hereafter
be found to have been equally practical in the view that he had
expressed on the hustings at Tankerville, for he was convinced that
before long the anomaly of which he had spoken would cease to exist
under the influence of a Government that would really believe in the
work it was doing.

There was no doubt as to the success of his speech. The vehemence
with which his insolence was abused by one after another of those who
spoke later from the other side was ample evidence of its success.
But nothing occurred then or at the conclusion of the debate to make
him think that he had won his way back to Elysium. During the whole
evening he exchanged not a syllable with Mr. Gresham,--who indeed was
not much given to converse with those around him in the House. Erle
said a few good-natured words to him, and Mr. Monk praised him
highly. But in reading the general barometer of the party as regarded
himself, he did not find that the mercury went up. He was wretchedly
anxious, and angry with himself for his own anxiety. He scorned to
say a word that should sound like an entreaty; and yet he had placed
his whole heart on a thing which seemed to be slipping from him
for the want of asking. In a day or two it would be known whether
the present Ministry would or would not go out. That they must be
out of office before a month was over seemed to him the opinion
of everybody. His fate,--and what a fate it was!--would then be
absolutely in the hands of Mr. Gresham. Yet he could not speak a
word of his hopes and fears even to Mr. Gresham. He had given up
everything in the world with the view of getting into office; and now
that the opportunity had come,--an opportunity which if allowed to
slip could hardly return aga