e
you must submit."

"Lord Brentford and I are the best friends in the world."

"And Mr. Kennedy is a madman,--absolutely in custody of his friends,
as everybody knows; and yet the story has been made to work."

"And you do not feel that all this is derogatory to me?"

Madame Goesler was silent for a moment, and then she answered boldly,
"Not a whit. Why should it be derogatory? It is not done with
the object of obtaining an improper appointment on behalf of an
unimportant man. When falsehoods of that kind are told you can't meet
them in a straightforward way. I suppose I know with fair accuracy
the sort of connection there has been between you and Lady Laura."
Phineas very much doubted whether she had any such knowledge; but he
said nothing, though the lady paused a few moments for reply. "You
can't go and tell Mr. Gresham all that; nor can any friend do so on
your behalf. It would be absurd."

"Most absurd."

"And yet it is essential to your interests that he should know it.
When your enemies are undermining you, you must countermine or you'll
be blown up."

"I'd rather fight above ground."

"That's all very well, but your enemies won't stay above ground.
Is that newspaper man above ground? And for a little job of clever
mining, believe me, that there is not a better engineer going than
Lady Glen;--not but what I've known her to be very nearly 'hoist with
her own petard,'"--added Madame Goesler, as she remembered a certain
circumstance in their joint lives.

All that Madame Goesler said was true. A conspiracy had been formed,
in the first place at the instance of Madame Goesler, but altogether
by the influence of the young Duchess, for forcing upon the future
Premier the necessity of admitting Phineas Finn into his Government.
On the Wednesday following the conclusion of the debate,--the day on
the morning of which the division was to take place,--there was no
House. On the Thursday, the last day on which the House was to sit
before the Easter holidays, Mr. Daubeny announced his intention
of postponing the declaration of his intentions till after the
adjournment. The House would meet, he said, on that day week, and
then he would make his official statement. This communication he made
very curtly, and in a manner that was thought by some to be almost
insolent to the House. It was known that he had been grievously
disappointed by the result of the debate,--not probably having
expected a majority since his a