ur countrymen, sir, and I am grateful for the
rebuke.'

Walpole's cheek flushed at this, and it was plain that there was a hidden
meaning in the words which he felt, and resented.

'I do not know,' continued Walpole, 'if I am not asking you to curb one
of the strongest impulses of your disposition; but it rests entirely with
yourself whether my counsel be worth following.'

'Of course it is, sir. I shall follow your advice to the letter, and keep
all my good spirits and my bad manners for my countrymen.'

It was evident that Walpole had to exercise some strong self-control not to
reply sharply; but he refrained, and turned once more to Lord Danesbury's
letter, in which he was soon deeply occupied. At last he said: 'His
Excellency wants to send me out to Turkey to confer with a man with whom he
has some confidential relations. It is quite impossible that, in my present
state of health, I could do this. Would the thing suit you, Atlee--that is,
if, on consideration, I should opine that _you_ would suit _it_?'

'I suspect,' replied Atlee, but with every deference in his manner, 'if you
would entertain the last part of the contingency first, it would be more
convenient to each of us. I mean whether I were fit for the situation.'

'Well, perhaps so,' said the other carelessly; 'it is not at all
impossible, it may be one of the things you would acquit yourself well in.
It is a sort of exercise for tact and discretion--an occasion in which that
light hand of yours would have a field for employment, and that acute skill
in which I know you pride yourself as regards reading character--'

'You have certainly piqued my curiosity,' said Atlee.

'I don't know that I ought to have said so much; for, after all, it remains
to be seen whether Lord Danesbury would estimate these gifts of yours as
highly as I do. What I think of doing is this: I shall send you over to his
Excellency in your capacity as my own private secretary, to explain how
unfit I am in my present disabled condition to undertake a journey. I shall
tell my lord how useful I have found your services with regard to Ireland,
how much you know of the country and the people, and how worthy of trust I
have found your information and your opinions; and I shall hint--but only
hint, remember--that, for the mission he speaks of, he might possibly
do worse than fix upon yourself. As, of course, it rests with him to be
like-minded with me or not upon this matter--to take, in