nes, who kept a tailor's
establishment, and, as a tailor, was something of a fighting man
himself. Of all tradesmen in London the tailors are, no doubt, the
most combative,--as might be expected from the necessity which lies
upon them of living down the general bad character in this respect
which the world has wrongly given them. "What's it all about, sir?"
said Jones, still holding Vavasor by his coat.

"That man has ill-used me, and I've punished him; that's all."

"I don't know much about punishing," said the tailor. "It seems to me
he pitched you down pretty clean out of the room above. I think the
best thing you can do now is to walk yourself off."

It was the only thing that Vavasor could do, and he did walk himself
off. He walked himself off, and went home to his own lodgings in
Cecil Street, that he might smooth his feathers after the late
encounter before he went down to Westminster to take his seat in the
House of Commons. I do not think that he was comfortable when he got
there, or that he felt himself very well able to fight another battle
that night on behalf of the River Bank. He had not been hurt, but he
had been worsted. Grey had probably received more personal damage
than had fallen to his share; but Grey had succeeded in expelling him
from the room, and he knew that he had been found prostrate on the
landing-place when the tailor first saw him.

But he might probably have got over the annoyance of this feeling
had he not been overwhelmed by a consciousness that everything was
going badly with him. He was already beginning to hate his seat in
Parliament. What good had it done for him, or was it likely to do
for him? He found himself to be associated there with Mr Bott, and a
few others of the same class,--men whom he despised; and even they
did not admit him among them without a certain show of superiority
on their part. Who has not ascertained by his own experience the
different lights through which the same events may be seen, according
to the success, or want of success, which pervades the atmosphere
at the moment? At the present time everything was unsuccessful with
George Vavasor; and though he told himself, almost from hour to hour,
that he would go on with the thing which he had begun,--that he would
persevere in Parliament till he had obtained a hearing there and
created for himself success, he could not himself believe in the
promises which he had made to himself. He had looked forward to h