to Parliament because he had offered to
spend a fortune on entertaining all the royalties then assembled in
London. There was very much said on placards and published in
newspapers to the discredit of Melmotte, but nothing was so printed
which would not have appeared with equal venom had the recent rumours
never been sent out from the City. At twelve o'clock at night, when Mr
Alf's committee-room was being closed, and when Melmotte was walking
home to bed, the general opinion at the clubs was very much in favour
of Mr Alf.

On the next morning Melmotte was up before eight. As yet no policeman
had called for him, nor had any official intimation reached him that
an accusation was to be brought against him. On coming down from his
bedroom he at once went into the back-parlour on the ground floor,
which Mr Longestaffe called his study, and which Mr Melmotte had used
since he had been in Mr Longestaffe's house for the work which he did
at home. He would be there often early in the morning, and often late
at night after Lord Alfred had left him. There were two heavy
desk-tables in the room, furnished with drawers down to the ground.
One of these the owner of the house had kept locked for his own
purposes. When the bargain for the temporary letting of the house had
been made, Mr Melmotte and Mr Longestaffe were close friends. Terms
for the purchase of Pickering had just been made, and no cause for
suspicion had as yet arisen. Everything between the two gentlemen had
been managed with the greatest ease. Oh dear, yes! Mr Longestaffe
could come whenever he pleased. He, Melmotte, always left the house at
ten and never returned till six. The ladies would never enter that
room. The servants were to regard Mr Longestaffe quite as master of
the house as far as that room was concerned. If Mr Longestaffe could
spare it, Mr Melmotte would take the key of one of the tables. The
matter was arranged very pleasantly.

Mr Melmotte on entering the room bolted the door, and then, sitting at
his own table, took certain papers out of the drawers,--a bundle of
letters and another of small documents. From these, with very little
examination, he took three or four,--two or three perhaps from each.
These he tore into very small fragments and burned the bits,--holding
them over a gas-burner and letting the ashes fall into a large china
plate. Then he blew the ashes into the yard through the open window.
This he did to all these documents but one. Th