No doubt general opinion was adverse16 to poor Phineas Finn, but he was not without his party in the matter. To oblige a friend by inflicting17 an injury on his enemy is often more easy than to confer a benefit on the friend himself. We have already seen how the young Duchess failed in her attempt to obtain an appointment for Phineas, and also how she succeeded in destroying the high hopes of Mr Bonteen. Having done so much, of course she clung heartily18 to the side which she had adopted — and, equally of course, Madame Goesler did the same. Between these two ladies there was a slight difference of opinion as to the nature of the alliance between Lady Laura and their hero. The Duchess was of opinion that young men are upon the whole averse19 to innocent alliances, and that, as Lady Laura and her husband certainly had long been separated, there was probably — something in it. “Lord bless you, my dear,” the Duchess said, “they were known to be lovers when they were at Loughlinter together before she married Mr Kennedy. It has been the most romantic affair! She made her father give him a seat for his borough20.”
“He saved Mr Kennedy’s life,” said Madame Goesler.
“That was one of the most singular things that ever happened. Laurence Fitzgibbon says that it was all planned — that the garotters were hired, but unfortunately two policemen turned up at the moment, so the men were taken. I believe there is no doubt they were pardoned by Sir Henry Coldfoot, who was at the Home Office, and was Lord Brentford’s great friend. I don’t quite believe it all — it would be too delicious; but a great many do.” Madame Goesler, however, was strong in her opinion that the report in reference to Lady Laura was scandalous. She did not believe a word of it, and was almost angry with the Duchess for her credulity.
It is probable that very many ladies shared the opinion of the Duchess; but not the less on that account did they take part with Phineas Finn. They could not understand why he should be shut out of office because a lady had been in love with him, and by no means seemed to approve the stern virtue21 of the Prime Minister. It was an interference with things which did not belong to him. And many asserted that Mr Gresham was much given to such interference. Lady Cantrip, though her husband was Mr Gresham’s most intimate friend, was altogether of this party, as was also the Duchess of St Bungay, who understood nothing at all about it, but who had once fancied herself to be rudely treated by Mrs Bonteen. The young Duchess was a woman very strong in getting up a party; and the old Duchess, with many other matrons of high rank, was made to believe that it was incumbent22 on her to be a Phineas Finnite. One result of this was, that though Phineas was excluded from the Liberal Government, all Liberal drawing-rooms were open to him, and that he was a lion.
Additional zest23 was given to all this by the very indiscreet conduct of Mr Bonteen. He did accept the inferior office of President of the Board of Trade, an office inferior at least to that for which he had been designated, and agreed to fill it without a seat in the Cabinet. But having done so he could not bring himself to bear his disappointment quietly. He could not work and wait and make himself agreeable to those around him, holding his vexation within his own bosom24. He was dark and sullen25 to his chief, and almost insolent26 to the Duke of Omnium. Our old friend Plantagenet Palliser was a man who hardly knew insolence27 when he met it. There was such an absence about him of all self-consciousness, he was so little given to think of his own personal demeanour and outward trappings — that he never brought himself to question the manners of others to him. Contradiction he would take for simple argument. Strong difference of opinion even on the part of subordinates recommended itself to him. He could put up with apparent rudeness without seeing it, and always gave men credit for good intentions. And with it all he had an assurance in his own position — a knowledge of the strength derived28 from his intellect, his industry, his rank, and his wealth — which made him altogether fearless of others. When the little dog snarls30, the big dog does not connect the snarl29 with himself, simply fancying that the little dog must be uncomfortable. Mr Bonteen snarled31 a good deal, and the new Lord Privy32 Seal thought that the new president of the Board of Trade was not comfortable within himself. But at last the little dog took the big dog by the ear, and then the big dog put out his paw and knocked the little dog over. Mr Bonteen was told that he had — forgotten himself; and there arose new rumours. It was soon reported that the Lord Privy Seal had refused to work out decimal coinage under the management, in the House of Commons, of the President of the Board of Trade.
Mr Bonteen, in his troubled spirit, certainly did misbehave himself. Among his closer friends he declared very loudly that he didn’t mean to stand it. He had not chosen to throw Mr Gresham over at once, or to make difficulties at the moment — but he would not continue to hold his present position or to support the Government without a seat in the Cabinet. Palliser had become quite useless — so Mr Bonteen said — since his accession to the dukedom, and was quite unfit to deal with decimal coinage. It was a burden to kill any man, and he was not going to kill himself — at any rate without the reward for which he had been working all his life, and to which he was fully33 entitled, namely, a seat in the Cabinet. Now there were Bonteenites in those days as well as Phineas Finnites. The latter tribe was for the most part feminine; but, the former consisted of some half-dozen members of Parliament, who thought they saw their way in encouraging the forlorn hope of the unhappy financier.
A leader of a party is nothing without an organ, and an organ came forward to support Mr Bonteen — not very creditable to him as a Liberal, being a Conservative organ — but not the less gratifying to his spirit, inasmuch as the organ not only supported him, but exerted its very loudest pipes in abusing the man whom of all men he hated the most. The People’s Banner was the organ, and Mr Quintus Slide was, of course, the organist. The following was one of the tunes34 he played, and was supposed by himself to be a second thunderbolt, and probably a conclusively35 crushing missile. This thunderbolt fell on Monday, the 3rd of May:
“Early in last March we found it to be our duty to bring under public notice the conduct of the member for Tankerville in reference to a transaction which took place at a small hotel in Judd Street, and as to which we then ventured to call for the interference of the police. An attempt to murder the member for Tankerville had been made by a gentleman once well known in the political world, who — as it is supposed — had been driven to madness by wrongs inflicted36 on him in his dearest and nearest family relations. That the unfortunate gentleman is now insane we believe we may state as a fact. It had become our special duty to refer to this most discreditable transaction, from the fact that a paper, still in our hands, had been confided37 to us for publication by the wretched husband before his senses had become impaired38 — which, however, we were debarred from giving to the public by an injunction served upon us in sudden haste by the Vice-Chancellor39. We are far from imputing40 evil motives41, or even indiscretion, to that functionary42; but we are of opinion that the moral feeling of the country would have been served by the publication, and we are sure that undue43 steps were taken by the member for Tankerville to procure44 that injunction.
“No inquiries45 whatever were made by the police in reference to that attempt at murder, and we do expect that some member will ask a question on the subject in the House. Would such culpable46 quiescence47 have been allowed had not the unfortunate lady whose name we are unwilling48 to mention been the daughter of one of the colleagues of our present Prime Minister, the gentleman who fired the pistol another of them, and the presumed lover, who was fired at, also another? We think that we need hardly answer that question.
“One piece of advice which we ventured to give Mr Gresham in our former article he has been wise enough to follow. We took upon ourselves to tell him that if, after what has occurred, he ventured to place the member for Tankerville again in office, the country would not stand it — and he has abstained49. The jaunty50 footsteps of Mr Phineas Finn are not heard ascending51 the stairs of any office at about two in the afternoon, as used to be the case in one of those blessed Downing Street abodes52 about three years since. That scandal is, we think, over — and for ever. The good-looking Irish member of Parliament who had been put in possession of a handsome salary by feminine influences, will not, we think, after what we have already said, again become a burden on the public purse. But we cannot say that we are as yet satisfied in this matter, or that we believe that the public has got to the bottom of it — as it has a right to do in reference to all matters affecting the public service. We have never yet learned why it is that Mr Bonteen, after having been nominated Chancellor of the Exchequer53 — for the appointment to that office was declared in the House of Commons by the head of his party — was afterwards excluded from the Cabinet, and placed in an office made peculiarly subordinate by the fact of that exclusion54. We have never yet been told why this was done — but we believe that we are justified55 in saying that it was managed through the influence of the member for Tankerville; and we are quite sure that the public service of the country has thereby56 been subjected to grievous injury.
“It is hardly our duty to praise any of that very awkward team of horses which Mr Gresham drives with an audacity57 which may atone58 for his incapacity if no fearful accident should be the consequence; but if there be one among them whom we could must for steady work up hill, it is Mr Bonteen. We were astounded59 at Mr Gresham’s indiscretion in announcing the appointment of his new Chancellor of the Exchequer some weeks before he had succeeded in driving Mr Daubeny from office — but we were not the less glad to find that the finances of the country were to be entrusted60 to the hands of the most competent gentleman whom Mr Gresham has induced to follow his fortunes. But Mr Phineas Finn, with his female forces, has again interfered61, and Mr Bonteen has been relegated62 to the Board of Trade, without a seat in the Cabinet. We should not be at all surprised if, as the result of this disgraceful manoeuvring, Mr Bonteen found himself at the head of the Liberal party before the Session be over. If so, evil would have worked to good. But, be that as it may, we cannot but feel that it is a disgrace to the Government, a disgrace to parliament, and a disgrace to the country that such results should come from the private scandals of two or three people among us by no means of the best class.”
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1
engrossing
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| adj.使人全神贯注的，引人入胜的v.使全神贯注( engross的现在分词 ) | |
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altercation
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| n.争吵，争论 | |
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ace
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| n.A牌；发球得分；佼佼者；adj.杰出的 | |
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rumours
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| n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 )；风闻；谣言；谣传 | |
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aspirants
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| n.有志向或渴望获得…的人( aspirant的名词复数 )v.渴望的，有抱负的，追求名誉或地位的( aspirant的第三人称单数 )；有志向或渴望获得…的人 | |
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6
expedient
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| adj.有用的，有利的；n.紧急的办法，权宜之计 | |
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allusion
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| n.暗示，间接提示 | |
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effrontery
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| n.厚颜无耻 | |
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deterring
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| v.阻止，制止( deter的现在分词 ) | |
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10
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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metropolis
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| n.首府；大城市 | |
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infinitely
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| adv.无限地，无穷地 | |
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delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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catastrophe
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| n.大灾难，大祸 | |
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positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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16
adverse
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| adj.不利的；有害的；敌对的，不友好的 | |
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17
inflicting
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| 把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的现在分词 ) | |
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18
heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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averse
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| adj.厌恶的；反对的，不乐意的 | |
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borough
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| n.享有自治权的市镇；(英)自治市镇 | |
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virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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incumbent
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| adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的 | |
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zest
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| n.乐趣；滋味，风味；兴趣 | |
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bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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insolent
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| adj.傲慢的，无理的 | |
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insolence
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| n.傲慢；无礼；厚颜；傲慢的态度 | |
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28
derived
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| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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29
snarl
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| v.吼叫，怒骂，纠缠，混乱；n.混乱，缠结，咆哮 | |
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30
snarls
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| n.（动物的）龇牙低吼( snarl的名词复数 )；愤怒叫嚷（声）；咆哮（声）；疼痛叫声v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的第三人称单数 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说 | |
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snarled
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| v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的过去式和过去分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说 | |
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privy
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| adj.私用的；隐密的 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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34
tunes
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| n.曲调，曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调 | |
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conclusively
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| adv.令人信服地，确凿地 | |
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36
inflicted
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| 把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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37
confided
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| v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的过去式和过去分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等） | |
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38
impaired
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| adj.受损的；出毛病的；有（身体或智力）缺陷的v.损害，削弱( impair的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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39
chancellor
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| n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长 | |
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imputing
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| v.把（错误等）归咎于( impute的现在分词 ) | |
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41
motives
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| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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42
functionary
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| n.官员；公职人员 | |
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43
undue
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| adj.过分的；不适当的；未到期的 | |
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44
procure
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| vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条 | |
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45
inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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46
culpable
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| adj.有罪的，该受谴责的 | |
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47
quiescence
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| n.静止 | |
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48
unwilling
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| adj.不情愿的 | |
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49
abstained
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| v.戒（尤指酒），戒除( abstain的过去式和过去分词 )；弃权（不投票） | |
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50
jaunty
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| adj．愉快的，满足的；adv.心满意足地，洋洋得意地；n.心满意足；洋洋得意 | |
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51
ascending
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| adj.上升的，向上的 | |
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52
abodes
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| 住所( abode的名词复数 )； 公寓； （在某地的）暂住； 逗留 | |
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53
exchequer
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| n.财政部；国库 | |
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54
exclusion
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| n.拒绝，排除，排斥，远足，远途旅行 | |
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55
justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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56
thereby
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| adv.因此，从而 | |
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57
audacity
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| n.大胆，卤莽，无礼 | |
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58
atone
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| v.赎罪，补偿 | |
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59
astounded
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| v.使震惊(astound的过去式和过去分词)；愕然；愕；惊讶 | |
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60
entrusted
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| v.委托，托付( entrust的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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61
interfered
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| v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉 | |
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62
relegated
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| v.使降级( relegate的过去式和过去分词 )；使降职；转移；把…归类 | |
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