“Explain yourself more fully, sir; you have assumed to call in question the parallelism I would establish between the tie of marriage and the obligation of a solemn trust; state your plea.” “I 'll do nothing of the kind. I came here this morning to--to--I'll be shot if I remember what I came about; but I know I had something to tell you; let me try and collect myself.” “Do, sir, if that be the name you give the painful process.” “There, there; you'll not make me better by ridiculing me. What could it have been that I wanted to tell you?” “Not, impossibly, some recent impertinence of the press towards myself.” “I think not,--I think not,” said the other, musingly. “I suppose you 've seen that squib in the 'Banner.'” “It is a paper, sir, I would not condescend to touch.” “The fellow says that a Chief Baron without a court,--he means this in allusion to the Crown not bringing those cases of treason-felony into the Exchequer,--a Chief without a court is like one of those bishops _in partibus_, and that it would n't be an unwise thing to make the resemblance complete and stop the salary. And then another observes--” “Sir, I do not know which most to deplore,--your forgetfulness or your memory; try to guide your conversation without any demand upon either.” “And it was about those Celts, as they call these rascals, that I wanted to say something. What could it have been?” “Perhaps you may have joined them. Are you a head-centre, or only empowered to administer oaths and affirmations?” “Oh! I have it now,” cried Haire, triumphantly. “You remember, one day we were in the shrubbery after breakfast, you remarked that this insurrection was especially characterized by the fact that no man of education, nor, indeed, of any rank above the lowest, had joined it. You said something about the French Revolution, too; and how, in the Reign of Terror, the principles of the Girondists had filtered down, and were to be seen glittering like--” “Spare me, Haire,--spare me, and do not ask me to recognize the bruised and battered coinage, without effigy or legend, as the medal of my own mint.” “At all events, you remember what I'm referring to.” “With all your efforts to efface my handwriting I can detect something of my signature,--go on.” “Well, they have at last caught a man of some mark and station. I saw Spencer, of the head office, this morning, and he told me that he had just committed to Newgate a man of title and consideration. He would not mention his name; indeed, the investigation was as private as possible, as it was felt that the importance of such a person being involved in the project would give a very dangerous impulse to the movement.” “They are wrong, sir. The insurrection that is guided by men of condition will, however dangerous, be a game with recognized rules and laws. The rebellion of the ignorant masses will be a chaos to defy calculation. You may discuss measures, but there is no arguing with murder!”