‘A second horse out hunting is a comfort,’
said Silverbridge.
’Then at any rate don’t desire a third
for show. But such comforts will cease to be
joys when they become matters of course. That
a boy who does not see a pudding once a year should
enjoy a pudding when it comes I can understand; but
the daily pudding, or the pudding twice a day, is
soon no more than a simple daily bread,—
which will or will not be sweet as it shall or shall
not have been earned.’ Then he went slowly
to the door, but, as he stood with the handle of it
in his hand, he turned round and spoke another word.
’When, hereafter, Gerald, you may chance to think
of that bread and cheese at Ely, always remember that
you had skated from Cambridge.’
The two brothers then took themselves to some remote
part of the house where arrangements had been made
for smoking, and there they finished the conversation.
’I was very glad to hear what he said about
you, old boy.’ This of course came from
Silverbridge.
‘I didn’t quite understand him.’
’He meant you to understand that you wouldn’t
be like other younger brothers.’
‘Then what I have will be taken from you.’
’There is lots for three or four of us.
I do agree that a fellow has as much as he can spend
he ought not to want anything more. Morton was
telling me the other day something about the settled
estates. I sat in that office with him all one
morning. I could not understand it all, but I
observed that he said nothing about the Scotch property.
You’ll be a laird, and I wish you joy with all
my heart. The governor will tell you all about
it before long. He’s going to have two
eldest sons.’
‘What an unnatural piece of cruelty to me;—and
so unnecessary!’
‘Why?’
’He says that a property is no better than a
burden. But I’ll try and bear it.’
Dinner at the Beargarden
The Duke was in the gallery of the House of Commons
which is devoted to the use of peers, and Silverbridge
having heard that his father was there, had come up
to him. It was then about half-past five, and
the House had settled down to business. Prayers
had been read, petitions had been presented, and Ministers
had gone through their course of baiting with that
equanimity and air of superiority which always belongs
to a well-trained occupant of the Treasury bench.
The Duke was very anxious that his son should attend
to his parliamentary duties, but he was too proud
a man and too generous to come to the House as a spy.
It was his present habit always to be in his own place
when the Lords were sitting, and to remain there while
the Lords sat. it was not, for many reasons, an altogether
satisfactory occupation, but it was the best which
his life afforded him. He would never, however,
come across into the other House, without letting
his son know of his coming, and Lord Silverbridge
had on this occasion been on the look out, and had
come up to his father at once. ‘Don’t
let me take you away,’ said the Duke, ’if
you are particularly interested in your Chief’s
defence,’ for Sir Timothy Beeswax was defending
some measure of legal reform in which he was said
to have fallen into trouble.
