He went up from Saulsby to London on that day, and found himself quite alone in Mrs. Bunce’s lodgings.  I mean not only that he was alone at his lodgings, but he was alone at his club, and alone in the streets.  July was not quite over, and yet all the birds of passage had migrated.  Mr. Mildmay, by his short session, had half ruined the London tradesmen, and had changed the summer mode of life of all those who account themselves to be anybody.  Phineas, as he sat alone in his room, felt himself to be nobody.  He had told the Earl that he was going to Ireland, and to Ireland he must go;—­because he had nothing else to do.  He had been asked indeed to join one or two parties in their autumn plans.  Mr. Monk had wanted him to go to the Pyrenees, and Lord Chiltern had suggested that he should join the yacht;—­but neither plan suited him.  It would have suited him to be at Loughlinter with Violet Effingham, but Loughlinter was a barred house to him.  His old friend, Lady Laura, had told him not to come thither, explaining, with sufficient clearness, her reasons for excluding him from the number of her husband’s guests.  As he thought of it the past scenes of his life became very marvellous to him.  Twelve months since he would have given all the world for a word of love from Lady Laura, and had barely dared to hope that such a word, at some future day, might possibly be spoken.  Now such a word had in truth been spoken, and it had come to be simply a trouble to him.  She had owned to him,—­for, in truth, such had been the meaning of her warning to him,—­that, though she had married another man, she had loved and did love him.  But in thinking of this he took no pride in it.  It was not till he had thought of it long that he began to ask himself whether he might not be justified in gathering from what happened some hope that Violet also might learn to love him.  He had thought so little of himself as to have been afraid at first to press his suit with Lady Laura.  Might he not venture to think more of himself, having learned how far he had succeeded?

But how was he to get at Violet Effingham?  From the moment at which he had left Saulsby he had been angry with himself for not having asked Lord Brentford to allow him to remain there till after the Baldock party should have gone on to Loughlinter.  The Earl, who was very lonely in his house, would have consented at once.  Phineas, indeed, was driven to confess to himself that success with Violet would at once have put an end to all his friendship with Lord Brentford;—­as also to all his friendship with Lord Chiltern.  He would, in such case, be bound in honour to vacate his seat and give back Loughton to his offended patron.  But he would have given up much more than his seat for Violet Effingham!  At present, however, he had no means of getting at her to ask her the question.  He could hardly go to Loughlinter in opposition to the wishes of Lady Laura.

A little adventure happened to him in London which somewhat relieved the dulness of the days of the first week in August.  He remained in London till the middle of August, half resolving to rush down to Saulsby when Violet Effingham should be there,—­endeavouring to find some excuse for such a proceeding, but racking his brains in vain,—­and then there came about his little adventure.  The adventure was commenced by the receipt of the following letter:—­