in the United States.  There the same political enmity exists, but the political enmity produces private hatred.  The leaders of parties there really mean what they say when they abuse each other, and are in earnest when they talk as though they were about to tear each other limb from limb.  I doubt whether Mr. Daubeny would have injured a hair of Mr. Mildmay’s venerable head, even for an assurance of six continued months in office.

When Mr. Daubeny had completed his statement, Mr. Mildmay simply told the House that he had received and would obey her Majesty’s commands.  The House would of course understand that he by no means meant to aver that the Queen would even commission him to form a Ministry.  But if he took no such command from her Majesty it would become his duty to recommend her Majesty to impose the task upon some other person.  Then everything was said that had to be said, and members returned to their clubs.  A certain damp was thrown over the joy of some excitable Liberals by tidings which reached the House during Mr. Daubeny’s speech.  Sir Everard Powell was no more dead than was Mr. Daubeny himself.  Now it is very unpleasant to find that your news is untrue, when you have been at great pains to disseminate it.  “Oh, but he is dead,” said Mr. Ratler.  “Lady Powell assured me half an hour ago,” said Mr. Ratler’s opponent, “that he was at that moment a great deal better than he had been for the last three months.  The journey down to the House did him a world of good.”  “Then we’ll have him down for every division,” said Mr. Ratler.

The political portion of London was in a ferment for the next five days.  On the Sunday morning it was known that Mr. Mildmay had declined to put himself at the head of a liberal Government.  He and the Duke of St. Bungay, and Mr. Plantagenet Palliser, had been in conference so often, and so long, that it may almost be said they lived together in conference.  Then Mr. Gresham had been with Mr. Mildmay,—­and Mr. Monk also.  At the clubs it was said by many that Mr. Monk had been with Mr. Mildmay; but it was also said very vehemently by others that no such interview had taken place.  Mr. Monk was a Radical, much admired by the people, sitting in Parliament for that most Radical of all constituencies, the Pottery Hamlets, who had never as yet been in power.  It was the great question of the day whether Mr. Mildmay would or would not ask Mr. Monk to join him; and it was said by those who habitually think at every period of change that the time has now come in which the difficulties to forming a government will at last be found to be insuperable, that Mr. Mildmay could not succeed either with Mr. Monk or without him.  There were at the present moment two sections of these gentlemen,—­the section which declared that Mr. Mildmay had sent for Mr. Monk, and the section which declared that he had not.  But there were others, who perhaps knew better what they were saying, by whom it was asserted that the whole difficulty