one knew how
it must be." Then he suddenly faced round upon Ursula, who was nearly
crying in excitement and surprise. "But if they think I am to be driven
out of a resolution I have made by what they say--if they think that I
will be bullied into giving up because of their claptrap," he cried,
looking sternly at her, "then you will find you are mistaken. You will
find I am not such a weak idiot as you suppose. Give up! because some
demagogue from a Dissenting Committee takes upon him to criticise my
conduct. If you think I have so little self-respect, so little stamina,"
he said, fiercely, "you will find you have made a very great mistake."

"Oh, Reginald, _me_?" cried Ursula, with tears in her eyes; "did I ever
think anything unkind of you? did I ever ask you to do anything that was
disagreeable? You should not look as if it was me."

Then he threw himself down again on the old sofa, which creaked and
tottered under the shock.

"Poor little Ursula!" he cried, with a short laugh. "Did you think I
meant you? But if they thought they would master me by these means,"
said Reginald with pale fury, "they never made a greater mistake, I can
tell you. A parcel of trumpery agitators, speechifiers, little petty
demagogues, whom nobody ever heard of before. A fine thing, indeed, to
have all the shopkeepers of Carlingford sitting in committee on one's
conduct, isn't it--telling one what one ought to do? By Jupiter! It's
enough to make a man swear!"

"I declare!" cried Janey loudly, "how like Reginald is to papa! I never
saw it before. When he looks wicked like that, and sets his teeth--but I
am not going to be pushed, not by my brother or any one!" said the girl,
growing red, and making a step out of his reach. "I won't stand it. I am
not a child any more than you."

Janey's wrath was appeased, however, when Reginald produced the paper
and read Northcote's speech aloud. In her interest she drew nearer and
nearer, and read the obnoxious column over his shoulder, joining in
Ursula's cries of indignation. By the time the three had thus got
through it, Reginald's own agitation subsided into that fierce amusement
which is the frequent refuge of the assaulted.

"Old Green in the chair! and old Tozer and the rest have all been
sitting upon me," he said, with that laugh which is proverbially
described as from the wrong side of the mouth, whatever that may be.
Ursula said nothing in reply, but in her heart she felt yet another
stab.