abolish that which he thought to be
the anomaly of a State Church, and he did not in the least doubt that
he should now be doing the best in his power with that object in
voting against the second reading of the present bill. That such a
measure should be carried by the gentlemen opposite, in their own
teeth, at the bidding of the right honourable gentleman who led
them, he thought to be impossible. Upon this he was hooted at from
the other side with many gestures of indignant denial, and was, of
course, equally cheered by those around him. Such interruptions are
new breath to the nostrils of all orators, and Phineas enjoyed the
noise. He repeated his assertion that it would be an evil thing for
the country that the measure should be carried by men who in their
hearts condemned it, and was vehemently called to order for this
assertion about the hearts of gentlemen. But a speaker who can
certainly be made amenable to authority for vilipending in debate
the heart of any specified opponent, may with safety attribute all
manner of ill to the agglomerated hearts of a party. To have told any
individual Conservative,--Sir Orlando Drought for instance,--that
he was abandoning all the convictions of his life, because he was a
creature at the command of Mr. Daubeny, would have been an insult
that would have moved even the Speaker from his serenity; but you can
hardly be personal to a whole bench of Conservatives,--to bench above
bench of Conservatives. The charge had been made and repeated over
and over again, till all the Orlando Droughts were ready to cut some
man's throat,--whether their own, or Mr. Daubeny's, or Mr. Gresham's,
they hardly knew. It might probably have been Mr. Daubeny's for
choice, had any real cutting of a throat been possible. It was now
made again by Phineas Finn,--with the ostensible object of defending
himself,--and he for the moment became the target for Conservative
wrath. Some one asked him in fury by what right he took upon himself
to judge of the motives of gentlemen on that side of the House of
whom personally he knew nothing. Phineas replied that he did not
at all doubt the motives of the honourable gentleman who asked
the question, which he was sure were noble and patriotic. But
unfortunately the whole country was convinced that the Conservative
party as a body was supporting this measure, unwillingly, and at the
bidding of one man;--and, for himself, he was bound to say that he
agreed with the co