gentleman opposite. Then Mr. Gresham rose again.
"He regretted to say that the honourable member for Tankerville was
in custody on that charge. The House would of course understand that
he only made that statement as a fact, and that he was offering no
opinion as to who was the perpetrator of the murder. The case seemed
to be shrouded in great mystery. The two gentlemen had unfortunately
differed, but he did not at all think that the House would on that
account be disposed to attribute guilt so black and damning to a
gentleman they had all known so well as the honourable member for
Tankerville." So much and no more was spoken publicly, to the
reporters; but members continued to talk about the affair the whole
evening.

There was nothing, perhaps, more astonishing than the absence of
rancour or abhorrence with which the name of Phineas was mentioned,
even by those who felt most certain of his guilt. All those who had
been present at the club acknowledged that Bonteen had been the
sinner in reference to the transaction there; and it was acknowledged
to have been almost a public misfortune that such a man as Bonteen
should have been able to prevail against such a one as Phineas Finn
in regard to the presence of the latter in the Government. Stories
which were exaggerated, accounts worse even than the truth, were
bandied about as to the perseverance with which the murdered man
had destroyed the prospects of the supposed murderer, and robbed
the country of the services of a good workman. Mr. Gresham, in the
official statement which he had made, had, as a matter of course,
said many fine things about Mr. Bonteen. A man can always have fine
things said about him for a few hours after his death. But in the
small private conferences which were held the fine things said all
referred to Phineas Finn. Mr. Gresham had spoken of a "dastardly
ruffian in the silent watches," but one would have almost thought
from overhearing what was said by various gentlemen in different
parts of the House that upon the whole Phineas Finn was thought to
have done rather a good thing in putting poor Mr. Bonteen out of the
way.

And another pleasant feature of excitement was added by the prevalent
idea that the Prince had seen and heard the row. Those who had been
at the club at the time of course knew that this was not the case;
but the presence of the Prince at The Universe between the row and
the murder had really been a fact, and therefore it wa