received from Maltravers. Lumley had rightly foreseen that the high
spirit of Ernest would conceive some indignation at the coquetry of
Florence in beguiling the Italian into hopes never to be realised, and
that he would express himself openly and warmly. He did so, however,
with more gentleness than Lumley had anticipated.

"This is not exactly the thing," said Ferrers, after twice reading the
letter; "still it may hereafter be a strong card in our hands--we will
keep it."

So saying, he locked the letter up in his desk, and Cesarini soon forgot
its existence.

CHAPTER V.

"She was a phantom of delight,
When first she gleamed upon my sight:
A lovely apparition sent
To be a moment's ornament."--WORDSWORTH.

MALTRAVERS did not see Lady Florence again for some weeks; meanwhile,
Lumley Ferrers made his _debut_ in parliament. Rigidly adhering to
his plan of acting on a deliberate system, and not prone to overrate
himself, Mr. Ferrers did not, like most promising new members, try
the hazardous ordeal of a great first speech. Though bold, fluent, and
ready, he was not eloquent; and he knew that on great occasions,
when great speeches are wanted, great guns like to have the fire to
themselves. Neither did he split upon the opposite rock of "promising
young men," who stick to "the business of the house" like leeches, and
quibble on details; in return for which labour they are generally voted
bores, who can never do anything remarkable. But he spoke frequently,
shortly, courageously, and with a strong dash of good-humoured
personality. He was the man whom a minister could get to say something
which other people did not like to say: and he did so with a frank
fearlessness that carried off any seeming violation of good taste.
He soon became a very popular speaker in the parliamentary clique;
especially with the gentlemen who crowd the bar, and never want to
hear the argument of the debate. Between him and Maltravers a visible
coldness now existed; for the latter looked upon his old friend (whose
principles of logic led him even to republicanism, and who had been
accustomed to accuse Ernest of temporising with plain truths, if he
demurred to their application to artificial states of society) as a
cold-blooded and hypocritical adventurer; while Ferrers, seeing that
Ernest could now be of no further use to him, was willing enough to
drop a profitless intimacy. Nay, he thought it would be wise to pick a
quarrel with