He was, certainly, when he was on the woolsack," said Sir Henry.
"That is the normal position always assumed by the first man of his
age in this country."

"Though some of them when there do hide their lights under a bushel,"
said the judge.

"He is the first law reformer that perhaps ever lived," said Mr.
Stistick, enthusiastically.

"And I hope will be the last in my time," said his enemy.

"I hope he will live to complete his work," said the politician.

"Then Methuselah will be a child to him, and Jared and Lamech little
babies," said the judge.

"In such case he has got his work before him, certainly," said Mr.
Solicitor.

And so the battle was kept up between them, and George Bertram and
Lady Harcourt sat by and listened; or more probably, perhaps, sat by
and did not listen.

But when her ladyship and Mrs. Stistick had retreated--Oh, my
readers, fancy what that next hour must have been to Caroline
Harcourt!--How Gothic, how barbarous are we still in our habits,
in that we devote our wives to such wretchedness as that! O, lady,
has it ever been your lot to sit out such hour as that with some
Mrs. Stistick, who would neither talk, nor read, nor sleep; in whose
company you could neither talk, nor read, nor yet sleep? And if such
has been your lot, have you not asked yourself why in this civilized
country, in this civilized century, you should be doomed to such a
senseless, sleepless purgatory?--But when they were gone, and when
the judge, radiant with fun and happiness, hastened to fill his
claret beaker, then Bertram by degrees thawed, and began to feel that
after all the world was perhaps not yet dead around him.

"Well, Mr. Stistick," said the baron; "if Sir Henry will allow us,
we'll drink Lord Boanerges."

"With all my heart," said Mr. Stistick. "He is a man of whom it may
be said--"

"That no man knew better on which side his bread was buttered."

"He is buttering the bread of millions upon millions," said Mr.
Stistick.

"Or doing better still," said Bertram; "enabling them to butter their
own. Lord Boanerges is probably the only public man of this day who
will be greater in a hundred years than he is now."

"Let us at any rate hope," said the baron, "that he will at that time
be less truculent."

"I can't agree with you, Bertram," said Sir Henry. "I consider we are
fertile in statesmen. Do you think that Peel will be forgotten in
a hundred years?" This was said with the usual candour of a