story which has
almost seemed to me to be incredible." The nobleman's manner was very
stern, and the fact that he called his young friend "Mr. Finn",
showed at once that something was wrong.

"What is it you have heard, my lord?" said Phineas.

"That you and Chiltern went over,--last year to,--Belgium, and
fought,--a duel there!"

Now it must have been the case that, in the set among which they
all lived,--Lord Brentford and his son and daughter and Phineas
Finn,--the old lord was the only man who had not heard of the duel
before this. It had even penetrated to the dull ears of Mr. Kennedy,
reminding him, as it did so, that his wife had,--told him a lie! But
it was the fact that no rumour of the duel had reached the Earl till
this morning.

"It is true," said Phineas.

"I have never been so much shocked in my life;--never. I had no idea
that you had any thought of aspiring to the hand of Miss Effingham."
The lord's voice as he said this was very stern.

"As I aspired in vain, and as Chiltern has been successful, that need
not now be made a reproach against me."

"I do not know what to think of it, Mr. Finn. I am so much surprised
that I hardly know what to say. I must declare my opinion at once,
that you behaved,--very badly."

"I do not know how much you know, my lord, and how much you do not
know; and the circumstances of the little affair do not permit me to
be explicit about them; but, as you have expressed your opinion so
openly you must allow me to express mine, and to say that, as far as
I can judge of my own actions, I did not behave badly at all."

"Do you intend to defend duelling, sir?"

"No. If you mean to tell me that a duel is of itself sinful, I have
nothing to say. I suppose it is. My defence of myself merely goes to
the manner in which this duel was fought, and the fact that I fought
it with your son."

"I cannot conceive how you can have come to my house as my guest,
and stood upon my interest for my borough, when you at the time were
doing your very best to interpose yourself between Chiltern and the
lady whom you so well knew I wished to become his wife." Phineas was
aware that the Earl must have been very much moved indeed when he
thus permitted himself to speak of "his" borough. He said nothing
now, however, though the Earl paused;--and then the angry lord
went on. "I must say that there was something,--something almost
approaching to duplicity in such conduct."

"If I were to defe