fastened on his very soul, and almost made Mr. Low
odious in his eyes. He was afraid of Mr. Low, and for the nonce would
not go to him any more;--but he must see the porter at Lincoln's Inn,
he must write a line to Mr. Low, and he must tell Mrs. Bunce that for
the present he would still keep on her rooms. His letter to Mr. Low
was as follows:--

Great Marlborough Street, May, 186--.

MY DEAR LOW,

I have made up my mind against taking the chambers, and am
now off to the Inn to say that I shall not want them. Of
course, I know what you will think of me, and it is very
grievous to me to have to bear the hard judgment of a man
whose opinion I value so highly; but, in the teeth of your
terribly strong arguments, I think that there is something
to be said on my side of the question. This seat in
Parliament has come in my way by chance, and I think it
would be pusillanimous in me to reject it, feeling, as I
do, that a seat in Parliament confers very great honour. I
am, too, very fond of politics, and regard legislation as
the finest profession going. Had I any one dependent on
me, I probably might not be justified in following the
bent of my inclination. But I am all alone in the world,
and therefore have a right to make the attempt. If, after
a trial of one or two sessions, I should fail in that
which I am attempting, it will not even then be too late
to go back to the better way. I can assure you that at any
rate it is not my intention to be idle.

I know very well how you will fret and fume over what I
say, and how utterly I shall fail in bringing you round to
my way of thinking; but as I must write to tell you of my
decision, I cannot refrain from defending myself to the
best of my ability.

Yours always faithfully,

PHINEAS FINN.

Mr. Low received this letter at his chambers, and when he had read
it, he simply pressed his lips closely together, placed the sheet
of paper back in its envelope, and put it into a drawer at his left
hand. Having done this, he went on with what work he had before him,
as though his friend's decision were a matter of no consequence to
him. As far as he was concerned the thing was done, and there should
be an end of it. So he told himself; but nevertheless his mind was
full of it all day; and, though he wrote not a word of answer to
Phineas, he made a reply within his own mind to every one of the