Parliament, as the reader knows,
was dissolved. This was in the early days of June, and before the end
of July the new members were again assembled at Westminster. This
session, late in summer, was very terrible; but it was not very long,
and then it was essentially necessary. There was something of the
year's business which must yet be done, and the country would require
to know who were to be the Ministers of the Government. It is not
needed that the reader should be troubled any further with the
strategy of one political leader or of another, or that more should
be said of Mr. Monk and his tenant-right. The House of Commons had
offended Mr. Gresham by voting in a majority against him, and Mr.
Gresham had punished the House of Commons by subjecting it to the
expense and nuisance of a new election. All this is constitutional,
and rational enough to Englishmen, though it may be unintelligible to
strangers. The upshot on the present occasion was that the Ministers
remained in their places and that Mr. Monk's bill, though it had
received the substantial honour of a second reading, passed away for
the present into the limbo of abortive legislation.

All this would not concern us at all, nor our poor hero much, were
it not that the great men with whom he had been for two years so
pleasant a colleague, remembered him with something of affectionate
regret. Whether it began with Mr. Gresham or with Lord Cantrip, I
will not say;--or whether Mr. Monk, though now a political enemy,
may have said a word that brought about the good deed. Be that as it
may, just before the summer session was brought to a close Phineas
received the following letter from Lord Cantrip:--

Downing Street, August 4, 186--.

MY DEAR MR. FINN,--

Mr. Gresham has been talking to me, and we both think
that possibly a permanent Government appointment may be
acceptable to you. We have no doubt, that should this be
the case, your services would be very valuable to the
country. There is a vacancy for a poor-law inspector at
present in Ireland, whose residence I believe should be
in Cork. The salary is a thousand a-year. Should the
appointment suit you, Mr. Gresham will be most happy to
nominate you to the office. Let me have a line at your
early convenience.

Believe me,

Most sincerely yours,

CANTRIP.

He received the letter one morning in Dublin, and within three hours
he was on his route to Killa