seat till a messenger summoned him before the
Board. The Board, as he entered the room, was not such a Board as
the public may, perhaps, imagine such Boards to be. There was a
round table, with a few pens lying about, and a comfortable leathern
arm-chair at the side of it, farthest from the door. Sir Raffle
Buffle was leaving his late colleagues, and was standing with his
back to the fire-place, talking very loudly. Sir Raffle was a great
bully, and the Board was uncommonly glad to be rid of him; but as
this was to be his last appearance at the Committee Office, they
submitted to his voice meekly. Mr Butterwell was standing close to
him, essaying to laugh mildly at Sir Raffle's jokes. A little man,
hardly more than five feet high, with small but honest-looking eyes,
and close-cut hair, was standing behind the arm-chair, rubbing his
hands together, and longing for the departure of Sir Raffle, in order
that he might sit down. This was Mr Optimist, the new chairman, in
praise of whose appointment the _Daily Jupiter_ had been so loud,
declaring that the present Minister was showing himself superior
to all Ministers who had ever gone before him, in giving promotion
solely on the score of merit. The _Daily Jupiter_, a fortnight since,
had published a very eloquent article, strongly advocating the claims
of Mr Optimist, and was naturally pleased to find that its advice had
been taken. Has not an obedient Minister a right to the praise of
those powers which he obeys?

Mr Optimist was, in truth, an industrious little gentleman, very well
connected, who had served the public all his life, and who was, at
any rate, honest in his dealings. Nor was he a bully, such as his
predecessor. It might, however, be a question whether he carried guns
enough for the command in which he was now to be employed. There
was but one other member of the Board, Major Fiasco by name, a
discontented, broken-hearted, silent man, who had been sent to the
General Committee Office some few years before because he was not
wanted anywhere else. He was a man who had intended to do great
things when he entered public life, and had possessed the talent
and energy for things moderately great. He had also possessed to a
certain extent the ear of those high in office; but, in some way,
matters had not gone well with him, and in running his course he had
gone on the wrong side of the post. He was still in the prime of
life, and yet all men knew that Major Fiasco ha