Harold Smith--to himself: for Mrs. Harold was
not usually present in the flesh at these matutinal meals. And then
he went down to his office, and saw in the glance of every man that
he met an announcement that that article in the _Jupiter_ had been
read. His private secretary tittered in evident allusion to the
article, and the way in which Buggins took his coat made it clear
that it was well known in the messengers' lobby. "He won't have to
fill up my vacancy when I go," Buggins was saying to himself. And
then in the course of the morning came the Cabinet council, the
second that he had attended, and he read in the countenance of every
god and goddess there assembled that their chief was thought to have
made another mistake. If Mr. Supplehouse could have been induced to
write in another strain, then indeed that new blood might have been
felt to have been efficacious.
All this was a great drawback to his happiness, but still it could
not rob him of the fact of his position. Lord Brock could not ask him
to resign because the _Jupiter_ had written against him; nor was Lord
Brock the man to desert a new colleague for such a reason. So Harold
Smith girded his loins, and went about the duties of the Petty Bag
with new zeal. "Upon my word, the _Jupiter_ is right," said young
Robarts to himself, as he finished his fourth dozen of private notes
explanatory of everything in and about the Petty Bag Office.
Pages:
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367