During this time Mr Slide was not inactive, and in his heart of hearts the Prime Minister was more afraid of Mr Slide's attacks than of those made upon him by Sir Orlando Drought.Now that Parliament was sitting, and the minds of men were stirred to political feeling by the renewed energy of the House, a great deal was being said in many quarters about the Silverbridge election.The papers had taken the matter up generally, some accusing the Prime Minister and some defending.But the defence was almost as unpalatable to him as the accusation.It was admitted on all sides that the Duke, both as a peer and as a Prime Minister, should have abstained from any interference whatever in the election.And it was also admitted on all sides that he had not so abstained;--if there was any truth at all in the allegation that he had paid the money for Mr Lopez.But it was pleaded on his behalf that the Duke of Omnium had always interfered in Silverbridge, and that no Reform Bill had ever had any effect in reducing their influence in that borough.Frequent allusion was made to the cautious Dod, who, year after year, had reported that the Duke of Omnium exercised considerable influence in the borough.And then the friendly newspapers went on to explain that the Duke had in this instance stayed his hand, and that the money, if paid at all, had been paid because the candidate who was to have been his nominee had been thrown over, when the Duke at the last moment made up his mind that he would abandon the privilege which had hitherto been always exercised by the head of his family, and which had been exercised more than once or twice in his own favour.But Mr Slide, day after day, repeated his question, 'We want to know whether the Prime Minister did or did not pay the election expenses of Mr Lopez at the last Silverbridge election; and if so, why he paid them.We shall continue to ask this question till it has been answered, and when asking it we again say that the actual correspondence on the subject between the Duke and Mr Lopez is in our hands.' And then, after a while, allusions were made to the Duchess,--for Mr Slide had learned all the facts of the case from Lopez himself.
When Mr Slide found how hard it was 'to draw his badger', as he expressed himself concerning his own operations, he at last openly alluded to the Duchess, running the risk of any punishment that might fall upon him by action for libel or by severe reprehension from his colleagues of the Press.'We have as yet,'
he said, 'received no answers to the questions which we have felt ourselves called upon to ask in reference to the conduct of the Prime Minister at the Silverbridge election.We are of the opinion that all interference by peers with the constituencies of the country should be put down by the strong hand of the law as thoroughly and unmercifully as we are putting down ordinary bribery.But when the offending peer is also the Prime Minister of this great country, it becomes doubly the duty of those who watch over the public safety,'--Mr Slide always speaks of himself as watching over the public safety,--'to animadvert upon his crime till it has been assoiled, or at any rate repented.
From what we now hear we have reason to believe that the crime is acknowledged.Had the payment on behalf of Mr Lopez not been made,--as it certainly was made, or the letters in our hand would be impudent forgeries,--the charge would long since have been denied.Silence in such a matter amounts to a confession.
But we understand that the Duke intends to escape under the plea that he has a second self, powerful as he is to exercise the baneful influence which his territorial wealth unfortunately gives him, but for the actions of which second self he, as a Peer of Parliament and as Prime Minister, is not responsible.In other words we are informed that the privilege belonging to the Palliser family at Silverbridge was exercised, not by the Duke himself, but by the Duchess;--and that the Duke paid the money when he found out that the Duchess had promised more than she could perform.We should hardly have thought that even a man so notoriously weak as the Duke of Omnium would have endeavoured to ride out the responsibility by throwing the blame upon his wife;but he will certainly find that the attempt, if made, will fail.'
'Against the Duchess herself we wish to say not a word.She is known as exercising a wide if not discriminate hospitality.We believe her to be a kind-hearted, bustling, ambitious lady, to whom any little faults may be easily forgiven on account of her good-nature and generosity.But we cannot accept her indiscretion as an excuse for a most unconstitutional act performed by the Prime Minister of this country.'
Latterly the Duchess had taken her own copy of the "People's Banner".Since she had found those around her were endeavouring to keep from her what was being said of her husband in regard to the borough, she had been determined to see it all.She therefore read the article from which two or three paragraphs have just been given,--and having read it she handed it to her friend Mrs Finn.'I wonder that you trouble yourself with such trash,' her friend said to her.
'That is all very well, my dear, for you, but we poor wretches who are the slaves of the people have to regard what is said of us in the "People's Banner".
'It would be much better for you to neglect it.'
'Just as authors are told not to read the criticisms;--but Inever would believe any author who told me that he didn't read what was said about him.I wonder when the man found out that Iwas good-natured.He wouldn't find me good-natured if I could get hold of him.'
'You are not going to allow it to torment you?'
'For my own sake, not a moment.I fancy that if I might be permitted to have my own way, I could answer him very easily.