I want to tell you, Mr. Deane, that
if you advise Norris Vine at all, you must see to it that you advise him
to place that paper upon the fire, or to restore it from whence it
was stolen."
"I am afraid, Mr. Duge," the ambassador said, "that I cannot recognize
you as possessed of such authority as to justify the use of the word
'must.' I am in the habit of doing what I think right and well."
Phineas Duge bowed his head.
"I will only remind you, Mr. Deane," he said, "of the facts which led to
the withdrawal of our ministers from Lisbon and Paris and Vienna. I am
not proud of the power which undoubtedly lies in the palm of my right
hand. On the other hand, I should be foolish if I did not remind you of
these things at a time like this. I only ask you to take up a passive
attitude. You escape in that way all trouble, and if you fancy that the
climate of Paris would suit you or Mrs. Deane better than London, it
would be a matter of a few months only; but--you must not advise the
other way!"
The ambassador was distinctly uneasy. Duge saw his embarrassment and
hastened on.
"I ask you for no reply, Mr. Deane," he said; "not even for an
expression of opinion.
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