I
don't envy the man who holds a contrary opinion; he'll be ashamed of it
some day. But"--he pointed towards Eglington--"but there sits the
minister in whose hands his fate has been. Let us hope that this speech
of mine needn't have been made, and that I've done injustice to his
patriotism and to the policy he will announce."
"A set-back, a sharp set-back," said Lord Windlehurst, in the Peers'
Gallery, as the cheers of the Opposition and of a good number of
ministerialists sounded through the Chamber. There were those on the
Treasury Bench who saw danger ahead. There was an attempt at a
conference, but Kimber's seconder only said a half-dozen words, and sat
down, and Eglington had to rise before any definite confidences could be
exchanged. One word only he heard behind him as he got up. It was the
word, "Temporise," and it came from the Prime Minister.
Eglington was in no mood for temporising. Attack only nerved him. He was
a good and ruthless fighter; and last night's intoxication of success was
still in his brain. He did not temporise.
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