But against these modes of riddance there is a
canon set, which some men still fear to disobey.
The thing that he was asked to do was perilous. Standing in his
present niche of vantage he was at least safe. And added to his
safety there were material comforts. He had more than enough for his
wants. His work was light: he lived among men and women with whom he
was popular. The very fact of his past parliamentary life had caused
him to be regarded as a man of some note among the notables of the
Irish capital. Lord Lieutenants were gracious to him, and the wives
of judges smiled upon him at their tables. He was encouraged to talk
of those wars of the gods at which he had been present, and was so
treated as to make him feel that he was somebody in the world of
Dublin. Now he was invited to give all this up; and for what?
He answered that question to himself with enthusiastic eloquence. The
reward offered to him was the thing which in all the world he liked
best. It was suggested to him that he should again have within his
reach that parliamentary renown which had once been the very breath
of his nostrils.
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