Bungay would do nothing for her. Barrington Erle had declared
himself powerless. Her husband had condescended to speak to Mr.
Bonteen himself, and Mr. Bonteen's insolent answer had been reported
to her. Then she went sedulously to work, and before a couple of days
were over she did make her husband believe that Mr. Bonteen was not
fit to be Chancellor of the Exchequer. This took place before Mr.
Daubeny's statement, while the Duke and Duchess of St. Bungay were
still at Matching,--while Mr. Bonteen, unconscious of what was being
done, was still in the House. Before the two days were over, the Duke
of St. Bungay had a very low opinion of Mr. Bonteen, but was quite
ignorant of any connection between that low opinion and the fortunes
of Phineas Finn.
"Plantagenet, of all your men that are coming up, your Mr. Bonteen
is the worst. I often think that you are going down hill, both in
character and intellect, but if you go as low as that I shall prefer
to cross the water, and live in America." This she said in the
presence of the two dukes.
Pages:
632
633
634
635
636
637
638
639
640
641
642
643
644
645
646
647
648
649
650
651
652
653
654
655
656