And he hoped that he might at the same time take
the liberty of congratulating that gentleman on the courage and manly
dignity with which he had endured the unexampled hardships of the
cruel position in which he had been placed by an untoward combination
of circumstances. It was thought that Mr. Daubeny did the thing very
well, and that he was right in doing it;--but during the doing of
it poor Phineas winced in agony. Of course every member was looking
at him, and every stranger in the galleries. He did not know at
the moment whether it behoved him to rise and make some gesture to
the House, or to say a word, or to keep his seat and make no sign.
There was a general hum of approval, and the Prime Minister turned
round and bowed graciously to the newly-sworn member. As he said
afterwards, it was just this which he had feared. But there must
surely have been something of consolation in the general respect
with which he was treated. At the moment he behaved with natural
instinctive dignity, though himself doubting the propriety of his own
conduct.
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