Lord and Lady Cantrip were there, and Mr. Monk, and Sir Gregory his
accuser, and the Home Secretary, Sir Harry Coldfoot, with his wife.
Sir Harry had at one time been very keen about hanging our hero, and
was now of course hot with reactionary zeal. To all those who had
been in any way concerned in the prosecution, the accidents by which
Phineas had been enabled to escape had been almost as fortunate
as to Phineas himself. Sir Gregory himself quite felt that had he
prosecuted an innocent and very popular young Member of Parliament to
the death, he could never afterwards have hoped to wear his ermine in
comfort. Barrington Erle was there, of course, intending, however,
to return to the duties of his office on the following day,--and our
old friend Laurence Fitzgibbon with a newly-married wife, a lady
possessing a reputed fifty thousand pounds, by which it was hoped
that the member for Mayo might be placed steadily upon his legs
for ever. And Adelaide Palliser was there also,--the Duke's first
cousin,--on whose behalf the Duchess was anxious to be more than
ordinarily good-natured.
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