You will be sent for; we will dissolve parliament; we will strain every nerve in the elections; we shall succeed, I know we shall.

But be silent in the meanwhile, be cautious: let not a word escape you, let them think us beaten; lull suspicion asleep; let us lament our weakness, and hint, only hint at our resignation, but with assurances of continued support.

I know how to blind them, if you leave it to me." The weak mind of the old earl was as a puppet in the hands of his bold kinsman.

He feared one moment, hoped another; now his ambition was flattered, now his sense of honour was alarmed.

There was something in Lumley's intrigue to oust the government with which he served that had an appearance of cunning and baseness, of which Lord Saxingham, whose personal character was high, by no means approved.