CHAPTER LXV - MISS LONGESTAFFE WRITES HOME

Lady Monogram, when she left Madame Melmotte's house after that entertainment of Imperial Majesty which had been to her of so very little avail, was not in a good humour. Sir Damask, who had himself affected to laugh at the whole thing, but who had been in truth as anxious as his wife to see the Emperor in private society, put her ladyship and Miss Longestaffe into the carriage without a word, and rushed off to his club in disgust. The affair from beginning to end, including the final failure, had been his wife's doing. He had been made to work like a slave, and had been taken against his will to Melmotte's house, and had seen no Emperor and shaken hands with no Prince! 'They may fight it out between them now like the Kilkenny cats.' That was his idea as he closed the carriage-door on the two ladies,--thinking that if a larger remnant were left of one cat than of the other that larger remnant would belong to his wife.

'What a horrid affair!' said Lady Monogram. 'Did anybody ever see anything so vulgar?' This was at any rate unreasonable, for whatever vulgarity there may have been, Lady Monogram had seen none of it.

'I don't know why you were so late,' said Georgiana.

'Late! Why it's not yet twelve. I don't suppose it was eleven when we got into the Square. Anywhere else it would have been early.'

'You knew they did not mean to stay long. It was particularly said so. I really think it was your own fault.' What are the answers to this following set of questions: 1. who was in a bad mood after leaving the house?
2. whose home was she at?
3. was she put into a carriage?
4. with whom?
5. who put them in there?
6. who were they there to see?
7. did he want to go?
8. did he see the emperor?
9. who did he want to shake hands with?
10. where did he go after putting the ladies in the carriage?
11. did he say anything about the ladies fighting?
12. what animal did he say they could fight like?
13. did anyone think the situation was vulgar?
14. who
15. who commented on her lateness?
16. what time did she say they got into the square?
17. did she think that was late?
Answer: 1. Lady Monogram
2. Madame Melmotte's
3. Yes
4. Miss Longestaffe
5. Sir Damask
6. the Emperor
7. Yes
8. No
9. the Prince
10. his club
11. Yes
12. Cats
13. Yes
14. Lady Monogram
15. Georgiana
16. Almost eleven
17. No

CHAPTER XI

THE PLANS WORK

Dinner was over, the night was hot, and Mrs. Austin had taken her party to the veranda. Wolf had gone; he declared he could not put off another engagement, but Mrs. Austin wondered. The fellow was clever and knew when to stop. A man like that did not go farther than was necessary and risk losing ground he had won. All the same, Mrs. Austin was satisfied. She had paid her debt, and although she had hesitated about asking Wolf, she now felt her doing so was justified. He had interested her famous guests; the dinner party had gone well.

Senor Ramirez occupied a chair by a table that carried some fine glass _copitas_ from which one drinks the scented liquors used in Spain. His family was old and distinguished, and his post important. He was thin, dark-skinned and marked by an urbane dignity. As a rule, he looked languid, but sometimes his glance was keen.

Don Arturo sat opposite. He was strongly built and getting fat. Although his hair and eyes were very black, he was essentially British. He had known poverty, but now controlled large commercial undertakings and steamship lines. Don Arturo was loved and hated. Some found him strangely generous, and some thought him hard and careless about the tools he used and broke. He made bold plans, and had opened wide belts in Africa to British trade.

Mrs. Jefferson, Austin, and two or three others occupied the background. They were, so to speak, the chorus, and in the meantime not important. Austin knew when to let his wife play the leading part. What are the answers to this following set of questions: 1. Who was sitting in a chair near the table?
2. Who was hosting the dinner?
3. Were there well-known guests at this gathering?
4. Was Ramirez's kin sophisticated?
5. Was he a fat man?
6. How was his weight described?
7. What shade was his complexion?
8. What the weather like on the night of the dinner?
9. Where did Mrs. Austin lead her guests at the conclusion of dinner?
10. Had Wolf left at this time?
11. Was Wolf smart?
12. From what does a person drink scented alcohol?
13. And what country are the glasses associated with?
14. Was Austin married?
15. Did he sometimes defer to his wife?
16. What was Mr. Arturo's first name?
17. Had he been poor in his life?
18. Was he becoming overweight?
19. Were there more than ten persons in the background?
20. What kind of lines was Arturo involved with?
Answer: 1. Senor Ramirez
2. Mrs. Austin
3. yes
4. yes
5. no
6. thin
7. dark-skinned
8. hot
9. to the veranda
10. yes
11. yes
12. fine glass _copitas_
13. Spain.
14. yes
15. yes
16. Don
17. yes
18. yes
19. no
20. steamship

Chapter I. Retirement From Leadership. (1874-1875)

" , , ; ."HERODOTUS iv. 150.

"I am too old, O king, and slow to stir; so bid thou one of the younger men here do these things."

A member of the great government of 1868, in a letter to one of his family, gave an account of the final meeting of the cabinet:

_Feb. 17, 1874._I doubthe sayswhether I ever passed a more eventful evening than yesterday. The whole cabinet was assembled. We resolved after full discussion of pros and cons, and some slight difference of opinion, to resign at once. After which came the startling announcement that Gladstone would no longer retain the leadership of the liberal party, nor resume it, unless the party had settled its differences. He will not expose himself to the insults and outrages of 1866-8, and he has a keen sense of the disloyalty of the party during the last three years. He will sit as a private member and occasionally speak for himself, but he will not attend the House regularly, nor assume any one of the functions of leader. He does this not from anger, but because he says that it is absolutely necessary to party action to learn that all the duties and responsibilities do not rest on the leaders, but that followers have their obligations too. As a consequence of this Cardwell retires to the House of Lords. He will not take the leadership, nor will he consent to serve under any one but Gladstone. He is too old, he says. Lowe protests against the anarchical experiment, and talks of Hartington as leader. As neither Lowe, nor Bright, nor Goschen, nor Forster is in a position to act as leader, it may come to this, so that the liberal front benches of the two Houses will be entirely remodelled.(309) What are the answers to this following set of questions: 1. What were they a member of?
2. What did they write?
3. To whom?
4. What was it about?
5. What was it dated?
6. Was the entire cabinet gathered together?
7. What was the full discussion about?
8. Who would not be the head of the liberal party any longer?
9. How long had he had a sense of disloyality?
10. What did Lowe protest against?
11. Who do they talk about becoming the leader?
Answer:
1. the great government of 1868
2. a letter
3. one of his family
4. an account of the final meeting of the cabinet
5. Feb. 17, 1874
6. yes
7. to resign
8. Gladstone
9. the last three years
10. the anarchical experiment
11. Hartington