"You are such a great man now!"
"Not at all a great man. If you only knew what little men we understrappers are in London you would hardly speak to me."
"But you are something—of State now;—are you not?"
"Well;—yes. That's the name they give me. It simply means that if any member wants to badger some one in the House about the Colonies, I am the man to be badgered. But if there is any credit to be had, I am not the man who is to have it."
"But it is a great thing to be in Parliament and in the Government too."
"It is a great thing for me, Mary, to have a salary, though it may only be for a year or two. However, I will not deny that it is pleasant to have been successful."
"It has been very pleasant to us, Phineas. Mamma has been so much rejoiced."
"I am so sorry not to see her. She is at Floodborough, I suppose."
"Oh, yes;—she is at home. She does not like coming out at night in winter. I have been staying here you know for two days, but I go home to-morrow."
"I will ride over and call on your mother." Then there was a pause in the conversation for a moment. "Does it not seem odd, Mary, that we should see so little of each other?"