‘Madame, you shall hear from me again.’
‘It is no use,’ was her reply.
‘I am glad you have come to such an opinion. I also have obtained my freedom,’ said Wentworth. ‘My work at the newspaper office is done. It has been rather unpleasant of late. The proprietors depend on the Liberal Government; the Liberal Government fancy that to me it is due that a Tory was returned for Sloville. It was hinted to me that I was too independent—too negligent as to the interests of the party; that I was not severe enough on the sins of the opposition; that, in short, I was not enough of a party hack. Our manager is a keen party man; indeed, he expects one of these days to be knighted. And now I am free, and so are you, and we can set about a work I have long had in contemplation. You and I have often talked of Southey’s and Coleridge’s pantisocracy—I believe the time has come for some such an enterprise. It is true they never carried it out, it is true that when Robert Owen tried to do something of the kind it failed; but that is no reason why we should fail.’
‘Of course not,’ said Rose. ‘Yes, let us emigrate. Let us leave Sodom and Gomorrah to their fate. The sooner we are off the better.’
‘Let us have old Buxton down to talk over the matter,’ said Wentworth, making a signal by applying the poker to the ceiling.
In a moment or two he was in the room, a big burly man, with a big head and a big beard—given to the immoderate use of tobacco; averse to wearing new clothes, and not overfond of soap and water; rather inclined to be lazy; ready to say with Lord Melbourne, when reforming action was proposed: ‘Why can’t you leave it alone?’ Such men have their uses in a land where fussy people—as much with a view to their own personal gratification as to the welfare of the public—are always putting themselves forward; attempting to wash the blackamoor white, to have the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots.
‘What’s up now?’ said he as he shuffled in. ‘You look uncommonly grave.’
‘Listen to me,’ said Wentworth. ‘You have read my article in this morning’s paper?’
‘Not a line.’
‘Read it then.’