‘You have not heard anything?’ asked the great noble of his brother patrician. ‘Yes, a great deal since I have been in this room; but unfortunately it is all untrue.’ ‘There is a report that Rambrooke is to have the Buck-hounds; but I cannot trace it to any authority.’ ‘Pooh!’ said Lord Eskdale. ‘I don’t see that Rambrooke should have the Buckhounds any more than anybody else. What sacrifices has he made?’ ‘Past sacrifices are nothing,’ said Lord Eskdale. ‘Present sacrifices are the thing we want: men who will sacrifice their principles and join us.’ ‘You have not heard Rambrooke’s name mentioned?’ ‘When a Minister has no Cabinet, and only one hundred and forty supporters in the House of Commons, he has something else to think of than places at Court,’ said Lord Eskdale, as he slowly turned away to ask Lucian Gay whether it were true that Jenny Colon was coming over. Shortly after this, Henry Sydney’s father, who dined with Mr. Ornisby, drew Lord Eskdale into a window, and said in an undertone: ‘So there is to be a kind of programme: something is to be written.’ ‘Well, we want a cue,’ said Lord Eskdale. ‘I heard of this last night: Rigby has written something.’ The Duke shook his head. ‘No; Peel means to do it himself.’ But at this moment Mr. Ornisby begged his Grace to lead them to dinner.