“So you’ve heard of that.”

“Heard of it! who hasn’t heard of it?”—­At this moment the messenger came in again and the Senator was announced.  “Lord Drummond will manage about the seats in the House of Lords, Mr. Gotobed.  Of course he’ll see you if you wish it; but I’ll take a note of it”

“If you’ll do that, Mr. Green, I shall be fixed up straight.  And I’d a great deal sooner see you than his lordship.”

“That’s very flattering, Mr. Gotobed, but I’m sure I don’t know why.”

“Because Lord Drummond always seems to me to have more on hand than he knows how to get through, and you never seem to have anything to do.”

“That’s not quite so flattering,—­and would be killing, only that I feel that your opinion is founded on error.  Mens conscia recti, Mr. Gotobed.”

“Exactly.  I understand English pretty well; better as far as I can see than some of those I meet around me here; but I don’t go beyond that, Mr. Green.”

“I merely meant to observe, Mr. Gotobed, that as, within my own breast, I am conscious of my zeal and diligence in Her Majesty’s service your shafts of satire pass me by without hurting me.  Shall I offer you a cigar?  A candle burned at both ends is soon consumed.”  It was quite clear that as quickly as the Senator got through one end of his cigar by the usual process of burning, so quickly did he eat the other end.  But he took that which Mounser Green offered him without any displeasure at the allusion.  “I’m sorry to say that I haven’t a spittoon,” said Mounser Green, “but the whole fire-place is at your service.”  The Senator could hardly have heard this, as it made no difference in his practice.

Morton at this moment was sent for by the Secretary of State, and the Senator expressed his intention of waiting for him in Mr. Green’s room.  “How does the great Goarly case get on, Mr. Gotobed?” asked the clerk.

Well!  I don’t know that it’s getting on very much.”

“You are not growing tired of it, Senator?”

“Not by any means.  But it’s getting itself complicated, Mr. Green.  I mean to see the end of it, and if I’m beat,—­why I can take a beating as well as another man.”

“You begin to think you will be beat?”

“I didn’t say so, Mr. Green.  It is very hard to understand all the ins and outs of a case like that in a foreign country.”

“Then I shouldn’t try it, Senator.”

“There I differ.  It is my object to learn all I can.”

“At any rate I shouldn’t pay for the lesson as you are like to do.  What’ll the bill be?  Four hundred dollars?”

“Never mind, Mr. Green.  If you’ll take the opinion of a good deal older man than yourself and one who has perhaps worked harder, you’ll understand that there’s no knowledge got so thoroughly as that for which a man pays.”  Soon after this Morton came out from the great man’s room and went away in company with the Senator.