Phineas Redux

by Anthony Trollope

  CHAPTER XXVII.

  AN EDITOR'S WRATH.

  On that Sunday evening in London Mr. Low was successful in findingthe Vice-Chancellor, and the great judge smiled and nodded, listenedto the story, and acknowledged that the circumstances were verypeculiar. He thought that an injunction to restrain the publicationmight be given at once upon Mr. Finn's affidavit; and that thepeculiar circumstances justified the peculiarity of Mr. Low'sapplication. Whether he would have said as much had the factsconcerned the families of Mr. Joseph Smith and his son-in-law Mr.John Jones, instead of the Earl of Brentford and the Right HonourableRobert Kennedy, some readers will perhaps doubt, and may doubt alsowhether an application coming from some newly-fledged barrister wouldhave been received as graciously as that made by Mr. Low, Q.C. andM.P.,--who would probably himself soon sit on some lofty legal bench.On the following morning Phineas and Mr. Low,--and no doubt also Mr.Vice-Chancellor Pickering,--obtained early copies of the People'sBanner, and were delighted to find that Mr. Kennedy's letter did notappear in it. Mr. Low had made his calculation rightly. The editor,considering that he would gain more by having the young member ofParliament and the Standish family, as it were, in his hands than bythe publication of a certain libellous letter, had resolved to putthe document back for at least twenty-four hours, even though theyoung member neither came nor wrote as he had promised. The letterdid not appear, and before ten o'clock Phineas Finn had made hisaffidavit in a dingy little room behind the Vice-Chancellor's Court.The injunction was at once issued, and was of such potency thatshould any editor dare to publish any paper therein prohibited, thateditor and that editor's newspaper would assuredly be crumpled up ina manner very disagreeable, if not altogether destructive. Editorsof newspapers are self-willed, arrogant, and stiff-necked, a raceof men who believe much in themselves and little in anything else,with no feelings of reverence or respect for matters which areaugust enough to other men;--but an injunction from a Court ofChancery is a power which even an editor respects. At about noonVice-Chancellor Pickering's injunction was served at the office ofthe People's Banner in Quartpot Alley, Fleet Street. It was donein duplicate,--or perhaps in triplicate,--so that there should beno evasion; and all manner of crumpling was threatened in the eventof any touch of disobedience. All this happened on Monday, March thefirst, while the poor dying Duke was waiting impatiently for thearrival of his friend at Matching. Phineas was busy all the morningtill it was time that he should go down to the House. For as soon ashe could leave Mr. Low's chambers in Lincoln's Inn he had gone toJudd Street, to inquire as to the condition of the man who had triedto murder him. He there saw Mr. Kennedy's cousin, and received anassurance from that gentleman that Robert Kennedy should be takendown at once to Loughlinter. Up to that moment not a word had beensaid to the police as to what had been done. No more notice had beentaken of the attempt to murder than might have been necessary had Mr.Kennedy thrown a clothes-brush at his visitor's head. There was thelittle hole in the post of the door with the bullet in it, just sixfeet above the ground; and there was the pistol, with five chambersstill loaded, which Macpherson had cunningly secured on his returnfrom church, and given over to the cousin that same evening. Therewas certainly no want of evidence, but nobody was disposed to use it.

  At noon the injunction was served in Quartpot Alley, and was put intoMr. Slide's hands on his arrival at the office at three o'clock. Thatgentleman's duties required his attendance from three till five inthe afternoon, and then again from nine in the evening till any hourin the morning at which he might be able to complete the People'sBanner for that day's use. He had been angry with Phineas when theSunday night passed without a visit or letter at the office, asa promise had been made that there should be either a visit or aletter; but he had felt sure, as he walked into the city from hissuburban residence at Camden Town, that he would now find somecommunication on the great subject. The matter was one of mostserious importance. Such a letter as that which was in his possessionwould no doubt create much surprise, and receive no ordinaryattention. A People's Banner could hardly ask for a better bit ofgood fortune than the privilege of first publishing such a letter. Itwould no doubt be copied into every London paper, and into hundredsof provincial papers, and every journal so copying it would bebound to declare that it was taken from the columns of the People'sBanner. It was, indeed, addressed "To the Editor of the People'sBanner" in the printed slip which Mr. Slide had shown to PhineasFinn, though Kennedy himself had not prefixed to it any suchdirection. And the letter, in the hands of Quintus Slide, wouldnot simply have been a letter. It might have been groundwork for,perhaps, some half-dozen leading articles, all of a most attractivekind. Mr. Slide's high moral tone upon such an occasion would havebeen qualified to do good to every British matron, and to addvirtues to the Bench of Bishops. All this he had postponed with someinadequately defined idea that he could do better with the propertyin his hands by putting himself into personal communication with thepersons concerned. If he could manage to reconcile such a husbandto such a wife,--or even to be conspicuous in an attempt to do so;and if he could make the old Earl and the young Member of Parliamentfeel that he had spared them by abstaining from the publication, theresults might be very beneficial. His conception of the matter hadbeen somewhat hazy, and he had certainly made a mistake. But, ashe walked from his home to Quartpot Alley, he little dreamed ofthe treachery with which he had been treated. "Has Phineas Finnbeen here?" he asked as he took his accustomed seat within a smallcloset, that might be best described as a glass cage. Around him laythe debris of many past newspapers, and the germs of many futurepublications. To all the world except himself it would have been achaos, but to him, with his experience, it was admirable order. No;Mr. Finn had not been there. And then, as he was searching among theletters for one from the Member for Tankerville, the injunction wasthrust into his hands. To say that he was aghast is but a poor formof speech for the expression of his emotion.

  He had been "done"--"sold,"--absolutely robbed by thatwretchedly-false Irishman whom he had trusted with all the confidenceof a candid nature and an open heart! He had been most treacherouslymisused! Treachery was no adequate word for the injury inflictedon him. The more potent is a man, the less accustomed to endureinjustice, and the more his power to inflict it,--the greater is thesting and the greater the astonishment when he himself is made tosuffer. Newspaper editors sport daily with the names of men of whomthey do not hesitate to publish almost the severest words that canbe uttered;--but let an editor be himself attacked, even withouthis name, and he thinks that the thunderbolts of heaven should fallupon the offender. Let his manners, his truth, his judgment, hishonesty, or even his consistency be questioned, and thunderboltsare forthcoming, though they may not be from heaven. There shouldcertainly be a thunderbolt or two now, but Mr. Slide did not at firstquite see how they were to be forged.

  He read the injunction again and again. As far as the document wenthe knew its force, and recognised the necessity of obedience. Hemight, perhaps, be able to use the information contained in theletter from Mr. Kennedy, so as to harass Phineas and Lady Laura andthe Earl, but he was at once aware that it must not be published.An editor is bound to avoid the meshes of the law, which are alwaysinfinitely more costly to companies, or things, or institutions, thanthey are to individuals. Of fighting with Chancery he had no notion;but it should go hard with him if he did not have a fight withPhineas Finn. And then there arose another cause for deep sorrow. Aparagraph was shown to him in a morning paper of that day which must,he thought, refer to Mr. Kennedy and Phineas Finn. "A rumour hasreached us that a member of Parliament, calling yesterday afternoonupon a right honourable gentleman, a member of a late Government, athis hotel, was shot at by the latter in his sitting room. Whetherthe rumour be true or not we have no means of saying, and thereforeabstain from publishing names. We are informed that the gentleman whoused the pistol was out of his mind. The bullet did not take effect."How cruel it was that such information should have reached the handsof a rival, an
d not fallen in the way of the People's Banner! Andwhat a pity that the bullet should have been wasted! The paragraphmust certainly refer to Phineas Finn and Kennedy. Finn, a Member ofParliament, had been sent by Slide himself to call upon Kennedy, amember of the late Government, at Kennedy's hotel. And the paragraphmust be true. He himself had warned Finn that there would be dangerin the visit. He had even prophesied murder,--and murder had beenattempted! The whole transaction had been, as it were, the verygoods and chattels of the People's Banner, and the paper had beenshamefully robbed of its property. Mr. Slide hardly doubted thatPhineas Finn had himself sent the paragraph to an adverse paper,with the express view of adding to the injury inflicted upon theBanner. That day Mr. Slide hardly did his work effectively within hisglass cage, so much was his mind affected, and at five o'clock, whenhe left his office, instead of going at once home to Mrs. Slide atCamden Town, he took an omnibus, and went down to Westminster. Hewould at once confront the traitor who had deceived him.

  It must be acknowledged on behalf of this editor that he did in truthbelieve that he had been hindered from doing good. The whole practiceof his life had taught him to be confident that the editor of anewspaper must be the best possible judge,--indeed the only possiblegood judge,--whether any statement or story should or should notbe published. Not altogether without a conscience, and intenselyconscious of such conscience as did constrain him, Mr. QuintusSlide imagined that no law of libel, no injunction from anyVice-Chancellor, no outward power or pressure whatever was needed tokeep his energies within their proper limits. He and his newspaperformed together a simply beneficent institution, any interferencewith which must of necessity be an injury to the public. Everythingdone at the office of the People's Banner was done in the interestof the People,--and, even though individuals might occasionally bemade to suffer by the severity with which their names were handledin its columns, the general result was good. What are the sufferingsof the few to the advantage of the many? If there be fault inhigh places, it is proper that it be exposed. If there be fraud,adulteries, gambling, and lasciviousness,--or even quarrels andindiscretions among those whose names are known, let every detailbe laid open to the light, so that the people may have a warning.That such details will make a paper "pay" Mr. Slide knew also; butit is not only in Mr. Slide's path of life that the bias of a man'smind may lead him to find that virtue and profit are compatible.An unprofitable newspaper cannot long continue its existence, and,while existing, cannot be widely beneficial. It is the circulation,the profitable circulation,--of forty, fifty, sixty, or a hundredthousand copies through all the arteries and veins of the public bodywhich is beneficent. And how can such circulation be effected unlessthe taste of the public be consulted? Mr. Quintus Slide, as he walkedup Westminster Hall, in search of that wicked member of Parliament,did not at all doubt the goodness of his cause. He could not contestthe Vice-Chancellor's injunction, but he was firm in his opinionthat the Vice-Chancellor's injunction had inflicted an evil on thepublic at large, and he was unhappy within himself in that the powerand majesty and goodness of the press should still be hampered byignorance, prejudice, and favour for the great. He was quite surethat no injunction would have been granted in favour of Mr. JosephSmith and Mr. John Jones.

  He went boldly up to one of the policemen who sit guarding the doorof the lobby of our House of Commons, and asked for Mr. Finn. TheCerberus on the left was not sure whether Mr. Finn was in the House,but would send in a card if Mr. Slide would stand on one side. Forthe next quarter of an hour Mr. Slide heard no more of his message,and then applied again to the Cerberus. The Cerberus shook his head,and again desired the applicant to stand on one side. He had done allthat in him lay. The other watchful Cerberus standing on the right,observing that the intruder was not accommodated with any member,intimated to him the propriety of standing back in one of thecorners. Our editor turned round upon the man as though he wouldbite him;--but he did stand back, meditating an article on thegross want of attention to the public shown in the lobby of theHouse of Commons. Is it possible that any editor should endure anyinconvenience without meditating an article? But the judicious editorthinks twice of such things. Our editor was still in his wrath whenhe saw his prey come forth from the House with a card,--no doubt hisown card. He leaped forward in spite of the policeman, in spite ofany Cerberus, and seized Phineas by the arm. "I want just to have afew words," he said. He made an effort to repress his wrath, knowingthat the whole world would be against him should he exhibit anyviolence of indignation on that spot; but Phineas could see it all inthe fire of his eye.

  "Certainly," said Phineas, retiring to the side of the lobby, with aconviction that the distance between him and the House was alreadysufficient.

  "Can't you come down into Westminster Hall?"

  "I should only have to come up again. You can say what you've got tosay here."

  "I've got a great deal to say. I never was so badly treated in mylife;--never." He could not quite repress his voice, and he saw thata policeman looked at him. Phineas saw it also.

  "Because we have hindered you from publishing an untrue and veryslanderous letter about a lady!"

  "You promised me that you'd come to me yesterday."

  "I think not. I think I said that you should hear from me,--and youdid."

  "You call that truth,--and honesty!"

  "Certainly I do. Of course it was my first duty to stop thepublication of the letter."

  "You haven't done that yet."

  "I've done my best to stop it. If you have nothing more to say I'llwish you good evening."

  "I've a deal more to say. You were shot at, weren't you?"

  "I have no desire to make any communication to you on anything thathas occurred, Mr. Slide. If I stayed with you all the afternoon Icould tell you nothing more. Good evening."

  "I'll crush you," said Quintus Slide, in a stage whisper; "I will, assure as my name is Slide."

  Phineas looked at him and retired into the House, whither QuintusSlide could not follow him, and the editor of the People's Bannerwas left alone in his anger.

  "How a cock can crow on his own dunghill!" That was Mr. Slide'sfirst feeling, as with a painful sense of diminished consequencehe retraced his steps through the outer lobbies and down intoWestminster Hall. He had been browbeaten by Phineas Finn, simplybecause Phineas had been able to retreat within those happy doors. Heknew that to the eyes of all the policemen and strangers assembledPhineas Finn had been a hero, a Parliamentary hero, and he hadbeen some poor outsider,--to be ejected at once should he makehimself disagreeable to the Members. Nevertheless, had he not all thecolumns of the People's Banner in his pocket? Was he not great inthe Fourth Estate,--much greater than Phineas Finn in his estate?Could he not thunder every night so that an audience to be countedby hundreds of thousands should hear his thunder;--whereas thispoor Member of Parliament must struggle night after night for anopportunity of speaking; and could then only speak to benches halfdeserted; or to a few Members half asleep,--unless the Press shouldchoose to convert his words into thunderbolts. Who could doubt fora moment with which lay the greater power? And yet this wretchedIrishman, who had wriggled himself into Parliament on a petition,getting the better of a good, downright English John Bull by aquibble, had treated him with scorn,--the wretched Irishman being forthe moment like a cock on his own dunghill. Quintus Slide was notslow to tell himself that he also had an elevation of his own, fromwhich he could make himself audible. In former days he had forgivenPhineas Finn more than once. If he ever forgave Phineas Finn againmight his right hand forget its cunning, and never again draw bloodor tear a scalp.