'Come, come, Coningsby,' said Lord Vere, the son of a Whig minister; 'I am
all for Manchester and Birmingham.'

'It is all up with the country, I can tell you,' said Coningsby, with the
air of one who was in the secret.

'My father says it will all go right now,' rejoined Lord Vere. 'I had a
letter from my sister yesterday.'

'They say we shall all lose our estates, though,' said Buckhurst; 'I know
I shall not give up mine without a fight. Shirley was besieged, you know,
in the civil wars; and the rebels got infernally licked.'

'I think that all the people about Beaumanoir would stand by the Duke,'
said Lord Henry, pensively.

'Well, you may depend upon it you will have it very soon,' said Coningsby.
'I know it from the best authority.'

'It depends on whether my father remains in,' said Lord Vere. 'He is the
only man who can govern the country now. All say that.'

At this moment Millbank entered. He was a good looking boy, somewhat shy,
and yet with a sincere expression in his countenance. He was evidently not
extremely intimate with those who were now his companions. Buckhurst, and
Henry Sydney, and Vere, welcomed him cordially. He looked at Coningsby
with some constraint, and then said:

'You have been in London, Coningsby?'