Ferrier, he
supposed, suspected him of a lack of "straightness"; and did not care to
maintain an intimate relation, which had been already, and might be
again, used against him. Marsham, on his side, recalled with discomfort
various small incidents in the House of Commons which might have
seemed--to an enemy--to illustrate or confirm such an explanation of the
state of things.
Absurd, of course! He _was_ an old friend of Ferrier's, whose relation
to his mother necessarily involved close and frequent contact with her
son. And at the same time--although in the past Ferrier had no doubt
laid him under great personal and political obligations--he had by now,
in the natural course of things, developed strong opinions of his own,
especially as to the conduct of party affairs in the House of Commons;
opinions which were not Ferrier's--which were, indeed, vehemently
opposed to Ferrier's. In his, Oliver's, opinion, Ferrier's lead in the
House--on certain questions--was a lead of weakness, making for
disaster. Was he not even to hold, much less to express such a view,
because of the quasi-parental relation in which Ferrier had once stood
to him? The whole thing was an odious confusion--most unfair to him
individually--between personal and Parliamentary duty.
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