He haughtily repeated his denial, and refused to answer
any more questions on the subject.
The local Tory paper rushed into the fray, and had presently collected a
good deal of what it was pleased to call evidence on the matter, mainly
gathered from London reporters. The matter began to look serious.
Marsham appealed to Barrington to contradict the rumor publicly, as
"absurd and untrue." But, unfortunately, Barrington, who was a man of
quick and gusty temper, had been nettled by an incautious expression of
Marsham's with regard to the famous article in his Dunscombe speech--"if
I had had any intention whatever of dealing a dishonorable blow at my
old friend and leader, I could have done it a good deal more
effectively, I can assure you; I should not have put what I had to say
in a form so confused and contradictory."
This--together with the general denial--happened to reach Barrington,
and it rankled. When, therefore, Marsham appealed to him, he
brusquely replied:
"DEAR MR. MARSHAM,--You know best what share you had in the
_Herald_ article. You certainly did not write it. But to my
mind it very faithfully reproduced the gist of our
conversation on a memorable evening.
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