—I hastily acknowledged this morning the receipt of your letter of Saturday.

You will recollect I told you, when we conversed on the subject of it, that Felix wished to avail himself of my greater intimacy with you in order to ascertain how you would take his suggestion. When you adopted it, there was an end of that delicacy which prompted him to employ me in broaching the subject to you. I might now, therefore, decline without impropriety any further interference. And very glad I should be to, do so on my own account, for obvious reasons besides my real incapacity for bearing any kind of worry. But the last part of your letter is an appeal which I cannot resist: and I therefore hasten to say that I will do my best towards putting this now very unpleasant affair on to a comfortable footing.

Felix is not here; and I therefore write in much ignorance of his view of the question. Begging you to allow for this, I mention my first impression; which is that his first offer to you was based on the assumption that his own arrangement with the Association as a distributor of agency-commission for them would continue till the end of August, and that he has found it unavoidable to offer one-fifth of the commission on the same condition as has been imposed on him page 301with regard to two-fifths of it. Certainly, when I spoke to you, it was taken for granted that he would have five per cent to dispose of unconditionally. It appears to me, therefore, as I am at present informed, that an act of the Association has simply deprived him of the power of carrying into effect the wish he communicated to you. But on this point I feel that I am writing in ignorance; and I should like to converse with you and with him before expressing my fixed opinion. I know nothing about the motives or intentions of the Committee in making the change, except that Lord Lyttelton hastily and laughingly told me they had made it in order to put the screw on to Felix. I suppose that you know all about it.

Upon another point, I can be in no doubt; viz., the justice and propriety of your being remunerated for your laborious services to the Association. To some extent, though not fully, you know how anxious I have been, that some remuneration in money should be given to you, and that your wish for an appointment in the colony should be realised. For it was not a sense of justice only that impelled me, but also a belief in your being highly qualified for the post you desired. These matters would have been long ago disposed of to your satisfaction, if my influence had been equal to my good-will. All I could do was to express my opinion warmly whenever the opportunity offered. An outside invalide amateur, without either responsibility or power, could do no more. You shall see a piece of writing which shows how earnestly I did it. But now I must (having resolved to meet your appeal in the spirit of friendship which you invoke) say that of late I have observed a change in your manner towards me, which led me to suppose that you no longer cared to be on terms of confidence and intimacy with me. I cannot be mistaken about this: the facts are too plain. But of the cause of the change I have not the least conception, save by guesswork, which is likely to be erroneous. Sure I am, however, that the cause was not of my producing. I trust you will tell me page 302unreservedly What it is. And now, as such things are awkward to write about, and as, moreover, I am incapable of writing fully on any part of the subject, I propose that you manage to come here to dine and sleep to-morrow or on Wednesday as may suit you best. By that time I shall have been able to see Felix; and we can then exhaust the various topics without too much overtasking my strength.