"Quite," said the Adjutant's child.

Mobbles was beyond speech and busily engaged in working it out on
paper in decimals.

There was, a knock at the door; a signaller brought a wire, "Report
immediately position of Second-Lieut. X."

There was a moment's silence as the Adjutant grasped a message-pad
and thought deeply what to say. He wrote a few lines and then looked
up. "This is what I have said: 'Second-Lieut. X staying if retained,
but available to go if eligible; also eligible for retention if
available.' Am I clear?"

"Quite," said the Adjutant's child.

* * * * *

[Illustration: ENGLAND EXPECTS.

{WITH MR. PUNCH'S BEST HOPES FOR THE SUCCESS OF THE NATIONAL
INDUSTRIAL CONFERENCE.}

BOTH LIONS (_together_). "UNACCUSTOMED AS I AM TO LIE DOWN WITH
ANYTHING BUT A LAMB, STILL, FOR THE PUBLIC GOOD...."]

* * * * *

ESSENCE OF PARLIAMENT.

_Monday, February 17th_.--On the motion for the rejection of the
Bill to relieve Ministers from the necessity of re-election, Mr.
PEMBERTON-BILLING incidentally revealed the horrifying fact that
he has compiled another Black Book, containing a full list of the
PRIME MINISTER'S election pledges. They do not quite come up to the
notorious figure of 47,000; but they total 1,211, which seems enough
to go on with, and they are all "cross-referenced."

More serious, from the Government's point of view, was the criticism
of some of their regular supporters. Lord WINTERTON, speaking as an
old Member of the House--though he still looks youthful enough to
be its "baby," as he was fifteen years ago--affirmed the value of
by-elections as a gauge for public opinion; Major GRAEME, one of the
new Coalitionists, thought it would be a mistake to part with a means
of testing the record of a Ministry which the War has "swollen to the
size of a Sanhedrim."

As the soft answers of the ATTORNEY-GENERAL--whom the late Mr.
ROOSEVELT would have probably termed "pussy-footed"--failed to quell
the rising storm, the LEADER OF THE HOUSE bowed before it and offered
to agree to the insertion in the Bill of a time-limit.

[Illustration: Portrait of Winston by MR. MOSELY, a promising young
artist.]

Something had evidently annoyed Mr. DEVLIN. Whether it was the
intimation that the new Housing Bill was not to apply to Ireland
(which has had similar legislation for years past), or that in future
the out-of-work donation in that country