ut for bombs. He is a good
fellow at bottom, and of immense service to the party; but he is the
most blatant ass I have ever met. There are Dubberleys on both sides of
the House, however, which is a comfort.

Robin joined us almost directly after Dubberley's entrance, just in time
to hear that great man conclude the preamble of his discourse for the
afternoon.

There had been a good deal of talk in the papers of late about improving
the means of transport throughout the country; and the nationalisation
of railways and other semi-socialistic schemes had filled the air.
Dubberley, it appeared, had out of his own gigantic intellect evolved a
panacea for congestion of traffic, highness of rates, and railway
mortality.

He was well launched in his subject when Robin entered and was
introduced.

"As I was saying," he continued, waving an emphatic teaspoon in the
direction of the sofa where the ladies sat, smiling but limp,--even the
Twins knew it was useless to stem this tide,--"as I was saying, the
solution of the problem lies in the revival of our far-reaching but
sadly neglected system of _canals_. Yes! If we go to the very root of
the matter"--Dubberley is one of those fortunate persons who never has
to dig far in his researches--"we find that our whole hope of
regeneration lies in the single, simple, homely word--Canals! Revive
your canals, send your goods by canal, travel yourself by----"

"How long, Mr Dubberley," interpolated Robin, leaning forward--"how long
do you consider one would take to travel, say, a hundred miles by
canal?"

"Under our present antiquated system, sir,"--Dubberley rather prides
himself on preserving the courtly fashions of address of a bygone
age,--"an impossibly long time. The average speed of a canal-boat at the
present day under the ministrations of that overburdened and inadequate
quadruped, the--er--horse, is three miles per hour. Indeed--one moment!"

Dubberley fished a sheaf of documents out of his pocket--he is the sort
of man who habitually secrets statistics and blue-books about his
person--and after stertorously perusing them closed his eyes for a
moment, as if to work out a sum upon an internal blackboard, and said--

"I see no reason why swift canal-boats should not be constructed to run
fifteen, twenty, or even twenty-five miles per hour. Indeed, in these
days of turbines----"

Robin put down his cup rather emphatically, and said--

"Mphm."

(It is quite impossible t