the enemy, and
said so.

Champion laughed.

"You are a whole-hearted old war-horse, Adrian. I envy you. Sometimes, I
wish that I----"

"For mercy's sake don't go and say that you are a Radical at heart too,"
I cried.

"N-n-o. But isn't it rot, the whole business?"

"What whole business?"

"Ask Mr Fordyce there. He will tell you. I see it in his eye."

"What is rot, Robin?" I asked. "Party government?"

"Yes," said Robin, quite explosively for him. "It is such a scandalous
waste of power and material." He laid down his cigar. "Man, it's just
pitiful. Consider! A party is returned to office. With great care and
discrimination a Cabinet is chosen. It is composed of men who are mainly
honest and patriotic. They are not necessarily men of genius, but they
are all men of undoubted ability, and they are genuinely anxious to do
their duty by the country. Now observe." (As a matter of fact he said
"obsairrve.") "How is this energy and ability expended? About half of
it--fifty per cent--goes in devising means to baffle the assaults of the
Opposition and so retain a precarious hold on office. Sir, it's just
ludicrous! Instead of concentrating their efforts upon--upon--I want a
metaphor, Mr Champion."

"Upon steering the ship of State," said Champion, with a twinkle in his
eye.

"That'll do, fine.--Upon steering the ship of State, they have to devote
half their time and energy to dodging the missiles of their shipmates.
That is what I mean when I say the thing is pitiful. What should we
think of the sanity of an ordinary ship's company, if the man at the
wheel had to spend half his time up in the rigging because a minority of
his messmates wanted to throw him overboard?"

"I think you are putting the case too strongly," I said. "The criticism
of a healthy public opinion is no bad thing. Besides, your Cabinet still
have fifty per cent of their energy left. What do they do with that?"

"Of that," said Champion, joining in, "about forty per cent is wasted on
mere parade--dummy legislation--bills that never will be passed, and
which no sensible man has any desire should be passed, except in a
mutilated and useless condition; bills merely brought forward by the
Government as a sop to the extreme wing of their own party. It doesn't
matter which side is in power. If they are Liberals, they have to
propose a few socialistic and iconoclastic measures, secretly thanking
God for the House of Lords all the while. If they are C