uld receive Mr. Medland at once.

"I hope I haven't kept him waiting," answered Medland. "The pony's lame,
and I had to walk."

The footmen, who were young, raw, and English, almost smiled. A Premier
dependent on one pony! Jackson redoubled his obsequious attention.

The Governor used to say that he wished his wife had imbibed the
constitutional spirit as readily as Jackson.

CHAPTER II.

A POPULAR DEMONSTRATION.

Miss Eleanor Scaife was _gouvernante des enfants de_ New Lindsey; but
she found the duty of looking after two small children, shared as it was
with a couple of nurses, not enough to occupy her energies. So she
organised the hospitality of Government House, and interested herself in
the political problems of a young community. In the course of the latter
pursuit, a study of Mr. Medland appeared appropriate and needful, and
Miss Scaife was minded to engage in it, in spite of the hostility of
Lady Eynesford. She had studied Sir Robert Perry for three years, but
Sir Robert was disappointing. That he was a charming old gentleman she
freely admitted, but he was not in any special way characteristic of a
young community. He was just like half-a-hundred members of Parliament
whom she had known while she lived with the Eynesfords at home: in fact
he was irredeemably European. Accordingly she was glad to see him, but
she mentally transferred him to the recreative department, and talked
to him about scenery, pictures, and light literature. Lady Eynesford
admired Sir Robert because there was no smack of the young community
about him; Miss Scaife conceded that point of view, but maintained that
there was another: and from that other she ranked Mr. Medland above a
thousand Sir Roberts. All this she explained to Alicia Derosne, after
Lady Eynesford had retired in dudgeon, and while the Governor was
closeted with the new Premier.

"But," objected Alicia, "Captain Heseltine says----"

"Unless," interrupted Eleanor, "it's something about a coat, I don't
care what Captain Heseltine says. He's an authority on that subject, but
on no other under the sun."

Alicia abandoned Captain Heseltine's authority and fell back on her
sister-in-law's; Eleanor, in spite of the unusual relations of intimate
friendship, dating from old school-days, between her employer and
herself, could not treat Lady Eynesford's opinion with open disrespect.
She drew certain distinctions, which resulted in demonstrating that a
close acquaint