artisans, and--what is either natural or strange,
according to one's estimation of parliamentary government--a doorkeeper
in the Houses of Parliament. They used to meet at Gaspard's lodgings,
regret, in tones as loud as prudence permitted, the abuses of the
_status quo_, spend a social evening, and return to the outer world with
a tickling sense of mystery and potential destructiveness. Gaspard held
the very lowest opinion of them; he acknowledged that the "propaganda by
action" took small root in New Lindsey, and when it came into his head
that Mr. Benham was worse than superfluous, he admitted with a shrug the
great difficulties that lay in the way of removing his acquaintance. A
man could not do everything by himself, the matter was after all not
very pressing, and he almost made up his mind to let Mr. Benham live.
Such was the chain of his reflections, and if Society had clearly
realised the way he looked at such things, it can hardly be supposed
that Gaspard would have been left unhanged.

Nevertheless, almost academic as the question was, Gaspard indulged his
humour by hinting to his associates that, in certain contingencies,
there might be work for their hands. He would not be more explicit, for
he was distrustful of them; but this vague hint was quite enough to
cause some perturbation. The bookseller's assistant turned rather pale,
and expressed a preference for waiting till one final, decisive, and
overwhelming blow could be struck. He was understood to favour a
wholesale massacre at Government House, but reminded his hearers of the
dangers of hasty action. The watchmaker was strong on the division of
functions: one man was valuable in counsel, another in the field; he
belonged, he said, to the former category. The artisans smiled broadly
over their drink, and openly declared that the President must "give 'em
a lead." The doorkeeper reinforced this suggestion by reminding them
that he was a husband and father, whereas Gaspard was a bachelor. All
united in asking for further information, and were annoyed when Gaspard
referred them to the rule governing such associations as theirs, namely,
that the member to carry out the deed, if resolved upon, should be
designated before the nature of the deed was discussed, or its
desirability finally decided. If this were not so, he pointed out, a
member's opinion on the merits of the scheme might be biased by the
knowledge that he would, if fate so willed, have to carry it o