When, tired and muddy, Darsie reached her study again, it was to find a postcard from Lavender which a kindly Fresher had laid upon her "burry." It bore but a few words written in large characters, and plentifully underlined-- "_Which team were you asked to play for_?" What a glow of satisfaction it gave one to be able to reply, truthfully and accurately, with one short, illuminating--"_Both_!" Among the other joys of the last terms, one shone out pre-eminent in Darsie Garnett's estimation. She was Prime Minister! It seemed almost too splendid to be true! She, who three years before had made her first appearance at Political as the bashful representative of Bootle-cum- Linacre, to have advanced to this dizzy height of power! To be captain of the Hockey Club paled into insignificance before this crowning honour, but as Hannah was "Speaker," Darsie was unable to crow as loudly as she would have done if her friend's place had been below the gangway. Political was held in College Hall on Monday evenings at eight o'clock, and in old-fashioned style the members were divided into three parties, Conservatives, Liberals, and Unionists, whose seats were so arranged as to form three sides of a square. Viewed from afar there was a strong element of humour about this mock Parliament. Prophetic it might be, but it was distinctly droll to hear Honourable Members addressed as "Madam," while some of the statutes embodied in the Constitution-book were quite deliciously unexpected, the special one, which ran, "_Members occupying the front benches are requested not to darn stockings during Political_" being a constant source of delight to parents and friends. Darsie was a Liberal. Members of the Opposition accused her openly of Socialism. _What! shall we sacrifice our brother man for the sake of the demon gold_? she would declaim with waving hands and cheeks aflame, whereat the Liberals would cheer as one girl, and even the Conservatives themselves be moved to admiration. Debates relating to Education, Suffrage, and the House of Lords were held during the winter months, but the crowning excitement followed a daring Bill introduced by the Liberal party for the abolishment of the Unionists _in toto_, on the ground that, being neither fish, flesh, nor good red herring, they acted but as a drag on the wheels of progress. The benches were crowded to their fullest capacity on the occasion of this historic debate; even the Dons themselves came in to listen, and the whips flew round the corridors, giving no quarter to the few skulkers discovered at work in their studies, until they also were forced into the breach. As a result, the Unionist party, supported by Moderates on both sides, achieved a brilliant and decisive victory.