“The fact is,” said Harold Smith, recurring again to his own situation as an ejected god, “that the House does not in the least understand what it is about;—doesn’t know what it wants. The question I should like to ask them is this: do they intend that the Queen shall have a government, or do they not? Are they prepared to support such men as Sidonia and Lord De Terrier? If so, I am their obedient humble servant; but I shall be very much surprised, that’s all.” Lord De Terrier was at this time recognized by all men as the leader of the giants. “And so shall I,—deucedly surprised. They can’t do it, you know. There are the Manchester men. I ought to know something about them down in my country; and I say they can’t support Lord De Terrier. It wouldn’t be natural.” “Natural! Human nature has come to an end, I think,” said Harold Smith, who could hardly understand that the world should conspire to throw over a government which he had joined, and that, too, before the world had waited to see how much he would do for it; “the fact is this, Walker, we have no longer among us any strong feeling of party.” “No, not a d——,” said Green Walker, who was very energetic in his present political aspirations. “And till we can recover that, we shall never be able to have a government firm-seated and sure-handed. Nobody can count on men from one week to another. The very members who in one month place a minister in power, are the very first to vote against him in the next.” “We must put a stop to that sort of thing, otherwise we shall never do any good.” “I don’t mean to deny that Brock was wrong with reference to Lord Brittleback. I think that he was wrong, and I said so all through. But, heavens on earth—!” and instead of completing his speech Harold Smith turned away his head, and struck his hands together in token of his astonishment at the fatuity of the age. What he probably meant to express was this: that if such a good deed as that late appointment made at the Petty Bag Office were not held sufficient to atone for that other evil deed to which he had alluded, there would be an end of all justice in sublunary matters. Was no offence to be forgiven, even when so great virtue had been displayed? “I attribute it all to Supplehouse,” said Green Walker, trying to console his friend.