"When the sevenfold classification was introduced," he answered, "village schoolmasters who were not graduates were in the Fifth Class, and I was in the Fifth Class until I was thirty and gained my promotion in the Police Department." * * * * * Tour No. 1 made no provision for studying the lighter side of life in Bridgetown. Sheep said that practically all forms of amusement were controlled by a section of the Department of Culture, but that the Organising Inspectors of Private Leisure were appointed locally, subject to the approval of the Central Department. "Organising Inspectors of Private Leisure!" I exclaimed. "What an extraordinary institution!" "In what way extraordinary?" said Sheep. "I am sure they do not exist in any other country," I replied. "Perhaps not," replied Sheep; "but, then, our culture is not modelled on that of any other country. Possibly other countries will discover the use of such officials when they have developed a better system of education." "But what is their function?" I asked. "Any person who has more than an hour a day unaccounted for, after doing his day's work, and fulfilling all his other duties, is required to submit a scheme every half-year, showing what cultural pursuit he proposes to follow. The inspectors will assist him with expert advice and will see that he carries out his programme." "Is there nothing left unregulated in this country?" I asked in as innocent a tone as I could command. "That is a very interesting question," replied Sheep. "If you will consult the _Forty-eighth Annual Report of the Ministry of Culture_ you will find an interesting diagram, or map, showing the whole field of Meccanian life and the stages in its organisation. One by one all the spheres of life have been gradually organised. If you examine the diagram showing the present state of Meccania, and compare it with similar maps for other countries, you will perceive how very much more advanced our culture is than that of any other country." "And what regions still remain for the Department of Culture to conquer?" "An investigation is going on at the present time into the interesting question of individual taste," he answered. "It is being conducted by the Æsthetic Section of the Department, but they have not yet reported." Where everything is so completely regulated it is not surprising to find that poverty, as understood in many countries, no longer exists; but I was not quite clear how it was provided against. Once more Sheep was ready with a complete explanation. "Our laws," he said, "do not permit anyone to remain idle, and the regulation of the expenditure of the lower classes secures them against improvidence. Besides, as they contribute to insurance funds, they receive a pension in old age, and allowances during sickness or disablement. Poverty is therefore impossible."