STENSGÅRD. Ambition? I? LUNDESTAD. Why do you waste all your strength on other people? In one word—why not go into Parliament yourself? STENSGÅRD. I? You are not serious? LUNDESTAD. Why not? You have qualified, I hear. And if you don’t seize this opportunity, then some one else will come in; and when once he is firm in the saddle, it may not be so easy to unseat him. STENSGÅRD. Great heavens, Mr. Lundestad! do you really mean what you say? LUNDESTAD. Oh, I don’t want to commit you; if you don’t care about it—— STENSGÅRD. Not care about it! Well, I must confess I’m not so utterly devoid of ambition as you suppose. But do you really think it possible? LUNDESTAD. Oh, there’s nothing impossible about it. I should do my best, and so, no doubt, would the Chamberlain; he knows your oratorical gifts. You have the young men on your side—— STENSGÅRD. Mr. Lundestad, by heaven, you are my true friend! LUNDESTAD. Oh, you don’t mean much by that. If you really looked upon me as a friend, you would relieve me of this burden. You have young shoulders; you could bear it so easily. STENSGÅRD. I place myself entirely at your disposal; I will not fail you. LUNDESTAD. Then you are really not disinclined to—— STENSGÅRD. Here’s my hand on it! LUNDESTAD. Thanks! Believe me, Mr. Stensgård, you will not regret it. But now we must go warily to work. We must both of us take care to be on the electoral college—I to propose you as my successor, and put you through your facings before the rest; and you to give an account of your views—— STENSGÅRD. If we once get so far, we are safe. In the electoral college you are omnipotent. LUNDESTAD. There is a limit to omnipotence. You must of course bring your oratory into play; you must take care to explain away anything that might seem really awkward or objectionable—— STENSGÅRD. You don’t mean that I am to break with my party? LUNDESTAD.