He thought that
it was the social atmosphere which we still preserve around our
politics. We no sooner catch a clever man, born of the people,
than we dress him up like a mummy and put him down at dinner
parties and garden parties, to do things he's not accustomed to,
and expect him to hold his own amongst people who are not his
people. There is something poisonous about it."
"Aren't you all rather assuming," Stenson suggested drily, "that
the Labour Party is the only party in politics worth considering?"
"If they knew their own strength," Catherine declared, "they would
be the predominant party. Should you like to go to the polls
to-day and fight for your seats against them?"
"Heaven forbid!" Mr. Stenson exclaimed. "But then we've made up
our mind to one thing--no general election during the war.
Afterwards, I shouldn't be at all surprised if Unionists and
Liberals and even Radicals didn't amalgamate and make one party."
"To fight Labour," Furley said grimly.
"To keep England great," Mr. Stenson replied. "You must remember
that so far as any scheme or program which the Labour Party has
yet disclosed, in this country or any other, they are preeminently
selfish. England has mighty interests across the seas. A
parish-council form of government would very soon bring disaster."
Julian glanced at the clock and rose to his feet.
"I don't want to hurry any one," he said, "but my father is rather
a martinet about luncheon."
They all rose.
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