“And yet he came terribly to grief.”

“Because he outflew his age.  The will of the country—­which means the will of between five hundred thousand and a million hungry fluctuating electors—­could not wait for the development of his imperial schemes.  They wanted plunder in the present, not honour and prosperity for the Empire in the future.  The instinct of robbery is perhaps the strongest in human nature, and those who would rule humanity on its present basis must pander to it or fail.  The party of progress means the party that can give most spoil, taken from those that have, to those that have not.  That is why Mr. Gladstone is such a truly great man; he understands better than any one of his age how to excite the greed of hungry voters and to guide it for his own ends.  What was the Midlothian campaign but a crusade of plunder?  First he excited the desire, then he promised to satisfy it.  Of course that is impossible, but at the time he was believed, and his promises floated us triumphantly into power.  The same arguments apply to that body of electors whose motive power is sentiment—­their folly must be pandered to.  For instance, the Transvaal Convention that Mrs. Carr mentioned is an admirable example of how such pandering is done.  No man of experience can have believed that such an agreement could be wise, or that it can result in anything but trouble and humiliation; but the trouble and humiliation will not come just yet, and in the meanwhile a sop is thrown to Cerberus.  Political memories are short, and when exposure comes it will be easy to fix the blame upon the other side.  It is because we appreciate these facts that in the end we must prevail.  The Liberal party, or rather the Radical section, which is to the great Liberal party what the helm is to the ship, appeals to the baser instincts and more pressing appetites of the people; the Conservative only to their traditions and higher aspirations, in the same way that religion appeals to the spirit, and the worship of Mammon to the senses.  The shibboleth of the one is ‘self-interest;’ of the other, ‘national honour.’  The first appeals to the many, the second to the finer few, and I must leave you to judge which will carry the day.”

“And if ever you become Prime Minister, shall you rule England upon these principles?” asked Mrs. Carr.

“Certainly; it is because I have mastered them that I am what I am.  I owe everything to them, consequently in my view they are the finest of all principles.”

“Then Heaven help England!” soliloquized Arthur, rudely.

“And so say we all,” added Lady Florence, who was a strong Conservative.

“My dear young people,” answered Lord Minster, with a superior smile, “England is quite capable of looking after herself.  I have to look after myself.  She will, at any rate, last my time, and my motto is that one should get something out of one’s country, not attempt to do her services that would in all probability never be recognized, or, if recognized, left unrewarded.”