him the question,

"Brown, I should like to know what you mean by 'democracy'?"

Tom at once saw the trap into which he had fallen, and made
several efforts to break away, but unsuccessfully; and, being
seated to a cup of tea, and allowed to smoke, was then and there
grievously oppressed, and mangled, and sat upon, by his oldest
and best friend. He took his ground carefully, and propounded
only what he felt sure that Hardy himself would at once
accept--what no man of any worth could possibly take exception
to. "He meant much more," he said, "than this; but for the
present purpose it would be enough for him to say that, whatever
else it might mean, democracy in his mouth always meant that
every man should have a share in the government of his country."

Hardy, seeming to acquiesce, and making a sudden change in the
subject of their talk, decoyed his innocent guest away from the
thought of democracy for a few minutes, by holding up to him the
flag of hero-worship, in which worship Tom was, of course, a
sedulous believer. Then, having involved him in most difficult
country, his persecutor opened fire upon him from masked
batteries of the most deadly kind, the guns being all from the
armory of his own prophets.

"You long for the rule of the ablest man, everywhere, at all
times? To find your ablest man, and then give him power, and obey
him--that you hold to be about the highest act of wisdom which a
nation can be capable of?"

"Yes; and you know you believe that to, Hardy, just as firmly as
I do."

"I hope so. But then, how about our universal democracy, and
every man having a share in the government of his country?"

Tom felt that his flank was turned; in fact, the contrast of his
two beliefs had never struck him vividly before, and he was
consequently much confused. But Hardy went on tapping a big coal
gently with the poker, and gave him time to recover himself and
collect his thoughts.

"I don't mean, of course, that every man is to have an actual
share in the government," he said at last.

"But every man is somehow to have a share; and, if not an actual
one, I can't see what the proposition comes to."

"I call it having a share in the government when a man has share
in saying who shall govern him."

"Well, you'll own that's a very different thing. But let's see;
will that find our wisest governor for us--letting all the most
foolish men in the nation have a say as to who he is to be?"

"Come now, Hard