pocket snuffler. The Archdeacon
came to the party with a niece, in a green dress, who's over from
London, and stiff with swank, though what about I don't know, for she
can't play hockey a bit, has only read the most rotten books, and isn't
much to look at, though the green dress is rather sweet, with a lace
yoke and sequins on the skirt. Why didn't you tell me you were going
into Parliament? I'm frightfully keen on elections and mean to go and
help you. So does Hilda now that she knows about it, and I wrote to
Selby-Harrison this morning. We've changed the name of the society to
the Association for the Suppression of Public Lying (A.S.P.L.). Rather
appropriate, isn't it, with a general election just coming on? Of course
you're still a life member. The change of name isn't a constitutional
alteration. Selby-Harrison made sure of that before we did it, so it
doesn't break up the continuity, which is most important for us all.
Lord Thormanby and the Archdeacon were jawing away like anything while
we were searching about for the hanker, and took no notice of us,
although the Archdeacon is frightfully polite now as a rule, quite
different from what he used to be. They said the election was a soft
thing for you unless somebody went and put up a third man. I rather hope
they will, don't you? Dead certs are so rottenly unsporting. I'll have
a meeting of the committee as soon as I get back to Dublin. This will be
just the chance we want, for we haven't had any sort of a look in since
they suppressed the _Gazette._"

I put this letter of Lalage's aside and did not answer it for some time.
I thought that she and Hilda might have misunderstood what my uncle
and the Archdeacon were saying. I did not regard it as possible that
an important matter of the kind should be settled without my knowing
anything about it; and I expected that Lalage would find out her mistake
for herself. It turned out in the end that she had not made a mistake.
Early in January I got three letters, all marked urgent. One was from
my uncle, one from the secretary of the Conservative and Unionist
Association and one from a Mr. Titherington, who seemed to be a person
of some importance in the East Connor division of County Down. They all
three told me the same news. I had been unanimously chosen by the
local association as Conservative candidate at the forthcoming general
election. They all insisted that I should go home at once. I did so, but
before starting I