in a sort of mild despair as she strove to
answer Mr. Lynch's questions; May had fallen into a state of morose
lassitude. If Mr. Adair would only cease to explain to her how
successfully he had employed concrete in the construction of his
farm-buildings! She felt that if he started again on the saw-mill she
must faint, and Olive's senses, too, were swimming, but just as she
thought she was going off Captain Hibbert looked so admiringly at her
that she recovered herself; and at the same time Mr. Scully succeeded in
making May understand that he would infinitely prefer to be near her
than Lady Sarah. In return for this expression of feeling the young lady
determined to risk a remark across the table; but she was cut short by
Mrs. Gould, who pithily summed up the political situation in the words:

'The way I look at it is like this: Will the Government help us to get
our rents, or will it not? Mr. Forster's Act does not seem to be able to
do that. There's May there who has been talking all the morning of
Castle seasons, and London seasons, and I don't know what; really I
don't see how it is to be done if the Land League--'

'And Mr. Parnell's a gentleman, too. I wonder how he can ally himself
with such blackguards,' gently insinuated Mrs. Barton, who saw a husband
lost in the politician.

But the difficulty the Government find themselves in is that the Land
League is apparently a legal organization,' said Lord Dungory in the
midst of a profound silence.

'A society legal, that exists and holds its power through an organized
system of outrage! Mind you, as I have always said, the landlords have
brought all their misfortunes upon themselves; they have often behaved
disgracefully--but I would, nevertheless, put down the outrages; yes, I
would put down the outrages, and at any cost.'

'And what would yer do?' asked Mr. Ryan. 'De yer know that the herds are
being coerced now? we'd get on well enough were it not for that.'

'In the beginning of this year Mr. Forster asked Parliament for special
powers. How has he used those powers? Without trial, five hundred people
have been thrown into prison, and each fresh arrest is answered by a
fresh outrage; and when the warrant is issued, and I suppose it will be
issued sooner or later, for the arrest of Mr. Parnell, I should not be
surprised to hear of a general strike being made against rent. The
consequences of such an event will be terrific; but let these
consequences, I say,