ng himself would do in the matter. Whereas what he actually
would do he had not himself the ghost of a notion,--did not yet know, in
fact, what legs he had to stand on, having no information upon that
point beyond what the Prime Minister had chosen to tell him.

And being puzzled he wanted to talk, yet not directly of the matter
which perturbed his mind; but somehow by hearing his own voice he hoped
to arrive at the popular sentiment. It was a way he had; and the Queen,
who was often his audience, knew the preliminary symptoms by heart. So
when presently he began crackling his newspaper and drawing a series of
audible half breaths as though about to begin reading, his wife
recognized the sign that here was something she must listen to. She put
down her letters and attended.

"I see," said his Majesty, culling his information from the opening
paragraph of a leading article, "I see that the Government is losing
popularity every day. That Act they passed last year for the
reinstitution of turnpikes to regulate the speed of motor-traffic is
proving unpopular."

"Is it a failure, then?" inquired the Queen.

"On the contrary, it is a success. But the system was expected to pay
for its upkeep by the amount of fines it brought in, whereas the result
has been to make the conduct of motorists so exemplary that the measure
has ceased to pay. Unable to escape detection, 'joy-riding' has become
practically non-existent, motor-cars are ceasing to be used for breaches
of the peace, and the trade is going down in consequence by leaps and
bounds. The fact is you cannot now-a-days put a stop to any grave abuse
without seriously damaging some trade-interest. If 'trade' is to decide
matters it would be much better not to legislate at all."

"My dear! wouldn't that be revolutionary?" inquired the Queen.

"Keeping things as they are is not revolutionary," replied his Majesty,
"though it's a hard enough thing to do now-a-days."

"But," objected his wife, "they must pass something, or else how would
they earn their salaries?"

"That's it!" said the King,--"payment of members; another of those
unnecessary reforms thrust on us by the example of England."

"Ah, yes!" answered his wife, feeling about for an intelligent ground of
agreement, "England is so rich; she can afford it."

"It isn't that at all," retorted his Majesty; "plenty of other countries
have had to afford it before now. But it was only when England did it
that we took up