g
confidence, or speech confirming it.

"When you are disengaged, Chief, may I have a few moments?"

It was the Prefect who spoke, a man of few words.

Eye to eye they looked at each other for a brief spell.

The Prime Minister nodded. "Come to me in two hours' time," he said. "We
shall know then where we are." And so saying he left the room.

III

In the next two days a good many things happened; but carried through in
so underground and secret a fashion that it is only afterwards we shall
hear of them. And so we come to the last day of all; for on the morrow
Parliament closes and when that is done the King's abdication is to
become an acknowledged and an accomplished fact.

It was evening. His Majesty had just given a final audience to the Prime
Minister; the interview had been a painful one, and still the ground of
contention remained the same. But the demeanor of the head of the
Government had altered; he had tried bullying and it had failed; now in
profound agitation he had implored the King for the last time to
withdraw his abdication, and his Majesty had refused.

"I will close Parliament for you," he said, "since you wish it; it will
be a fitting act for the conclusion of my reign. But my conscience
forbids any furthering on my part of your present line of policy; and as
I cannot prevent that obstacle from existing, in accordance with my
promise I remove it altogether from the scene."

"But your Majesty's abdication is the greatest obstacle of all, it is a
profound upheaval of the whole constitutional system; and its acceptance
will involve a far, far greater expenditure of time than we are able to
contemplate or to provide for. I am bound, therefore, to appeal from the
letter of your Majesty's promise (which no doubt you have observed) to
the spirit in which as I conceive it was made."

"When I made it, Mr. Prime Minister, I had no spirit left. Nothing
remained to me but the letter of my authority, and even that was dead. I
told you that I would no longer stand in your way, and I will keep my
word."

"By throwing us into revolution!"

"By throwing you upon your own resources. You have been working very
assiduously for single chamber government, you may now secure it in your
own way."

"Your Majesty takes a course entirely without precedent."

"What?--Abdication?"

"Against the wish or consent of Parliament."

"Ah, yes," said the King, "that is precisely the difference. Abdications
have, l