well-known vintages and as the meal progressed Dartrey unbent. Eating
scarcely anything and drinking less, the purely intellectual stimulus of
conversation seemed to unloose his tongue and give to his pronouncements
a more pungent tone. Naturally, politics remained the subject of
discussion and Dartrey disclosed a little the reason for the meeting
which he had arranged.

"The craft of politics," he pointed out, "makes but one inexorable
demand upon her followers--the demand for unity. The amazing thing is
that this is not generally realised. It seems the fashion, nowadays, to
dissent from everything, to cultivate the ego in its narrowest sense
rather than to try and reach out and grasp the hands of those around.
The fault, I think, is in an over-developed theatrical sense, the desire
which so many clever men have for individual notoriety. We Democrats
have prospered because we have been free from it. We have been able to
sink our individual prejudices in our cause. That is because our cause
has been great enough. We aim so high, we see so clearly, that it is
rare indeed to find amongst us those individual differences which have
been the ruin of every political party up to to-day. We have no Brown
who will not serve with Smith, no Robinson who declines to be associated
with Jones. We forget the small things which are repugnant to us in a
fellowman, because of the great things which bind us together."

"To a certain extent, yes," Tallente agreed, with some reserve in his
tone, "yet we are all human. There are some prejudices which no man may
conquer. If he pretends he does, he only lives in an atmosphere of
falsehood. The strong man loves or hates."

They took their coffee in their host's very fascinating study. There
was little room here for decoration. The walls were lined with books,