They all looked towards Cecil Brown, the matter being rather an unpleasant one.
"The fact is, the House has been invaded by a tumultuous rabble. They overcame all resistance by the mere force of numbers, and"—he could not think of a less ominous phrase at the moment—"well, simply turned us out.... Quite Cromwellian proceedings. We left them passing very large and comprehensive resolutions," he concluded.
"Your people!" said the uncompromising man accusingly.
"Scarcely," protested Hampden with a smile. "The ends may be the ends of Esau, but the means——"
"Not our people; they couldn't possibly be ours to come and turn on us like that."
"Suppose we say, without defining them further," said Sir John, "that they were simply"—he paused for a second to burn the thrust gently home with a little caustic silence—"simply The People."
Mr Vossit made a gesture of impatience towards his colleague.
"Whether Queen Anne, died of gout or apoplexy isn't very material now," he said with a touch of bitterness. "We are here to conduct the funeral."
"I wish to meet you in every possible way I can," interposed Hampden, "but I must point out to you that at so short a notice I am deprived of the counsel of any of my associates. I had hoped that by the time of the meeting to-morrow morning——"
"Is that necessary if the Memorandum is accepted by the Government?"