"Anything going on in the House?" asked Pelk, a theatrical critic, of Slingsby, who had just entered.
That gentleman shrugged his shoulders.
"A slanging match, as usual," he replied, taking a seat and ringing the bell. "Some members have got an idea that abuse is wit. I don't think much of the Victorian Parliament."
"It's better than the New South Wales one, at all events," said Keith, smiling.
"That's not saying much," retorted Slingsby, lighting a cigar. "The Sydney men are more like fractious children than anything else, though to be sure that's only proper, seeing our Parliaments are nurseries for sucking politicians."
"That's severe."
"But true--the truth is always disagreeable."
"Perhaps that's the reason so few people speak it."
"Exactly--truth is a sour old maid whom nobody wants."
"Not you, at all events, Slingsby"