O.S.
A PROPER PROPORTION.
(An Interview with Mr. H.G. WELLS).
I found the Sage, as I had expected, in his study at Omniscience Lodge. There he sat in his new suit of Britlings, surrounded by novels and stories in MS. dealing with every aspect of human affairs, sixty of the more important being specifically devoted to the War and the various ways in which it might conceivably terminate. I modestly approached and presented myself.
"You have come," he said with a courteous gesture, "to discover my views on the present conflict?"
"Not exactly," I said.
"Ah," he said; "which is it, then? You can take your choice, you know. All you have to do is to select the subject," and he handed me a volume resembling Kelly's Directory in size and colour, and entitled "Classified Catalogue of Subjects on which Opinions can be furnished at the Shortest Notice." I turned the pages breathlessly until I came to "Class V, Voter; sub-class P, Proportional Representation." "There," I said, "is what I want," and I pointed the place out to him.
"Dear me," he said, "you desire guidance on a very simple matter."
"Well," I said, "I'm not so sure about that. It has rather flummoxed us in our office. We can't make head or tail—"