“Politics and patriotism are so boring and so out of date,” said a revered lady who had some pretensions to oracular utterance; “we are too cosmopolitan nowadays to be really moved by them. That is why one welcomes an intelligible production like Cousin Teresa , that has a genuine message for one. One can’t understand the message all at once, of course, but one felt from the very first that it was there. I’ve been to see it eighteen times and I’m going again tomorrow and on Thursday. One can’t see it often enough.”

“It would be rather a popular move if we gave this Harrowcluff person a knighthood or something of the sort,” said the minister reflectively.

“Which Harrowcluff?” asked his secretary.