"'Which memorial?' he asked; 'not the one in front of Buckingham Palace?
Surely not that one?'

"'That one,' she said.

"'My dear lady,' he cried, 'you can't be serious. It is a beautiful and
imposing work of art--at any rate one is getting accustomed to it, and
even if one doesn't happen to admire it one can always look in another
direction. But imagine what life would be like if one saw that erection
confronting one wherever one went. Imagine the effect on people with
tired, harassed nerves who saw it three times on the way to Brighton and
three times on the way back. Imagine seeing it dominate the landscape at
Ascot, and trying to keep your eye off it on the Sandwich golf links.
What have your countrymen done to deserve such a thing?'

"'They have refused us the vote,' said Lena bitterly.

"The Prime Minister always declared himself an opponent of anything
savouring of panic legislation, but he brought a Bill into Parliament
forthwith and successfully appealed to both Houses to pass it through all
its stages within the week. And that is how we got one of the most
glorious measures of the century."

"A measure conferring the vote on women?" asked the nephew.

"Oh dear, no. An Act which made it a penal offence to erect
commemorative statuary anywhere within three miles of a public highway."