"I am not so much shocked as you might think," said I, "as I know
something about governments. But tell me, how do you manage, and how
have you come to this state of things?"

Said he: "It is true that we have to make some arrangements about
our affairs, concerning which you can ask presently; and it is also
true that everybody does not always agree with the details of these
arrangements; but, further, it is true that a man no more needs an
elaborate system of government, with its army, navy, and police, to
force him to give way to the will of the majority of his EQUALS, than
he wants a similar machinery to make him understand that his head and
a stone wall cannot occupy the same space at the same moment. Do you
want further explanation?"

"Well, yes, I do," quoth I.

Old Hammond settled himself in his chair with a look of enjoyment
which rather alarmed me, and made me dread a scientific disquisition:
so I sighed and abided. He said:

"I suppose you know pretty well what the process of government was in
the bad old times?"

"I am supposed to know," said I.

(Hammond) What was the government of those days? Was it really the
Parliament or any part of it?

(I) No.