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Babberly is in some ways a singularly unlucky man. A place for him, and that a high one, ought to have been quite secure in the next Unionist Cabinet. Now he will never hold office under any government, and yet no one can say that his collapse was in any way his own fault.
"I don't see," I said, "that I'll be the least use to you." "The point is," said Babberly, "that you're a Liberal." "Oh, you mustn't say that," said Lady Moyne. "That's only foolish gossip. I'm perfectly certain that Lord Kilmore never was " "Never," I said. "But then I never was a Conservative either." "That's just it," said Lady Moyne. "Don't you see?"
Cahoon, McNeice, Malcolmson, the Dean and Conroy voted "aye." "The 'ayes' have it," said Moyne. "Before we part," said Babberly, "I wish to say that I leave Belfast to-night " Malcolmson muttered something. Babberly held up his hand. "No," he said. "You are wrong. I'm not afraid. I'm not taking care of my own skin. But I have lived a loyal man and I mean to die a loyal man.
It was the knaves I am sure he looked on McNeice as a knave the tens, the sevens and the humble twos which behaved outrageously. And Clithering was not the only player who was perplexed. I had been to luncheon with the Moynes. Babberly was there of course. So was Malcolmson. Clithering sat next but one to Lady Moyne. Malcolmson was between them. It was a curious alliance.
When he sat down Babberly rose at once. Now Babberly is no fool. He knows that florid orations are out of place at committee meetings. He did not treat us to any oratory. He gave us tersely and forcibly several excellent reasons for postponing our demonstration. "The Government," he said, "is weakening.
"I don't see," I said, "how you can very well do anything when both Lady Moyne and Babberly are against you." "I can't I can't, of course. And yet, don't you know, Kilmore, I don't know " I quite appreciated Moyne's condition of mind. I myself did not know. I felt nearly certain that Bob Power had been importing arms in the Finola. I suspected that Crossan and others had been distributing them.
Soldiers were shooting off guns in Belfast, and the people they fired at or as we knew, fired over were working-men. There was occasion for a strong and eloquent appeal to the sentiment of the solidarity of labour. Babberly was just the man to make it with the utmost possible effectiveness.
They all looked forward to the day when they would be walking about the premises at present occupied by the Bank of Ireland in Dublin with their arms round Babberly's neck. The dearest wish of their hearts so they all said, and the people of County Clare cheered heartily was to unite with Lord Moyne, Babberly, Malcolmson and even the Dean in the work of regenerating holy Ireland.
One of them, the editor of which was in close touch with Babberly, said plainly that dear as the right of free speech was to the Unionist leaders they would cheerfully postpone the Belfast demonstration rather than run the smallest risk of causing a riot in the streets.
I feel certain that the informal consultation of the politicians at Lady Moyne's dinner-party had ended in a decision to postpone the demonstration. But things had passed beyond the control of Babberly and Lady Moyne. No newspaper was able to give any report of the proceedings of the meeting held that afternoon.
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