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idea of what the glory that was Greece must have been when Athens was in its heyday. But Fleur got a little bored of waiting while Truss took endless pictures with his cine-camera, and it was only with difficulty that she got him away from admiring the wall painting in the interior of the Palace of Achilles’s triumph over Hector at the siege of Troy.
    On the Wednesday at lunch de Richleau told them that he had received a reply to his cable to Anton Rajapakse, in which the lawyer said he was sending his son, a junior partner in the firm, who would arrive on the 26th.
    Fleur at once said, ‘We were talking about Colonialism the other day, and there’s a case for you. The Sinhalese are a wonderful people. They were civilised long before we were and had splendid cities when London was only a collection of mud huts. But the Portuguese, the Dutch and then the British conquered and enslaved them. For the past three centuries they haven’t had a chance. But since they were given their independence they’ve done absolute marvels. Ceylon is now a model for any self-governing state.’
    De Richleau nodded. ‘I believe you are right about that. They are an intelligent people, and they were lucky in having such an honest and dedicated man as Mr. Senanayake as their first Prime Minister.’
    â€˜He’s dead now, though, isn’t he?’ Richard asked.
    â€˜Yes,’ Fleur replied. ‘Ceylon received her independence in 1948 and he remained Prime Minister until 1952. Then there was a tragic accident. He was injured by a fall from his horse and died the next day. After that his son, Dudley Senanayake, took over and at the next election the United National Party were again returned with a big majority. In 1953 Sir John Kotelawala became Prime Minister and kept the job until early 1956, but his Government ran into a lot of trouble.’
    â€˜You seem to be very well informed,’ remarked the Duke.
    She smiled. ‘I had to learn the basic facts about the politicaldevelopment of Ceylon, and lots of other countries, when I was studying sociology. As I was saying, they ran into trouble because they reduced the rice subsidy, so there were a lot of strikes. And they didn’t truly represent the people. Really it was the old British Raj continuing under the cloak of Independence, and they were much too far to the Right to be popular. They kept English as the official language and did all they could to support free enterprise.’
    â€˜And a darn’ good thing, too,’ commented the die-hard Richard.
    â€˜That’s all very well, Daddy; but it’s not right that the rich should be allowed to take all the jam of a country at the expense of the masses. Naturally the people expected to see real progress and an economy that would improve their lot; so the Socialists and all the other parties ganged up against the U.N.P. and the 1956 election was a landslide. The Opposition got in with an overwhelming majority. It was then that the present Prime Minister, Mr. Bandaranaike, came to power. He has made Sinhalese the official language, nationalised the ‘bus service and the handling of cargo in the ports and started a whole range of social services, which is just as it should be in these days.’
    â€˜And where is the money coming from to pay for all this?’ Richard demanded. ‘From the docks and railways we built for them; and the British tea planters. If the planters decided to pack up, Ceylon would be bankrupt within twelve months.’
    â€˜Oh, you’re incorrigible, Daddy,’ Fleur flared. ‘And you’re wrong, too. The Ceylonese would take over the plantations and run them just as well.’
    â€˜I don’t think it’s quite such a rosy picture as you paint, my child,’ said de Richleau mildly. ‘Your father is right that they have been living on our fat so far. But time will show; time will show.’
    During the week they made