The Martian in the House.

Maoriland Worker, Volume 2, Issue 16, 23 June 1911, Page 14

The Martian in the House.

An inhabitant of Mars once visited the House of Commons. Secured from observation by _ his specially patented cloak of invisibility, he took a seat in the gallery. A few hours later he was greeted by the reporters at the 'great Martian interplanetary landing stage. •'Gentlemen," he said, "I have but little to tell you. 1 fiaw a large grey building of such especial hideottsness that I thought it must be a prison. Since prisons have been abolished on our planet for so many centuries, I was curious to inspect such, an honorably antiquated survival. Within I saw a number of men seated together in a large room. One was on his feet, speaking. Another presided, and over his head was a large coat-of-arms. With that keen eye for reality that distinguishes us Martians., I noted that all these people were not in reality alive, but cleverly fashioned dummies of waxwork manipulated by slender wires from above. Those who held the wires had the appearance of men also, but a second glance told mc t>hat they were only dressed-up bags of money. "Then I looked on the coat-of-arms above the figure that presided. It seemed to be supported by a lion and a unicorn. But once again I saw that my eyes were being betrayed. The unicorn had changed to a donkey, while the lion had become a rat. But the motto was unchanged: 'Honi soi gui mal y pense.' -'Then I fled. I had seen enough to convince all reasonable Martiana that the inhabitants of earth are incurably insane." And since then this has been the settled opinion about Earth-r-on Mars. —John G. Fletcher, in * 'Laughter."