The Legacy and Other Stories (Завещание и другие рассказы). Учебное пособие для студентов бакалавров, изучающих английский язык (второй год обучения),

gaveontoBeechwoodAvenueandlaterMelroseClosestreetnames which,moreeloquentlythanIcanhopetodo,describethepeaceful EnglishsuburbinwhichIfoundmyself.Ifeltnosensationofdanger; ratherthereverse.

Iamawarethatmy actionshavebeendescribedinthemediaas ‘agrossderelictionofduty’(Daily Telegraph)and‘anunprecedented endangeringofnationalsecurity’(The Times).Yet,asthenoblelord, LordJenkinshaspointedout(in today’sEvening Standard),thereis anhistoricalprecedent.Onthenightof4May1915,HerbertAsquith walkedfromManseldStreet,nearOxfordCircus,toDowningStreet, lostinthoughtabouthisfeelingsfor MissVenetiaStanley,who had justdisclosedtohimherintentionofmarryingoneofhisCabinetcol leagues. If one Prime Minister can walk the London streets unpro tectedduringwartime,whycannotanotherdothesameinpeacetime? DoesaPrimeMinisternotenjoythesamecivillibertiesasanyother citizenoftheUnitedKingdom?ThesearequestionswhichtheHouse maywishtoponder.

MyChief PressSecretary,withcharacteristic presence ofmind, tookacarefulnoteofourconversation,andIhavearrangedforacopy ofhisrecordalsotobeplacedintheLibraryoftheHouse.According tothisnote,Itoldhimnottoworryaboutme,andreassuredhimthat

induecourseIwouldreturntoDowningStreetofmyownvolition.He franklydisapprovedofthisplan.Hebelievedmyactionswouldquick lybecomepublicandprovokedamagingspeculationinthemedia.He urgedmeinstrongtermstostaywhereIwas,addingthathewouldar rangeformyprotectionofcerstopickmeup:theywere,heinformed me,atthatverymomentpatrollingtheneighbourhoodlookingforme. ThedutylogshowsthatIterminatedthisconversationat7.01p.m.

TheHousemaybeawarethattherstthingaPrimeMinisterloses ontakingofceishispassport,whichisremovedfromhimbyhisPri vateOfcetoeasehisofcialtravelarrangements.Thesecondthing togoishisreadymoney.Why,afterall,doesaPrimeMinisterneed cash?Howwouldhespenditifhehadit?Wherewouldheobtainitif hewantedit?ThesuddenrealizationthatIhadnomoneyplacedme inaquandary.

The sequence of events by which this wristwatch came to be in the possession of a fteenyearold schoolgirl, has also  ,mostof it ofanutterlyfantastical nature.Thefactsaremoreprosaic.

It was at this point that I became aware of another pedestrian onthatstretch ofroad— apedestrianbending, asitseemed tome, tounlockthedoorofaparkedcar.Thisotherperson—afemaleper son—who,becauseofherage,cannotbenamedforlegalreasons— isthepersonwhohassincebecomeknowninthemediaas‘MissB’.

bytheunorthodoxprocedure of openingtheand connecting certaincablesintheignition,atechniquewhich,myrighthonourable friendtheHomeSecretaryinformsme,isknownas‘hotwiring’.

Somewillnodoubt accuse meofnaivetyin thismatter.Thatis fortheHouseandthecountrytojudge.Theessenceofthesituationis thatIaskedapersonwhomIassumedtobeacompetentdrivertogive mealift,thatsheatrstdemurred,thatIthenofferedheraspayment the wristwatch to which I madereference earlier,and that she then agreedtodrivemewhereverIwishedtogo.The whole case is now inthehandsoftheCrownProsecutionServiceandIamadvisedthatit wouldbeprejudicialformetocommentfurtheronasituationwhere legalactionmaybepending.

tedundertheprovisionsofthe1972RoadTrafcAct,inthatourve hiclefailedtostopwhenrequestedtodosobyapoliceofcer.Ideeply regretthis.

In her account of the night’s events, as related in the News of the World,MissBassertsthatshehadnoideathatIwasthePrime Minister. Ibelievethis tobe true.Shecertainly didnot seemtome tobethekindofpersonwhowouldfollowpoliticaleventsatallclose ly.WhenItoldherwhoIwas,andthatthewristwatchwhichshewas now wearing had been given to me by the President of the United States,sherespondedwithanexclamationoffrankdisbelief.

Herdrivingskillswerealsothoseofapersonmanyyears .Thenoiseofpursuitsoondiedawayandwe foundourselvesontheA40headingeast,backtowardscentralLon don—theveryroadalongwhichIhadbeentravellingtoChequers abareninetyminutesbefore.

HonourableMembers may perhaps imaginethe thoughts which wererunningthroughmymind.Iwasbeginningtoseethatmyactions could indeed be open to widespread misinterpretation, as my Chief Press Ofcer had warned me they would be. It was now clear that aconsiderablepoliceoperationintheGreenfordarea. I had obviously inconvenienced many people. Given the numbers involved,there was littlechance of what had happened not becom ingpublicatsomestage.IneededtothinkquicklywhatIshoulddo. MissBtooktheview,andexpresseditforcibly,thatcontinuingonour present course along the A40 would foreshorten that thinking time considerably.Iconcurred.Accordingly,welefttheA40attheHangar LaneinterchangeandjoinedtheNorthCircularRoad.

PerhapsImightnowquotetotheHousefromMissB’saccount intheNews of the World:

‘Isaidtohim,“AreyoureallythePrimeMinister?”Hesaidhewas. Heseemedlikeanicebloke.He’dgoneveryquiet.Hesaidhewaswor riedhewasgoingtogetmeintoalotoftrouble.Hesaidthepaperswere goingtocomeafterme.Isaid,“Noway.You’rekiddingme.”Hesaid, “You’venoideawhatthey’relike.”



IhavequotedMissBastellingtheNews of the Worldthatitwas her idea to switch on the car radio. I was frankly curious to know whetherany word ofthe night’sdramas hadyet reached themedia. As it happened, the owner of the vehicle — to whom I have since writtenaletterofapology—hadlefttheradiotunedtoanewsstation, andimmediately I foundmyself listening to an interview regarding my recent performance as Prime Minister. The House will perhaps understandifIsaythatI.Mypoliti callife,ifnotexactlypassingbeforemyeyes,seemedatanyratetobe passingrapidlybeforemyears.However,asthebroadcastcontinued, Irealizedthattheinterview,whichwaspartofaregularpoliticalpro gramme,had infact been .Thetone ofthe comments being broadcast was one of characteristically lofty abuse and I re cognizedatoncethevoiceofthespeaker:acolumnistwhomIknew personally,andwhoseworkappearsregularlyinanumberofpublica tions,amongthemtheGuardianandtheObserver.Hisnamewillbe familiar to members on both sides of the House. For legal reasons, IshallcallhimMrA.

Honourablememberswhotakethetroubletoconsulttheweekly presssummarywhichIhavehadplacedintheLibrarywillseethatit containsseveralquotationsfromMrA’srecentjournalism.Byacu rious coincidence I had been rereading these quotations earlier intheevening,ataroundthemomentwhenIwasstrickenwithnausea. IntheGuardian,forexample,hehadwritten:

Thereismore, butperhapstheHousewillex cusemeifIconnemyselftothesetwo,fairlytypicalillustrations.



IndecidingtovisitMrAathishomeIwasawarethatIwasem barkingon.Ontheotherhand,Itook theviewthatIwasbythisstage

Mr Speaker,I cannot claim to have the events of the next few minutes arranged with perfect forensic clarity in my mind. I recall thatMrAgreetedmewithhisusualcivility,andthathewascarrying abottleofchampagneandahalffullglass.Hedidnotseemparticu larlypleasedtoseeme.Hewas,hesaid,expectingdinnerguestsatany moment,andmadeageneralindicationofregretthathewastherefore unabletoinvitemein.Perhaps,hesuggested,myofcecouldcontact hissecretaryandwecouldarrangeasuitabledateforanappointment thefollowingweek.

It was at this point that Miss B left the car and joined me onthedoorstep.HerappearanceonthesceneseemedtoaffectMrA’s composure.She began quotingback tohim several ofthe pointshe had been making earlier on the radio, and invited him to step over

Inowproceeded to makeanumber of points,ofwhich perhaps fourstandoutinmymemory:rst,thatitwasapity,givenhisobvious genius for public administration, that he had never seen t to offer himselfforelection;secondly,thatitwasrichlyironicforajournalist, ofallpeople,toaccuseallpoliticiansofhabituallylying,asIhadyet toreadanyarticleinanynewspaperonanysubjectofwhichIhadany knowledgethatdidn’tcontainatleastonefactualinaccuracy;thirdly, thatIconsidereditmorallycontemptibleofhimtoquoteanonymous socalled‘seniorcolleagues’who,Iwassure,hadbetterthingstodo thanpassthetimeofdaywithhim;and,fourthly,thatifIwasmad— and I was beginning to suspect that I might be, for choosing to be aPrimeMinisterwhenIcouldhavebeen a newspaper columnist— thenIhadsurelybeendrivenmadbyhim,andbypeoplelikehim.