A bench in the garden of No. 10 Downing Street, London, the official residence of the Prime Minister.
“WHAT a nice, happy, lazy time you’ve had of it since you’ve been in,” said she to the Earl.
“I hope we have been more happy than lazy,” said the Earl.
“But you’ve done nothing. Mr Palliser has twenty schemes of reform, all mature; but among you you’ve not let him bring in one of them. The Duke and Mr Mildmay and you will break his heart among you.”
“Poor Mr Palliser!”
“The truth is, if you don’t take care he and Mr Monk and Mr Gresham will arise and shake themselves, and turn you all out.”*
“We must look to ourselves, Lady Glencora.”
“Indeed, yes; — or you will be known to all posterity as the fainéant government.”*
“Let me tell you, Lady Glencora, that a fainéant government is not the worst government that England can have. It has been the great fault of our politicians that they have all wanted to do something.”
“Mr Mildmay is at any rate innocent of that charge,” said Lady Glencora.
See for example Isaiah 52:2.
‘Faineant’ is a noun and adjective (rarely used today) derived from French, ‘faire’ + ‘néant’, ‘do-nothing’.
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