Beresford never wrote to me at all. I
was beginning to hope that the _Anti-Tommy-Rot Gazette_ had failed to
catch the eye--ought I to say the ear?--of the public. This would
of course be a disappointment to Lalage, perhaps also to Hilda and
Selby-Harrison, but it would be a great relief to me. The more I thought
of it the more I disliked the idea of being identified with the generous
gentleman whose timely aid had rendered the publication possible.

My hopes were shattered by the arrival of no less than six letters by
one post. One of them was addressed in my mother's writing, and I feared
the worst when I saw it. It was quite the wrong day for a letter from
her, and I knew that nothing except a serious disaster would induce
her to break through her regular rule of Sunday writing. Another of
the letters came from the Archdeacon. I knew his hand. Two of the other
envelopes bore handwritings which I did not recognize. The addresses of
the remaining two were typewritten. I turned them all over thoughtfully
and decided to open my mother's first. She made no attempt to soften the
shock I suffered by breaking her news to me gradually.

"Lalage appears to have excelled herself in her latest escapade. I only
heard about it this morning and have not had time to verify the details
of the story; but I think it better to write to you at once in case you
should hear an exaggerated version from some one else."

My mother is very thoughtful and kind; but in this particular case,
needlessly so. I was not in the least likely to hear an exaggerated
version of Lalage's performance from any source; because no one in
the world, not even a politician, could exaggerate the truth about the
_Anti-Tommy-Rot Gazette_.

My mother went on:

"You appear to be mixed up in the affair, and, on the whole, I advise
you to get out of it at once if you can. Your uncle, who takes these
matters very seriously, is greatly annoyed. Lalage appears to have
published something, a pamphlet probably, but report says variously a
book, a magazine, and a newspaper. I have not seen a copy myself, though
I telegraphed to Dublin for one as soon as the news of its publication
reached me. Your uncle, who heard about it at the club, says it is
scurrilous. He sent out for a copy, but was informed by the news agent
that the whole issue was sold out. The Archdeacon was the first to tell
me about it. He had been in Dublin attending a meeting of the Church
Representative B