till he had reached the shelter of his study, and was sitting in his
arm-chair with Blink upon his feet. "I will buy a go-cart," he thought,
"Blink and I will pull our weight and save the poor horses. We can at
least deliver our own milk and vegetables."

He had not been sitting there for half-an-hour revolving the painful
complexities of national life before the voice of Mrs. Petty recalled
him from that sad reverie.

"Dr. Gobang to see you, sir."

At sight of the doctor who had attended him for alcoholic poisoning Mr.
Lavender experienced one or those vaguely disagreeable sensations which
follow on half-realized insults.

"Good-morning, sir," said the doctor; "thought I'd just look in and make
my mind easy about you. That was a nasty attack. Do you still feel your
back?"

"No," said Mr. Lavender rather coldly, while Blink growled.

"Nor your head?"

"I have never felt my head," replied Mr. Lavender, still more coldly.

"I seem to remember----" began the doctor.

"Doctor," said Mr. Lavender with dignity, "surely you know that public
men--do not feel--their heads--it would not do. They sometimes
suffer from their throats, but otherwise they have perfect health,
fortunately."

The doctor smiled.

"Well, what do you think of the war?" he asked chattily.

"Be quiet, Blink," said Mr. Lavender. Then, in a far-away voice, he
added: "Whatever the clouds which have gathered above our heads for the
moment, and whatever the blows which Fate may have in store for us, we
shall not relax our efforts till we have attained our aims and hurled
our enemies back. Nor shall we stop there," he went on, warming at his
own words. "It is but a weak-kneed patriotism which would be content
with securing the objects for which we began to fight. We shall not
hesitate to sacrifice the last of our men, the last of our money, in the
sacred task of achieving the complete ruin of the fiendish Power which
has brought this great calamity on the world. Even if our enemies
surrender we will fight on till we have dictated terms on the doorsteps
of Potsdam."

The doctor, who, since Mr. Lavender began to speak, had been looking at
him with strange intensity, dropped his eyes.

"Quite so," he said heartily, "quite so. Well, good-morning. I only just
ran in!" And leaving Mr. Lavender to the exultation he was evidently
feeling, this singular visitor went out and closed the door. Outside the
garden-gate he rejoined the nephew Sinkin.

"Well?"