ry men reporting themselves in the north. And then their
practical knowledge so far leaves them simply men in the street.

"But the great trouble is that the Government and the official heads of
departments have been at loggerheads this long time past, and now are
far from arriving at any definite policy of procedure. Of course, the
majority of the leaders are out of town. You will understand that every
possible precaution must be taken to avoid unduly alarming the public,
or provoking panic. We hope to be able to announce something definite
in the morning. The sympathy of all the Powers will undoubtedly be with
us, for every known tenet of international law has been outraged by this
entirely unprovoked invasion."

"And what do you think will be the practical effect and use of their
sympathy, Mr. Poole-Smith?" asked Constance Grey.

"Well," said our solemn friend, caressing his whiskers, "as to its
_practical_ effect, my dear Miss Grey, why, I am afraid that in such
bitter matters as these the practical value of sympathy, or of
international law, is--er--cannot very easily be defined."

"Quite so. Exactly as I thought. It would not make one pennyworth of
difference, Mr. Poole-Smith. The British public is on the eve of
learning the meaning of brave old Lord Roberts's teaching: that no
amount of diplomacy, of 'cordiality,' of treaties, or of anything else
in the repertoire of the disarmament party, can ever counterbalance the
uses of the rifle in the hands of disciplined men. Their
twentieth-century notions will avail us pitifully little against the
advance of the Kaiser's legions. The brotherhood of man and the sacred
arts of commerce and peace will have little in the way of reply to
machine guns. If only our people could have had even one year of
universal military training! But no; they would not even pay for the
maintenance of such defence force as they had when it took three years
to beat the Boers; and now--didn't some man write a book called 'The
Defenceless Isles'? We live in them."

"But that is not the worst, Miss Grey," said our friend. "These are now
not only defenceless, but invaded isles."

"Ah! How long before they become surrendered isles, Mr. Poole-Smith?"

"The answer to that is with a higher Power than any in Printing House
Square, Miss Grey. But, let me say this, in strict confidence, please.
You wonder, and perhaps are inclined to condemn our--well, our reticence
about this news. Do you know my