who had offered and been rejected for the Army, had joined a Red Cross
unit. Madge herself was taking up canteen work. Joan rather expected
Flossie to be in favour of the war, and Madge against it. Instead of
which, it turned out the other way round. It seemed difficult to
forecast opinion in this matter.

Madge thought that England, in particular, had been too much given up to
luxury and pleasure. There had been too much idleness and empty
laughter: Hitchicoo dances and women undressing themselves upon the
stage. Even the working classes seemed to think of nothing else but
cinemas and beer. She dreamed of a United Kingdom purified by suffering,
cleansed by tears; its people drawn together by memory of common
sacrifice; class antagonism buried in the grave where Duke's son and
cook's son would lie side by side: of a new-born Europe rising from the
ashes of the old. With Germany beaten, her lust of war burnt out, her
hideous doctrine of Force proved to be false, the world would breathe a
freer air. Passion and hatred would fall from man's eyes. The people
would see one another and join hands.

Flossie was sceptical. "Why hasn't it done it before?" she wanted to
know. "Good Lord! There's been enough of it."

"Why didn't we all kiss and be friends after the Napoleonic wars?" she
demanded, "instead of getting up Peterloo massacres, and anti-Corn Law
riots, and breaking the Duke of Wellington's windows?"

"All this talk of downing Militarism," she continued. "It's like trying
to do away with the other sort of disorderly house. You don't stamp out
a vice by chivying it round the corner. When men and women have become
decent there will be no more disorderly houses. But it won't come
before. Suppose we do knock Militarism out of Germany, like we did out
of France, not so very long ago? It will only slip round the corner into
Russia or Japan. Come and settle over here, as likely as not, especially
if we have a few victories and get to fancy ourselves."

Madge was of opinion that the world would have had enough of war. Not
armies but whole peoples would be involved this time. The lesson would
be driven home.

"Oh, yes, we shall have had enough of it," agreed Flossie, "by the time
we've paid up. There's no doubt of that. What about our children? I've
just left young Frank strutting all over the house and flourishing a
paper knife. And the servants have had to bar the kitchen door to
prevent his bur