re will be no
necessity for fighting."

The hymn outside gathered volume. It seemed to me that thousands of
voices were joining in the singing of it. It became exceedingly
difficult to hear what Babberly was saying. I leaned forward and
caught his next few sentences.

"By keeping within the limits of constitutional action at this crisis
we shall demonstrate that we are, what we have always boasted
ourselves, the party of law and order. We shall win a bloodless
victory. We shall convince the Government that we possess self-control
as well as determination."

Then the noise of the singing outside became so great that it was
impossible to hear Babberly at all. McNeice tilted his chair back and
began to hum the tune. Malcolmson beat time to the singing with his
forefingers. Their action seemed to me to be intentionally insulting
to Babberly. The crowd outside reached the end of a verse and there
was a pause.

"Damn that hymn!" said Babberly.

This roused the Dean. It would have roused any dean with a particle of
spirit in him. After all, a high ecclesiastic cannot sit still and
listen to profane condemnation of one of the Psalms of David, even if
it has undergone versification at the hands of Dr. Watts. The conduct
of McNeice and Malcolmson was offensive and provocative. The noise
made by the crowd was maddening. There is every excuse for Babberly's
sudden loss of temper. But the Dean's anger was more than excusable.
It was justified. He sprang to his feet, and I knew at once that he
was very angry indeed. I could see a broad white rim all round the
irises of his eyes, and a pulse in his temples was throbbing visibly.
I recognized the symptoms. I had seen them once before at a vestry
meeting when some ill-conditioned parishioner said that the Dean's
curate was converting to his own uses the profits of the parish
magazine. The periodical, as appeared later on, was actually run at a
loss, and the curate had been seven-and-ninepence out of pocket the
previous year.

The Dean said something to Babberly, but the crowd had begun the
fourth verse of the hymn, and we could not hear what he said. I got up
and shut both windows. The atmosphere of our committee-room was hot,
and likely to become hotter; but it is better to do business in a
Turkish bath than not to do it at all. There was plainly no use our
talking to each other unless we were able to hear. My action gave
Babberly time to regain his temper.

"I apologize," h