d editorship of the paper.

Politics would never have been my province, either in the highest
or the lowest sense. . . . I have hitherto known myself to be merely
a stop-gap; but my action, or rather inaction, as a stop-gap, has
come terribly to an end. That gap will never be filled now, till God
restores all the noble ruin that we name the world; and the wisest
know best that the gap will yawn as hopelessly in the history of
England as in the story of our private lives. I must now either
accept this duty entirely or abandon it entirely. I will not abandon
it; for every instinct and nerve of intelligence I have tells me that
this is a time when it must not be abandoned. I must accept a
comparison that must be a contrast, and a crushing contrast; but
though I can never be so good as my brother, I will see if I can be
better than myself.

The same attacks on financiers and others constantly reiterated might
well have put Gilbert in the dock where his brother had stood. But I
think the upshot of the case against Cecil had not been entirely
encouraging to the winners. Then too, G.K.'s immense popularity made
such an attack a still more doubtful move. Cecil had been less
well-known than Gilbert: but far better known than a Mr. Fraser and a
Mr. Beamish, a pair of cranks against whom Sir Alfred Mond brought a
libel action in 1919 for having--in a placard shown in a window in a
back street--called him a traitor and accused him of having traded
with the enemy.

In this case Sir Alfred Mond (of the Mond Nickel Company) giving
evidence: "said that he always disregarded charges made by
irresponsible persons. Charges had been made against him in the _New
Witness_ which was edited by Mr. Gilbert Chesterton. All the world
regarded Mr. Chesterton as 'irresponsible,' but he was certainly
amusing, and he (the witness) had read most of his books. He had once
procured with some difficulty a copy of the _New Witness."_ HIS
LORDSHIP--Did Mr. Chesterton charge the witness with being a traitor?
Mr. SMITH (Counsel for the defence)--Yes, in the _New Witness."_

"Irresponsible" was not quite the _mot juste_. The unfortunate Fraser
and Beamish were not of the metal to win that or any case in that or
any court. There was a kind of solemn buffoonery in choosing these
two as responsible opponents in preference to the irresponsible G.K.
Chesterton. At any rate damages of L5000 were given against
them--which