ime without disturbing Lambert's equanimity. I think that
Lambert's enormous and somnolent bulk must have annoyed Ransome, for he
went on to make an attack which was virulently sarcastic. In his
speech Lambert had been foolish enough to say nothing in favour of
modern novels, he had taken it for granted that all of them were bad,
and Ransome fastening on this accused him of never having heard of
George Meredith and Thomas Hardy, and he finished by appealing to us
not to be guided in our tastes and opinions by a man whose assumptions
were based on tremendous ignorance.

After Ransome had finished Lambert woke up, which was silly of him, but
I must admit that he looked exactly as if he had been roused from a
deep sleep. A number of men spoke, and most of them said something
which I had intended to say, until there was very little of my speech
left which could sound original. As each man sat down, Dennison and
Webb had the impertinence to shout "Marten," but they were always
called to order by the President, who was in no hurry to hear my maiden
effort. Collier, who had not come to hear me from inclination but a
sense of duty, dozed peacefully in a corner, a number of men recorded
their votes and left the room, the President yawned prodigiously, and
the Secretary looked as if he had got a headache. If I intended to
speak before Lambert replied to all the criticisms passed upon him, my
time had come. I got up as quietly as I could, but I was greeted with
so much applause that I felt quite embarrassed. Jack Ward had come in
from dining somewhere, and when he saw Dennison and Webb clapping
because they expected to be amused, he resolved to make more row than
they did. I could not complain of my reception, but why I received it
is not worth discussing. However the mere sight of Dennison made me
determined not to make a fool of myself and I got rid of my first
sentence without a hitch, and then I was all right for some time
because the walls of my bedder had heard my speech very often and I
knew it well. Jack Ward kept on applauding violently, he meant well
but he did it in the most awkward places, and he made me forget one
thing which Foster had provided. Dennison laughed a little, but he had
to wait before he got an opportunity of trying to make me appear
especially ridiculous.

"We read too much and think too little," I said, and this was the
opening of a sentence which had caused me a lot of trouble until Murra