r it was unthinkable. But the "Law" would not permit us to
sweeten the "pap" any more--that is to say, the reduced allowance of
sugar was all too little for neutralising the insipidity of black tea.
We were also restricted to a fixed complement per unit of tea and
coffee--as much as we required in any circumstances, but, ironically
enough, a little more than we required of the stimulants in their
undiluted nastiness. An elaborate system was set up garnished with red
tape, and a large clerical staff filled the Town Hall for the purpose of
receiving affidavits, affirmations, and of issuing "permits" to all and
sundry who might feel averse from succumbing to a sudden, in
contra-distinction to a slow, starvation. The possession of a "permit"
entitled the holder to purchase the "regulation" quantity of provisions
for one week, at the expiry of which period he or she would be required
to have his or her "permit" renewed, if he or she desired a renewed
lease of life. The tumult at the Town Hall was remarkable; the people
swarmed there like locusts; the ordeal one had to undergo for a "permit"
involved cruelty to corns. Matters improved when the excited multitude
were at length persuaded that one representative of each family
sufficed to conduct negotiations in respect of their right to vegetate.
No storekeeper could supply more than the exact quantity specified in a
"permit," nor dare he refuse to sell on a false plea.

All these drastic changes were the outcome of the Colonel's
proclamation. His action was pronounced grossly unconstitutional. What
our Rulers meant by it, what such arbitrary interference with the
liberty of the stomach portended, we could not tell. Some ascribed it to
pure "khaki cussedness"; others maintained that the Military aimed at
stretching the duration of the Siege to six months--that they might be
lifted by a short cut to promotion. Such were our views of collectivism;
and if the Military left ear did not tingle it must have been
frost-bitten.

Mr. Rhodes liked the latest inscription on the Statute book as little as
anybody else. On Thursday he contributed one thousand pounds to the
Widows' and Orphans' Fund. We liked this liberality, and there was a
consensus of opinion that the _Colossus was_ a "wonder." During the day
a Despatch Rider brought him a bundle of newspapers, which he rather
indiscreetly handed to the _Advertiser_, to dole out at retail rates on
sheets of notepaper. Thus 'news much olde