o _The Jacobite_ was my duty. I gave the butler
a message for Mrs. Barr Smith, and she kindly came out of the dining-room
into one of the drawing-rooms. Then I showed her the dispatch. I tried to
convince her that it would be better not to postpone the performance, but
to get somebody else to take up my part. As all arrangements had been
completed, and the opening night was so close at hand, she thought we
would get on all right if I only promised to turn up on the opening
night.

There was a feeling at the back of my head that I had been devoting more
time than I should have done to play. Had I not made up my mind when
General Downes had told me of my first appointment to the staff that
nothing should divert my thoughts from my work? The fact that the social
obligations I had undertaken would necessitate frequent absences from my
command should have weighed with me more. Such were my thoughts. Then
there came back vividly to my mind some words of advice which my kinsman
General Gordon, of Khartoum fame, had given me when I first joined at
Woolwich. Talking to me one day, he told me that there were three golden
rules of life which if adhered to would lead on to success. These rules
were, first: "_Never allow your pleasure to interfere with your duty_."
Second: "Never allow your duty to interfere with your pleasure." Third:
"Never try to force a woman to give you anything more than she wishes." I
thought of these things and decided that no matter how much annoyance I
caused my good friends, there was to be no more playtime for me till I
could indulge in it without any qualms of conscience as to the fulfilment
of my duties. I succeeded in inducing one of the professors of the
university to come to the rescue, which he bravely did, and the
performance took place without me.

I reached Fort Largs late that night after a twenty-mile drive. I had
made up my mind to leave the men alone till the early morning, when as
soon as the time came for the early morning parade I would order them
myself to fall in. They were all in the large barrack-room ready dressed
when the time came for the usual early parade. I walked into the room
accompanied by the lieutenant and the sergeant-major, and called out
"Fall in, men"; they went straight out on to the parade ground and fell
in. The back of the trouble was broken straightway. It was evident to me
that its cause was in a misunderstanding, probably of a personal
character, between the lie