them. Did Soames think they must go down if there was a war? Soames nodded. But it would be over very quickly. It would beso bad for Timothy if it wasn’t. And of course Soames’ dear father would feel it very much at his age. Luckily poor dearRoger had been spared this dreadful anxiety. And Aunt Juley with a little handkerchief wiped away the large tear trying toclimb the permanent pout on her now quite withered left cheek; she was remembering dear Roger, and all his originality, andhow he used to stick pins into her when they were little together. Aunt Hester, with her instinct for avoiding theunpleasant, here chimed in: Did Soames think they would make Mr. Chamberlain Prime Minister at once? He would settle it allso quickly. She would like to see that old Kruger sent to St. Helena. She could remember so well the news of Napoleon’sdeath, and what a, relief it had been to his grandfather. Of course she and Juley —“We were in pantalettes then, my dear”—had not felt it much at the time.

Soames took a cup of tea from her, drank it quickly, and ate three of those macaroons for which Timothy’s was famous. Hisfaint, pale, supercilious smile had deepened just a little. Really, his family remained hopelessly provincial, however muchof London they might possess between them. In these go-ahead days their provincialism stared out even more than it used to.Why, old Nicholas was still a Free Trader, and a member of that antediluvian home of Liberalism, the Remove Club — though,to be sure, the members were pretty well all Conservatives now, or he himself could not have joined; and Timothy, they said,still wore a nightcap. Aunt Juley spoke again. Dear Soames was looking so well, hardly a day older than he did when dear Anndied, and they were all there together, dear Jolyon, and dear Swithin, and dear Roger. She paused and caught the tear whichhad climbed the pout on her right cheek. Did he — did he ever hear anything of Irene nowadays? Aunt Hester visiblyinterposed her shoulder. Really, Juley was always saying something! The smile left Soames’ face, and he put his cup down.Here was his subject broached for him, and for all his desire to expand, he could not take advantage.