Nowheisdistendedwithmegalomania，nowheisdeflated，nowheisquarrelsome，nowimpenetrablyself-satisfied，butalwaysheissudden，jerky，fragmentary，energetic，and——insomesubtlefundamentalwaythatIfinddifficulttodefine——absurd。
Therestandsout——becauseofthetranquilbeautyofitssettingperhaps——atalkwehadintheverandaofthelittlepavilionnearmyworkshedsbehindCrestHillinwhichmyaeroplanesandnavigableballoonswerehoused。Itwasoneofmanysimilarconversations，andIdonotknowwhyitinparticularshouldsurviveitsfellows。Ithappensso。Hehadcomeuptomeafterhiscoffeetoconsultmeaboutacertainchalicewhichinamomentofsplendourandundertheimportunityofacountesshehaddeterminedtogivetoadeservingchurchintheeast-end。
I，inamomentofevenrashergenerosity，hadsuggestedEwartasapossibleartist。EwarthadproducedatonceanadmirablesketchforthesacredvesselsurroundedbyasortofwreathofMillieswithopenarmsandwingsandhaddrawnfiftypoundsonthestrengthofit。Afterthatcameaseriesofvexatiousdelays。
Thechalicebecamelessandlessofacommercialman’schalice，acquiredmoreandmoretheelusivequalityoftheHolyGrail，andatlasteventhedrawingreceded。
Myunclegrewrestive。”Yousee，George，they’llbegintowanttheblastedthing！”
“Whatblastedthing？”
“Thatchalice，damnit！They’rebeginningtoaskquestions。Itisn’tBusiness，George。”
“It’sart。”Iprotested，“andreligion。”
“That’sallverywell。Butit’snotagoodadforus，George，tomakeapromiseandnotdeliverthegoods。I’llhavetowriteoffyourfriendEwartasabaddebt，that’swhatitcomesto，andgotoadecentfirm。”。
Wesatoutsideondeckchairsintheverandaofthepavilion，smoked，drankwhisky，and，thechalicedisposedof，meditated。
Histemporaryannoyancepassed。Itwasanaltogethersplendidsummernight，followingablazing，indolentday。Fullmoonlightbroughtoutdimlythelinesoftherecedinghills，onewavebeyondanother；farbeyondwerethepin-pointlightsofLeatherhead，andintheforegroundthelittlestagefromwhichI
usedtostartuponmyglidersgleamedlikewetsteel。TheseasonmusthavebeenhighJune，fordowninthewoodsthathidthelightsoftheLadyGrovewindows，Irememberthenightingalesthrilledandgurgled。
“Wegothere，George。”saidmyuncle，endingalongpause。
“Didn’tIsay？”
“Say！——when？”Iasked。
“InthatholeintheTo’nemCourtRoad，eh？It’sbeenaStraightSquareFight，andhereweare！”
Inodded。
“’Membermetellingyou——Tono-Bungay？。Well。I’djustthatafternoonthoughtofit！”
“I’vefanciedattimes；“Iadmitted。
“It’sagreatworld，George，nowadays，withafairchanceforeveryonewholaysholdofthings。ThecareerouverttotheTalons——eh？Tono-Bungay。Thinkofit！It’sagreatworldandagrowingworld，andI’mgladwe’reinit——andgettingapull。
We’regettingbigpeople，George。Thingscometous。Eh？ThisPalestinething。”。
HemeditatedforatimeandZzzzedsoftly。Thenhebecamestill。
Histhemewastakenupbyacricketinthegrassuntilhehimselfwasreadytoresumeit。Thecrickettooseemedtofancythatinsomeschemeofitsownithadgotthere。“Chirrrrrrup“itsaid；
“chirrrrrrup。”
“Lord，whataplacethatwasatWimblehurst！”hebrokeout。“IfeverIgetadayoffwe’llmotorthere，George，andrunoverthatdogthatsleepsintheHighStreet。Alwayswasadogasleepthere——always。Always。I’dliketoseetheoldshopagain。I
daresayoldRuckstillstandsbetweenthesheepathisdoor，grinningwithallhisteeth，andMarbel，sillybeggar！comesoutwithhiswhiteaprononandapencilstuckbehindhisear，tryingtolookawake。Wonderiftheyknowit’sme？I’dlike’emsomehowtoknowit’sme。”
“They’llhavehadtheInternationalTeaCompanyandallsortsofpeoplecuttingthemup。”Isaid。“Andthatdog’sbeenonthepavementthissixyears——can’tsleepeventhere，poordear，becauseofthemotor-hornsanditsshatterednerves。”
“Movin’everywhere。”saidmyuncle。“Iexpectyou’reright。
It’sabigtimewe’rein，George。It’sabigProgressiveOn-comingImperialTime。ThisPalestinebusiness——thedaringofit。It’s，it’saProcess，George。Andwegotourhandsonit。Herewesit——withourhandsonit，George。Entrusted。
“Itseemsquietto——night。Butifwecouldseeandhear。”HewavedhiscigartowardsLeatherheadandLondon。
“Theretheyare，millions，George。Jes’thinkofwhatthey’vebeenuptoto-day——thosetenmillions——eachonedoinghisownparticularjob。Youcan’tgraspit。It’slikeoldWhitmansays——whatisithesays？Well，anywayit’slikeoldWhitman。
Finechap，Whitman！Fineoldchap！Queer，youcan’tquotehim……Andthesemillionsaren’tanything。There’sthemillionsoverseas，hundredsofmillions，Chinese，M’rocco，Africagenerally，’Merica。Well，hereweare，withpower，withleisure，pickedout——becausewe’vebeenenergetic，becausewe’veseizedopportunities，becausewe’vemadethingshumwhenotherpeoplehavewaitedforthemtohum。See？Hereweare——withourhandsonit。Bigpeople。Biggrowingpeople。Inasortofway，——Forces。”
Hepaused。“It’swonderful，George。”hesaid。
“Anglo-Saxonenergy。”Isaidsoftlytothenight。
“That’sit，George——energy。It’sputthingsinourgrip——threads，wires，stretchingoutandout，George，fromthatlittleofficeofours，outtoWestAfrica，outtoEgypt，outtoInja，outeast，west，northandsouth。Runningtheworldpractically。Runningitfasterandfaster。Creative。There’sthatPalestinecanalaffair。Marvellousidee！Supposewetakethatup，supposeweletourselvesinforit，usandtheothers，andrunthatwatersluicefromtheMediterraneanintotheDeadSeaValley——thinkofthedifferenceitwillmake！Allthedesertbloominglikearose，Jericholostforever，alltheHolyPlacesunderwater。VerylikelydestroyChristianity。”。
Hemusedforaspace。“Cuttin’canals。”murmuredmyuncle。
“Makingtunnels。Newcountries。Newcentres。Zzzz。
Finance。NotonlyPalestine。
“Iwonderwhereweshallgetbeforewedone，George？Wegotalotofbigthingsgoing。Wegottheinvestingpublicsoundandsure。Idon’tseewhyintheendweshouldn’tbeverybig。
There’sdiffcultiesbutI’mequaltothem。We’restillabitsoftinourbones，butthey’llhardenallright。Isuppose，afterall，I’mworthsomethinglikeamillion，George，clearedupandsettled。IfIgotoutofthingsnow。It’sagreattime，George，awonderfultime！”。
IglancedthroughthetwilightathisconvexityandImustconfessitstruckmethatonthewholehewasn’tparticularlygoodvalue。
“Wegotourhandsonthings，George，usbigpeople。Wegottohangtogether，Georgeruntheshow。Joinupwiththeoldorderlikethatmill-wheelofKipling’s。(Finestthingheeverwrote，George；Ijes’beenreadingitagain。MademebuyLadyGrove。)
Well，wegottorunthecountry，George。It’sours。MakeitaScientificOrganisedBusinessEnterprise。Putideesintoit。
’Lectrifyit。RunthePress。Runallsortsofdevelopments。
Allsortsofdevelopments。IbeentalkingtoLordBoom。Ibeentalkingtoallsortsofpeople。Greatthings。Progress。Theworldonbusinesslines。Onlyjes’beginning。”。
Hefellintoadeepmeditation。
HeZzzzedforatimeandceased。
“YES。”hesaidatlastinthetoneofamanwhohasatlastemergedwithultimatesolutionstotheprofoundestproblems。
“What？”Isaidafteraseemlypause。
Myunclehungfireforamomentanditseemedtomethefateofnationstrembledinthebalance。Thenhespokeasonewhospeaksfromtheverybottomofhisheart——andIthinkitwastheverybottomofhisheart。
“I’djes’liketodropintotheEastryArms，jes’whenallthosebeggarsintheparlouraresittin’downtowhist，RuckandMarbelandall，andgive’emtenminutesofmymind，George。Straightfromtheshoulder。Jes’exactlywhatIthinkofthem。It’salittlething，butI’dliketodoitjes’oncebeforeIdie。”。
