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。”。