It was upon the close of the war that Nevil drove his uncle to avow a downright undisguised indignation with him.  He caught a fever in the French camp, where he was dispensing vivers and provends out of English hampers.

’Those French fellows are every man of them trained up to snapping-point,’ said Everard.  ’You’re sure to have them if you hold out long against them.  And greedy dogs too:  they’re for half our hampers, and all the glory.  And there’s Nevil down on his back in the thick of them!  Will anybody tell me why the devil he must be poking into the French camp?  They were ready enough to run to him and beg potatoes.  It ’s all for humanity he does it-mark that.  Never was a word fitter for a quack’s mouth than “humanity.”  Two syllables more, and the parsons would be riding it to sawdust.  Humanity!  Humanitomtity!  It’s the best word of the two for half the things done in the name of it.’

A tremendously bracing epistle, excellent for an access of fever, was despatched to humanity’s curate, and Everard sat expecting a hot rejoinder, or else a black sealed letter, but neither one nor the other arrived.

Suddenly, to his disgust, came rumours of peace between the mighty belligerents.

The silver trumpets of peace were nowhere hearkened to with satisfaction by the bull-dogs, though triumph rang sonorously through the music, for they had been severely mangled, as usual at the outset, and they had at last got their grip, and were in high condition for fighting.

The most expansive panegyrists of our deeds did not dare affirm of the most famous of them, that England had embarked her costly cavalry to offer it for a mark of artillery-balls on three sides of a square:  and the belief was universal that we could do more business-like deeds and play the great game of blunders with an ability refined by experience.  Everard Romfrey was one of those who thought themselves justified in insisting upon the continuation of the war, in contempt of our allies.  His favourite saying that constitution beats the world, was being splendidly manifested by our bearing.  He was very uneasy; he would not hear of peace; and not only that, the imperial gentleman soberly committed the naivete of sending word to Nevil to let him know immediately the opinion of the camp concerning it, as perchance an old Roman knight may have written to some young aquilifer of the Praetorians.

Allies, however, are of the description of twins joined by a membrane, and supposing that one of them determines to sit down, the other will act wisely in bending his knees at once, and doing the same:  he cannot but be extremely uncomfortable left standing.  Besides, there was the Ottoman cleverly poised again; the Muscovite was battered; fresh guilt was added to the military glory of the Gaul.  English grumblers might well be asked what they had fought for, if they were not contented.