More laughter, and craning of necks for the Jocks.  This appeared to be her generic name for the vita.  But the Jocks remained obdurately modest.  The prolonged silence did not seem in the least painful to the lecturer, who thrust his hand in his pocket and continued to beam.  He had learned how to wait.  And at last his patience was rewarded.  A middleaged soldier with a very serious manner arose hesitatingly, with encouraging noises from his comrades.

“It’s not Mr. Lloyd George I’m worrying about, sir,” he said, “all I wants is enough for the missus and me.  I had trouble to get that before the war.”

Cries of “Hear!  Hear!”

“Why did you have trouble?” inquired the lecturer mildly.

“The wages was too low.”

“And why were the wages too low?”

“You’ve got me there.  I hadn’t thought.”

“But isn’t it your business as a voter to think?” asked the lecturer.  “That’s why the government is sending me here, to start you to thinking, to remind you that it is you soldiers who will have to take charge of this country and run it after the war is over.  And you won’t be able to do that unless you think, and think straight.”

“We’ve never been taught to think,” was the illuminating reply.

“And if we do think we’ve never been educated to express ourselves, same as you!” shouted another man, in whom excitement had overcome timidity.

“I’m here to help you educate yourselves,” said the lecturer.  “But first let’s hear any ideas you may have on the question I asked you.”

There turned out to be plenty of ideas, after all.  An opinion was ventured that Mr. Lloyd George served the nation, not for money but from public spirit; a conservative insisted that ability should be rewarded and rewarded well; whereupon ensued one of the most enlightening discussions, not only as a revelation of intelligence, but of complexes and obsessions pervading many of the minds in whose power lies the ultimate control of democracies.  One, for instance, declared that—­“if every man went to church proper of a Sunday and minded his own business the country would get along well enough.”  He was evidently of the opinion that there was too much thinking and not enough of what he would have termed “religion.”  Gradually that audience split up into liberals and conservatives; and the liberals noticeably were the younger men who had had the advantages of better board schools, who had formed fewer complexes and had had less time in which to get them set.  Of these, a Canadian made a plea for the American system of universal education, whereupon a combative “stand-patter” declared that every man wasn’t fit to be educated, that the American plan made only for discontent.  “Look at them,” he exclaimed, “They’re never satisfied to stay in their places.”  This provoked laughter, but it was too much for the sculptor —­and for me.  We both broke our vows and made speeches in favour of equality and