But still his fervours left them calm-- Emotion they considered freakish;-- He felt with many an inward qualm That he was thoroughly un-beakish; His mood perplexed them; he was half Provocative, half deferential, Too anxious to provoke a laugh, Too vague where logic was essential. So, struggling on to bridge the gaps That seventeen from sixty sunder, And causing at his best, perhaps, A mild and intermittent wonder, At least he recognised the truth That there are other ways of earning The sympathy of clear-eyed youth Than by a mere parade of learning. And yet I think his pupils may In after years, at camp or college, Admit that in his rambling way He added to their stock of knowledge; And, as they ruefully recall His "jaws" on CLAUSEWITZ and JOMINI, On BALZAC, HEINE and JEAN PAUL, Think kindly of their dug-out dominie. * * * * * "Hide-bound red tape rules the day." SIR F. MILNER'S _Letter to "The Times."_ It is much more effective than ordinary unreinforced variety. * * * * * A Happy Family. "A milk deliverer 31 years of ago, who applied for exemption, said his father was an Atheist, his mother was 'all the other way about,' and his brother was a Socialist, and if he went away there would be war at home. He considered that he should stay at home to keep the peace."--_Western Evening Herald._ But a merciful tribunal, thinking that he was more likely to find it in the trenches, only exempted him for a month. * * * * * THE NATIONAL SCAPE-GOAT ASSOCIATION. My companion had come into the compartment hurriedly just as the train started. He was a small, middle-aged, sandy-haired man with a straggling tufted beard, the sort of beard that looks as if it owed its origin rather to forgetfulness than to any settled design. The expression on his face and, indeed, over his whole body was a deprecating one. He reminded me of a dog who has transgressed and begs humbly for forgiveness. He had no newspaper, and accepted the offer of one of mine with a deference of gratitude that struck me as excessive. Soon after that we slid into a conversation about the War and made most of the usual remarks. "It's wonderful," he said, "how the country maintains its financial stability. Five millions a day, you know. It's a pretty big sum, and yet nobody seems to feel it. Here we are, for instance, you and I, travelling first-class." "My next season-ticket is going to be third-class," I said. "All business has been hit very hard, and we've simply got to economise." "I daresay, I daresay," he said. "It may be so with some businesses. All I know is my business hasn't gone off." "Shipowner?" I said.