Measures were thus in progress for giving a vast amount of Sunday relief throughout the country. Much had been already done, more was in hand, and, judging by the past, I saw reasonable ground to hope that the completion of this would open the way, as in the end it did, to yet further benefit. Of course I could not but be aware that the important change now preparing had in it an element of danger. The transit of letters through London on the Sunday, if taken alone, would necessarily be considered as an increase of Sunday work, the more so as the "practical officers" maintained, contrary to my opinion, that at least a temporary addition to the present force was essential to the plan. It was to be feared, therefore, that London would be more struck with a slight increase of Sunday employment in its own office than with any decrease, however great, in all the other offices of the kingdom; and that if London should sound the alarm on a subject where Englishmen feel rather than think, an angry excitement would spread throughout the country; an evil so formidable as to require that every precaution should be taken against it. Above all, it was desirable that no partial rumour should precede the complete enunciation of the plan; since its sole chance of ready acceptance, and indeed its true justifiability, depended upon its character as a whole. Consequently, every one of those to whom knowledge was necessarily intrusted had been strictly enjoined to secrecy. Unhappily, there must have been treachery in the camp; not that I ever had the means of fixing this charge on any individual, or that I ever was solicitous to do so; but of the fact itself there was abundant evidence. On September 27th my wife and I, by way of keeping the twenty-second anniversary of our wedding, had taken a walk together as far as Hendon, but after spending some time pleasantly there, we found the rest of our pleasure marred by rumours of approaching trouble--rumours too well confirmed on the following day.