He recalled how hard it had been to persuade Sinclair the fastidious, to breakfast with him at the dining-hall of the ex-Swan & Edgar. Although the critic partook of the delicious meal, he would not be won over to the cause; but he admitted that the butter and the eggs were extra fresh; that the meat was irreproachable, the fish first-rate; he even went so far as to recognise that all things were transacted on a _bona-fide_ method. But when Lionel told him that the whole secret lay in the fact that the interest of all was the interest of each, then Sinclair laughed and said—“tommy rot.” There was nothing more to say to a man who pooh-poohed the greatest and noblest of reforms. “But why on earth, if your are so anxious to reform the depravity of our Society, why have you begun by administering to their appetites? It seems to me that you might have found some nobler mission for the regeneration of Britishers.” “My dear fellow,” had calmly replied Lionel, “to stem a chaotic revolution, after the total collapse of all manufacturers, we had first of all to think of feeding our hungry populations. Before you lift up the soul of man, you must feed his body. But at the same time that we are satisfying the physical need of men and women, we are unconsciously weaving into a close tissue the contradictory codes of morals of buyers and sellers. Every producer is a member of our dining-halls, and benefits directly by the genuineness of the goods he delivers to the Committee. Is it not a colossal triumph?” Danford, who was close by when Lionel had spoken to Sinclair, had added,— “These are the bloodless victories that will enrich our civilisations with greater happiness than ever the conquests of Cæsar, Napoleon and Wellington endowed their epochs with glory.” “First of all, we aim at feeding all classes, on the principle that there should not be one food for the rich and another for the poor; but our ultimate plan is to give self-government to every branch of business, so as to ensure honest dealing, prompt measures, and efficiency.”