Then the Frontiersmen were disbanded. They had promised well at the start, but they had never been themselves since La Milo had been attacked by the Manchester Watch Committee. It had taken all the heart out of them. So that in the end England's defenders were narrowed down to the Boy Scouts, of whom Clarence Chugwater was the pride, and a large civilian population, prepared, at any moment, to turn out for their country's sake and wave flags. A certain section of these, too, could sing patriotic songs. * * * * * It was inevitable, in the height of the Silly Season, that such a topic as the simultaneous invasion of Great Britain by nine foreign powers should be seized upon by the press. Countless letters poured into the offices of the London daily papers every morning. Space forbids more than the gist of a few of these. Miss Charlesworth wrote:--"In this crisis I see no alternative. I shall disappear." Mr. Horatio Bottomley, in _John Bull_, said that there was some very dirty and underhand work going on, and that the secret history of the invasion would be published shortly. He himself, however, preferred any invader, even the King of Bollygolla, to some K.C.'s he could name, though he was fond of dear old Muir. He wanted to know why Inspector Drew had retired. The _Daily Express_, in a thoughtful leader, said that Free Trade evidently meant invaders for all. Mr. Herbert Gladstone, writing to the _Times_, pointed out that he had let so many undesirable aliens into the country that he did not see that a few more made much difference. Mr. George R. Sims made eighteen puns on the names of the invading generals in the course of one number of "Mustard and Cress." Mr. H. G. Pelissier urged the public to look on the bright side. There was a sun still shining in the sky. Besides, who knew that some foreign marksman might not pot the censor? Mr. Robert FitzSimmons offered to take on any of the invading generals, or all of them, and if he didn't beat them it would only be because the referee had a wife and seven small children and had asked him as a personal favour to let himself be knocked out. He had lost several fights that way. The directors of the Crystal Palace wrote a circular letter to the shareholders, pointing out that there was a good time coming. With this addition to the public, the Palace stood a sporting chance of once more finding itself full. Judge Willis asked: "What is an invasion?" Signor Scotti cabled anxiously from America (prepaid): "Stands Scotland where it did?" Mr. Lewis Waller wrote heroically: "How many of them are there? I am usually good for about half a dozen. Are they assassins? I can tackle any number of assassins." Mr. Seymour Hicks said he hoped they would not hurt George Edwardes. Mr. George Edwardes said that if they injured Seymour Hicks in any way he would never smile again.