morning
you've been at it. I could hear you whenever I went, mixing up hymns
and waltzes and things with 'God Save the King.' I tried to get a bit of
lunch at half past one, but I had to fly from the house."

"It's over now anyhow," said Dr. O'Grady. "And you needn't sell the
piano. I've given up the idea of producing a new version of that tune
for the Lord-Lieutenant. I find that the thing can't be done in the
time. I'm going to give him 'Rule Britannia' instead."

"With variations?"

"No. Quite plain. It'll do him just as well as the other. In fact from
his point of view it's rather the more patriotic tune of the two, and
there won't be any local objection to it because nobody can possibly
recognise it."

It was in this way that Dr. O'Grady showed the true greatness of his
mind. A weaker man, daunted by the difficulty of arranging "God Save
the King" in such a way as to suit all tastes, might have given up the
attempt to provide a musical welcome for the Lord-Lieutenant. A man of
narrow obstinacy, the kind of man who is really like a pig, would have
persevered, in spite of Constable Moriarty's warning, in trying to teach
his variations to the town band. Dr. O'Grady, knowing that the main
thing was the success of his general scheme, turned from a tune which
presented insuperable difficulties, and fixed upon another, which would,
he hoped, be comparatively easy to manage. The Major ought to have
admired him; but did not He was in a condition of extreme nervous
exasperation which rendered him unfit to admire anything.

"You'll get us all into an infernal mess with your foolery," he said
sulkily, "and when you do, you needn't come to me to help you out."

"I won't. But don't forget the committee meeting to-morrow morning. Half
past eleven, in Doyle's Hotel."

"What committee?"

"Strictly speaking," said Dr. O'Grady, "it's two committees--the Statue
Erection Committee and the Lord-Lieutenant Reception Committee--but the
same people are on both, so we may as well make one meeting do."

"I'll go," said the Major, "in the hope, utterly vain of course, of
keeping you from further excesses."

"Good," said Dr. O'Grady. "And now I must hurry off. I've a lot to do
between this and then."

Major Kent was a kind-hearted man. He had suffered intensely during the
earlier part of the day and for some hours had been seriously angry
with Dr. O'Grady. But his sense of hospitality was stronger than his
resentment.

"Stop fo