ery grave subject," I said seriously. "You can't
expect to win the War if you go on like that."

"Well, you read it," she said, handing me the paper.

I took the paper with a trembling hand, and read. She was right! If the
paper was to be believed, all Second Lieutenants were to become
Lieutenants after eighteen years' service. At last my chance had come.

"My dear, this is wonderful," I said. "In another fifteen years we shall
be there. You might buy two more stars this afternoon and practise sewing
them on, in order to be ready. You mustn't be taken by surprise when the
actual moment comes."

"But you're a Lieutenant _now_," she said, "if that's true. It says that
'after eighteen months--'"

I snatched up the paper again. Good Heavens! it was eighteen
_months_--not years.

"Then I _am_ a Lieutenant," I said.

We had a bottle of champagne for dinner that night, and Celia got the
paper and read it aloud to my tunic. And just for practice she took the
two stars off my other tunic and sewed them on this one--thus:

** **

And we had a very happy evening.

"I suppose it will be a few days before it's officially announced," I
said.

"Bother, I suppose it will," said Celia, and very reluctantly she took
one star off each shoulder,

leaving the matter--so:

* *

And the years rolled on....

And I am still a Second Lieutenant....

I do not complain; indeed I am even rather proud of it. If I am not
gaining on my original one star, at least I am keeping pace with it. I
might so easily have been a corporal by now.

But I should like to have seen a little more notice taken of me in the
"Gazette." I scan it every day, hoping for some such announcement
as this:

"_Second Lieutenant M_ ---- _to remain a Second Lieutenant_."

Or this:

"_Second Lieutenant M_ ---- _to be seconded and to retain his present
rank of Second Lieutenant_."

Or even this:

"_Second Lieutenant M_ ---- _relinquishes the rank of Acting Second
Lieutenant on ceasing to command a Battalion, and reverts to the rank of
Second Lieutenant_."

Failing this, I have thought sometimes of making an announcement in the
Personal Column of "The Times":

"Second Lieutenant M ---- regrets that his duties as a Second Lieutenant
prevent him from replying personally to the many kind inquiries he has
received, and begs to take this opportunity of announcing that he still
retains a star on each shoulder. Both doing well."

But perhaps t