it defies detection. At one time
life's greatest prizes seemed to be within his reach. During the war his
skill in rendering the _chevelure_ of noted pianists fit for military
service attracted official attention, and if he had been made O.B.E. it
would have come as no surprise to any of us. Unhappily his interest in
the political affairs of his own country led him to annex at Waterloo a
despatch-case which, pedantically speaking, did not belong to him. The
case unfortunately happened to contain a diamond tiara, and this led to
misunderstandings. Nothing could have exceeded the courage of dear
Saccharine when she learned that at the end of his sentence he was to be
deported.

"It will leave me," she said, with perfect calm and in words that have
since become historical, "in a position of greater freedom and less
responsibility."

But I knew how near she was to a nervous breakdown. Indeed, nervous
breakdown was her successful defence when, a week later, she was
arrested at Whiteridge's with a tin of sardines, two cakes of
super-cream toilet-soap, and a bound copy of Keble's "Christian Year" in
her muff. The malice and animosity that Whiteridge's showed in the
prosecution are but partly excused by the fact that dear Saccharine had
pinched the muff first.

Another sister, Chlorine, in later years became well known as a medium.
She communicated with the hereafter, or at the very least professed to
do so, by telephonic wireless. It used to be rather weird to hear her
ring up "Gehenna, 1 double 7, 6." I have not the least doubt that she
would have convinced a famous physicist who, curiously enough, is weak
on facts, or a writer of detective stories who, equally curiously, is
weak on imagination. I am sorry to say that she would never give me the
winner of the next Derby, nor do I remember that she ever used this
special and exclusive information for her own benefit. But, like other
mediums, she could always give a plausible reason for avoiding any test
that was really a test; and now that she has doubled her fees owing to
the increased cost of labour and materials, she ought to do very well,
particularly after the friendly boost that I have just given her.

Then there was Methyll--this is the old Anglo-Saxon form of Ethel. She
was a charming child and made a profound study of natural history. I
remember her saying to me at a reception where the refreshments had been
somewhat restricted: "One cocktail doesn't make a swall