e hurled at them by their enemies; the Pro-Boers, the Little
Englanders took the place of the Home Rulers of the past. Sir William
was by tradition a Liberal. Inspired by that tradition he wrote an
article on the "Attitude of England," which appeared in a Liberal
Review. Thrilled by the sight of his utterances in print, he determined
in his secret soul to expand that article into a book. The secret was of
course shared by his wife, who fervently believed in the yet unwritten
masterpiece. The fact that in spite of the dearth of prominent men in
his party, of men who had in them the stuff of a leader, that party had
not turned to Gore in its need, aroused no surprise, no misgiving, in
either his mind or that of his wife. It was simply in their eyes another
step in that path of voluntary renunciation which he was treading for
her sake.

With this possible interpretation of all missed opportunities entirely
taken for granted, Sir William's existence flowed peacefully and
prosperously on. It was with an agreeable consciousness of his dignity
and prestige that he sat once or twice in the week at the board meetings
of one or two governing bodies to which he belonged. They figured in his
scheme of existence as his hours of work, the sterner, more serious
occupation which justified his hours of leisure. The rest of that
leisure was spent in happy, congenial uniformity: a morning ride,
followed by some time in his comfortable study, during which he might be
supposed to be writing his book; an hour or two at his club; a game or
two of chess, a pastime in which he excelled; and behind all this a
beautiful background, the deep and enduring affection of his wife, whose
companionship, and needs, and admiration for himself filled up all the
vacant spaces in his life. He would, however, have been genuinely
surprised if he had realised that it was by a constant, deliberate
intention that she succeeded in entertaining him, in amusing him, as
much as she did her friends and acquaintances; if he had thought that
she had made up her mind that never, while she had power to prevent it,
should he come into his own house and find it dull. And he never did.

CHAPTER II

To be a popular invalid is in itself a career: it blesses those that
call and those that receive. The visitors who used day by day to go and
see Lady Gore used to congratulate themselves as they stood on her
doorstep on the knowledge that they would find her within, and