sure that you will soon hear from your niece that
Willi is quite safe, that he is remaining on in Berlin.
England and Germany are civilised nations after all!
There need not be any unreasonable bitterness between
them. Only the soldiers and sailors, not our two
nations, will be at war, Anna."

Yes, the recollection of what had happened this
morning left an aftermath of bitterness in Mrs. Otway's
kind heart. It was only too true that it would
sometimes be awkward; in saying so downright Miss
Forsyth had been right! She told herself, however,
that after a few days they surely would all get accustomed
to this strange, unpleasant, new state of
things. Why, during the long Napoleonic wars
Witanbury had always been on the _qui_vive,_ expecting
a French landing on the coast -- that beautiful coast
which was as lonely now as it had been then, and
which, thanks to motors and splendid roads, seemed
much nearer now than then. England had gone on
much as usual a hundred years ago. Mrs. Otway
even reminded herself that Jane Austen, during those
years of stress and danger, had been writing her
delightful, her humorous, her placid studies of life as
though there were no war!

And then, perhaps because of her invocation of
that dear, shrewd mistress of the average British human
heart, Mrs. Otway, feeling far more comfortable
than she had yet felt since her talk with Miss Forsyth,
began retracing her steps towards the cathedral.

She was glad to know that the Dean was going to
give a little address this morning. It was sure to be
kindly, wise, benignant -- for he was himself all these

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