Last Sunday morning an hour was lost. The children had been discussing
the question beforehand.
"Where will it go?" asked one.
"I suppose the fairies will take it," said Joyce.
"Perhaps it will go behind the clock," said another.
"Well, I'll tell you what I'd like to do," said Joyce deliberately.
"I'd like to get up in the middle of the night, when the hour is going
to be lost, and put on my dressing-gown without waking Nannie, and go
out into the garden and see for myself how they lose it. It's sure to
be about somewhere."
"You couldn't," said one of the others. "Nannies always sleep so that
they wake up at once if you move. You'd never get up without her
knowing."
"Well, why do they want to lose it?" asked Joyce, realising that the
last argument was unanswerable and so darting off on to a new train of
thought altogether.
"Because they'll save a lot of other hours that way. And then, you see,
if we get up earlier we shan't have to pay the pennies for gas and
electric light, and all those pennies can go to help Daddy win the War."
"Yes, but where will the hour be gone?"
And so we came back to the beginning again.
There, was a long pause.
"Well," concluded Joyce, on a note of finality, "it's a very good plan
anyway."
That settled it.
* * * * *
"MR. BIRRELL'S REBELLION REVELATIONS."
_"Westminster Gazette" Contents Bill._
But in justice to the late CHIEF SECRETARY it should be said that the
Sinn Feiners also had a hand in it.
* * * * *
[Illustration: _P.C. O'Leary._ "MOVE ON THERE, AND DON'T BE
OBSTHRUCTING THE THOROUGHFARE!"
_Interested Spectator._ "WOT 'ARM AM I DOIN' OF?"
_P.C. O'Leary._ "SURE IF EVERY WAN WOS TO STAND IN THE WAN PLACE, HOW
WOULD THE REST GO BY?"]
* * * * *