Paths of Glory
Page 35
“A by-law?”
“Failure to pay an entrance fee when entering a public monument.” Turner paused, “Maximum fine one thousand lire.” He smiled at his future son-in-law. “On a more serious matter, dear boy—my game, I think.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
TUESDAY, JUNE 2ND, 1914
“DO YOU THINK we’ll have to go to war, sir?” asked Wainwright on the first day of term.
&
nbsp; “Let’s hope not, Wainwright,” George replied.
“Why not, sir, if it’s a just cause? After all, we should stand up for what we believe in; the English always have in the past.”
“But if it were possible to negotiate an honorable agreement with the Germans,” said George, “wouldn’t that be a better solution?”
“You can’t negotiate an honorable agreement with the Hun, sir. They never keep to their side of the bargain.”
“Perhaps history will prove you wrong on this occasion,” said George.
“You’ve always taught us, sir, to study the past carefully if you want to predict the most likely outcome in the future, and the Hun—”
“The Germans, Wainwright.”
“The Germans, sir, have throughout history proved to be a warlike nation.”
“Some might say the same of the English, whenever it’s been in our interests.”
“Not true, sir,” said Wainwright. “England only goes to war when there’s a just cause.”
“As seen by the English,” suggested George, which silenced Wainwright for a moment.
“But if we did have to go to war,” jumped in Carter minor, “would you enlist?”
Before George could reply, Wainwright interjected, “Mr. Asquith has said that should we go to war, schoolmasters would be exempt from serving in the armed forces.”
“You seem unusually well informed on this subject, Wainwright,” said George.
“My father’s a general, sir.”
“Views overheard in the nursery are always harder to dislodge than those taught in the classroom,” replied George.
“Who said that?” asked Graves.
“Bertrand Russell,” George replied.
“And everyone knows he’s a conchie,” chipped in Wainwright.
“What’s a conchie?” asked Carter minor.
“A conscientious objector. Someone who will use any excuse not to fight for his country,” said Wainwright.
“Everyone should be allowed to follow their own conscience, Wainwright, when it comes to facing a moral dilemma.”
“Bertrand Russell, no doubt,” said Wainwright.
“Jesus Christ, actually,” said George.