The scene was ended by Gertie Naylor calling these laggards in to tea, to
which meal the rest of the company had already betaken itself.
At the tea table they found General Punnit discoursing on war, and giving
"idealists" what idealists usually get. The General believed in war; he
pressed the biological argument, did not flinch when Mr. Naylor dubbed
him the "British Bernhardi," and invoked the support of "these medical
gentleman" (this with a smile at Doctor Mary's expense) for his point of
view. War tested, proved, braced, hardened; it was nature's crucible; it
was the antidote to softness and sentimentality; it was the vindication
of the strong, the elimination of the weak.
"I suppose there's a lot in all that, sir," said Alec Naylor, "but I
don't think the effect on one's character is always what you say. I think
I've come out of this awful business a good deal softer than I went in."
He laughed in an apologetic way. "More, more sentimental, if you like,
with more feeling, don't you know, for human life, and suffering, and so
on. I've seen a great many men killed, but the sight hasn't made me any
more ready to kill men.
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