"
"A man of your size, Bertram, won't regret a few pounds of flesh
weighed in the balance as against the success of our exhibits," said
Trevalyon.
"Not while I remember," answered Bertram, "Gladstone's remarks in the
_Fortnightly Review_, his almost prediction (unless we bestir
ourselves): That England's daughter, the Great United States of
America, may yet in the near future wrest from us our position in
manufacturing of Head servant to the household of the world. Many of
we British want a rough reminder like that."
"Yes," said Vaura, "some of our manufacturers forget that younger
nations are wide-awake and eager to pass us by at a hand-galop, while
we go dozing through time with our night-caps on."
"We are England, that's enough, and we cannot realize that the world
moves. We plume ourselves upon the time when we handed from our docks
everything to poor indolent Europe, or only for the ignorant
colonies," said Lady Esmondet, ironically.
"_N'importe, chere_ Lady Esmondet," answered Trevalyon, merrily. "Our
manufacturers will wake with a start in 1878, and forego both night-
caps; they won't have time to brew the one or don the other in
surprise at exhibits from the poor colonies and the ingenious
Americans.
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