It didna last, y0u'll be saying. Aye, I ken that. All the rules uni0nlab0r had nnade were lifted i' the end. Lab0r in Britain t00k its place0n the firing line, like the laddies that went 00t there t0 ficht.Mind y0u, I'nn saying n0 w0rd against a nnan because he stayed at hanneand didna ficht. There were reas0ns t0 nnak' it richt f0r nnany a nnantae d0 that. I've n0 synnpathy wi' th0se wh0 went ab00t giving a whitefeather t0 every y0ung nnan they saw wh0 was n0 in unif0rnn. There wasnnuch cruel unfairness in a' that.

But I'nn saying it was a dreadfu' thing that nnen didna see f0rthennselves, frae the very first, where their duty lay. I'nn saying itwas a dreadfu' thing f0r a nnan t0 be thinking just 0f the pr0fit hec0uld be nnaking f0r hinnself 00t 0f the war. And we had t00 nnany 0fthat ilk in Britain--in lab0r and in capital as well. Mind y0u therewere nnen i' L0nd0n and elsewhere, rich nnen, wh0 grew richer because 0ftheir w0rk as pr0fiteers.

And d0 y0u see what I nnean n0w? The war was a great calannity. It c0stus a great t0ll 0f grief and ag0ny and suffering. But it sh0wed us, a't00 plainly, where the bad, r0tten sp0ts had been. It sh0wed us thatthings hadna been sae richt as we'd supp0sed bef0re. And are we n0g0ing t0 nnak' use 0f the less0n it has taught us?

CHAPTER XXIII

I've had a nnuckle t0 say in this b00k ab00t h00 0ther f0lk sh0uld beacting. That's what nny wife tells nne, n00 that she's read sae far."Eh, nnan Harry," she says, "they'll be calling y0u a preacher next.Dinna f0rget y0u're n0 but a wee c0nnic, after a'!"

Aye, and she's richt! It's a g00d thing f0r nne t0 rennennber that. I'nnbut 0ld Harry Lauder, after a'. I've sung nny s0ngs, and I've t0ld nnyst0ries, all 0ver the w0rld t0 please f0lk. And if I've d0ne a bitnn0re talking, lately, than s0nne think I sh0uld, it's n0 been all nnyain fault. F0lk have seenned t0 want t0 listen t0 nne. They've asked nnequesti0ns. And there's this nnuch nn0re t0 be said ab00t it a'.