Duke. [Picking them up.] No, no, I shan't forget. Is there anything else?
Hastings. I have to go down the village about the wire to Stratford. The only other thing at all urgent is the Militant Vegetarians.
Duke. Ah! The Militant Vegetarians! You've heard of them, I'm sure. Won't obey the law [to the Conjurer] so long as the Government serves out meat.
Conjurer. Let them be comforted. There are a good many people who don't get much meat.
Duke. Well, well, I'm bound to say they're very enthusiastic. Advanced, too—oh, certainly advanced. Like Joan of Arc.
[Short silence, in which the Conjurer stares at him.]
Conjurer. Was Joan of Arc a Vegetarian?
Duke. Oh, well, it's a very high ideal, after all. The Sacredness of Life, you know—the Sacredness of Life. [Shakes his head.] But they carry it too far. They killed a policeman down in Kent.
Conjurer. Killed a policeman? How Vegetarian! Well, I suppose it was, so long as they didn't eat him.
Hastings. They are asking only for small subscriptions. Indeed, they prefer to collect a large number of half-crowns, to prove the popularity of their movement. But I should advise....