“Well, isn’t it beautiful? See how clear the air is.”
“I dare say. But I don’t want clear air; I’d rather it was thick as soup if it tasted like it.”
“Soup! There you go again. Think of how lovely it is down by the river.”
“With the Boers popping at you? I say, this ear of mine doesn’t heal up.”
“You don’t mind the doctor’s orders.”
“So much fighting to do; haven’t time.”
“But you grant it is beautiful down by the river?”
“Yes, where only man is vile—very vile indeed; does nothing all day but try to commit murder. But there, it’s of no use for you to argue; I think South Africa is horrible. Look at the miles of wretched dusty desert and stony waste. I don’t know what we English want with it.”
“Room for our colonists, and to develop the mines. Look at the diamonds.”
“Look at our sparkling sea at home.”