“Yes.”
“Well, you see, ah, ha, ha, ha! it’s because of, ha, ha, ha, ha! Mr Sadpebble and Lord Guardsell.”
“Who are they?”
“Oh! they, ha, ha, ha! were the mime primister and skekentary of skate for raw, ho, ho, ho!”
“But what have they to do with the glass?”
SMALL BY DEGREES, ETC.
“They managed things so, you see, ha, ha, aha, ha, ha! that everything was getting small, ho, ho, ho! the regiments were getting smaller, and the men were getting smaller, and the chests were getting smaller, and the efficiency was getting smaller, and the contentment was getting smaller, ha, ha, ha, ha! so they, ha, ha! they, ha, ha, ha! they, ah, ha, ha, ha! they took to military spectacles to make things look better.”
“But surely no one would be deceived by that?”
A LAME HALT.