Alice shook her head.
“I have,” said the Knight, with a gentle complacency in his voice.
“And did you bring it to a successful conclusion?” asked Alice.
“Not exactly to a conclusion—not a definite conclusion, you know—nor entirely successful either. In fact, I believe it’s going on still.... But you can’t think how much forethought it took to get it properly started. I dare say, now, you are wondering at my equipment?”
ALICE AND THE WHITE KNIGHT.
(With apologies to Sir John Tenniel.)
Alice certainly was; the Knight was riding rather uncomfortably on a sober-paced horse that was prevented from moving any faster by an elaborate housing of red-tape trappings. “Of course, I see the reason for that,” thought Alice; “if it were to move any quicker the Knight would come off.” But there were a number of obsolete weapons and appliances hanging about the saddle that didn’t seem of the least practical use.
“You see, I had read a book,” the Knight went on in a dreamy, far-away tone, “written by some one to prove that warfare under modern conditions was impossible. You may imagine how disturbing that was to a man of my profession. Many men would have thrown up the whole thing and gone home. But I grappled with the situation. You will never guess what I did.”
Alice pondered. “You went to war, of course——”