"The fate of England hangs upon it," murmured Sir John Elphinspoon, as he sank wearily into an armchair.

For a moment, as he said "England," the baronet's eye glistened and his ears lifted as if in defiance, but as soon as he stopped saying it his eye lost its brilliance and his ears dropped wearily at the sides of his head.
Lady Elphinspoon looked at her husband anxiously.

She could not conceal from herself that his face, as he sank into his chair, seemed somehow ten years older than it had been ten years ago.
"You are home early, John ?" she queried.
"The House rose early, my dear," said the baronet.
"For the All England Ping-Pong match ?" "No, for the Dog Show.

The Prime Minister felt that the Cabinet ought to attend.

He said that their presence there would help to bind the colonies to us.