AFTER the war, which he believed himself to have won, the everlasting No met, as he was travelling grandly in his great car, his defeated enemy, the everlasting Yes. This second, as became one so heavily defeated, went on foot, in rags, and seemed something of a cripple.

“Ha,” said No, “I am sorry to see you in such case, but you will not deny that even so I let you off lightly. I tremble to think what vengeance you would have exacted had you triumphed. Confess that you would have exterminated me and not limited yourself to ruining and crippling me.”

“Why,” said Yes reflectively, “I stand for acceptance. I have other names, too—Love, Hope and Charity. But as acceptance trails your shadow of refusal, so do my other names trail theirs—Hate, Despair and Unimaginativeness—and the worst of these shadows is unimaginativeness. I had dreamed, I confess, that it would be well to wipe out the shadows.”“As I thought,” said No, “for all your specious claims you are harder of heart than I.”

“As acceptance,” said Yes, “must always be harder than refusal and life than death.”

“But,” cried No triumphantly, “you were wrong. Here go you in rags for all your lights, and here ride I in purple for all my shadows.”

“I was wrong,” said Yes, “because I was young. I did not see that I must accept you and your shadows with the rest. I was fighting not against you but against myself when I would not accept as part of myself the great refusal.”

“What!” cried No, deeply mortified and inwardly afraid, “beggar that you are, do you dare to claim that you have won?”

“I only know,” said Yes gently, “that there is no victory.”

“You canting hypocrite,” cried No, “you do not know how to take a licking.”

“It is because I do,” said Yes, “that there cannot be victory or defeat. For if the fight were ended where would you be, where I?”

“There is something in that,” said No disconsolately; “but if it be true, why should you fight? Let us make an eternal peace!”“That would be to refuse,” said Yes.

“Damn you,” cried No, “I will have peace.”

“It takes two,” said Yes gently, “to make a peace,” and turned to limp away.

“But Yes,” cried No after him, now thoroughly dismayed, “how is all this to end?”

“Dear No,” said Yes, “it does not end.”