Certainly he could be useful. And so, upon
such occupations as these, Arthur Clough was set to work. 'This
that I see, is not all,' he comforted himself by reflecting, 'and
this that I do is but little; nevertheless it is good, though
there is better than it.'As time went on, her 'Cabinet', as she
called it, grew larger. Officials with whom her work brought her
into touch and who sympathised with her objects, were pressed
into her service; and old friends of the Crimean days gathered
around her when they returned to England. Among these the most
indefatigable was Dr. Sutherland, a sanitary expert, who for more
than thirty years acted as her confidential private secretary,
and surrendered to her purposes literally the whole of his life.
Thus sustained and assisted, thus slaved for and adored, she
prepared to beard the Bison.
Two facts soon emerged, and all that followed turned upon them.
It became clear, in the first place, that that imposing mass was
not immovable, and, in the second, that its movement, when it did
move, would be exceeding slow. The Bison was no match for the
Lady. It was in vain that he put down his head and planted his
feet in the earth; he could not withstand her; the white hand
forced him back. But the process was an extraordinarily gradual
one. Dr. Andrew Smith and all his War Office phalanx stood
behind, blocking the way; the poor Bison groaned inwardly, and
cast a wistful eye towards the happy pastures of the Free Church
of Scotland; then slowly, with infinite reluctance, step by step,
he retreated, disputing every inch of the ground.
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