Clarence, ninth Earl of Emsworth, sank back in his chair looking like the good old man in a Victorian melodrama whose mortgage the villain has just foreclosed. he felt the absence of that gentle glow which customarily accompanied the departure of one of his sisters. His brain worked at a speed consistent with the approach of danger, Lord Emsworth needed Galahad.

For a while it is touch and go. There are tricky corners to be rounded, and assorted godsons, impostors and pretty girls to be paired off. Fortunately, many years' membership of the old Pelican Club means the Hon. Galahad Threepwood is able to keep cool, stiffen his upper lip and always think a shade quicker than the next man.