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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Essays in Rebellion + +Author: Henry W. Nevinson + +Release Date: February 14, 2004 [EBook #11079] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ESSAYS IN REBELLION *** + + + + +Produced by Garrett Alley and PG Distributed Proofreaders + + + + + +</pre> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <h1>ESSAYS IN REBELLION</h1> + + <center> + <b>BY HENRY W. NEVINSON</b> + </center> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <h3>BY THE SAME AUTHOR</h3><b>NEIGHBOURS OF OURS</b>: Scenes of + East End Life.<br> + <b>IN THE VALLEY OF TOPHET</b>: Scenes of Black Country Life.<br> + <b>THE THIRTY DAYS' WAR</b>: Scenes in the Greek and Turkish War + of 1897.<br> + <b>LADYSMITH</b>: a Diary of the Siege.<br> + <b>CLASSIC GREEK LANDSCAPE AND ARCHITECTURE</b>: Text to John + Fulleylove's Pictures of Greece.<br> + <b>THE PLEA OF PAN</b>.<br> + <b>BETWEEN THE ACTS</b>: Scenes in the Author's Experience.<br> + <b>ON THE OLD ROAD THROUGH FRANCE TO FLORENCE</b>: French + Chapters to Hallam Murray's Pictures.<br> + <b>BOOKS AND PERSONALITIES</b>: a volume of Criticism.<br> + <b>A MODERN SLAVERY</b>: an Investigation of the Slave System in + Angola and the Islands of San Thomé and Principe.<br> + <b>THE DAWN IN RUSSIA</b>: Scenes in the Revolution of + 1905-1906.<br> + <b>THE NEW SPIRIT IN INDIA</b>: Scenes during the Unrest of + 1907-1908.<br> + <b>ESSAYS IN FREEDOM</b>.<br> + <b>THE GROWTH OF FREEDOM</b>: a Summary of the History of + Democracy.<br> + <br> + <br> + <a name="image-1"><!-- Image 1 --></a> + + <center> + <img src="./images/01.png" height="661" width="450" alt= + "Henry W. Nevinson"> + </center> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <h2>ESSAYS IN REBELLION</h2> + + <center> + BY + </center> + + <center> + HENRY W. NEVINSON + </center><br> + + <center> + AUTHOR OF "ESSAYS IN FREEDOM" + </center><br> + <br> + + <center> + LONDON + </center> + + <center> + JAMES NISBET & CO., LIMITED + </center> + + <center> + 22 BERNERS STREET, W. + </center> + + <center> + 1913 + </center><br> + <br> + + <center> + <i>First published in</i> 1913 + </center> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p><a name="PRF"><!-- PRF --></a> <a name="pv"></a> + + <h2>PREFACE</h2> + + <p>When writers are so different, it is queer that every age + should have a distinguishing spirit. Each writer is as different + in "style" as in look, and his words reveal him just as the body + reveals the soul, blazoning its past or its future without + possibility of concealment. Paint a face, no matter how + delicately or how thick; the very paint—the very choice of + colours red or white—betrays the nature lurking beneath it, + and no amount of artifice or imitation in a writer can obscure + the secret of self. Artifice and imitation reveal the finikin or + uncertain soul as surely as deliberate bareness reveals a + conscious austerity. Except, perhaps, in mathematics, there seems + no escape from this revelation. I am told that even in the "exact + sciences" there is no escape; even in physics the exposition is a + matter of imagination, of personality, of "style."</p> + + <p>Next to mathematics and the exact sciences, I suppose, + Bluebooks and leading articles are taken as representing truth in + the most absolute and impersonal manner. We appeal to Bluebooks + as confidently as to astronomers, assuming that their statements + will be impersonally true, just as the curve of a comet will be + the same for the Opposition as for the Government, for Anarchists + as for Fabians. Yet what a difference may be detected in + Bluebooks on the selfsame subject, and what an exciting + hide-and-seek for souls we may there enjoy! Behind one we catch + sight of the cautiously official mind, obsequious to established + power, observant of accepted fictions, contemptuous of zeal, + apprehensive of trouble, solicitous for the path of least + resistance. Behind another we feel the stirring spirit that no + promotion will subdue, pitiless to abomination, untouched by + smooth excuses, regardless of official sensibilities, and untamed + to comfortable routine, which, in his case, will probably be + short.</p><a name="pvi"></a> + + <p>Or take the leading article: hardly any form of words would + appear less personal. It is the abstract product of what the + editor wants, what the proprietor wants, what the Party wants, + and what the readers want, just flavoured sometimes with the very + smallest suspicion of what the writer wants. And yet, in leaders + upon the same subject and in the same paper, what a difference, + again! Peruse leaders for a week, and in the week following, with + as much certainty as if you saw the animals emerging from the + Ark, you will be able to say, "Here comes the laboured Ox, here + the Wild Ass prances, here trips the Antelope with fairy + footfall, here the Dromedary froths beneath his hump; there soars + the Crested Screamer, there bolts the circuitous Hare, there old + Behemoth wallows in the ooze, and there the swivel-eyed Chameleon + clings along the fence."</p> + + <p>If even the writers of Bluebooks and leading articles are thus + as distinguishable as the animals which Noah had no difficulty in + sorting into couples, such writers as poets, essayists, and + novelists, who have no limit imposed upon their distinction, are + likely to be still more distinct. Indeed, we find it so, for + their work needs no signature, since the "style"—their way + of looking at things—reveals it. And yet, though it is only + the sum of all these separate personalities so diverse and + distinct, each age or generation possesses a certain "style" of + its own, unconsciously revealing a kind of general personality. + Everyone knows it is as unnecessary to date a book as a church or + a candlestick, since church and candlestick and book always bear + the date written on the face. The literature of the last three or + four generations, for instance, has been distinguished by + Rebellion as a "style." Rebellion has been the characteristic + expression of its most vital self.</p><a name="pvii"></a> + + <p>It has been an age of rebels in letters as in life. Of course, + acquiescent writers have existed as well, just as in the Ark (to + keep up the illustration) vegetarians stood side by side with + carnivors, and hoofs were intermixed with claws. The great + majority have, as usual, supported traditional order, have + eulogised the past or present, and been, not only at ease in + their generation, but enraptured at the vision of its beneficent + prosperity. Such were the writers and orators whom their + contemporaries hailed as the distinctive spokesmen of a happy and + glorious time, leaping and bounding with income and population. + But, on looking back, we see their contemporaries were entirely + mistaken. The people of vital power and prolonged, far-reaching + influence—the "dynamic" people—have been the rebels. + Wordsworth (it may seem strange to include that venerable figure + among rebels, but so long as he was more poetic than venerable he + stood in perpetual rebellion against the motives, pursuits, and + satisfactions of his time)—Wordsworth till he was + forty-five, Byron all his short life, Newman, Carlyle, Dickens, + Matthew Arnold, Ruskin—among English writers those have + proved themselves the dynamic people. There are many others, and + many later; but we need recall only these few great names, far + enough distant to be clearly visible. It was they who moved the + country, shaking its torpor like successive earthquakes. Risen + against the conceit of riches, and the hypocrisies of Society, + against unimpassioned and unimaginative religion, against ignoble + success and the complacent economics that hewed mankind into + statistics to fit their abstractions—one and all, in spite + of their variety or mutual hostility, they were rebels, and their + personality expressed itself in rebellion. That was the common + characteristic of their "style."</p><a name="pviii"></a> + + <p>In other parts of Europe, from <i>Faust</i>, which opened the + nineteenth century, onward through <i>Les Miserables</i> to + <i>The Doll's House</i> and <i>Resurrection</i>, it was the same. + As, in political action, Russia hardly ceased to rebel, France + freed herself three times, Ireland gave us the line of rebels + from Robert Emmet to Michael Davitt, and all rebellion culminated + in Garibaldi, so the most vital spirits in every literature of + Europe were rebels. Perhaps it is so in all the greatest periods + of word and deed. For examples, one could point rapidly to + Euripides, Dante, Rabelais, Milton, Swift, Rousseau—men who + have few attributes in common except greatness and rebellion. + But, to limit ourselves to the familiar period of the last three + or four generations, the words, thoughts, and actions most + pregnant with dynamic energy have been marked with one mark. + Rebellion has been the expression of a century's + personality.</p><a name="pix"></a> + + <p>Of course, it is very lamentable. <i>Otium divos</i>—the + rebel, like the storm-swept sailor, cries to heaven for + tranquillity. It is not the hardened warrior, but only the + elegant writer who, having never seen bloodshed, clamours to shed + blood. All rebels long for a peace in which it would be possible + to acquiesce, while they cultivated their minds and their + gardens, employing the shining hour upon industry and + intellectual pursuits. "I can say in the presence of God," cried + Cromwell, in the last of his speeches, "I can say in the presence + of God, in comparison with whom we are but poor creeping ants + upon the earth,—I would have been glad to have lived under + my woodside, to have kept a flock of sheep, rather than + undertaken such a Government as this." Every rebel is a Quietist + at heart, seeking peace and ensuing it, willing to let the stream + of time glide past without his stir, dreading the onset of + indignation's claws, stopping his ears to the trumpet-call of + action, and always tempted to leave vengeance to Him who has + promised to repay. If reason alone were his guide, undisturbed by + rage he would enjoy such pleasure as he could clutch, or sit like + a Fakir in blissful isolation, contemplating the aspect of + eternity under which the difference between a mouse and a man + becomes imperceptible. But the age has grown a skin too sensitive + for such happiness. "For myself," said Goethe, in a passage I + quote again later in this book, "For myself, I am happy enough. + Joy comes streaming in upon me from every side. Only, for others, + I am not happy." So it is that the Hound of another's Hell gives + us no rest, and we are pursued by Furies not our own.</p><a name= + "px"></a> + + <p>In spite of the longing for tranquillity, then, we cannot + confidently hope that rebellion will be less the characteristic + of the present generation than of the past. It is true, we are + told that, in this country at all events, the necessity for + active and political rebellion is past. However much a man may + detest the Government, he is now, in a sense, governed with his + own consent, since he is free to persuade his fellow-citizens + that the Government is detestable, and, as far as his vote goes, + to dismiss his paid servants in the Ministry and to appoint + others. Such securities for freedom are thought to have made + active and political rebellion obsolete. This appears to be + proved even by the increasingly rebellious movement among women, + as unenfranchised people, excluded from citizenship and governed + without consent. For women are in rebellion only because they + possess none of those securities, and the moment that the + securities are ensured them, their rebellion ceases. It has only + arisen because they are compelled to pay for the upkeep of the + State (including the upkeep of the statesmen) and to obey laws + which interfere increasingly more and more with their daily life, + while they are allowed no voice in the expenditure or the + legislation. Whence have originated, not only tangible and + obvious hardships, but those feelings of degradation, as of + beings excluded from privileges owing to some inferiority + supposed inherent—those feelings of subjection, impotence, + and degradation which, more even than actual hardships, kindle + the spirit to the white-hot point of rebellion.</p> + + <p>This democratic rising against a masculine oligarchy ceases + when the cause is removed, and the cause is simple. Similarly, + the revolts of nationalism against Imperial power, though the + motives are more complicated, usually cease at the concession of + self-government. But even if these political and fairly simple + motives to rebellion are likely soon to become obsolete in our + country and Empire, other and vaguer rebellious forms, neither + nationalist nor directly political, appear to stand close in + front of us, and no one is yet sure what line of action they will + follow. <a name="pxi"></a>Their line of action is still obscure, + though both England and Europe have felt the touch of general or + sympathetic strikes, and of "sabotage," or wilful destruction of + property rather than life—the method advocated by + Syndicalists and Suffragettes to rouse the sleepy world from + indifference to their wrongs. In this collection of essays, + contributed during the last year or two, as occasion arose, to + the <i>Nation</i> and other periodicals, I have included some + descriptions of the causes likely to incite people to rebellion + of this kind. Such causes, I mean, as the inequality that comes + from poverty alone—the physical unfitness or lack of mental + opportunity that is due only to poverty. Those things make + happiness impossible, for they frustrate the active exercise of + vital powers, and give life no scope. During a generation or so, + people have looked to the Government to mitigate the oppression + of poverty, but some different appeal now seems probable. For + many despair of the goodwill or the power of the State, finding + little in it but hurried politicians, inhuman officials, and the + "experts" who docket and label the poor for "institutional + treatment," with results shown in my example of a workhouse + school.</p><a name="pxii"></a> + + <p>The troubling and persistent alarum of rebellion calls from + many sides, and as instances of its call I have introduced + mention of various rebels, whether against authority or custom. I + have once or twice ventured also into those twilit regions where + the spirit itself stands rebellious against its limits, and + questions even the ultimate insane triumph of flesh and + circumstance, closing its short-lived interlude. The rebellion + may appear to be vain, but when we consider the primitive + elements of life from which our paragon of animals has ascended, + the mere attempt at rebellion is more astonishing than the + greatest recorded miracle, and since man has grown to think that + he possesses a soul, there is no knowing what he may come to.</p> + + <p>I have added a few other scenes from old times and new, just + for variety, or just to remind ourselves that, in the midst of + all chaos and perturbation and rage, it is possible for the world + to go upon its way, preserving, in spite of all, its most + excellent gift of sanity.</p> + + <center> + H.W.N. + </center> + + <p>LONDON, <i>Easter</i>, 1913.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + <hr> + <a name="TOC"><!-- TOC --></a> + + <h2>CONTENTS</h2> + <pre> + <a href="#PRF">PREFACE</a> + <a href="#TOC">CONTENTS</a> + <a href="#RULE4_2">I. THE CATFISH</a> + <a href="#RULE4_3">II. REBELLION</a> + <a href="#RULE4_4">III. "EITHER COWARDS OR UNHAPPY"</a> + <a href="#RULE4_5">IV. DEEDS NOT WORDS.</a> + <a href="#RULE4_51">V. THE BURNING BOOK.</a> + <a href="#RULE4_6">VI. "WHERE CRUEL RAGE"</a> + <a href="#RULE4_7">VII. THE CHIEF OF REBELS</a> + <a href="#RULE4_8">VIII. THE IRON CROWN</a> + <a href="#RULE4_9">IX. "THE IMPERIAL RACE"</a> + <a href="#RULE4_101">X. THE GREAT UNKNOWN</a> + <a href="#RULE4_10">XI. THE WORTH OF A PENNY</a> + <a href="#RULE4_11">XII. "FIX BAYONETS!"</a> + <a href="#RULE4_12">XIII. "OUR FATHERS HAVE TOLD US"</a> + <a href="#RULE4_13">XIV. THE GRAND JURY</a> + <a href="#RULE4_14">XV. A NEW CONSCRIPTION</a> + <a href="#RULE4_15">XVI. THE LAST OF THE RUNNYMEDES</a> + <a href="#RULE4_16">XVII. CHILDREN OF THE STATE.</a> + <a href="#RULE4_17">XVIII. THE JUDGMENT OF PARIS.</a> + <a href="#RULE4_18">XIX. ABDUL'S RETREAT</a> + <a href="#RULE4_19">XX. "NATIVES"</a> + <a href="#RULE4_20">XXI. UNDER THE YOKE.</a> + <a href="#RULE4_21">XXII. BLACK AND WHITE</a> + <a href="#RULE4_22">XXIII. PEACE AND WAR IN THE BALANCE</a> + <a href="#RULE4_23">XXIV. THE MAID</a> + <a href="#RULE4_24">XXV. THE HEROINE</a> + <a href="#RULE4_25">XXVI. THE PENALTY OF VIRTUE</a> + <a href="#RULE4_26">XXVII. "THE DAILY ROUND"</a> + <a href="#RULE4_27">XXVIII. THE CHARM OF COMMONPLACE</a> + <a href="#RULE4_28">XXIX. THE PRIEST OF NEMI.</a> + <a href="#RULE4_29">XXX. THE UNDERWORLD OF TIME.</a> + <a href="#RULE4_30">XXXI. MENTAL EUGENICS</a> + <a href="#RULE4_31">XXXII. THE MEDICINE OF THE MIND</a> + <a href="#RULE4_32">XXXIII. THE LAST FENCE</a> + <a href="#RULE4_33">XXXIV. THE ELEMENT OF CALM</a> + <a href="#RULE4_34">XXXV. "THE KING OF TERRORS"</a> + <a href="#RULE4_35">XXXVI. STRULDBRUGS</a> + <a href= +"#RULE4_36">XXXVII. "LIBERTÉ, LIBERTÉ, CHÉRIE!"</a> + <a href="#RULE4_37">XXXVIII. A FAREWELL TO FLEET STREET.</a> + <a href="#IDX">INDEX</a> +</pre> + + <center> + ESSAYS IN REBELLION + </center><a name="RULE4_2"><!-- RULE4 2 --></a><a name="1"></a> + + <h2>I</h2> + + <center> + THE CATFISH + </center> + + <p>Before the hustling days of ice and of "cutters" rushing to + and fro between Billingsgate and our fleets of steam-trawlers on + the Dogger Bank, most sailing trawlers and long-line + fishing-boats were built with a large tank in their holds, + through which the sea flowed freely. Dutch eel-boats are built so + still, and along the quays of Amsterdam and Copenhagen you may + see such tanks in fishing-boats of almost every kind. Our East + Coast fishermen kept them chiefly for cod. They hoped thus to + bring the fish fresh and good to market, for, unless they were + overcrowded, the cod lived quite as contentedly in the tanks as + in the open sea. But in one respect the fishermen were + disappointed. They found that the fish arrived slack, flabby, and + limp, though well fed and in apparent health.</p> + + <p>Perplexity reigned (for the value of the catch was much + diminished) until some fisherman of genius conjectured that the + cod lived only too contentedly in those tanks, and suffered from + the atrophy of calm. The cod is by nature a lethargic, torpid, + and plethoric creature, prone to<a name="2"></a> inactivity, + content to lie in comfort, swallowing all that comes, with + cavernous mouth wide open, big enough to gulp its own body down + if that could be. In the tanks the cod rotted at ease, rapidly + deteriorating in their flesh. So, as a stimulating corrective, + that genius among fishermen inserted one catfish into each of his + tanks, and found that his cod came to market firm, brisk, and + wholesome. Which result remained a mystery until his death, when + the secret was published and a strange demand for catfish arose. + For the catfish is the demon of the deep, and keeps things + lively.</p> + + <p>This irritating but salutary stimulant in the tank (to say + nothing of the myriad catfishes in the depths of ocean!) has + often reminded me of what the Lord says to Mephistopheles in the + Prologue to <i>Faust</i>. After observing that, of all the + spirits that deny, He finds a knave the least of a bore, the Lord + proceeds:</p> + <pre> + "Des Menschen Thätigkeit kann allzuleicht erschlaffen, + Er liebt sich bald die unbedingte Ruh; + Drum geb' ich ihm gern den Gesellen zu, + Der reizt und wirkt und muss als Teufel, schaffen." +</pre> + + <p>Is not the parallel remarkable? Man's activity, like the + cod's, turns too readily to slumber; he is much too fond of + unconditioned ease; and so the Lord gives him a comrade like a + catfish, to stimulate, rouse, and drive to creation, as a devil + may. There sprawls man, by nature lethargic and torpid as a cod, + prone to inactivity, content to lie in comfort swallowing all + that comes, with wide-open mouth, big enough to gulp himself + down, if that could be. There he sprawls, rotting at ease, and + rapidly deteriorating in body and soul, till one little demon of + the spiritual deep is inserted into his surroundings, and makes + him firm,<a name="3"></a> brisk, and wholesome in a + trice—"in half a jiffy," as people used to say.</p> + + <p>"Der reizt und wirkt"—the words necessarily recall a + much older parable than the catfish—the parable of the + little leaven inserted in a piece of dough until it leavens the + whole lump by its "working," as cooks and bakers know. Goethe may + have been thinking of that. Leaven is a sour, almost poisonous + kind of stuff, working as though by magic, moving in a mysterious + way, causing the solid and impracticable dough to upheave, to + rise, expand, bubble, swell, and spout like a volcano. To all + races there has been something devilish, or at least demonic, in + the action of leaven. It is true that in the ancient parable the + comparison lay between leaven and the kingdom of heaven. The + kingdom of heaven was like a little leaven that leavens the whole + lump, and Goethe says that Mephisto, one of the Princes of Evil, + also works like that. But whether we call the leaven a good or + evil thing makes little difference. The effect of its mysterious + powers of movement and upheaval is in the end salutary. It works + upon the lump just as the catfish, that demon of the deep, + preserves the lumpish cod from the apathy and degeneration of + comfort, and as Mephisto, that demon of the world, acts upon the + lethargy of mankind working within him, stimulating, driving to + production as a devil may.</p> + + <p>"A society needs to have a ferment in it," said Professor + Sumner of Yale, in his published essays. Sometimes, he said, the + ferment takes the form of an enthusiastic delusion or an + adventurous folly; sometimes merely of economic opportunity and + hope of luxury; in other ages frequently of war. And, indeed, it + was of war that he was writing, though himself a pacific man, and + in all respects a thinker of<a name="4"></a> obstinate caution. A + society needs to have a ferment in it—a leaven, a catfish, + a Mephisto, the queer, unpleasant, disturbing touch of the + kingdom of heaven. Take any period of calm and rest in the life + of the world or the history of the arts. Take that period which + great historians have agreed to praise as the happiest of human + ages—the age of the Antonines. How benign and unruffled it + was! What bland and leisurely culture could be enjoyed in + exquisite villas beside the Mediterranean, or in flourishing + municipalities along the Rhone! Many a cultivated and comfortable + man must have wished that reasonable peace to last for ever. The + civilised world was bathed in the element of calm, the element of + gentle acquiescence. All looked so quiet, so imperturbable; and + yet all the time the little catfish of Christianity (or the + little leaven, if you will) was at its work, irritating, + disturbing, stimulating with salutary energy to upheaval, to + rebellion, to the soul's activity that saves from bland and + reasonable despair. Like a fisherman over-anxious for the peace + of the cod in his tank, the philosophic Emperor tried to stamp + the catfish down, and hoped to preserve a philosophic quietude by + the martyrdom of Christians in those flourishing municipalities + on the Rhone. Of course he failed, as even the most humane and + philosophic persecutors usually fail, but had he succeeded, would + not the soul of Europe have degenerated into a flabbiness, + lethargy, and desperate peace?</p> + + <p>Take history where you will, when a new driving force enters + the world, it is a nuisance, a disturbing upheaval, a troubling + agitation, a plaguey fish. Think how the tiresome Reformation + disturbed the artists<a name="5"></a> of Italy and Renaissance + scholars; or how Cromwell disgusted the half-way moderates, how + the Revolution jogged the sentimental theorists of France, how + Kant shattered the Supreme Being of the Deists, and Byron set the + conventions of art and life tottering aghast. Take it where you + will, the approach of the soul's catfish is watched with + apprehension and violent dislike, all the more because it saves + from torpor. It saves from what Hamlet calls—</p> + <pre> + "That monster, custom, who all sense doth eat— + Of habits devil." +</pre> + + <p>In the Futurist exhibition held in Sackville Street in 1912, + one of the most notable pictures was called "Rebellion." The + catalogue told us that it represented "the collision of two + forces, that of the revolutionary element made up of enthusiasm + and red lyricism against the force of inertia and the reactionary + resistance of tradition." The picture showed a crowd of scarlet + figures rushing forward in a wedge. Before them went successive + wedge-shaped lines, impinging upon dull blue. They represented, + we were told, the vibratory waves of the revolutionary element in + motion. The force of inertia and the reactionary resistance of + tradition were pictured as rows on rows of commonplace streets. + The waves of the revolutionary element had knocked them all + askew. Though they still stood firmly side by side to all + appearance (to keep up appearances, as we say) they were all + knocked aslant, "just as a boxer is bent double by receiving a + blow in the wind."</p> + + <p>We may be sure that inertia in all its monotonous streets does + not like such treatment. It likes it no more than the plethoric + cod likes the<a name="6"></a> catfish close behind its tail. And + it is no consolation either to inertia or cod to say that this + disturbing element serves an ultimate good, rendering it alert, + firm, and wholesome of flesh. However salutary, the catfish is + far from popular among the placid residents of the tank, and it + is fortunate that neither in tanks nor streets can the + advisability of catfish or change be submitted to the referendum + of the inert. In neither case would the necessary steps for + advance in health and activity be adopted. To be sure, it is just + possible to overdo the number of catfish in one tank. At present + in this country, for instance, and, indeed, in the whole world, + there seem to be more catfish than cod, and the resulting + liveliness is perhaps a little excessive, a little "jumpy." But + in the midst of all the violence, turmoil, and upheaval, it is + hopeful to remember that of the deepest and most salutary change + which Europe has known it was divinely foretold that it would + bring not peace but a sword.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p><a name="RULE4_3"><!-- RULE4 3 --></a><a name="7"></a> + + <h2>II</h2> + + <center> + REBELLION + </center> + + <p>For certain crimes mankind has ordained penalties of + exceptional severity, in order to emphasise a general abhorrence. + In Rome, for example, a parricide, or the murderer of any near + relation, was thrown into deep water, tied up in a sack together + with a dog, a cock, a viper, and a monkey, which were probably + symbols of his wickedness, and must have given him a lively time + before death supervened. Similarly, the English law, always so + careful of domestic sanctitude in women, provided that a wife who + killed her husband should be dragged by a horse to the place of + execution and burnt alive. We need not recall the penalties + considered most suitable for the crime of religious + difference—the rack, the fire, the boiling oil, the tearing + pincers, the embrace of the spiky virgin, the sharpened edge of + stone on which the doubter sat, with increasing weights tied to + his feet, until his opinions upon heavenly mysteries should + improve under the stress of pain. When we come to rebellion, the + ordinance of English law was more express. In the case of a + woman, the penalty was the same as for killing her + husband—that crime being defined as "petty treason," since + the husband is to her the sacred emblem of God and King. So a + woman rebel was burnt alive as she stood,<a name="8"></a> head, + quarters, and all. But male rebels were specially treated, as may + be seen from the sentence passed upon them until the reign of + George III.[<a href="#note-1">1</a>] These were the words that + Judge Jeffreys and Scroggs, for instance, used to roll out with + enjoyable eloquence upon the dazed agricultural labourer before + them:</p> + <pre> + "The sentence of the Court now is that you be conveyed + from hence to the place from where you came, and from there + be drawn to the place of execution upon hurdles; that you be + hanged by the neck; that you be cut down alive; that your + bowels be taken out and burnt in your view; that your head + be severed from your body; that your body be divided into + four quarters, and your quarters be at the disposition of the + King: and may the God of infinite mercy be merciful to your + soul. Amen." +</pre> + + <p>"Why all this cookery?" once asked a Scottish rebel, quoted by + Swift. But the sentence, with its confiding appeal to a higher + Court than England's, was literally carried out upon rebels in + this country for at<a name="9"></a> least four and a half + centuries. Every detail of it (and one still more disgusting) is + recorded in the execution of Sir William Wallace, the national + hero of Scotland, more generally known to the English of the time + as "the man of Belial," who was executed at Tyburn in + 1305.[<a href="#note-2">2</a>] The rebels of 1745 were, + apparently, the last upon whom the full ritual was performed, and + Elizabeth Gaunt, burnt alive at Tyburn in 1685 for sheltering a + conspirator in the Rye House Plot, was the last woman up to now + intentionally put to death in this country for a purely political + offence. The long continuance of so savage a sentence is proof of + the abhorrence in which the crime of rebellion has been held. And + in many minds the abhorrence still subsists. Sir James Fitzjames + Stephen, for instance, one of our greatest authorities on + criminal law, wrote in 1880:</p> + <pre> + "My opinion is that we have gone too far in laying capital + punishment aside, and that it ought to be inflicted in many + cases not at present capital. I think, for instance, that political + offences should in some cases be punished with death. People + should be made to understand that to attack the existing state + of society is equivalent to risking their own lives."[<a href= +"#note-3">3</a>] +</pre> + + <p>Among ourselves the opinion of this high authority has slowly + declined. No one supposed that Doctor Lynch, for instance, would + be executed as a rebel for commanding the Irish Brigade that + fought for the Boers during the South African War, though he was + condemned to death by the highest Court in the kingdom. No Irish + rebel has been executed for about a<a name="10"></a> century, + unless his offence involved some one's death. On the other hand, + during the Boer War, the devastation of the country and the + destruction of the farms were frequently defended on the ground + that, after the Queen's proclamations annexing the two Republics, + all the inhabitants were rebels; and some of the extreme + newspapers even urged that for that reason no Boer with arms in + his hand should be given quarter. On the strength of a passage in + Scripture, Mr. Kipling, at the time, wrote a pamphlet identifying + rebellion with witchcraft. A few Cape Boers who took up arms for + the assistance of their race were shot without benefit of + prisoners of war. And in India during 1907 and 1908 men of + unblemished private character were spirited away to jail without + charge or trial and kept there for months—a fate that could + not have befallen any but political prisoners.</p> + + <p>Outside our own Empire, I have myself witnessed the + suppression of rebellions in Crete and Macedonia by the + destruction of villages, the massacre of men, women, and + children, and the violation of women and girls, many of whom + disappeared into Turkish harems. And I have witnessed similar + suppressions of rebellion by Russia in Moscow, in the Baltic + Provinces, and the Caucasus, by the burning of villages, the + slaughter of prisoners, and the violation of women. All this has + happened within the last sixteen years, the worst part within + nine and a half. Indeed, in Russia the punishments of exile, + torture, and hanging have not ceased since 1905, though the death + penalty has been long abolished there except for political + offences. In the summer of 1909 I was also present during the + suppression of the outbreak in Barcelona, which culminated in the + execution of Señor Ferrer under a military Court.</p> + + <p><a name="11"></a> From these recent events it is evident that + Sir James Stephen's attitude towards rebellion is shared by many + civilised governments. Belligerents—that is to say, + subjects of one State engaged in war with another + State—have now nominally secured certain rights under + International Law. The first Hague Conference (1899) framed a + "Convention with respect to the Laws and Customs of Wars on Land" + which forbade the torture or cruel treatment of prisoners, the + refusal of quarter, the destruction of private property, unless + such destruction were imperatively demanded by the necessities of + war, the pillage of towns taken by assault, disrespect to + religion and family honour (including, I suppose, the honour of + women and girls), and the infliction of penalties on the + population owing to the acts of individuals for which it could + not be regarded as collectively responsible.</p> + + <p>In actual war this Convention is not invariably observed, as + was seen at Tripoli in 1911, but in the case of rebellion there + is no such Convention at all. I have known all those regulations + broken with impunity, and in most cases without protest from the + other Powers. Just as, under the old law of England, the rebel + was executed with circumstances of special atrocity, so at the + present time, under the name of crushing rebellion, men are + tortured and flogged, no quarter is given, they are executed + without trial, their private property is pillaged, their towns + and villages are destroyed, their women violated, their children + killed, penalties are imposed on districts owing to acts for + which the population is not collectively responsible—and + nothing said. That each Power is allowed to deal with its own + subjects in its own way is becoming an accepted rule of + international amenity. It was<a name="12"></a> not the rule of + Cromwell, nor of Canning, nor of Gladstone, but it has now been + consecrated by the Liberal Government which came into power in + 1906.</p> + + <p>In the summer of 1909, it is true, the rule was broken. Mulai + Hafid, Sultan of Morocco, was reported to be torturing his rebel + prisoners according to ancestral custom, and rumours came that he + had followed a French king's example in keeping the rebel leader, + El Roghi, in a cage like a tame eagle, or had thrown him to the + lions to be torn in pieces before the eyes of the royal + concubines. Then the European Powers combined to protest in the + name of humanity. It was something gained. But no great courage + was required to rebuke the Sultan of Morocco, if England, France, + Germany, Russia, Italy, and Spain combined to do it; and his + country was so desirable for its minerals, barley, and dates that + a little courage in dealing with him might even prove lucrative + in the end. When Russia treated her rebellious subjects with + tortures and executions more horrible than anything reported from + Morocco, the case was very different. Then alliances and + understandings were confirmed, substantial loans were arranged in + France and England, Kings and Emperors visited the Tsar, and the + cannon of our fleet welcomed him to our waters amid the applause + of our newspapers and the congratulations of a Liberal + Government.</p> + + <p>It is evident, then, that, in Sir James Stephen's words, + subjects are in most countries still made to understand that to + attack the existing state of society is equivalent to risking + their own lives. Under our own rule, no matter what statesmen + like Gladstone and John Morley have in past years urged in favour + of the mitigation of penalties for political<a name="13"></a> + offences, such offences are, as a matter of fact, punished with + special severity; unless, of course, the culprit is intimately + connected with great riches, like Dr. Jameson, who was imprisoned + as a first-class misdemeanant for the incalculable crime of + making private war upon another State; or unless the culprit is + intimately connected with votes, like Mr. Ginnell, the Irish + cattle-driver, who was treated with similar politeness. + Otherwise, until quite lately, even in this country we executed a + political criminal with unusual pain. In India we recently kept + political suspects imprisoned without charge or trial. And in + England we have lately sentenced women to terms of imprisonment + that certainly would never have been imposed for their offences + on any but political offenders.</p> + + <p>This exceptional severity springs from a primitive and natural + conception of the State—- a conception most logically + expressed by Hobbes of Malmesbury under the similitude of a + "mortal God" or Leviathan, the almost omnipotent and unlimited + source of authority.</p> + <pre> + "The Covenant of the State," says Hobbes, "is made in such + a manner as if every man should say to every man: 'I authorise + and give up my right of governing myself to this man, or to + this assembly of men, on this condition, that thou give up thy + right to him and authorise all his actions in like manner.' This + done, the multitude so united is called a Commonwealth, in + Latin Civitas. This is the generation of that great Leviathan, + that mortal God, to whom we owe, under the immortal God, + our peace and defence." +</pre> + + <p>Hobbes considered the object of this Covenant to be peace and + common defence. "Without a State," he said, "the life of man is + solitary, poor,<a name="14"></a> nasty, brutish, and short." The + preservation of the State was to him of transcendent + importance.</p> + <pre> + "Loss of liberty," he wrote, "is really no inconvenience, for + it is the only means by which we have any possibility of preserving + ourselves. For if every man were allowed the liberty + of following his own conscience, in such differences of consciences, + they would not live together in peace an hour." +</pre> + + <p>Under such a system, it follows that rebellion is the worst of + crimes. Hobbes calls it a war renewed—a renouncing of the + Covenant. He was so terrified of it that he dwelt upon the danger + of reading Greek and Roman history (probably having Plutarch and + his praise of rebels most in mind)—"which venom," he says, + "I will not doubt to compare to the biting of a mad dog." In all + leaders of rebellion he found only three conditions—to be + discontented with their own lot, to be eloquent speakers, and to + be men of mean judgment and capacity <i>(De Corpore Politico</i>, + II.). And as to punishment:</p> + <pre> + "On rebels," he said, "vengeance is lawfully extended, not + only to the fathers, but also to the third and fourth generations + not yet in being, and consequently innocent of the fact for + which they are afflicted." +</pre> + + <p>We may take Hobbes as the philosopher of the extreme idea of + the State and the consequent iniquity of rebellion. His is the + ideal of the Hive, in which the virgin workers devote their whole + lives without complaint to the service of the Queen and her + State-supported grubs, while the drones are mercilessly + slaughtered as soon as one of them has fulfilled his rapturous + but suicidal functions for the future swarm. This ideal<a name= + "15"></a> found its highest human example in the Spartan State, + which trained its men to have no private existence at all, and + even to visit their own wives by stealth. But we find the ideal + present in some degree among Central Africans when they bury + valuable slaves and women alive with their chief; and among the + Japanese when mothers kill themselves if their sons are prevented + from dying for their country; and among the Germans when the + drill-sergeant shouts his word of command.</p> + + <p>In fact, all races and countries are disciples of Hobbes when + they address the Head of the State as "Your Majesty" or "Your + Excellence," when they decorate him with fur and feathers, and + put a gold hat on his head and a gold walking-stick in his hand, + and gird him with a sword that he never uses, and play him the + same tune wherever he goes, and spread his platform with crimson + though it is clean, and bow before him though he is + dishonourable, and call him gracious though he is nasty-tempered, + and august though he may be a fool. In the first instance, we go + through all this make-believe because the Leviathan of the State + is necessary for peace and self-defence, and without it our life + would be solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short. But we + further endow the State with a personality we can almost see and + handle, and we regard it as something that is able not only to + protect our peace but to shed a reflected splendour on ourselves, + giving us an importance not our own—just as schoolboys + glory in their school, or Churchmen in their Church, or + cricketers in their county, or fox-hunters in their pack of + hounds.</p> + + <p>It is this conception that makes rebellion so rare and so + dangerous. In hives it seems never to occur. In rookeries, the + rebels are pecked to<a name="16"></a> death and their homes torn + in pieces. In human communities we have seen how they are + treated. Rebellion is the one crime for which there is no + forgiveness—the one crime for which hanging is too + good.</p> + + <p>Why is it, then, that all the world loves a rebel? Provided he + is distant enough in time and space, all the world loves a rebel. + Who are the figures in history round whom the people's + imagination has woven the fondest dreams? Are they not such + rebels as Deborah and Judith[<a href="#note-4">4</a>] and Joan of + Arc; as Harmodius and Aristogeiton, the Gracchi and Brutus, + William Tell, William Wallace, Simon de Montfort, Rienzi, Wat + Tyler, Jack Cade, Shan O'Neill, William the Silent, John Hampden + and Pym, the Highlanders of the Forty-five, Robert Emmet and Wolf + Tone and Parnell, Bolivar, John Brown of Harper's Ferry, Kossuth, + Mazzini and Garibaldi, Danton, Victor Hugo, and the Russian + revolutionists? These are haphazard figures of various magnitude, + but all have the quality of rebellion in common, and all have + been honoured with affectionate glory, romance, and even a + mythology of worship.</p> + + <p>So, too, the most attractive periods in history have been + times of rebellion—the Reformation in Germany, the Revolt + of the Netherlands from Spain, the Civil Wars in England, the War + of Independence in America, the prolonged revolution in Russia. + Within the last hundred years alone, how numerous the rebellions + have been, as a rule how successful, and in every case how much + applauded, except by the dominant<a name="17"></a> authority + attacked! We need only recall the French revolutions of 1832, + 1848, and 1870 to 1871, including the Commune; the Greek War of + Independence up to 1829; the Polish insurrections of 1830, 1863, + and 1905; the liberation of the Danubian Principalities, 1858; of + Bulgaria and Thessaly, 1878; of Crete, 1898; the revolution in + Hungary, 1848; the restoration of Italy, 1849 to 1860; the + revolution in Spain, 1868; the independence of the South American + States, 1821 to 1825; the revolution in Russia, Finland, the + Caucasus and Baltic Provinces, 1905; the revolution in Persia, + 1907 to 1909; and the revolution of the Young Turks, 1908 to + 1909. Among these we must also count the Nationalist movements in + Ireland, Egypt, and India, as well as the present movement of + women against the Government in our own country.</p> + + <p>Under these various instances two distinct kinds of rebellion + are obviously included—the rising of subject nationalities + against a dominant power, as in Greece, Italy, the Caucasus, + India, and Ireland; and the rising of subjects against their own + Government, as in France, Russia, Persia, and Turkey, or in + England in the case of the Suffragettes. It is difficult to say + which kind is the more detested and punished with the greater + severity by the central authority attacked. Was the Nationalist + rising in the Caucasus or the Baltic Provinces suppressed with + greater brutality than the almost simultaneous rising of Russian + subjects in Moscow? I witnessed all three, and I think it was; + chiefly because soldiers have less scruple in the slaughter and + violation of people whose language they do not understand. Did + our Government feel greater animosity towards the recent Indian + movement or the Irish movement of thirty years ago than towards + the rioters for the<a name="18"></a> Reform Bills of 1832 and + 1867? I think they did. Vengeance upon external or Nationalist + rebels is incited by racial antipathy. But, on the other hand, + the outside world is more ready to applaud a Nationalist + rebellion, especially if it succeeds, and we feel a more romantic + affection for William Tell or Garibaldi than for Oliver Cromwell + or Danton; I suppose because it is easier to imagine the + splendour of liberty when a subject race throws off a foreign + yoke.</p> + + <p>So the history of rebellion involves us in a mesh of + contradictions. Rebels have been generally regarded as deserving + more terrible penalties than other criminals, yet all the world + loves a rebel, at a distance. Nationalist rebellions are crushed + with even greater ferocity than the internal rebellions of a + State, and yet the leaders of Nationalist rebellions are regarded + by the common world with a special affection of hero-worship. + Obviously, we are here confronted with two different standards of + conduct. On one side is the standard of Government, the States + and Law, which denounces the rebel, and especially the + Nationalist rebel, as the worst of sinners; on the other side we + have the standard of the individual, the soul and liberty, which + loves a rebel, especially a Nationalist rebel, and denies that he + is a sinner at all.</p> + + <p>Let us leave the Nationalist rebel, whose justification is now + almost universally admitted (except by the dominant Power), even + if he is unsuccessful, and consider only the rebel inside the + State—the rebel against his own Leviathan—whose + position is far more dubious. Job's Leviathan appears to have + been a more fearsome and powerful beast than the elephant, but in + India the elephant is taken as the symbol of wisdom, and when an + Indian boy goes in for a municipal examination, he<a name= + "19"></a> prays to the elephant-god for assistance. Now the ideal + State of the elephant is the herd, and yet this herd of wisdom + sometimes develops a rebel or "rogue" who seems to be striving + after some fresh manner of existence and works terrible havoc + among the elephantine conventions. Usually the herd combines to + kill him and there is an end of the matter. Yet I sometimes think + that the occasional and inexplicable appearance of the "rogue" at + intervals during many thousand years may really have been the + origin of that wisdom to which the Indians pray.</p> + + <p>Similarly, mankind, which sometimes surpasses even the + elephant in wisdom, has been continually torn between the idol of + the Herd and the profanity of the rebel or Rogue, and it is + perhaps through the rebel—the variation, as Darwin would + call him—that man makes his advance. The rebel is what + distinguishes our States and cities from the beehives and + ant-heaps to which they are commonly compared. The progress of + ants and bees appears to have been arrested. They seem to have + developed a completely socialised polity thousands of years ago, + perhaps before man existed, and then to have + stopped—stopped <i>dead</i>, as we say. But mankind has + never stopped. If a country's progress is arrested—if a + people becomes simply conservative in habits, they may die + slowly, like Egypt, or quickly, likes Sparta, but they die and + disappear, unless inspired by new life, like Japan, or by + revolution, like France and possibly Russia. For, as we are + almost too frequently told, change is the law of human life.</p> + + <p>And may not this be just the very reason we are seeking + for—the very reason why all the world loves a rebel, at a + distance? Perhaps the world unconsciously recognises in him a + symbol of change, a symbol of the law of life. We may not like + him very near us—not uncomfortably near, as we say. For + most change is uncomfortable. When I was shut up for many weeks + in a London hospital, I felt a shrinking horror of going out, as + though my skin had become too tender for this rough world. After + I had been shut up for four months in a siege, daily exposed to + shells, bullets, fever, and starvation, I felt no relief when the + relief came, but rather a dread of confronting the perils of + ordinary life. So quickly does the curse of stagnation fall upon + us. And in support of stagnation are always ranged the immense + forces of Society, the prosperous, the well-to-do, the people who + are content if to-morrow is exactly like to-day. In support of + stagnation stands the power of every kind of government—the + King who sticks to his inherited importance, the Lords who stick + to their lands and titles, the experts who stick to their + theories, the officials who stick to their incomes, routine, and + leisure, the Members of Parliament who stick to their seats.</p> + + <p>But even more powerful than all these forces in support of + stagnation is the enormous host of those whose first thought is + necessarily their daily bread—men and women who dare not + risk a change for fear of to-morrow's hunger—people for + whom the crust is too uncertain for its certainty to be + questioned. We often ask why it is that the poor—the + working-people—endure their poverty and perpetual toil + without overwhelming revolt. The reason is that they have their + eyes fixed on the evening meal, and for the life of them they + dare not lose sight of it.</p> + + <p>So the rebel need never be afraid of going too fast. The + violence of inertia—the suction of the stagnant + bog—is almost invincible. Like the horse, we are creatures + of cast-iron habit. We abandon ourselves easily to careless + acquiescence. We make much of external laws, and, like a mother + bemused with torpid beer when she overlays her child, we stifle + the law of the soul because its crying is such a nuisance. Like a + new baby, a new thought is fractious, restless, and incalculable. + It saps our strength; it gives us no peace; it exposes a wider + surface to pain. There is something indecent, uncontrolled, and + unconscionable about it. Our friends like it best when it is + asleep, and they like us better when it is buried.</p> + + <p>There is very little danger of rebellion going too far. The + barriers confronting it are too solid, and the Idol of the Herd + is too carefully enshrined. A perpetual rebellion of every one + against everything would give us an insecure, though exciting, + existence, and we are protected by man's disposition to obedience + and his solid love of custom. Against the first vedettes of + rebellion the army of routine will always muster, and it gathers + to itself the indifferent, the startled cowards, the thinkers + whose thought is finished, the lawyers whose laws are + fixed—an innumerable host. They proceed to treat the rebels + as we have seen. In all ages, rebellion has been met by the + standing armies of permanence. If captured, it is put to the + ordeal of fire and water, so as to try what stuff it is made of. + Faith is rebellion's only inspiration and support, and a deal of + faith is needed to resist the battle and the test. It was in + thinking of the faith of rebels that an early Christian writer + told of those who, having walked by faith, have in all ages been + tortured, not accepting deliverance; and others have had trial of + mockings and scourgings, and of bonds and imprisonment; they + were<a name="22"></a> stoned, they were sawn asunder, were + tempted, were slain with the sword; they wandered about in + sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented + (of whom the world was not worthy); they wandered in deserts and + in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.[<a href= + "#note-5">5</a>] That is the test and the reward of faith. So + strong is the grip of the Leviathan, so determined is mankind to + allow no change in thought or life to survive if he can possibly + choke it.</p> + + <p>One of the most learned and inspiring of writers on political + philosophy has said in a book published in 1910:</p> + <pre> + "It is advantageous to the organism [of the Slate] that + the rights of suggestion, protest, veto, and revolt should be + accorded to its members."[<a href="#note-6">6</a>] +</pre> + + <p>That sounds very simple. We should all like to agree with it. + But under that apparently innocent sentence one of the most + perplexing of human problems lies hidden: what are the rights of + liberty, what are the limits of revolt? Only in a State of ideal + anarchy can liberty be complete and revolt universal, because + there would be nothing to revolt against. And anarchy, though it + is the goal of every man's desire, seems still far away, being, + indeed, the Kingdom of Heaven, which that God rules whose service + is perfect freedom and which only angels are qualified to + inhabit. For though the law of the indwelling spirit is the only + law that ought to count, not many of us are so little lower than + the angels as to be a law unto ourselves.</p> + + <p><a name="23"></a> In a really democratic State, where the + whole people had equal voices in the government and all could + exercise free power of persuasion, active rebellion, I think, + would be very rare and seldom justified. But there are, I + believe, only four democratic States in the world. All four are + small, and of these Finland is overshadowed by despotism, and + Australia and New Zealand have their foreign relations controlled + and protected by the mother country. Hitherto the experiment of a + really democratic government has never been tried on this planet, + except since 1909 in Norway, and even there with some + limitations; and though democracy might possibly avert the + necessity of rebellion, I rather doubt whether it can be called + advantageous to any State to accord to its members the right of + revolt. The State that allows revolt—that takes no notice + of it—has abdicated; it has ceased to exist. But whether + advantageous or not, no State has ever accorded that right in + matters of government; nor does mankind accord it, without a + prolonged struggle, even in religious doctrine and ordinary life. + Every revolt is tested as by fire, and we do not otherwise know + the temper of the rebels or the value of their purpose. Is it a + trick? Is it a fad? Is it a plot for contemptible ends? Is it a + riot—a moment's effervescence—or a revolution glowing + from volcanic depths? We only know by the tests of ridicule, + suffering, and death. In his "Ode to France," written in 1797, + Coleridge exclaimed:</p> + <pre> + "The Sensual and the Dark rebel in vain, + Slaves by their own compulsion." +</pre> + + <p>They rebel in vain because the Sensual and the Dark cannot + hold out long against the pressure of the Herd—against the + taunts of Society, against poverty, the loss of friends, the ruin + of careers, the discomforts of prison, the misery of hunger and + ill-treatment, and the terror of death. It is only by the supreme + triumph over such obstacles that revolt vindicates its + righteousness.</p> + + <p>And so, if any one among us is driven to rebellion by an + irresistible necessity of soul, I would not have him wonder at + the treatment he will certainly receive. Such treatment is the + hideous but inevitable test of his rebellion's value, for so + persecuted they the rebels that were before him. Whether he + rebels against a despotism like the Naples of fifty years ago or + the Russia of to-day; or whether he rebels against the opinions + or customs of his fellow-citizens, he will inevitably suffer, and + the success that justifies rebellion may not be of this world. + But if his cause is high, the shame of his suffering will + ultimately be attributed to the government or to the majority, + never to himself. There is a sense in which rebellion never + fails. It is almost always a symptom of intolerable wrong, for + the penalties are so terrible that it would not be attempted + without terrible provocation. "Rebellion," as Burke said, "does + not arise from a desire for change, but from the impossibility of + suffering more." It concentrates attention upon the wrong. At the + worst, though it be stamped into a grave, its spirit goes + marching on, and the inspiration of all history would be lost + were it not for rebellions, no matter whether they have succeeded + or failed.</p> + + <p>It may be said that if the State cannot accord the right of + revolt, the door is left open to all the violences, cruelty, and + injustice with which Rebellion is at present suppressed. But that + does not follow. The Liberal leaders of the last generation + endeavoured to draw a distinction whereby political offenders + should be treated better than ordinary criminals rather than + worse, and, though their successors went back from that position, + we may perhaps discern a certain uneasiness behind their + appearance of cruelty, at all events in the case of titled and + distinguished offenders. In war we have lately introduced + definite rules for the exclusion of cruelty and injustice, and in + some cases the rules are observed. The same thing could be done + in rebellion. I have often urged that the rights of war, now + guaranteed to belligerents, should be extended to rebels. The + chances are that a rebellion or civil war has more justice on its + side than international war, and there is no more reason why men + should be tortured and refused quarter, or why women should be + violated and have their children killed before their eyes by the + agents of their own government than by strangers. Yet these + things are habitually done, and my simple proposal appears + ludicrously impossible. Just in the same way, sixty years ago, it + was thought ludicrously impossible to deprive a man of his right + to whip his slave.</p> + + <p>But in any case, whether or not the rebel is to remain for all + time an object of special vengeance to the State and Society, he + has compensations. If he wins, the more barbarous his suppression + has been, so much the finer is his triumph, so much the sweeter + the wild justice of his revenge. It is a high reward when the + slow world comes swinging round to your despised and persecuted + cause, while the defeated persecutor whines at your feet that at + heart he was with you all the time. If the rebel + fails—well, it is a terrible thing to fail in rebellion. + Bodily or social execution is almost inevitably the result. But, + if his cause has been high, whether he wins or loses, he will + have enjoyed a comradeship such as is nowhere else to be + found—- a comradeship in a common service that transfigures + daily life and takes suffering and disgrace for honour. His + spirit will have been illumined by a hope and an indignation that + make the usual aims and satisfactions of the world appear trivial + and fond. To him it has been granted to hand on the torch of that + impassioned movement and change by which the soul of man appears + slowly to be working out its transfiguration. And if he dies in + the race, he may still hope that some glimmer of freedom will + shine where he is buried.</p> + + <center> + FOOTNOTES: + </center> + + <p><a name="note-1"><!-- Note Anchor 1 --></a>[Footnote 1: The + following extract from <i>Drakard's Paper</i> for Feb. 23, 1813, + shows the attempt at reform just a century ago, and the + opposition to reform characteristic of officials: "House of + Commons, Wed., Feb. 17. Sir Samuel Romilly rose, in pursuance of + his notice, to move for leave to bring in a bill to repeal an Act + of King William, making it capital to steal property above the + value of 5s. in a dwelling house, &c.....</p> + + <p>"The next bill he proposed to introduce related to a part of + the punishment for the crime of high treason, which was not at + present carried into execution. The sentence for this crime, + however, was, that the criminal should be dragged upon a hurdle + to the place of execution, that he should be hanged by the neck, + but cut down before he was dead, that his bowels should then be + taken out and burnt before his face. As to that part of the + sentence which relates to embowelling, it was never executed now, + but this omission was owing to accident, or to the mercy of the + executioner, not to the discretion of the judge.</p> + + <p>"The Solicitor-General stated general objections to the plan + of his learned friend.</p> + + <p>"Leave was given to bring in the bills."]</p> + + <p><a name="note-2"><!-- Note Anchor 2 --></a>[Footnote 2: See + <i>The History of Tyburn</i>, by Alfred Marks.]</p> + + <p><a name="note-3"><!-- Note Anchor 3 --></a>[Footnote 3: + <i>History of the Criminal Law of England</i>, vol. i. p. + 478.]</p> + + <p><a name="note-4"><!-- Note Anchor 4 --></a>[Footnote 4: Judith + was not strictly a rebel, except that Nabuchodonosor claimed + sovereignty over all the world and was avenging himself on all + the earth. See Judith ii. 1.]</p> + + <p><a name="note-5"><!-- Note Anchor 5 --></a>[Footnote 5: + Hebrews xi. 35-38.]</p> + + <p><a name="note-6"><!-- Note Anchor 6 --></a>[Footnote 6: <i>The + Crisis of Liberalism</i>, by J.A. Hobson, p. 82.]</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p><a name="RULE4_4"><!-- RULE4 4 --></a><a name="27"></a> + + <h2>III</h2> + + <center> + "EITHER COWARDS OR UNHAPPY" + </center> + + <p>Present grandeur is always hard to realise. The past and the + distant are easily perceived. Like a far-off mountain, their + glory is conspicuous, and the iridescent vapours of romance + quickly gather round it. The main outline of a distant peak is + clear, for rival heights are plainly surpassed, and sordid + details, being invisible, cannot detract from it or confuse. The + comfortable spectator may contemplate it in peace. It does not + exact from him quick decisions or disquieting activity. The + storms that sweep over it contribute to his admiration without + wetting his feet, and his high estimate of its beauty and + greatness may be enjoyed without apprehension of an avalanche. So + the historian is like a picturesque spectator cultivating his + sense of the sublime upon a distant prospect of the Himalayas. It + is easy for him to admire, and the appreciation of a far-off + heroic movement gives him quite a pleasant time. At his leisure + he may descant with enthusiasm upon the forlorn courage of + sacrificed patriots, and hymn, amidst general applause, the + battles of freedom long since lost or won.</p> + + <p>But in the thick of present life it is different. The air is + obscured by murky doubt, and unaccustomed shapes stand along the + path, indistinguishable under the light malign. Uncertain hope + scarcely<a name="28"></a> glimmers, nor can the termination of + the struggle be divined. Tranquillity, giving time for thought, + and the security that leaves the judgment clear, have both gone, + and may never return. The ears are haunted with the laughter of + vulgarity, and the judicious discouragement of prudence. Is there + not as much to be said for taking one line as another? If there + is talk of conflict, were it not better to leave the issue in the + discriminating hands of One whose judgment is indisputable? Yet + in the very midst of hesitations, mockery, and good advice, the + next step must be taken, the decision must be swift, the choice + is brief but eternal. There is no clear evidence of heroism + around. The lighters do not differ much from the grotesque, the + foolish, and the braggart ruck of men. No wonder that culture + smiles and passes aloof upon its pellucid and elevating course. + Culture smiles; the valet de chambre lurking in most hearts + sniffs at the name of hero; hideous applause comes from securely + sheltered crowds who hound victims to the combat, bloodthirsty as + spectators at a bull-fight. In the sweat and twilight and crudity + of the actual event, when so much is merely ludicrous and + discomforting, and all is enveloped in the element of fear, it is + rare to perceive a glory shining, or to distinguish greatness + amid the mud of contumely and commonplace.</p> + + <p>Take the story of Italy's revival—the "Resurrection," as + Italians call it. In the summer of 1911, Italy was celebrating + her jubilee of national rebellion, and English writers who spend + their years, day by day or week by week, sneering at freedom, + betraying nationality, and demanding vengeance on rebels, burst + into ecstatic rhapsodies about that glorious but distant + uprising. They raised the old war-cry of liberty over<a name= + "29"></a> battle-fields long silent; they extolled to heaven the + renown of the rebellious dead; their very periods glowed with + Garibaldian red, white, and green; and rising to Byronic + exaltation they concluded their nationalist effusions by adjuring + freedom's weather-beaten flag:</p> + <pre> + "Yet, Freedom! yet thy banner, torn, but flying, + Streams like the thunder-storm against the wind!" +</pre> + + <p>So they cried, echoing the voice of noble ghosts. But where in + the scenes of present life around them have they hailed that torn + but flying banner? What have they said or done for freedom's + emblem in Persia, or in Morocco, or in Turkey? What support have + they given it in Finland, or in the Caucasus, or in the Baltic + Provinces? To come within our own sphere, what ecstatic + rhapsodies have they composed to greet the rising nationalism of + Ireland, or of India, or of Egypt? Or, in this country herself, + what movement of men or of women striving to be free have they + welcomed with their paeans of joy? Not once have they perceived a + glory in liberty's cause to-day. Wherever a rag of that torn + banner fluttered, they have denounced and stamped it down, + declaring it should fly no more. Their admiration and enthusiasm + are reserved for a buried past, and over triumphant rebellion + they will sentimentalise for pages, provided it is securely + bestowed in some historic age that can trouble them no more.</p> + + <p>Leaving them to their peace, let us approach a great name + among our English singers of liberty. Swinburne stands in the + foremost rank. In a collection of "English Songs of Italian + Freedom," edited by Mr. George Trevelyan, who himself has so + finely narrated the epic of Italy's redemption—in that + collection Swinburne occupies a place among the very highest. No + one has paid nobler tribute to the heroes of that amazing + revolution. No one has told the sorrow of their failures with + more sympathetic rage, or has poured so burning a scorn and so + deep an obloquy upon their oppressors, whether in treacherous + Church or alien State. It is magnificent, but alas! it was not + war. By the time he wrote, the war was over, the victory won. By + that time, not only the British crowd, but even people of rank, + office, and culture could hardly fail to applaud. The thing had + become definite and conspicuous. It was finished. It stood in + quite visible splendour at a safe and comfortable distance. + Ridicule had fallen impotent. Hesitation could now put down its + foot. Superiority could smile, not in doubt, but in welcome. The + element of fear was dissipated. The coward could shout, "I was + your friend all along!" If a man wrote odes at all, he could + write them to freedom then.</p> + <pre> + "By the waters of Babylon we sat down and wept, + Remembering Thee, + That for ages of agony hast endured and slept, + And would'st not see." +</pre> + + <p>How superb! But when that was written the weeping and agony + were over, the sleeper had awakened, the eyes saw. It was easy + then to sing the heroism of rebellious sorrow. But afterwards, + while an issue was still doubtful, while the cry of freedom was + rising amid the obscurity, the dust, and uncertainty of actual + combat, with how blind a scorn did that great poet of freedom + pour upon Irishman and Boer a poison as virulent<a name="31"></a> + as he had once poured upon the priests and kings of Italy!</p> + + <p>Let us emerge from the depression of such common blindness, + and recall the memory of one whose vision never failed even in + the midst of present gloom to detect the spark of freedom. A few + great names stand beside his. Shelley, Landor, the Brownings, all + gave the cause of Italy great and, in one case, the most + exquisite verse, while the conflict was uncertain still. Even the + distracted and hesitating soul of Clough, amid the dilettante + contemplation of the arts in Rome, was rightly stirred. The poem + that declared, "'Tis better to have fought and lost than never to + have fought at all," displayed in him a rare decision, while, + even among his hideous hexameters, we find the great satiric + line—fit motto for spectators at the bull-fights of + freedom—"So that I 'list not, hurrah for the glorious army + of martyrs!" But the name of Byron rises above them all, not + merely that he alone showed himself capable of deed, but that the + deed gave to his words a solidity and concrete power such as + deeds always give. First of Englishmen, as Mr. Trevelyan says, + Byron perceived that a living Italy was struggling beneath the + outward semblance of Metternich's "order"; and as early as 1821 + he prepared to join the Carbonari of Naples in their revolt for + Italian liberty:</p> + <pre> + "I suppose that they consider me," he wrote, "as a depot + to be sacrificed, in case of accidents. It is no great matter, + supposing that Italy would he liberated, who or what is sacrificed. + It is a grand object—the very <i>poetry</i> of politics. Only + think—a free Italy!" +</pre> + + <p><a name="32"></a> That was written in freedom's darkest age, + between Waterloo and the appearance of Mazzini, and that grand + object was not to be reached for forty years. In the meantime, + true to his guiding principle:</p> + <pre> + "Then battle for freedom whenever you can, + And, if not shot or hang'd, you'll get knighted," +</pre> + + <p>Byron had sacrificed himself for Greece as nobly as he was + prepared to sacrifice himself for Italy. It was a time of + darkness hardly visible. In the very year when Byron witnessed + the collapse of the Carbonari rebellion, Leopardi, as Mr. + Trevelyan tells us, wrote to his sister on her marriage: "The + children you will have must be either cowards or unhappy; choose + the unhappy." The hope of freedom appeared extinct. Tyrants, as + Byron wrote, could be conquered but by tyrants, and freedom found + no champion. The Italians themselves were merged in the slime of + despairing satisfaction, and he watched them creeping, + "crouching, and crab-like," along their streets. But through that + dark gate of unhappiness which Leopardi named as the one choice + for all but cowards, led the thin path that freedom must always + take. Great as were Mazzini's services to all Europe, his + greatest service to his countrymen lay in arousing them from the + slough of contentment to a life of hardship, sacrifice, and + unhappiness. When, after the loss of Rome in 1849, Garibaldi + called for volunteers to accompany his hazardous retreat, he said + to them: "I offer neither pay, nor quarters, nor provisions; I + offer hunger, thirst, forced marches, battles, and death." + Swinburne himself may have had those words in mind when, writing + also of Garibaldi, he said of freedom:</p><a name="33"></a> + <pre> + "She, without shelter or station, + She, beyond limit or bar, + Urges to slumberless speed + Armies that famish, that bleed, + Sowing their lives for her seed, + That their dust may rebuild her a nation, + That their souls may relight her a star." +</pre> + + <p>"Happy are all they that follow her," he continued, and in a + sense we may well deem their fate happiness. But it is in the + sense of what Carlyle in a memorable passage called the + allurements to action. "It is a calumny on men," he wrote, "to + say they are roused to heroic action by ease, hope of pleasure, + reward in this world or the next. Difficulty, abnegation, + martyrdom, death are the allurements that act on the heart of + man." Under the spell and with the reward of those grim + allurements the battles of freedom, so visible in the + resurrection of Italy, so unrecognised in freedom's recurrent and + contemporary conflicts, must invariably be fought. We may justly + talk, if we please, of the joy in such conflicts, but Thermopylae + was a charnel, though, as Byron said, it was a proud one; and it + is always against the wind that the banner of freedom + streams.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p><a name="RULE4_5"><!-- RULE4 5 --></a><a name="34"></a> + + <h2>IV</h2> + + <center> + DEEDS NOT WORDS + </center> + + <p>As he wrote—as he wrote his best, while the shafts of + the spirit lightened in his brain—Heine would sometimes + feel a mysterious figure standing behind him, muffled in a cloak, + and holding, beneath the cloak, something that gleamed now and + then like an executioner's axe. For a long while he had not + perceived that strange figure, when, on visiting Germany, after + fourteen years' exile in Paris, as he crossed the Cathedral + Square in Cologne one moonlight night, he became aware that it + was following him again. Turning impatiently, he asked who he + was, why he followed him, and what he was hiding under his cloak. + In reply, the figure, with ironic coolness, urged him not to get + excited, nor to give way to eloquent exorcism:</p> + <pre> + "I am no antiquated ghost," he continued. "I'm quite a + practical person, always silent and calm. But I must tell you, + the thoughts conceived in your soul—I carry them out, I bring + them to pass. + + "And though years may go by, I take no rest until I transform + your thoughts into reality. You think; I act. + + "You are the judge, I am the gaoler, and, like an obedient + servant, I fulfil the sentence which you have ordained, even if + it is unjust. + + "In Rome of ancient days they carried an axe before the + Consul. You also have your Lictor, but the axe is carried + behind you. + + "I am your Lictor, and I walk perpetually with bare executioner's + axe behind you—I am the deed of your thought." +</pre> + + <p>No artist—no poet or writer, at all events—could + enjoy a more consolatory vision. The powerlessness of the word is + the burden of writers, and "Who hath believed our report?" cry + all the prophets in successive lamentation. They so naturally + suppose that, when truth and reason have spoken, truth and reason + will prevail, but, as the years go by, they mournfully discover + that nothing of the kind occurs. Man, they discover, does not + live by truth and reason: he rather resents the intrusion of such + quietly argumentative forms. When they have spoken, nothing + whatever is yet accomplished, and the conflict has still to + begin. The dog returns to his own vomit; the soul convicted of + sin continues sinning, and he that was filthy is filthy still. + Thence comes the despair of all the great masters of the word. + The immovable world admires them, it praises their style, it + forms aesthetic circles for their perusal, and dines in their + honour when they are dead. But it goes on its way immovable, + grinding the poor, enslaving the slave, admiring hideousness, + adulating vulgarity for its wealth and insignificance for its + pedigree. Grasping, pleasure-seeking, indifferent to reason, and + enamoured of the lie, so it goes on, and the masters of the word + might just as well have hushed their sweet or thunderous voices. + For, though they speak with the tongue of men and angels, and + have not action, what are they but sounding brass and a tinkling + cymbal?</p> + + <p><a name="36"></a> To such a mood, how consolatory must be the + vision of that muffled figure, with the two-handed engine, always + following close! And to Heine himself the consolation came with + especial grace. He had been virulently assailed by the leaders of + the party to which he regarded himself as naturally + belonging—the party for whose sake he endured the charming + exile of Paris, then at the very height of her intellectual + supremacy. The exile was charming, but unbearable dreams and + memories would come. "When I am happy in your arms," he wrote, + "you must never speak to me of Germany, I cannot bear it; I have + my reasons. I implore you, leave Germany alone. You must not + plague me with these eternal questions about home, and friends, + and the way of life. I have my reasons; I cannot bear it." All + this was suffered—for a quarter of a century it was + suffered—just for an imaginary and unrealised German + revolution. And, if Heine was not to be counted as a German + revolutionist, what was the good of it all? What did the sorrows + of exile profit him, if he had no part in the cause? He might + just as well have gone on eating, drinking, and being merry on + German beer. Yet Ludwig Börne, acknowledged leader of German + revolutionists, had scornfully written of him (I translate from + Heine's own quotation, in his pamphlet on Börne):</p> + <pre> + "I can make allowance for child's-play, and for the passions + of youth. But when, on the day of bloody conflict, a boy who + is chasing butterflies on the battle-field runs between my legs; + or when, on the day of our deepest need, while we are praying + earnestly to God, a young dandy at our side can see nothing + in the church but the pretty girls, and keeps whispering to + them and making eyes—then, I say, in spite of all philosophy + and humanity, one cannot restrain one's indignation." +</pre> + + <p><a name="37"></a> Much more followed, but in those words lay + the sting of the scorn. It is a scorn that many poets and writers + suffer when confronted by the man of action, or even by the man + of affairs. When it comes to action, all the finest words ever + spoken, and all the most beautiful poems and books ever written, + seem so irrelevant, as Hilda Wangel said of reading. "How + beggarly all arguments appear before a defiant deed!" cried Walt + Whitman. "Every man," said Ruskin, "feels instinctively that all + the beautiful sentiments in the world count less than a single + lovely action." The powerlessness of the word—that, as I + said, has been the burden of speakers and writers. That is what + drove Dante to politics, and Byron to Greece, and Goethe to the + study of bones.</p> + + <p>But Heine laid himself open more than most to such scorn as + Börne's. There was little of the active revolutionist in his + nature. About the revolutionist hangs something Hebraic (if we + may still use Heine's own distinction, never very definite, and + now worn so thin), but Heine prided himself upon a sunlit + cheerfulness that he called Greek. He loved the garish world; he + was in love with every woman; but the true revolutionist must be + the modern monk. It is no good asking the revolutionist out to + dinner; he will neither say anything amusing, nor know the + difference between chalk and cheese. But Heine's good sayings + went the round of Parisian society, and he loved the subtleties + of wine and the table. "That dish," he said once, "should be + eaten on one's knees." Only on paper, and then rarely, was his + heart lacerated by savage indignation. Except for brief periods + of poverty, in the Zion of exile he lived very much at ease, nor + did the zeal of the Lord ever consume him. Did it not seem that a + true revolutionist was justified in comparing him to a boy + chasing butterflies on the battle-field? Here, if anywhere, one + might have thought, was one of those charming poets whom the + Philosopher would have honoured, and feasted, and loaded with + beautiful gifts, and then conducted, laurel-crowned, far outside + the walls of the perfect city, to the sound of flutes and soft + recorders.</p> + + <p>To such scorn Heine attempted the artist's common answer. He + replied to Börne's revolutionary scorn of the mere poet, + with a poet's fastidious scorn of the smudgy revolutionist. He + tells us of his visit to Börne's rooms, where he found such + a menagerie as could hardly be seen in the Jardin des + Plantes—German polar bears, a Polish wolf, a French ape. Or + we read of the one revolutionary assembly he attended, and how up + till then he had always longed to be a popular orator, and had + even practised on oxen and sheep in the fields; but that one + meeting, with its dirt, and smells, and stifling tobacco smoke, + sickened him of oratory. "I saw," he writes,</p> + <pre> + "I saw that the path of a German tribune is not strewn + with roses—not with clean roses. For example, you have to + shake hands vigorously with all your auditors, your 'dear + brothers and cousins.' Perhaps Börne means it metaphorically + when he says that, if a king shook him by the band, he would + at once hold it in the fire, so as to clean it; but I mean it + literally, and not metaphorically, when I say that, if the people + shook me by the hand, I should at once wash it." +</pre> + + <p>We all know those meetings now—the fraternal handshake, + the menagerie smell, the reek of tobacco, the indistinguishable + hubbub of tongues, the frothy violence, the bottomless inanity of + abstract dissensions, that<a name="39"></a> have less concern + with human realities than the curve of the hyperbola through + space. We all know that, and sometimes, perhaps, at the sight of + some artist or poet like Heine—or, shall we say? like + William Morris—in the sulphurous crater of that volcanic + tumult, we may have been tempted to exclaim, "Not here, O Apollo, + are haunts meet for thee!" But we had best restrain such + exclamation, for we have had quite enough of the artistic or + philanthropic temperaments that talk a deal about fighting the + battle of the poor and the oppressed, but take very good care to + keep at a clean and comfortable distance from those whose battle + they are fighting, and appear more than content to live among the + tyrants and oppressors they denounce. And we remind ourselves, + further, that what keeps the memory of William Morris sweet is + not his wall-papers, his beaten work of bronze or silver, his + dreamy tapestries of interwoven silks or verse, but just that + strange attempt of his, however vain, however often deceived, to + convert the phrases of liberty into realities, and to learn + something more about democracy than the spelling of its name.</p> + + <p>Heine's first line of defence was quite worthless. It was the + cheap and common defence of the commonplace, fastidious nature + that has hardly courage to exist outside its nest of culture. His + second line was stronger, and it is most fully set out in the + preface to his <i>Lutetia</i>, written only a year before his + death. He there expresses the artist's fear of beauty's + desecration by the crowd. He dreads the horny hand laid upon the + statues he had loved. He sees the laurel groves, the lilies, the + roses—"those idle brides of nightingales"—destroyed + to make room for useful potato-patches. He sees his <i>Book of + Songs</i> taken by the grocer to wrap up coffee and snuff for old + women, in a world where the victorious proletariat triumphs. But + that line of defence he voluntarily abandons, knowing in his + heart, as he said, that the present social order could not + endure, and that all beauty it preserved was not to be counted + against its horror.</p><a name="40"></a> + + <p>It is at the end of the same preface that the well-known + passage occurs, thus translated by Matthew Arnold:</p> + <pre> + "I know not if I deserve that a laurel-wreath should one + day be laid on my coffin. Poetry, dearly as I have loved it, + has always been to me but a divine plaything. I have never + attached any great value to poetical fame; and I trouble myself + very little whether people praise my verses or blame them. + But lay on my coffin a <i>sword</i>; for I was a brave soldier in the + war of liberation of humanity." +</pre> + + <p>The words appear strangely paradoxical. No one questions + Heine's place among the poets of the world. As a matter of fact, + he was quite as sensitive to criticism as other poets, and his + courage was not more conspicuous than most people's. But, + nevertheless, those words contain his last and true defence + against the scorn of revolutionists, or men of affairs, like + Börne. There is no need to make light of Börne's + achievement; that also has its high place in the war of + liberation. But, powerless as the word may seem, there was in + Heine's word a liberating force that is felt in our battle to + this day. He did not wield the axe himself, but behind him has + moved a mysterious figure, muffled in a cloak—a Lictor + following his footsteps with an axe—the deed of Heine's + thought.</p><a name="RULE4_51"><!-- RULE4 4 --></a><a name= + "41"></a> + + <h2>V</h2> + + <center> + THE BURNING BOOK + </center> + + <p>"How beggarly appear arguments before a defiant deed!" cried + Walt Whitman, as I quoted in the last essay. He was thinking, + perhaps, of Harper's Ferry and of John Brown hanging on the + crab-apple tree, while his soul went marching on. It is the + lament of all writers and speakers who are driven by inward + compulsion to be something more than artists in words, and who + seek to jog the slow-pacing world more hurriedly forward. How + long had preachers, essayists, orators, and journalists argued + slavery round and round before the defiant deed crashed and + settled it! "Who hath believed our report?" the prophets have + always cried, until the arm of the Lord was revealed; and the + melancholy of all prophetic writers is mainly due to the + conscious helplessness of their words. If men would only listen + to reason—if they would listen even to the appeals of + justice and compassion, we suppose our prophets would grow quite + cheerful at last. But to justice and compassion men listen only + at a distance, and the prophet is near.</p> + + <p>Nevertheless, in his address as Chancellor of Manchester + University in June 1912, Lord Morley, who has himself often + sounded the prophetic note, asserted that "a score of books in + political literature rank as<a name="42"></a> acts, not books." + He happened to be speaking on the anniversary of Rousseau's + birth, two hundred years ago, and in no list of such books could + Rousseau's name be forgotten. "Whether a score or a hundred," + Lord Morley went on, "the <i>Social Contract</i> was one," and, + as though to rouse his audience with a spark, he quoted once more + the celebrated opening sentence, "Man is born free, and + everywhere he is in chains." That sentence is not true either in + history or in present life. It would be truer to say that man has + everywhere been born in chains and, very slowly, in some few + parts of the world, he is becoming free. The sentence is neither + scientific as historic theory nor true to present life, and yet + Lord Morley rightly called it electrifying. And the same is true + of the book which it so gloriously opens. As history and as + philosophy, it is neither original nor exact. It derived directly + from Locke, and many aspects of the world and thought since + Darwin's time confute it. But, however much anticipated, and + however much exposed to scientific ridicule, it remains one of + the burning books of the world—one of those books which, as + Lord Morley said, rank as acts, not books.</p> + + <p>"Let us realise," he continued, "with what effulgence such a + book burst upon communities oppressed by wrong, sunk in care, + inflamed by passions of religion or of liberty, the two eternal + fields of mortal struggle." So potent an influence depends much + upon the opportunity of time—the fulfilment of the hour's + need. A book so abstract, so assertive of theory, and standing so + far apart from the world's actual course, would hardly find an + audience now. But in the eighteenth century, so gaily confident + in the power of reason, so trustful of good intentions, + so<a name="43"></a> ready to acclaim noble phrase and generality, + and so ignorant of the past and of the poor—in the midst of + such a century the <i>Social Contract</i> was born at the due + time. Add the vivid imagination and the genuine love for his + fellow-men, to which Lord Morley told us Maine attributed + Rousseau's ineffaceable influence on history, and we are shown + some of the qualities and reasons that now and again make words + burn with that effulgence, and give even to a book the power of a + deed.</p> + + <p>Lord Morley thought there might be a score, or perhaps even a + hundred, of such books in political literature. He himself gave + two other instances beside the <i>Social Contract</i>. He + mentioned <i>The Institutions of the Christian Religion</i>, of + Calvin, "whose own unconquerable will and power to meet occasion + made him one of the commanding forces in the world's history." + And he mentioned Tom Paine's <i>Common Sense</i> as "the most + influential political piece ever composed." I could not, offhand, + give a list of seventeen other books of similar power to make up + the score. I do not believe so many exist, and as to + ninety-seven, the idea need not be considered. There have been + books of wide and lasting political influence—Plato's + <i>Republic</i>, Aristotle's <i>Politics</i>, Machiavelli's + <i>Prince</i>, Hobbes's <i>Leviathan</i>, Locke's <i>Civil + Government</i>, Adam Smith's <i>Wealth of Nations</i>, Paine's + <i>Right of Man</i>, Mill's <i>Liberty</i> and <i>The Subjection + of Women</i>, Green's <i>Political Obligation</i>, and many more. + But these are not burning books in the sense in which the + <i>Social Contract</i> was a burning book. With the possible + exception of <i>The Subjection of Women</i>, they were cool and + philosophic. With the possible exception of Machiavelli, their + writers might have been professors. The effect of the books was + fine and lasting, but they<a name="44"></a> were not aflame. They + did not rank as acts. The burning books that rank as acts and + devour like purifying fire must be endowed with other + qualities.</p> + + <p>Such books appear to have been very few, though, in a rapid + survey, one is likely to overlook some. In all minds there will + arise at once the great memory of Swift's <i>Drapier's + Letters</i>, passionately uttering the simple but continually + neglected law that "all government without the consent of the + governed is the very definition of slavery." Carlyle's <i>French + Revolution</i> and <i>Past and Present</i> burnt with similar + flame; so did Ruskin's <i>Unto this Last</i> and the series of + <i>Fors Clavigera;</i> so did Mazzini's <i>God and the + People</i>, Karl Marx's <i>Kapital</i>, Henry George's + <i>Progress and Poverty</i>, Tolstoy's <i>What shall we do?</i> + and so did Proudhon's <i>Qu'est ce que la + Propriété?</i> at the time of its birth. Nor from + such a list could one exclude <i>Uncle Tom's Cabin</i>, by which + Mrs. Beecher Stowe anticipated the deed of Harper's Ferry nine + years before it came.</p> + + <p>These are but few books and few authors. With Lord Morley's + three thrown in, they still fall far short of a score. Readers + will add other names, other books that ranked as acts and burnt + like fire. To their brief but noble roll, I would also add one + name, and one brief set of speeches or essays that hardly made a + book, but to which Lord Morley himself, at all events, would not + be likely to take exception. He mentioned Burke's famous + denunciation of Rousseau, and, indeed, the natures and aspects of + no two distinguished and finely-tempered men could well be more + opposed. But none the less, I believe that in Burke, before + growing age and growing fears and habits chilled his blood, there + kindled a fire consuming in its indignation, and driving him to + words that, equally with Rousseau's, may rank among the acts of + history. In support of what may appear so violent a paradox when + speaking of one so often claimed as a model of Conservative + moderation and constitutional caution, let me recall a few actual + sentences from the speech on "Conciliation with America," + published three years before Rousseau's death. The grounds of + Burke's imagination were not theoretic. He says nothing about + abstract man born free; but, as though quietly addressing the + House of Commons to-day, he remarks:</p> + <pre> + "The Colonies complain that they have not the characteristic + mark and seal of British freedom. They complain that they + are taxed in a Parliament in which they are not represented." +</pre> + + <p>That simple complaint had roused in the Colonies, thus + deprived of the mark and seal of British freedom, a spirit of + turbulence and disorder. Already, under a policy of negation and + suppression, the people were driving towards the most terrible + kind of war—a war between the members of the same + community. Already the cry of "no concession so long as disorders + continue" went up from the central Government, and, with + passionate wisdom, Burke replied:</p> + <pre> + "The question is not whether their spirit deserves blame or + praise, but what, in the name of God, shall we do with it?" +</pre> + + <p>Then come two brief passages which ought to be bound as + watchwords and phylacteries about the foreheads of every + legislator who presumes to direct our country's destiny, and + which stand as a perpetual indictment against all who endeavour + to exclude the men or women of this country from constitutional + liberties:</p> + <pre> + "In order to prove that the Americans have no right to + their liberties, we are every day endeavouring to subvert the + maxims which preserve the whole spirit of our own. To prove + that the Americans ought not to be free, we are obliged to + depreciate the value of freedom itself; and we never seem to + gain a paltry advantage over them in debate without attacking + some of those principles or deriding some of those feelings for + which our ancestors have shed their blood." +</pre> + + <p>The second passage is finer still, and particularly apt to the + present civil contest over Englishwomen's enfranchisement:</p> + <pre> + "The temper and character which prevail in our Colonies + are, I am afraid, unalterable by any human art. We cannot, + I fear, falsify the pedigree of this fierce people, and persuade + them that they are not sprung from a nation in whose veins + the blood of freedom circulates. The language in which they + would hear you tell them this tale would detect the imposition. + Your speech would betray you. An Englishman is the unfittest + person on earth to argue another Englishman into slavery." +</pre> + + <p>It may be said that these words, unlike the words with which + Rousseau kindled revolution, failed of their purpose. The + Government remained deaf and blind to the demand of British + freedom; a terrible war was not averted; one of the greatest + disasters in our history ensued. None the less, they glow with + the true fire, and the book that contains them ranks with acts, + and, indeed, with battles. That we should thus be coupling + Rousseau and Burke—two men of naturally violent + antipathy—is but one of the common ironies of history, + which in the course of years obliterates differences and soothes + so many hatreds. To be accepted and honoured by the same mind, + and even for similar service, the two apparent opposites must + have had something in common. What they had in common was the + great qualities that Maine discovered in Rousseau—the vivid + imagination and the genuine love for their fellow-men; and by + imagination I mean the power of realising the thoughts, feelings, + and sufferings of others. Thus from these two qualities combined + in the presence of oppression, cruelty, or the ordinary stupid + and callous denial of freedom, there sprang that flame of + indignation from which alone the burning book derives its fire. + Examine those other books whose titles I have mentioned, and + their origin will in every case be found the same. They are the + flaming children of rage, and rage is begotten by imaginative + power out of love for the common human kind.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p><a name="RULE4_6"><!-- RULE4 6 --></a><a name="48"></a> + + <h2>VI</h2> + + <center> + "WHERE CRUEL RAGE" + </center> + + <p>"Fret not thyself," sang the cheerful Psalmist—"fret not + thyself because of evildoers." For they shall soon be cut down + like the grass; they shall be rooted out; their sword shall go + through their own heart; their arms shall be broken; they shall + consume as the fat of lambs, and as the smoke they shall consume + away; though they flourish like a green bay-tree, they shall be + gone, and though we seek them, their place shall nowhere be + found.</p> + + <p>A soothing consolation lies in the thought. Why should we + fluster ourselves, why wax so hot, when time thus brings its + inevitable revenges? Composed in mind, let us pursue our own + unruffled course, with calm assurance that justice will at length + prevail. Let us comply with the dictates of sweetness and light, + in reasonable expectation that iniquity will melt away of itself, + like a snail before the fire. If we have confidence that + vengeance is the Lord's and He will repay, where but in that + faith shall we find an outlet for our indignation at once so + secure, so consolatory, and so cheap?</p> + + <p>It was the pious answer made by Dr. Delany to Swift at the + time when, torn by cruel rage, Swift was entering upon the + struggle against Ireland's misery. Swift appealed to him one day + "whether the<a name="49"></a> corruptions and villainies of men + in power did not eat his flesh and exhaust his spirits?" But + Delany answered, "That in truth they did not." "Why—why, + how can you help it? How can you avoid it?" asked the indignant + heart. And the judicious answer came: "Because I am commanded to + the contrary; 'Fret not thyself because of the ungodly.'" Under + the qualities revealed in Swift and Delany by that characteristic + scene, is also revealed a deeply-marked distinction between two + orders of mankind, and the two speakers stand as their types. Dr. + Delany we all know. He may be met in any agreeable + society—himself agreeable and tolerant, unwilling to judge + lest he be judged, solicitous to please, careful not to lose + esteem, always welcome among his numerous acquaintances, sweetly + reasonable, and devoutly confident that the tale of hideous wrong + will right itself without his stir. No figure is more essential + for social intercourse, or moves round the cultivated or + political circle of his life with more serene + success.</p><a name="50"></a> + + <p>To the great comfort of cultivated and political circles, the + type of Swift is not so frequent or so comprehensible. What place + have those who fret not themselves because of + evildoers—what place in their tolerant society have they + for uncouth personalities, terrible with indignation? It is true + that Swift was himself accounted a valued friend among the best + wits and writers of his time. Bolingbroke wrote to him: "I loved + you almost twenty years ago; I thought of you as well as I do + now, better was beyond the power of conception." Pope, also after + twenty years of intimate friendship, could write of him: "My + sincere love of that valuable, indeed incomparable, man will + accompany him through life, and pursue his memory were I to live + a hundred lives." Arbuthnot could write to him:</p> + <pre> + "DEAR FRIEND,—The last sentence of your letter plunged + a dagger in my heart. Never repeat those sad, but tender, + words, that you will try to forget me. For my part, I can never + forget you—at least till I discover, which is impossible, another + friend whose conversation could procure me the pleasure I + have found in yours." +</pre> + + <p>The friends of Swift—the men who could write like + this—men like Bolingbroke, Pope, Arbuthnot, Addison, + Steele, and Gay—were no sentimentalists; they rank among + the shrewdest and most clear-eyed writers of our literature. And, + indeed, to me at all events, the difficulty of Swift's riddle + lies, not in his savagery, but in his charm. When we think of + that tiger burning in the forests of the night, how shall we + reconcile his fearful symmetry with eyes "azure as the heavens," + which Pope describes as having a surprising archness in them? Or + when a man is reputed the most embittered misanthrope in history, + how was it that his intimate friend, Sheridan, could speak of + that "spirit of generosity and benevolence whose greatness, and + vigour, when pent up in his own breast by poverty and dependence, + served only as an evil spirit to torment him"? Of his private + generosity, and his consideration for the poor, for servants, and + animals, there are many instances recorded. For divergent types + of womanhood, whether passionate, witty, or intellectual, he + possessed the attraction of sympathetic intimacy. A woman of + peculiar charm and noble character was his livelong friend from + girlhood, risking reputation, marriage, position, and all that + many women most value, just for that friendship and nothing more. + Another woman loved him with more tragic destiny. To Stella, in + the midst of his political warfare, he could write with the + playfulness that nursemaids use for children, and most men keep + for their kittens or puppies. In the "Verses on his own Death," + how far removed from the envy, hatred, and malice of the literary + nature is the affectionate irony of those verses beginning:</p> + <pre> + "In Pope I cannot read a line, + But with a sigh I wish it mine; + When he can in one couplet fix + More sense than I can do in six, + It gives me such a jealous fit, + I cry, 'Plague take him and his wit.' + I grieve to be outdone by Gay + In my own humorous biting way; + Arbuthnot is no more my friend + Who dares to irony pretend, + Which I was born to introduce; + Refined it first, and showed its use." +</pre> + + <p>And so on down to the lines:</p> + <pre> + "If with such talents Heaven has blest 'em, + Have I not reason to detest 'em?" +</pre> + + <p>To damn with faint praise is the readiest defence of envious + failure; but to praise with jealous damnation reveals a delicate + generosity that few would look for in the hater of his kind. Nor + let us forget that Swift was himself the inventor of the phrase + "Sweetness and light."</p> + + <p>These elements of charm and generosity have been too much + overlooked, and they could not redeem the writer's savagery in + popular opinion, being overshadowed by that cruel indignation + which ate his flesh and exhausted his spirit. Yet it was, + perhaps, just from such elements of intuitive sympathy and + affectionate goodwill that the indignation sprang. Like most + over-sensitive natures, he found that every new relation in life, + even every new friendship that he formed, only opened a gate to + new unhappiness. The sorrows of others were more to him than to + themselves, and, like a man or woman that loves a child, he + discovered that his affection only exposed a wider surface to + pain. On the death of a lady with whom he was not very intimately + acquainted, "I hate life," he cried, "when I think it exposed to + such accidents: and to see so many thousand wretches burdening + the earth while such as her die, makes me think God did never + intend life for a blessing." It was not any spirit of hatred or + cruelty, but an intensely personal sympathy with suffering, that + tore his heart and kindled that furnace of indignation against + the stupid, the hateful, and the cruel to whom most suffering is + due; and it was a furnace in which he himself was consumed. + Writing whilst he was still a youth, in <i>The Tale of a Tub</i>, + he composed a terrible sentence, in which all his rage and pity + and ironical bareness of style seem foretold: "Last week," he + says, "I saw a woman flayed, and you will hardly believe how much + it altered her person for the worse." "Only a woman's hair," was + found written on the packet in which the memorial of Stella was + preserved, and I do not know in what elegy there breathes a + prouder or more poignant sorrow.</p> + + <p>When he wrote the <i>Drapier Letters</i>, Ireland lay before + him like a woman flayed. Of the misery of Ireland it was said (I + think by Sheridan):</p> + <pre> + "It fevered his blood, it broke his rest, it drove him at times + half frantic with furious indignation, it sunk him at times in + abysses of sullen despondency, it awoke in him emotions + which in ordinary men are seldom excited save by personal + injuries." +</pre> + + <p><a name="53"></a> This cruel rage over the wrongs of a people + whom he did not love, and whom he repeatedly disowned, drove him + to the savage denunciations in which he said of England's + nominee: "It is no dishonour to submit to the lion, but who, with + the figure of a man, can think with patience of being devoured + alive by a rat?" It drove him also to the great principle, still + too slowly struggling into recognition in this country, that "all + government without the consent of the governed is the very + definition of slavery." It inspired his <i>Proposal for the + Universal Use of Irish Manufactures</i>, in which the advice to + "burn everything that came from England except the coals and the + people," might serve as the motto of the Sinn Fein movement. And + it inspired also that other "Modest Proposal for Preventing the + Children of Ireland from being a burden to their Parents and + Country, and making them beneficial to the Public. Fatten them up + for the Dublin market; they will be delicious roast, baked, or + boiled."</p> + + <p>As wave after wave of indignation passed over him, his wrath + at oppression extended to all mankind. In <i>Gulliver's + Travels</i> it is the human race that lies before him, how much + altered for the worse by being flayed! But it is not pity he + feels for the victim now. In man he only sees the littleness, the + grossness, the stupidity, or the brutal degradation of Yahoos. + Unlike other satirists—unlike Juvenal or Pope or the author + of <i>Penguin Island</i>, who comes nearest to his + manner—he pours his contempt, not upon certain types of + folly or examples of vice, but upon the race of man as a whole. + "I heartily hate," he wrote to Pope soon after <i>Gulliver</i> + was published, "I heartily hate and detest that animal called + man, although I heartily love John, Peter, Thomas, and so forth." + The philanthropist will often idealise man in the abstract and + hate his neighbour at the back door, but that was not Swift's + way. He has been called an inverted hypocrite, as one who makes + himself out worse than he is. I should rather call him an + inverted idealist, for, with high hopes and generous + expectations, he entered into the world, and lacerated by rage at + the cruelty, foulness, and lunacy he there discovered, he poured + out his denunciations upon the crawling forms of life whose + filthy minds were well housed in their apelike and corrupting + flesh—a bag of loathsome carrion, animated by various + lusts.</p> + + <p>"Noli aemulari," sang the cheerful Psalmist; "Fret not thyself + because of evildoers." How easy for most of us it is to follow + that comfortable counsel! How little strain it puts upon our + popularity or our courage! And how amusing it is to watch the + course of human affairs with tolerant acquiescence! Yes, but, + says Swift, "amusement is the happiness of those who cannot + think," and may we not say that acquiescence is the cowardice of + those who dare not feel? There will always be some, at least, in + the world whom savage indignation, like Swift's, will continually + torment. It will eat their flesh and exhaust their spirits. They + would gladly be rid of it, for, indeed, it stifles their + existence, depriving them alike of pleasure, friends, and the + objects of ambition—isolating them in the end as Swift was + isolated. If only the causes of their indignation might cease, + how gladly they would welcome the interludes of quiet! But hardly + is one surmounted than another overtops them like a wave, nor + have the stern victims of indignation the smallest hope of + deliverance from their suffering, until they lie, as Swift has + now lain for so many years, where cruel rage can tear the heart + no more—"Ubi saeva indignatio ulterius cor lacerare + nequit."</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p><a name="RULE4_7"><!-- RULE4 7 --></a><a name="56"></a> + + <h2>VII</h2> + + <center> + THE CHIEF OF REBELS + </center> + + <p>"It is time that I ceased to fill the world," said the dying + Victor Hugo, and we recognise the truth of the saying, though + with a smile. For each generation must find its own way, nor + would it be a consolation to have even the greatest of ancient + prophets living still. But yet there breathes from the living a + more intimate influence, for which an immortality of fame cannot + compensate. When men like Tolstoy die, the world is colder as + well as more empty. They have passed outside the common dangers + and affections of man's warm-blooded circle, lighted by the sun + and moon. Their spirit may go marching on; it may become immortal + and shine with an increasing radiance, perpetual as the sweet + influences of the Pleiades. But their place in the heavens is + fixed. We can no longer watch how they will meet the glorious or + inglorious uncertainties of the daily conflict. We can no longer + make appeal for their succour against the new positions and new + encroachments of the eternal adversary. The sudden splendour of + action is no longer theirs, and if we would know the loss implied + in that difference, let us imagine that Tolstoy had died before + the summer of 1908, when he uttered his overwhelming protest + against the political massacres ordained by Russia.<a name= + "57"></a> In place of that protest, in place of the poignant + indignation which appealed to Stolypin's hangmen to fix their + well-soaped noose around his own old neck, since, if any were + guilty, it was he—in place of the shame and wrath that + cried, "I cannot be silent!" we should have had nothing but our + own memory and regret, murmuring to ourselves, "If only Tolstoy + had been living now! But perhaps, for his sake, it is better he + is not."</p> + + <p>And now that he is dead, and the world is chilled by the loss + of its greatest and most fiery personality, the adversary may + breathe more freely. As Tolstoy was crossing a city + square—I suppose the "Red Square" in Moscow—on the + day when the Holy Synod of Russia excommunicated him from the + Church, he heard someone say, "Look! There goes the devil in + human form!" And for the next few weeks he continued to receive + letters clotted with anathemas, damnations, threats, and filthy + abuse. It was no wonder. To all thrones, dominions, + principalities, and powers, to all priests of established + religions, to the officials of every kind of government, to the + Ministers, whether of parliaments or despots, to all naval and + military officers, to all lawyers, judges, jurymen, policemen, + gaolers, and executioners, to all tax-collectors, speculators, + and financiers, Tolstoy was, indeed, the devil in human form. To + them he was the gainsayer, the destroyer, the most shattering of + existent forces. And, in themselves, how large and powerful a + section of every modern State they are! They may almost be called + the Church and State incarnate, and they seldom hesitate to call + themselves so. But, against all their authorities, formulae, and + traditions, Tolstoy stood in perpetual rebellion. To him their + parchments and wigs, their cells and rods and hang-ropes, their + mitres, chasubles, vestments, incense, chantings, services, + bells, and books counted as so much trumpery. For him external + law had no authority. If it conflicted with the law of the soul, + it was the soul's right and duty to disregard or break it. + Speaking of the law which ordained the flogging of peasants for + taxes, he wrote: "There is but one thing to say—that no + such law can exist; that no ukase, or insignia, or seals, or + Imperial commands can make a law out of a crime." Similarly, the + doctrines of the Church, her traditions, sacraments, rituals, and + miracles—all that appeared to him to conflict with human + intelligence and the law of his soul—he disregarded or + denied. "I deny them all," he wrote in his answer to the Holy + Synod's excommunication (1901); "I consider all the sacraments to + be coarse, degrading sorcery, incompatible with the idea of God + or with the Christian teaching." And, as the briefest statement + of the law of his soul, he added:</p> + <pre> + "I believe in this: I believe in God, whom I understand + as Spirit, as Love, as the Source of all. I believe that he is + in me, and I in him. I believe that the will of God is most + clearly and intelligibly expressed in the teaching of the man + Jesus, whom to consider as God, and pray to I esteem the + greatest blasphemy. I believe that man's true welfare lies + in fulfilling God's will, and his will is that men should love + one another, and should consequently do to others as they wish + others to do to them—of which it is said in the Gospels that this + is the law and the prophets." +</pre> + + <p>The world has listened to rebels against Church and State + before, and still it goes shuffling along as best it can under + external laws and governments, seeking from symbols, rituals, and + miraculous manifestation such spiritual consolation as it may + imbibe. To such rebels the world, after burning, hanging, and + quartering them for several centuries, has now become fairly well + accustomed, though it still shoots or hangs them now and then as + a matter of habit. But Tolstoy's rebellion did not stop at Church + and State. He rebelled against all the ordinary proposals and + ideals of rebels themselves, and to him there was not very much + to choose between the Socialism of Marxists and the despotism of + Tsars. Liberals, Radicals, Social Democrats, Social + Revolutionists, and all the rest of the reforming or rebellious + parties—what were they doing but struggling to re-establish + external laws, external governments, officials, and authorities + under different forms and different names? In the Liberal + movements of the day he took no part, and he had little influence + upon the course of revolution. He formed no party; no band of + rebels followed the orders of the rebel-in-chief; among all the + groups of the first Duma there was no Tolstoyan group, nor could + there have been any. When we touch government, he would say, we + touch the devil, and it is only by admitting compromise or + corruption that men seek to maintain or readjust the power of + officials over body and soul. "It seems to me," he wrote to the + Russian Liberals in 1896,</p> + <pre> + "It seems to me now specially important to do what is + right quietly and persistently, not only without asking permission + from Government, but consciously avoiding participation + in it.... What can a Government do with a man who + will not publicly lie with uplifted hand, or will not send his + children to a school he thinks bad, or will not learn to kill + people, or will not take part in idolatry, or in coronations, + deputations, and addresses, or who says and writes what he + thinks and feels?... It is only necessary for all these good, + enlightened, and honest people whose strength is now wasted + in Revolutionary, Socialistic, or Liberal activity (harmful to + themselves and to their cause) to begin to act thus, and a nucleus + of honest, enlightened, and moral people would form around + them, united in the same thoughts and the same feelings. + Public opinion—the only power which subdues Governments—would + become evident, demanding freedom of speech, freedom + of conscience, justice, and humanity." +</pre> + + <p>From a distance, the bustling politicians and reformers of + happier lands might regard this quietism or wise passiveness as a + mere counsel of despair, suitable enough as a shelter in the + storm of Russia's tyranny, but having little significance for + Western men of affairs. Yet even so they had not silenced the + voice of this persistent rebel; for he rose in equal rebellion + against the ideals, methods, and standards of European cities. + Wealth, commerce, industrial development, inventions, luxuries, + and all the complexity of civilisation were of no more account to + him than the toys of kings and the tag-rag of the churches. Other + rebels had preached the gospel of pleasure to the poor, and had + themselves acted on their precepts. Other reformers, even + religious reformers, had extolled the delights of women, wine, + and song. But here was a man despising these as the things after + which the Gentiles seek. Love intrigues, banquets, wealthy + establishments, operas, theatres, poetry, and fashionable + novels—what had they to do with the kingdom of God that is + within? He touched nothing from which he did not strip the + adornment. He left life bare and stern as the starry firmament, + and he felt awe at nothing, not even at the starry firmament, but + only at the sense of<a name="61"></a> right and wrong in man. He + did not summon the poor to rise against "the idle rich," but he + summoned the idle rich, the well-to-do, the gentry of independent + means, the comfortable annuitants, the sportsmen, the writers and + dramatists of pleasure, the artists of triviality, the pretty + rhymers, and the people who are too busy for thought, to rise + against themselves. It was a much harder summons to obey, and + generally they answered with a shrug and a mutter of "madness," + "mere asceticism," or "a fanatic's intolerance."</p> + + <p>Yet they could not choose but hear. Mr. Kipling, in agreement + with an earlier prophet, once identified rebellion with the sin + of witchcraft, and about Tolstoy there was certainly a witching + power, a magic or demonic attraction, that gave the hearer no + peace. Perhaps more even than from his imaginative strength, it + arose from his whole-hearted sincerity, always looking reality + straight in the face, always refusing compromise, never + hesitating to follow where reason led. Compromise and temporise + and choose the line of least resistance, as we habitually do, + there still remains in most people a fibre that vibrates to that + iron sincerity. And so it was that, from the first, Tolstoy + brought with him a disturbing and incalculable magic—an + upheaving force, like leaven stirring in the dough, or like a + sword in unconditioned and unchartered peace.</p> + + <p>Critics have divided his life into artistic and prophetic + hemispheres; they have accused him of giving up for man what was + meant for artistic circles. But the seas of both hemispheres are + the same, and there was no division in Tolstoy's main purpose or + outlook upon life from first to last. In his greatest imaginative + works (and to me they appear the highest achievement that the + human imagination has yet accomplished in prose)—in the + struggles and perplexities and final solutions of Petroff, + Nekhludoff, and Levin; in the miserable isolation of Ivan + Ilyitch; in the resurrection of the prostitute Maslova; and in + the hardly endurable tragedy of Anna Karénin herself, + there runs exactly the same deep undercurrent of thought and + exactly the same solution of life's question as in the briefer + and more definite statements of the essays and letters. The + greatest men are generally all of a piece, and of no one is this + more true than of Tolstoy. Take him where you please, it is + strange if after a few lines you are not able to say, "That is + the finger of Tolstoy; there is the widely sympathetic and + compassionate heart, so loving mankind that in all his works he + has drawn hardly one human soul altogether detested or + contemptible. But at the same time there is the man whose breath + is sincerity, and to whom no compromise is possible, and no + mediocrity golden."</p> + + <p>To the philosophers of the world his own solution may appear a + simple issue, indeed, out of all his questioning, struggles, and + rebellions. It was but a return to well-worn commandments. "Do + not be angry, do not lust, do not swear obedience to external + authority, do not resist evil, but love your enemies"—these + commands have a familiar, an almost parochial, sound. Yet in + obedience to such simple orders the chief of rebels found man's + only happiness, and whether we call it obedience to the voice of + the soul or the voice of God, he would not have minded much. "He + lives for his soul; he does not forget God," said one peasant of + another in Levin's hearing; and Tolstoy takes those quiet words + as Levin's revelation in the way of peace. For him the soul, + though finding its highest joy of art and pleasure only in noble + communion with other souls, stood always lonely and isolated, + bare to the presence of God. The only submission possible, and + the only possible hope of peace, lay in obedience to the self + thus isolated and bare. "O that thou hadst hearkened unto my + commandments!" cried the ancient poet, uttering the voice that + speaks to the soul in loneliness; "O that thou hadst hearkened + unto my commandments! Then had thy peace been as a river."</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p><a name="RULE4_8"><!-- RULE4 8 --></a><a name="64"></a> + + <h2>VIII</h2> + + <center> + THE IRON CROWN + </center> + + <p>When we read of a man who, for many years, wore on his left + arm an iron bracelet, with spikes on the inside which were + pressed into the flesh, we feel as though we had taken a long + journey from our happy land. When we read that the bracelet was + made of steel wire, with the points specially sharpened, and the + whole so clamped on to the arm that it could never come off, but + had to be cut away after death, we might suppose that we had + reached the world where Yogi and Sanyasi wander in the saffron + robe, or sit besmeared with ashes, contemplating the eternal + verities, unmoved by outward things. Like skeletons of death they + sit; thorns tear their skin, their nails pierce into their hands, + day and night one arm is held uplifted, iron grows embedded in + their flesh, like a railing in a tree trunk, they hang in ecstasy + from hooks, they count their thousand miles of pilgrimage by the + double yard-measure of head to heel, moving like a geometer + caterpillar across the burning dust. To overcome the body so that + the soul may win her freedom, to mortify—to murder the + flesh so that the spirit may reach its perfect life, to torture + sense so that the mind may dwell in peace, to obliterate the + limits of space, to silence the ticking of time, so that eternity + may speak, and vistas of infinity be revealed—that is the + purport of their existence, and in hope of attaining to that + consummation they submit<a name="65"></a> themselves with + deliberate resolve to the utmost anguish and abasement that the + body can endure.</p> + + <p>Contemplating from a philosophic distance the Buddhist + monasteries that climb the roof of the world, or the + indistinguishable multitudes swarming around the shrines on + India's coral strand, we think all this sort of thing is natural + enough for unhappy natives to whom life is always poor and hard, + and whose bodies, at the best, are so insignificant and so + innumerable that they may well regard them with contempt, and + suffer their torments with indifference. But the man of whose + spiky bracelet we read was not in search of Nirvana's + annihilation, nor had he ever prayed in nakedness beside the + Ganges. Cardinal Vaughan, Archbishop of Westminster, was as + little like a starveling Sanyasi as any biped descendant of the + anthropoids could possibly be. A noticeable man, singularly + handsome, of conspicuous, indeed of almost precarious, personal + attraction, a Prince of the Church, clothed, quite literally, in + purple and fine linen, faring as sumptuously as he pleased every + day, welcome at the tables of the society that is above religion, + irreproachable in address, a courtier in manner, a diplomatist in + mind, moving in an entourage of state and worldly circumstance, + occupied in the arts, constructing the grandest building of his + time, learned without pedantry, agreeably cultivated in + knowledge, urbane in his judgment of mankind, a power in the + councils of his country, a voice in the destinies of the + world—so we see him moving in a large and splendid orbit, + complete in fine activities, dominant in his assured position, + almost superhuman in success. And as he moves, he presses into + the flesh of his left arm those sharpened points of steel.</p> + + <p>"Remember!" We hear again the solemn tone, warning of + mortality. We see again the mummy, drawn between tables struck + silent in their revelry. We listen to the slave whispering in the + ear while the triumph blares. "Remember!" he whispers. "Remember + thou art man. Thou shalt go! Thou shalt go! Thy triumph shall + vanish as a cloud. Time's chariot hurries behind thee. It comes + quicker than thine own!" So from the iron bracelet a voice tells + of the transitory vision. All shall go; the jewelled altars and + the dim roofs fragrant with incense; the palaces, the towers, and + domed cathedrals; the refined clothing, the select surroundings, + the courteous receptions of the great; the comfortable health, + the noble presence, the satisfactory estimation of the + world—all shall go. They shall fade away; they shall be + removed as a vesture, and like a garment they shall be rolled up. + Press the spikes into thy mouldering flesh. Remember! Even while + it lives, it is corrupting, and the end keeps hurrying behind. + Remember! Remember thou art man.</p> + + <p>But below that familiar voice which warns the transient + generations of their mortality, we may find in those sharpened + spikes a more profound and nobler intention. "Remember thou art + man," they say; but it is not against overweening pride that they + warn, nor do they remind only of death's wings. "Remember thou + art man," they say, "and as man thou art but a little lower than + the angels, being crowned with glory and honour. This putrefying + flesh into which we eat our way—this carrion cart of your + paltry pains and foolish pleasures—is but the rotten relic + of an animal relationship. Remember thou art man. Thou art the + paragon of animals, the slowly elaborated link between beast and + god, united by this flesh with tom-cats, swine, and hares, but + united by the spirit with those eternal things that move fresh + and strong as the ancient heavens in their courses, and know not + fear. What pain of spikes and sharpened points, what torment that + this body can endure from cold or hunger, from human torture and + burning flame, what pleasure that it can enjoy from food and wine + and raiment and all the satisfactions of sense is to be compared + with the glory that may be revealed at any moment in thy soul? + Subdue that bestial and voracious body, ever seeking to + extinguish in thee the gleam of heavenly fire. Press the spikes + into the lumpish and uncouth monster of thy flesh. Remember! + Remember thou art God."</p> + + <p>"Oh, wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the + body of this death?" We have grown so accustomed to the cry that + we hardly notice it, and yet that the cry should ever have been + raised—that it should have arisen in all ages and in widely + separated parts of the world—is the most remarkable thing + in history. Pleasure is so agreeable, and none too common; or, if + one wanted pain for salt, are there not pains enough in life's + common round? Does it not take us all our time to mitigate the + cold, the heat, and hunger; to escape the beasts and rocks and + thunderbolts that bite and break and blast us; to cure the + diseases that rack and burn and twist our poor bodies into hoops? + Why should we seek to add pain to pain, and raise a wretched life + to the temperature of a torture-room? It is the most + extraordinary thing, at variance alike with the laws of reason + and moderation. Certainly, there is a kind of self-denial—a + carefulness in the selection of pleasure—which all the wise + would practise. To exercise restraint, to play the aristocrat in + fastidious choice, to guard against satiety, and allow no form of + grossness to enter the walled garden or to drink at the fountain + sealed—those are to the wise the necessary conditions of + calm and radiant pleasure, and in outward behaviour the Epicurean + and the Stoic are hardly to be distinguished. For the Epicurean + knows well that asceticism stands before the porch of happiness, + and the smallest touch of excess brings pleasure tumbling + down.</p> + + <p>But mankind seems not to trouble itself about this delicate + adjustment, this cautious selection of the more precious joy. In + matters of the soul, man shows himself unreasonable and + immoderate. He forgets the laws of health and chastened + happiness. The salvation of his spirit possesses him with a kind + of frenzy, making him indifferent to loss of pleasure, or to + actual pain and bodily distress. He will seek out pain as a + lover, and use her as a secret accomplice in his conspiracy + against the body's domination. Under the stress of spiritual + passion he becomes an incalculable force, carried we know not + where by his determination to preserve his soul, to keep alight + just that little spark of fire, to save that little breath of + life from stifling under the mass of superincumbent fat. We may + call him crazy, inhuman, a fanatic, a devil-worshipper; he does + not mind what we call him. His eyes are full of a vision before + which the multitude of human possessions fade. He is engaged in a + contest wherein his soul must either overcome or perish + everlastingly; and we may suppose that, even if the soul were not + immortal, it would still be worth the saving.</p> + + <p>It is true that in this happy country examples of ascetic + frenzy are comparatively rare. There is little fear of overdoing + the mortification of the flesh. We practise a self-denial that + takes the form of training for sport, but, like the spectators at + a football match, we do our asceticism chiefly by proxy, and are + fairly satisfied if the clergy do not drink or give other cause + for scandal. It is very seldom that Englishmen have been affected + by spiritual passion of any kind, and that is why our country, of + all the eastern hemisphere, has been least productive of saints. + But still, in the midst of our discreet comfort and sanity of + moderation, that spiky bracelet of steel, eating into the flesh + of the courtly and sumptuous Archbishop, may help to remind us + that, whether in war, or art, or life, it is only by the + passionate refusal of comfort and moderation that the high places + of the spirit are to be reached. "Still be ours the diet hard, + and the blanket on the ground!" is the song of all pioneers, and + if man is to be but a little lower than the angels, and crowned + with glory and honour, the crown will be made of iron or, + perhaps, of thorns.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p><a name="RULE4_9"><!-- RULE4 9 --></a><a name="70"></a> + + <h2>IX</h2> + + <center> + "THE IMPERIAL RACE" + </center> + + <p>"The public are particularly requested not to tease the + Cannibals." So ran one of the many flaming notices outside the + show. Other notices proclaimed the unequalled opportunity of + beholding "The Dahomey Warriors of Savage South Africa; a Rare + and Peculiar Race of People; all there is Left of them"—as, + indeed, it might well be. Another called on the public "not to + fail to see the Coloured Beauties of the Voluptuous Harem," no + doubt also the product of Savage South Africa. But of all the + gilded placards the most alluring, to my mind, was the request + not to tease the Cannibals. It suggested so appalling a + result.</p> + + <p>I do not know who the Cannibals were. Those I saw appeared to + be half-caste Jamaicans, but there may have been something more + savage inside, and certainly a Dahomey warrior from South Africa + would have to be ferocious indeed if his fierceness was to equal + his rarity. But the particular race did not matter. The really + interesting thing was that the English crowd was assumed to be as + far superior to the African savage as to a wild beast in a + menagerie. The proportion was the same. The English crowd was + expected to extend to the barbarians the same inquisitive + patronage as to jackals and hyenas in a cage, when in + front<a name="71"></a> of the cages it is written, "Do not + irritate these animals. They bite."</p> + + <p>The facile assumption of superiority recalled a paradoxical + remark that Huxley made about thirty years ago, when that apostle + of evolution suddenly scandalised progressive Liberalism by + asserting that a Zulu, if not a more advanced type than a British + working man, was at all events happier. "I should rather be a + Zulu than a British workman," said Huxley in his trenchant way, + and the believers in industrialism were not pleased. By the + continual practice of war, and by generations of infanticide, + under which only the strongest babies survived, the Zulus had + certainly at that time raised themselves to high physical + excellence, traces of which still remain in spite of the + degeneracy that follows foreign subjection. I have known many + African tribes between Dahomey and Zululand too well to idealise + them into "the noble savage." I know how rapidly they are losing + both their bodily health and their native virtues under the + deadly contact of European drink, clothing, disease, and + exploitation. Yet, on looking round upon the London crowds that + were particularly requested not to tease the cannibals, my first + thought was that Huxley's paradox remained true.</p> + + <p>The crowds that swarmed the Heath were not lovely things to + look at. Newspapers estimated that nearly half a million human + beings were collected on the patch of sand that Macaulay's + imagination transfigured into "Hampstead's swarthy moor." But + even if we followed the safe rule and divided the estimated + number by half, a quarter of a million was quite enough. "Like + bugs—the more, the worse," Emerson said of city crowds, and + certainly the most enthusiastic social legislator could hardly + wish to make two such men or women stand where one stood before. + Scarlet and yellow booths, gilded roundabouts, sword-swallowers + in purple fleshings, Amazons in green plush and spangles were gay + enough. Booths, roundabouts, Amazon queens, and the rest are the + only chance of colour the English people have, and no wonder they + love them. But in themselves and in mass the crowds were drab, + dingy, and black. Even "ostridges" and "pearlies," that used to + break the monotony like the exchange of men's and women's hats, + are thought to be declining. America may rival that dulness, but + in no other country of Europe, to say nothing of the East and + Africa, could so colourless a crowd be seen—a mass of + people so devoid of character in costume, or of tradition and + pride in ornament.</p> + + <p>But it was not merely the absence of colour and beauty in + dress, or the want of national character and distinction—a + plainness that would afflict even a Russian peasant from the + Ukraine or a Tartar from the further Caspian. It was the + uncleanliness of the garments themselves that would most horrify + the peoples not reckoned in the foremost ranks of time. A Hindu + thinks it disgusting enough for a Sahib to put on the same coat + and trousers that he wore yesterday without washing them each + morning in the tank, as the Hindu washes his own garment. But + that the enormous majority of the Imperial race should habitually + wear second, third, and fourth-hand clothes that have been + sweated through by other people first, would appear to him + incredible. If ever he comes to England, he finds that he must + believe it. It is one of the first shocks<a name="73"></a> that + strike him with horror when he emerges from Charing Cross. "Can + these smudgy, dirty, evil-smelling creatures compose the dominant + race?" is the thought of even the most "loyal" Indian as he moves + among the crowd of English workpeople. And it is only the numbing + power of habit that silences the question in ourselves. Cheap as + English clothing is, second-hand it is cheaper still, and I + suppose that out of that quarter-million people on the Heath + every fine Bank Holiday hardly one per cent. wears clothes that + no one has worn before him. Hence the sickening smell that not + only pervades an English crowd but hangs for two or three days + over an open space where the crowd has been. "I can imagine a man + keeping a dirty shirt on," said Nietzsche, "but I cannot imagine + him taking it off and putting it on again." He was speaking in + parables, as a philosopher should; but if he had stood among an + English working crowd, his philosophic imagination would have + been terribly strained by literal fact.</p> + + <p>Scrubby coat and trousers, dirty shirt, scarf, and cap, socks + more like anklets for holes, and a pair of split boots; + bedraggled hat, frowsy jacket, blouse and skirt, squashy boots, + and perhaps a patchy "pelerine" or mangy "boa"—such is + accepted as the natural costume for the heirs of all the ages. + Prehistoric man, roaming through desert and forest in his own + shaggy pelt, was infinitely better clad. So is the aboriginal + African with a scrap of leopard skin, or a single bead upon a + cord. To judge by clothing, we may wonder to what purpose + evolution ever started upon its long course of groaning and + travailing up to now. And more than half-concealed by that shabby + clothing, what shabby forms and heads we must divine! How + stunted, puny, and ill-developed the bodies are! How + narrow-shouldered the men, how flat-breasted the women! And the + faces, how shapeless and anaemic! How deficient in forehead, + nose, and jaw! Compare them with an Afghan's face; it is like + comparing a chicken with an eagle. Writing in the <i>Standard</i> + of April 8, 1912, a well-known clergyman assured us that "when a + woman enters the political arena, the bloom is brushed from the + peach, never to be restored." That may seem a hard saying to + Primrose Dames and Liberal Women, but the thousands of peaches + that entered the arena (as peaches will) on Hampstead Heath, had + no bloom left to brush, and no political arena could brush it + more.</p> + + <p>Deficient in blood and bone, the products of stuffy air, mean + food, and casual or half-hearted parentage, often tainted with + hereditary or acquired disease, the faces are; but, worse than + all, how insignificant and indistinguishable! It is well known + that a Chinaman can hardly distinguish one Englishman from + another, just as we can hardly distinguish the Chinese. But in an + English working crowd, even an Englishman finds it difficult to + distinguish face from face. Yet as a nation we have always been + reckoned conspicuous for strong and even eccentric individuality. + Our well-fed upper and middle classes—the public school, + united services, and university classes—reach a high + physical average. Perhaps, on the whole, they are still the best + specimens of civilised physique. Within thirty years the Germans + have made an astonishing advance. They are purging off their + beer, and working down their fat. But, as a rule, the well-fed + and carefully trained class in England still excels in + versatility, decision, and adventure. Unhappily, it is with + few—only with a few millions of well-to-do people, a + fraction of the whole English population—and with a few + country-bred people and open-air workers, that we succeed. The + great masses of the English nation are tending to become the + insignificant, indistinguishable, unwholesome, and shabby crowd + that becomes visible at football matches and on Bank Holidays + upon the Heath.</p> + + <p>It is true that familiarity breeds respect. It is almost + impossible for the average educated man to know anything whatever + about the working classes. The educated and the workpeople move, + as it were, in worlds of different dimensions, incomprehensible + to each other. Very few men and women from our secondary schools + and universities, for instance, can long enjoy solemnly tickling + the faces of passing strangers with a bunch of feathers, or + revolving on a wooden horse to a steam organ, or gazing at a + woman advertised as "a Marvel of Flesh, Fat, and Beauty." The + educated seldom appreciate such joys in themselves. If they like + trying them, it is only "in the second intention." They enjoy out + of patronage, or for literary sensation, rather than in grave + reality. They are excluded from the mind to which such things + genuinely appeal. But let not education mock, nor culture smile + disdainfully at the short and simple pleasures of the poor. If by + some miracle of revelation culture could once become familiar + from the inside with one of those scrubby and rather abhorrent + families, the insignificance would be transfigured, the faces + would grow distinguishable, and all manner of admired and even + lovable characteristics would be found. How sober people are most + days of the week; how widely charitable; how self-sacrificing in + hopes of<a name="76"></a> saving the pence for margarine or + melted fat upon the children's bread! They are shabby, but they + have paid for every scrap of old clothing with their toil; they + are dirty, but they try to wash, and would be clean if they could + afford the horrible expense of cleanliness; they are ignorant, + but within twenty years how enormously their manners to each + other have improved! And then consider their Christian + thoughtlessness for the morrow, how superb and spiritual it is! + How different from the things after which the Gentiles of the + commercial classes seek! On a Bank Holiday I have known a mother + and a daughter, hanging over the very abyss of penury, to spend + two shillings in having their fortunes told. Could the lilies of + the field or Solomon in all his glory have shown a finer + indifference to worldly cares?</p> + + <p>Mankind, as we know, in the lump is bad, but that it is not + worse remains the everlasting wonder. It is not the squalor of + such a crowd that should astonish; it is the marvel that they are + not more squalid. For, after all, what is the root cause of all + this dirt and ignorance and shabbiness and disease? It is not + drink, nor thriftlessness, nor immorality, as the philanthropists + do vainly talk; still less is it crime. It is the "inequality" of + which Canon Barnett has often written—the inequality that + Matthew Arnold said made a high civilisation impossible. But such + inequality is only another name for poverty, and from poverty we + have yet to discover the saviour who will redeem us.</p><a name= + "RULE4_101"><!-- RULE4 9 --></a><a name="77"></a> + + <h2>X</h2> + + <center> + THE GREAT UNKNOWN + </center> + + <p>There are strange regions where the monotony of ignoble + streets is broken only by an occasional church, a Board School, + or a public-house. From the city's cathedral to every point of + the compass, except the west, they stretch almost without limit + till they reach the bedraggled fields maturing for development. + They form by far the larger part of an Empire's capital. Each of + them is, in fact, a vast town, great enough, as far as numbers + go, to make the Metropolis of a powerful State. Out of half a + dozen of them, such as Islington, Bethnal Green, or Bermondsey, + the County Council could build half a score of Italian republics + like the Florence or Pisa of old days, if only it had the mind. + Each possesses a character, a peculiar flavour, or, at the worst, + a separate smell. Many of them are traversed every day by + thousands of rich and well-educated people, passing underground + or overhead. Yet to nearly all of us they remain strange and + almost untrodden. We do not think of them when we think of + London. Them no pleasure-seeker counts among his opportunities, + no foreigner visits as essential for his study of the English + soul. Not even our literary men and Civil Servants, who talk so + much about architecture, discuss their architecture in the clubs. + Not one in a thousand of us has ever known a human soul among + their<a name="78"></a> inhabitants. To the comfortable classes + the Libyan desert is more familiar.</p> + + <p>At elections, even politicians remember their existence. From + time to time a philanthropist goes down there to share God's good + gifts with his poorer brethren, or to elevate the masses with + tinkling sounds or painted boards. From time to time an + adventurous novelist is led round the opium-shops, + dancing-saloons, and docks, returning with copy for tales of lust + and murder that might just as well be laid in Siberia or + Timbuctoo. When we scent an East End story on its way, do we not + patiently await the battered head, the floating corpse, the + dynamiter's den, or a woman crying over her ill-begotten babe? Do + we not always get one or other of the lot? To read our + story-tellers from Mr. Kipling downward, one might suppose the + East End to be inhabited by bastards engaged in mutual murder, + and the marvel is that anyone is left alive to be the subject of + a tale. You may not bring an indictment against a whole nation, + but no sensational writer hesitates to libel three million of our + fellow-citizens. Put it in Whitechapel, and you may tell what + filthy lie you please.</p> + + <p>About once in a generation some "Bitter Cry" pierces through + custom, and the lives of "the poor" become a subject for polite + conversation and amateur solicitude. For three months, or even + for six, that subject appears as the intellectual + "<i>rôti</i>" at dinner-tables; then it is found a little + heavy, and cultured interest returns to its natural courses of + plays, pictures, politics, a dancing woman, and the memorials of + Kings. It is almost time now that the poor came up again, for a + quarter of a century has gone since they were last in fashion, + and men's collars and<a name="79"></a> women's skirts have run + their full orbit since. Excellent books have appeared, written + with intimate knowledge of working life—books such as + Charles Booth's <i>London</i> or Mr. Richard Free's <i>Seven + Years Hard</i>, to mention only two; but either the public mind + was preoccupied with other amusements, or it had not recovered + from the lassitude of the last philanthropic debauch. Nothing has + roused that fury of charitable curiosity which accompanies a true + social revival, and leaves its victims gasping for the next + excitement. The time was, perhaps, ripe, but no startling success + awaited Mr. Alexander Paterson's book, <i>Across the Bridges</i>. + Excellent though it was, its excellence excluded it from fashion. + For it was written with the restraint of knowledge, and contained + no touch of melodrama from beginning to end. Not by knowledge or + restraint are the insensate sensations of fashion reached.</p> + + <p>Mr. Paterson's experience lay on the south side of the river, + and the district possesses peculiarities of its own. On the + whole, I think, the riverside streets there are rather more + unhealthy than those in the East End. Many houses stand below + water-level, and in digging foundations I have sometimes seen the + black sludge of old marshes squirting up through the holes, and + even bringing with it embedded reeds that perhaps were growing + when Shakespeare acted there. The population is more distinctly + English than on the north side. Where the poverty is extreme it + is more helpless. Work as a whole is rather steadier, but not so + good. The smell is different and very characteristic, partly + owing to the hop-markets. Life seems to me rather sadder and more + depressing there, with less of gaiety and independence; but that + may be because I am more intimate with the East End, and intimacy + with working people nearly always improves their aspect. It is, + indeed, fortunate for our sensational novelists that they remain + so ignorant of their theme, for otherwise murders, monsters, and + mysteries would disappear from their pages, and goodness knows + how they would make a living then!</p> + + <p><a name="80"></a> It is not crime and savagery that + characterise the unknown lands where the working classes of + London chiefly live. Matthew Arnold said our lower classes were + brutalised, and he was right, but not if by brutality he meant + cruelty, violence, or active sin. What characterises them and + their streets is poverty. Poverty and her twins, unhappiness and + waste. Under unhappiness, we may include the outward conditions + of discomfort—the crowded rooms, the foul air, the + pervading dirt, the perpetual stench of the poor. In winter the + five or six children in a bed grow practised in turning over all + at the same time while still asleep, so as not to disturb each + other. In a hot summer the bugs drive the families out of the + rooms to sleep on the doorstep. Cleanliness is an expensive + luxury almost as far beyond poverty's reach as diamonds. The foul + skin, the unwashed clothes, the layer of greasy smuts, the boots + that once fitted someone, and are now held on by string, the + scraps of food bought by the pennyworth, the tea, condensed milk, + fried fish, bread and "strawberry flavour," the coal bought by + the "half-hundred," the unceasing noise, the absence of peace or + rest, the misery of sickness in a crowd—all such things may + be counted among the outward conditions of unhappiness, and only + people who have never known them would call them trivial. But by + the unhappiness that springs from poverty I mean far worse than + these.</p><a name="81"></a> + + <p>The definition of happiness as "an energy of the soul along + the lines of excellence, in a fully developed life" is ancient + now, but I have never found a better. From happiness so defined, + poverty excludes our working-classes in the lump, almost without + exception. For them an energy of the soul along the lines of + excellence is almost unknown, and a fully developed life + impossible. In both these respects their condition has probably + become worse within the last century. If there is a word of truth + in what historians tell us, a working-man must certainly have had + a better chance of exercising an energy of his soul before the + development of factories and machinery. What energy of the + personal soul is exercised in a mill-hand, a tea-packer, a + slop-tailor, or the watcher of a thread in a machine? How can a + man or woman engaged in such labour for ten hours a day at + subsistence wage enjoy a fully developed life? It seems likely + that the old-fashioned workman who made things chiefly with his + own hands and had some opportunity of personal interest in the + work, stood a better chance of the happiness arising from an + energy of the soul. His life was also more fully developed by the + variety and interest of his working material and surroundings. + This is the point to which our prophets who pour their + lamentations over advancing civilisation should direct their main + attack, as, indeed, the best of them have done. For certainly it + is an unendurable result if the enormous majority of civilised + mankind are for ever to be debarred from the highest possible + happiness.</p> + + <p>The second offspring of poverty in these working regions of + our city is waste. And I have called waste the twin brother of + unhappiness because the two are very much alike. By waste I do + not here mean the death-rate of infants, though that stands at + one in four. No one, except an exploiter of labour, would desire + a mere increase in the workpeople's number without considering + the quality of the increase. But by waste I mean the multitudes + of boys and girls who never get a chance of fulfilling their + inborn capacities. The country's greatest shame and disaster + arise from the custom which makes the line between the educated + and the uneducated follow the line between the rich and the poor, + almost without deviation. That a nature capable of high + development should be precluded by poverty from all development + is the deepest of personal and national disasters, though it + happen, as it does happen, several thousand times a year. + Physical waste is bad enough—- the waste of strength and + health that could easily be retained by fresh air, open spaces, + and decent food, and is so retained among well-to-do children. + This physical waste has already created such a broad distinction + that foreigners coming among us detect two species of the English + people. But the mental waste is worse. It is a subject that Mr. + Paterson dwells upon, and he speaks with authority, as one who + has taught in the Board Schools and knows the life of the people + across the bridges from the banana-box to the grave.</p> + <pre> + "Boys who might become classical scholars," he writes, + "stick labels on to parcels for ten years, others who have + literary gifts clear out a brewer's vat. Real thinkers work as + porters in metal warehouses, and after shouldering iron fittings + for eleven hours a day, find it difficult to set their minds in + order.... With even the average boy there is a marked waste + of mental capital between the ages of ten and thirty, and the + aggregate loss to the country is heavy indeed." +</pre> + + <p>At fourteen, just when the "education" of well-to-do boys is + beginning, the working boy's education stops. For ten or eleven + years he has been happy at school. He has looked upon school as a + place of enjoyment—of interest, kindliness, warmth, + cleanliness, and even quiet of a kind. The school methods of + education may not be the best. Mr. Paterson points out all that is + implied in the distinction between the "teachers" of the Board + Schools and the "masters" of the public schools. Too much is put + in, not enough drawn out from the child's own mind. The teacher + cannot think much of individual natures, when faced with a class + of sixty. Yet it would be difficult to overrate the service of + the Board Schools as training grounds for manners, and anyone who + has known the change in our army within twenty-five years will + understand what I mean. At fourteen the boy has often reached his + highest mental and spiritual development. When he leaves school, + shades of the prison-house begin to close upon him. He jumps at + any odd job that will bring in a few shillings to the family + fund. He becomes beer-boy, barber's boy, van-boy, paper-boy, and + in a year or two he is cut out by the younger generation knocking + at the door. He has learnt nothing; he falls out of work; he + wanders from place to place. By the time he is twenty-two, just + when the well-to-do are "finishing their education," his mind is + dulled, his hope and interest gone, his only ambition is to get a + bit of work and keep it. At the best he develops into the average + working-man of the regions I have called unknown. Mr. Paterson + thus describes the class:</p> + <pre> + "These are the steady bulk of the community, insuring the + peace of the district by their habits and opinions far more + effectively than any vigilance of police or government. Yet, + if they are indeed satisfactory, how low are the civic standards + of England, how fallen the ideals and beauties of Christianity! + No man that has dreams can rest content because the English + worker has reached his high level of regular work and rare + intoxication." +</pre> + + <p>One does not rest content; far from it. But the perpetual + wonder is, not that "the lower classes are brutalised," but that + this brutality is so tempered with generosity and sweetness. It + is not their crime that surprises, but their virtue; not their + turbulence or discontent, but their inexplicable acquiescence. + And yet there are still people who sneer at "the mob," "the + vulgar herd," "the great unwashed," as though principles, + gentility, and soap were privileges in reward of merit, and not + the accidental luck of money's chaotic distribution.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p><a name="RULE4_10"><!-- RULE4 10 --></a><a name="85"></a> + + <h2>XI</h2> + + <center> + THE WORTH OF A PENNY + </center> + + <p>A year or two ago, some wondered why strike had arisen out of + strike; why the whole world of British labour had suddenly and + all at once begun to heave restlessly as though with earthquake; + why the streams of workpeople had in quick succession left the + grooves along which they usually ran from childhood to the grave. + "It is entirely ridiculous," said the <i>Times</i>, with the + sneer of educated scorn, "it is entirely ridiculous to suppose + that the whole industrial community has been patiently enduring + real grievances which are simultaneously discovered to be + intolerable." But to all outside the circle of the <i>Times</i>, + the only ridiculous part of the situation was that the industrial + community should patiently have endured their grievances so + long.</p> + + <p>That working people should simultaneously discover them to be + intolerable, is nothing strange. It is all very well to lie in + gaol, from which there seems no chance of escape. Treadmill, + oakum, skilly, and the rest—one may as well go through with + them quietly, for fear of something worse. But if word goes round + that one or two prisoners have crept out of gaol, who would not + burn to follow? Would not grievances then be simultaneously + discovered to be intolerable? The seamen were but<a name= + "86"></a> a feeble lot; their union was poor, their combination + loose. They were cooped up within the walls of a great Employers' + Federation, which laughed at their efforts to scramble out. Yet + they escaped; the walls were found to be not so very high and + strong; in one place or another they crumbled away, and the + prisoners escaped. They gained what they wanted; their grievances + were no longer intolerable. What working man or woman on hearing + of it did not burn to follow, and did not feel the grievances of + life harder to be tolerated than before? If that feeble lot could + win their pennyworth of freedom, who might not expect + deliverance? People talk of "strike fever" as though it were an + infection; and so it is. It is the infection of a sudden + hope.</p> + + <p>After the sneer, the <i>Times</i> proceeded to attribute the + strikes to a natural desire for idleness during the hot weather. + Seldom has so base an accusation been brought against our + country, even by her worst enemies. The country consists almost + entirely of working people, the other classes being a nearly + negligible fraction in point of numbers. The restlessness and + discontent were felt far and wide among nearly all the working + people, and to suggest that hundreds of thousands contemplated + all the risks and miseries of stopping work because they wanted + to be idle in the shade displayed the ignorance our educated + classes often display in speaking of the poor. For I suppose the + thing was too cruel for a joke.</p> + + <p>Hardly less pitiable than such ignorance was the nonchalant + excuse of those who pleaded: "We have our grievances too. We all + want something that we haven't got. We should all like our + incomes raised. But we don't go about striking and rioting." It + reminds one of Lord Rosebery's contention, some fifteen years + ago, that in point of pleasure all men are fairly equal, and the + rich no happier than the poor. It sounds very pretty and + philosophic, but those who know what poverty is know it to be + absolutely untrue. If Lord Rosebery had ever tried poverty, he + would have known it was untrue. All the working people know it, + and they know that the grievances in which one can talk about + income are never to be compared with the grievances which hang on + the turn of a penny, or the chance of a shilling more or a + shilling less per week.</p> + + <p>To a man receiving £20 a week the difference of £2 + one way or other is important, but it is not vital. If his income + drops to £18 a week he and his family have just as much to + eat and drink and wear; probably they live in the same house as + before; the only change is a different place for the summer + holiday, and, perhaps, the dress-circle instead of the stalls at + a theatre. To a man with £200 a week the loss of £20 + a week hardly makes any difference at all. He may grumble; he may + drop a motor, or a yacht, but in his ordinary daily life he feels + no change. To a docker making twenty shillings a week the + difference of two shillings is not merely important, it is vital. + The addition of it may mean three rooms for the family instead of + two; it may mean nine shillings a week instead of seven to feed + five mouths; it may mean meat twice a week, or half as much more + bread and margarine than before, or a saving for second-hand + clothes, and perhaps threepenn'orth of pleasure. In full work a + docker at the old 7d. an hour would make more than twenty + shillings a week; but the full weeks are rare, and about eighteen + shillings would be all he could get on an average. The extra + penny an hour for three days' work might bring him in about half + a crown. To him and to his wife and children the difference was + not merely important, it was vital.</p> + + <p>Or take the case of the 15,000 women who struck for a rise in + South London, and got it. We may put their average wage at nine + shillings a week. In the accounts of a woman who is keeping a + family of three, including herself, on that wage, a third of the + money goes to the rent of one room. Two shillings of the rest go + for light, fuel, and soda. That leaves four shillings a week to + feed and clothe three people. Even Lord Rosebery could hardly + maintain that the opportunities for pleasure on that amount were + equal to his own. But the women jam-makers won an advance of two + shillings by their strike; the box-makers from 1<i>s</i>. + 3<i>d</i>. to three shillings; even the glue and size workers got + a shilling rise. It was hardly up to Lord Rosebery's standard + yet. It did not represent the <i>Times</i> paradise of sitting + idle in the shade. But think what it means when week by week you + have jealously watched nine solid pennies going in bread, nine + more in meat, and another six in tea! Or think what such an + addition means to those working-women from the North, who at the + same time protested in Trafalgar Square against the compulsory + insurance because the payment of threepence a week would lose + them two of their dinners—twice the penn'orth of bread and + ha'porth of cheese that they always enjoyed for dinner!</p> + + <p>When I was assisting in an inquiry into wages and expenditure + some years ago, one head of a family added as a note at the foot + of his budget: "I see that we always spend more than we earn, but + as we are never in debt I attribute this result to the + thriftiness of my wife." Behind that sentence a history of + grievances patiently endured is written, but only<a name= + "89"></a> the <i>Times</i> would wonder that such grievances are + discovered to be intolerable the moment a gleam of hope appears. + When the <i>Times</i>, in the same article, went on to protest + that if the railwaymen struck, they would be kicking not only + against the Companies but "against the nature of things," I have + no clear idea of the meaning. The nature of things is no doubt + very terrible and strong, but for working people the most + terrible and strongest part of it is poverty. All else is + sophisticated; here is the thing itself. One remembers two + sentences in Mr. Shaw's preface to <i>Major Barbara</i>:</p> + <pre> + "The crying need of the nation is not for better morals, + cheaper bread, temperance, liberty, culture, redemption of + fallen sisters and erring brothers, nor the grace, love, and + fellowship of the Trinity, but simply for enough money. And + the evil to be attacked is not sin, suffering, greed, priestcraft, + kingcraft, demagogy, monopoly, ignorance, drink, war, pestilence, + nor any other of the scapegoats which reformers sacrifice, + but simply poverty." +</pre> + + <p>Strikes are the children of Poverty by Hope. For a long time + past the wealth of the country has rapidly increased. Gold has + poured into it from South Africa, dividends from all the world; + trade has boomed, great fortunes have been made; luxury has + redoubled; the standard of living among the rich has risen high. + The working people know all this; they can see it with their + eyes, and they refuse to be satisfied with the rich man's + blessing on the poor. What concerns them more than the increase + in the quantity of gold is the natural result in the shrinkage of + the penny. It is no good getting sevenpence an hour for your work + if<a name="90"></a> it does not buy so much as the "full, round + orb of the docker's tanner," which Mr. John Burns saw rising over + the dock gates more than twenty years ago, when he stood side by + side with Ben Tillett and Tom Mann, and when Sir H. Llewellyn + Smith and Mr. Vaughan Nash wrote the story of the contest. If + prosperity has increased, so have prices, and what cost a tanner + then costs eightpence now, or more than that. To keep pace with + such a change is well worth a strike, since nothing but strikes + can avail. So vital is the worth of a penny; so natural is it to + kick against the nature of things, when their nature takes the + form of steady poverty amid expanding wealth. That is the + simultaneous discovery which raised the ridicule of the + <i>Times</i>—that, and the further discovery that, in + Carlyle's phrase, "the Empire of old Mammon is everywhere + breaking up." The intangible walls that resisted so obstinately + are fading away. The power of wealth is suspected. Strike after + strike secures its triumphant penny, and no return of Peterloo, + or baton charges on the Liverpool St. George's Hall, driving the + silent crowd over the edge of its steep basis "as rapidly and + continually as water down a steep rock," as was seen during the + strikes of August 1911, can now check the infection of such a + hope. It was an old saying of the men who won our political + liberties that the redress of grievances must precede supply. The + working people are standing now for a different phase of liberty, + but their work is their supply, and having simultaneously + discovered their grievances to be intolerable, they are making + the same old use of the ancient precept.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p><a name="RULE4_11"><!-- RULE4 11 --></a><a name="91"></a> + + <h2>XII</h2> + + <center> + "FIX BAYONETS!" + </center> + + <p>"Oh, que j'aime le militaire!" sighed the old French song, no + doubt with a touch of frivolity; but the sentiment moves us all. + Sages have thought the army worth preserving for a dash of + scarlet and a roll of the kettledrum; in every State procession + it is the implements of death and the men of blood that we + parade; and not to nursemaids only is the soldier irresistible. + The glamour of romance hangs round him. Terrible with knife and + spike and pellet he stalks through this puddle of a world, + disdainful of drab mankind. Multitudes may toil at keeping alive, + drudging through their scanty years for no hope but living and + giving life; he shares with very few the function of inflicting + death, and moves gaily clad and light of heart. "No doubt, some + civilian occupations are very useful," said the author of an old + drill-book; I think it was Lord Wolseley, and it was a large + admission for any officer to have made. It was certainly Lord + Wolseley who wrote in his <i>Soldier's Pocket-Book</i> that the + soldier "must believe his duties are the noblest that fall to + man's lot":</p> + <pre> + "He must be taught to despise all those of civil life. Soldiers, + like missionaries, must be fanatics. An army thoroughly imbued + with fanaticism can be killed, but never suffer disgrace; + Napoleon, in speaking of it, said, 'Il en faut pour se faire tuer.'" +</pre> + + <p><a name="92"></a> And not only to get himself killed, but to + kill must the soldier be imbued with this fanaticism and + self-glory. In the same spirit Mr. Kipling and Mr. Fletcher have + told us in their <i>History of England</i> that there is only one + better trade than being a soldier, and that is being a + sailor:</p> + <pre> + "To serve King and country in the army is the second best + profession for Englishmen of all classes; to serve in the navy, + I suppose we all admit, is the best." +</pre> + + <p>As we all admit it, certainly it does seem very hard on all + classes that there should be anything else to do in the world + besides soldiering and sailoring. It is most deplorable that, in + Lord Wolseley's words, some civilian occupations are very useful; + for, if they were not, we might all have a fine time playing at + soldiers—real soldiers, with guns!—from a tumultuous + cradle to a bloody grave. If only we could abolish the civilian + and his ignoble toil, what a rollicking life we should all enjoy + upon this earthly field of glory!</p> + + <p>Such was the fond dream of many an innocent heart, when in + August of 1911 we saw the soldiers distributed among the city + stations or posted at peaceful junctions where suburb had met + suburb for years in the morning, and parted at evening without a + blow. There the sentry stood, let us say, at a gate of Euston + station. There he stood, embodying glory, enjoying the second + best profession for Englishmen of all classes. He was dressed in + clean khaki and shiny boots. On his head he bore a huge dome of + fluffy bearskin, just the thing for a fashionable muff; + oppressive in the heat, no doubt, but imparting additional + grandeur to his mien. There he stood, emblematic of splendour, + and on each side of him were encamped distressful little + families, grasping spades and buckets and seated on their corded + luggage, unable to move because of the railway strike, while + behind him flared a huge advertisement that said, "The Sea is + Calling you." Along the kerbstone a few yards in front were + ranged the children of the district, row upon row, uncombed, in + rags, filthy from head to foot, but silent with joy and + admiration as they gazed upon the face of war. For many a gentle + girl and boy that Friday and Saturday were the days of all their + lives—the days on which the pretty soldiers came.</p> + + <p>Nor was it only the charm of nice clothes and personal + appearance that attracted them. Horror added its tremulous + delight. There the sentry stood, ready to kill people at a word. + His right knee was slightly bent, and against his right foot he + propped the long wooden instrument that he killed with. In little + pouches round his belt he carried the pointed bits of metal that + the instrument shoots out quicker than arrows. It was whispered + that some of them were placed already inside the gun itself, and + could be fired as fast as a teacher could count, and each would + kill a man. And at the end of the gun gleamed a knife, about as + long as a butcher's carving-knife. It would go through a fattish + person's body as through butter, and the point would stick a + little way through the clothes at his back. Down each side of the + knife ran a groove to let the blood out, so that the man might + die quicker. It was a pleasure to look at such a thing. It was + better than watching the sheep and oxen driven into the Aldgate + slaughter-houses. It was almost as good as the glimpse of the + executioner driving up to Pentonville in his dog-cart the evening + before an execution.</p> + + <p>Few have given the Home Office credit for the amount of + interesting and cheap amusement it then afforded by parcelling + out the country among the military authorities. In a period of + general lassitude and holiday, it supplied the populace with a + spectacle more widely distributed than the Coronation, and + equally encouraging to loyalty. For it is not only pleasure that + the sight of the soldiers in their midst provides: it gives every + man and woman and child an opportunity of realising the + significance of uniforms. Here are soldiers, men sprung from the + working classes, speaking the same language, and having the same + thoughts; men who have been brought up in poor homes, have known + hunger, and have nearly all joined the army because they were out + of work. And now that they are dressed in a particular way, they + stand there with guns and those beautiful gleaming knives, ready, + at a word, to kill people—to kill their own class, their + own friends and relations, if it so happens. The word of command + from an officer is alone required, and they would do it. People + talk about the reading of the Riot Act and the sounding of the + bugles in warning before the shooting begins; but no such warning + is necessary. Lord Mansfield laid it down in 1780 that the Riot + Act was but "a step in terrorism and of gentleness." There is no + need for such gentleness. At an officer's bare word, a man in + uniform must shoot. And all for a shilling a day, with food and + lodging! To the inexperienced intelligence of men and women, the + thing seems incredible, and the country owes a debt of gratitude + to the Home Office for showing the whole working population that + it is true. Certainly, the soldiers themselves strongly object to + being put to this use. Their Red Book of<a name="95"></a> + instructions insists that the primary duty of keeping order rests + with the civil power. It lays it down that soldiers should never + be required to act except in cases where the riot cannot + reasonably be expected to be quelled without resorting to the + risk of inflicting death. But the Home Office, in requiring + soldiers to act throughout the whole country at points where no + riot at all was reasonably expected, gave us all during that + railway strike an object-lesson in the meaning of uniform more + impressive than the pictures on a Board School wall. Mr. + Brailsford has well said, "the discovery of tyrants is that, for + a soldier's motive, a uniform will serve as well as an idea."</p> + + <p>Not a century has passed since the days when, as the noblest + mind of those times wrote, a million of hungry operative men rose + all up, came all out into the streets, and—stood there. + "Who shall compute," he asked:</p> + <pre> + "Who shall compute the waste and loss, the destruction of + every sort, that was produced in the Manchester region by + Peterloo alone! Some thirteen unarmed men and women cut + down—the number of the slain and maimed is very countable; + but the treasury of rage, burning, hidden or visible, in all hearts + ever since, more or less perverting the effort and aim of all + hearts ever since, is of unknown extent. 'How came ye among + us, in your cruel armed blindness, ye unspeakable County + Yeomanry, sabres flourishing, hoofs prancing, and slashed us + down at your brute pleasure; deaf, blind to all <i>our</i> claims and + woes and wrongs; of quick sight and sense to your own claims + only! There lie poor, sallow, work-worn weavers, and complain + no more now; women themselves are slashed and sabred; + howling terror fills the air; and ye ride prosperous, very + victorious—ye unspeakable: give <i>us</i> sabres too, and then come + on a little!' Such are Peterloos." +</pre><a name="96"></a> + + <p>The parallel, if not exact, is close enough. During popular + movements in Germany and Russia, the party of freedom has + sometimes hoped that the troops would come over to their + side—would "fraternise," as the expression goes. The + soldiers in those countries are even more closely connected with + the people than our own, for about one in three of the young men + pass into the army, whether they like it or not, and in two or + three years return to ordinary life. Yet the hope of + "fraternisation" has nearly always been in vain. Half a dozen + here and there may stand out to defend their brothers and their + homes. But the risk is too great, the bonds of uniform and habit + too strong. Hitherto in England, we have jealously preserved our + civil liberties from the dragooning of military districts, and + the few Peterloos of our history, compared with the suppressions + in other countries, prove how justified our jealousy has been. It + may be true—we wish it were always true, that, as Carlyle + says, "if your Woolwich grapeshot be but eclipsing Divine + Justice, and the God's radiance itself gleam recognisable athwart + such grapeshot, then, yes, then, is the time coming for fighting + and attacking." We all wish that were always true, and that the + people of every country would always act upon it. But for the + moment, we are grateful for the reminder that, whether it + eclipses Divine Justice or not, the grapeshot is still there, and + that a man in uniform, at a word of command, will shoot his + mother.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p><a name="RULE4_12"><!-- RULE4 12 --></a><a name="97"></a> + + <h2>XIII</h2> + + <center> + "OUR FATHERS HAVE TOLD US" + </center> + + <p>We have forgotten, else it would be impossible they should try + to befool us. We have forgotten the terrible years when England + lay cold and starving under the clutch of the landlords and their + taxes on food. Terror is soon forgotten, for otherwise life could + not endure. Not seventy years have gone since that clutch was + loosened, but the iron which entered into the souls of our + fathers is no more remembered. How many old labourers, old + operatives, or miners are now left to recall the wretchedness of + that toiling and starving childhood before the corn-tax was + removed? Few are remaining now, and they speak little and will + soon be gone. The horror of it is scattered like the night, and + we think no more of it, nor imagine its reality. It seems very + long ago, like Waterloo or the coach to York—so long ago + that we can almost hope it was not true.</p> + + <p>And yet our fathers have told us of it. They and their fathers + lived through it at its worst. Only six years have passed since + Mrs. Cobden Unwin collected the evidence of aged labourers up and + down the country, and issued their piteous memories in the book + called <i>The Hungry 'Forties</i>. Ill-spelt, full of mistakes, + the letters are stronger documents than the historian's + eloquence. In every detail of misery, one letter agrees with the + other. In one after another we read of the<a name="98"></a> + quartern loaf ranging from 7<i>d</i>. to 11-1/2<i>d</i>., and + heavy, sticky, stringy bread at that; or we read of the bean + porridge or grated potato that was their chief food; or, if they + were rather better off, they told of oatmeal and a dash of red + herring—one red herring among three people was thought a + luxury. And then there was the tea—sixpence an ounce, and + one ounce to last a family for a week, eked out with the + scrapings of burnt crusts to give the water a colour. One man + told how his parents went to eat raw snails in the fields. + Another said the look of a butcher's shop was all the meat they + ever got. "A ungry belly makes a man desprit," wrote one, but for + poaching a pheasant the hungry man was imprisoned fourteen years. + Seven shillings to nine shillings a week was the farm labourer's + wage, and it took twenty-six shillings then to buy the food that + seven would buy now. What a vivid and heartrending picture of + cottage life under the landlord's tax is given in one old man's + memory of his childish hunger and his mother's pitiful + self-denial! "We was not allowed free speech," he writes, "so I + would just pull mother's face when at meals, and then she would + say, 'Boy, I can't eat this crust,' and O! the joy it would bring + my little heart."</p> + + <p>We have forgotten it. Wretched as is the daily life of a large + part of our working people—the only people who really count + in a country's prosperity—we can no longer realise what it + was when wages were so low and food so dear that the struggle + with starvation never ceased. But in those days there were men + who saw and realised it. The poor die and leave no record. Their + labour is consumed, their bodies rot unnamed, and their + habitations are swept away. They do not tell their public + secret,<a name="99"></a> and at the most their existence is + recorded in the registers of the parish, the workhouse, or the + gaol. But from time to time men have arisen with the heart to see + and the gift of speech, and in the years when the oppression of + the landlords was at its worst a few such men arose. We do not + listen to them now, for no one cares to hear of misery. And we do + not listen, because most of them wrote in verse, and verse is not + liked unless it tells of love or beauty or the sticky pathos of + drawing-room songs. But it so happens that two of the first who + saw and spoke also sang of love and beauty with a power and + sweetness that compel us to listen still. And so, in turning + their well-known pages, we suddenly come upon things called "The + Masque of Anarchy" or "The Age of Bronze," and, with a moment's + wonder what they are all about, we pass on to "The Sensitive + Plant," or "When We Two Parted." As we pass, we may just glance + at the verses and read:</p> + <pre> + "What is Freedom?—ye can tell + That which slavery is, too well— + For its very name has grown + To an echo of your own. + 'Tis to work and have such pay + As just keeps life from day to day + In your limbs.... + + 'Tis to see your children weak + With their mothers pine and peak, + When the winter winds are bleak— + They are dying whilst I speak." +</pre> + + <p>Or, turning on, perhaps, in search of the "Ode to the West + Wind," we casually notice the song beginning:</p><a name= + "100"></a> + <pre> + "Men of England, wherefore plough + For the lords who lay you low? + Wherefore weave with toil and care + The rich robes your tyrants wear? + + Wherefore feed, and clothe, and save, + From the cradle to the grave, + Those ungrateful drones who would + Drain your sweat—nay, drink your blood?" +</pre> + + <p>And so to the conclusion:</p> + <pre> + "With plough and spade, and hoe and loom, + Trace your grave, and build your tomb, + And weave your winding-sheet, till fair + England be your sepulchre." +</pre> + + <p>Or else, in looking once more for that exquisite scene between + Haidée and Don Juan on the beach, we fall unawares upon + these lines:</p> + <pre> + "Year after year they voted cent. per cent., + Blood, sweat, and tear-wrung millions—why? for rent! + They roared, they dined, they drank, they swore they meant + To die for England—why then live?—for rent! + +</pre> + <pre> + + And will they not repay the treasures lent? + No; down with everything, and up with rent! + Their good, ill, health, wealth, joy, or discontent, + Being, end, aim, religion—rent, rent, rent!" +</pre> + + <p>The men who uttered such lines were driven from their class, + their homes, and their country. They were despised and hated, + like all who protest against oppression and remind the smug world + of uncomfortable things. But they were great poets. One of them + was our sweetest singer, the other was, when he wrote, the most + conspicuous figure in Europe, and the most shattering force. Even + England, which cares so little for her<a name="101"></a> greatest + inheritance of passionate intellect, cannot yet forget them. But + others who sang the same terrible theme she has long forgotten, + or she keeps them only on the shelves of curious and dusty + investigators. Such men, I mean, as Ebenezer Elliot, Ebenezer + Jones, Ernest Jones, Thomas Cooper, William James Linton, and + Gerald Massey, who so lately died.</p> + + <p>They were not high-born, nor were they shining poets like the + twin stars of freedom whom I have quoted. Little scholarship was + theirs, little perfection of song. Some had taught themselves + their letters at the forge, some in the depths of the mine, some + sang their most daring lines in prison cells where they were not + allowed even to write down the words. Nearly all knew poverty and + hunger at first hand; nearly all were persecuted for + righteousness' sake. For maintaining the cause of the poor and + the helpless they were mocked and reviled; scorn was their + reward. The governing classes whose comfort they disturbed wished + them dead; so did the self-righteous classes whose conscience + they ruffled. That is the common fate of any man or woman who + probes a loathsome evil, too long skimmed over. The peculiarity + of these men was that, when they were driven to speak, they spoke + in lines that flew on wings through the country. Indignation made + their verse, and the burning memory of the wrongs they had seen + gave it a power beyond its own expression. Which shall we recall + of those ghostly poems, once so quick with flame? Still, at + moments of deep distress or public wrong-doing, we may hear the + echo of the Corn-law Rhymer's anthem:</p> + <pre> + "When wilt thou save the people? + O God of mercy! when? + Not kings and lords, but nations! + Not thrones and crowns, but men!" +</pre> + + <p><a name="102"></a> Or if we read his first little book of + rhymes, that may be had for twopence now, we shall find the + pictures of the life that was lived under Protection—the + sort of life the landlords and their theorists invite us to enact + again. From his "Black Hole of Calcutta" we take the lines:</p> + <pre> + "Bread-tax'd weaver, all can see + What that tax hath done for thee, + And thy children, vilely led, + Singing hymns for shameful bread, + Till the stones of every street + Know their little naked feet." +</pre> + + <p>Or let us take one verse from the lines, "O Lord, how + long?"</p> + <pre> + "Child, what hast thou with sleep to do? + Awake, and dry thine eyes! + Thy tiny hands must labour too; + Our bread is tax'd—arise! + Arise, and toil long hours twice seven, + For pennies two or three; + Thy woes make angels weep in Heaven— + But England still is free." +</pre> + + <p>Or we might recall "The Coming Cry," by Ebenezer Jones, with + its great refrain:</p> + <pre> + "Perhaps it's better than starvation,—once we'll pray, and then + We'll all go building workhouses, million, million men!" +</pre> + + <p>Or we might recall Ernest Jones and his "Song of the 'Lower + Classes,'" where the first verse runs:</p><a name="103"></a> + <pre> + "We plow and sow, we're so very, very low, + That we delve in the dirty clay; + Till we bless the plain with the golden grain + And the vale with the fragrant hay. + Our place we know, we're so very, very low, + 'Tis down at the landlord's feet; + We're not too low the grain to grow, + But too low the bread to eat." +</pre> + + <p>Or shall we take one verse from the terrible "Easter Hymn," + written by the same true-hearted prisoner for freedom:</p> + <pre> + "Like royal robes on the King of Jews, + We're mocked with rights that we may not use; + 'Tis the people so long have been crucified, + But the thieves are still wanting on either side. + + <i>Chorus</i>—Mary and Magdalen, Peter and John, + Swell the sad burden, and bear it on." +</pre> + + <p>The iteration of the idea throughout the poem is tremendous in + effect, and the idea comes close to Swinburne's ode, "Before a + Crucifix":</p> + <pre> + "O sacred head, O desecrate, + O labour-wounded feet and hands, + O blood poured forth in pledge to fate + Of nameless lives in divers lands, + O slain and spent and sacrificed + People, the grey-grown speechless Christ." +</pre> + + <p>Time would fail to tell of Linton's "Torch-Dance of Liberty," + or of Massey's "Men of Forty-eight," and there are many + more—the utterance of men who spoke from the heart, knowing + in their own lives what suffering was. But let us rather turn for + a moment to the prose of a man who, also reared in hardship's + school, had learnt to succour misery. Speaking at the time when + Protection was biting and clawing the ground in the last<a name= + "104"></a> death-struggle, as all men but the landlords hoped, + Carlyle asked this question of the people:</p> + <pre> + "From much loud controversy, and Corn-law debating, there + rises, loud though inarticulate, once more in these years, this + very question among others, Who made the Land of England? + Who made it, this respectable English Land, wheat-growing, + metalliferous, carboniferous, which will let readily, hand over + hand, for seventy millions or upwards, as it here lies: who did + make it? 'We,' answer the much-consuming Aristocracy; + 'We!' as they ride in, moist with the sweat of Melton Mowbray: + 'It is we that made it, or are the heirs, assigns and representatives + of those who did!'—My brothers, You? Everlasting honour + to you, then; and Corn-laws many as you will, till your own + deep stomachs cry Enough, or some voice of Human pity for + our famine bids you Hold!" +</pre> + + <p>So our fathers have told us, and we have forgotten. It is all + very long ago, and the Protectionist says that times have + changed. Certainly times have changed, and it was deliverance + from Protection that changed them most. But if landowners have + changed, if they are now more alien from the people, and richer + from other sources than land, we have no reason to suppose them + less greedy or more pitiful; nor can a nation live on the + off-chance of pity. Seventy years ago the net encompassed the + land. We have seen how the people suffered under its + entanglement. In the sight of all, landowners and speculators are + now trying to spread that net again. Are we to suppose the + English people have not the hereditary instinct of sparrows to + keep them outside its meshes?</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p><a name="RULE4_13"><!-- RULE4 13 --></a><a name= + "105"></a> + + <h2>XIV</h2> + + <center> + THE GRAND JURY + </center> + + <p>When Mr. Clarkson, of the Education Office, received a summons + to attend the Grand Jury, or to answer the contrary at his peril, + he was glad. "For now," he thought, "I shall share in the duties + of democracy and be brought face to face with the realities of + life."</p> + + <p>"Mrs. Wilson," he said to the landlady, as she brought in his + breakfast, "what does this summons mean by describing the Court + as being in the suburbs of the City of London? Is there a Brixton + Branch?"</p> + + <p>"O Lordy me!" cried the landlady, "I do hope, sir, as you've + not got yourself mixed up with no such things; but the Court's + nigh against St. Paul's, as I know from going there just before + my poor nephew passed into retirement, as done him no good."</p> + + <p>"The summons," Mr. Clarkson went on, "the summons says I'm to + inquire, present, do, and execute all and singular things with + which I may be then and there enjoined. Why should only the law + talk like that?"</p> + + <p>"Begging your pardon, sir," replied the landlady, "I sometimes + do think it comes of their dressing so old-fashioned. But I'd ask + it of you not to read me no more of such like, if you'd be so + obliging. For it do make me come over all of a tremble."</p> + + <p>"I wonder if her terror arises from the hideousness of the + legal style or from association of ideas?" thought Mr. Clarkson + as he opened a Milton, of which he always read a few lines every + morning to dignify the day.</p> + + <p>On the appointed date, he set out eastward with an + exhilarating sense of change, and thoroughly enjoyed the drive + down Holborn among the crowd of City men. "It's rather strangely + like going to the seaside," he remarked to the man next him on + the motor-'bus. The man asked him if he had come from New Zealand + to see the decorations, and arrived late. "Oh no," said Mr. + Clarkson, "I seldom think the Colonies interesting, and I + distrust decoration in every form."</p> + + <p>It was unfortunate, but the moment he mounted the Court + stairs, the decoration struck him. There were the expected + scenes, historic and emblematic of Roman law, blindfold Justice, + the Balance, the Sword, and other encouraging symbols. But in one + semicircle he especially noticed a group of men, women, and + children, dancing to the tabor's sound in naked freedom. "Please, + could you tell me," he asked of a stationary policeman, "whether + that scene symbolises the Age of Innocence, before Law was + needed, or the Age of Anarchy, when Law will be needed no + longer?"</p> + + <p>"Couldn't rightly say," answered the policeman, looking up + sideways; "but I do wish they'd cover them people over more + decent. They're a houtrage on respectable witnesses."</p> + + <p>"All art—" Mr. Clarkson was beginning, when the + policeman said "Grand Jury?" and pushed him through a door into a + large court. A vision of middle-age was there gathering, and a + murmur of complaint filled the room—the hurried breakfast, + the heat, the interrupted business, the reported large number of + prisoners, likely to occupy two days, or even three.</p> + + <p>Silence was called, and four or five elderly gentlemen in + black-and-scarlet robes—"wise in their wigs, and flamboyant + as flamingoes," as a daily paper said of the judges at the + Coronation—some also decorated with gilded chains and deep + fur collars, in spite of the heat, entered from a side door and + took their seats upon a raised platform. Each carried in his hand + a nosegay of flowers, screwed up tight in a paper frill with + lace-work round the edges, like the bouquets that enthusiasts or + the management throw to actresses.</p> + + <p>"Are those flowers to cheer the prisoners?" Mr. Clarkson + whispered, "or are they the rudimentary survivals of the incense + that used to counteract the smell and infection of + gaol-fever?"</p> + + <p>"Covent Garden," was the reply, and the list of jurors was + called. The first twenty-three were sent into another room to + select their foreman, and, though Mr. Clarkson had not the + slightest desire to be chosen, he observed that the other jurors + did not even look in his direction. Finally, a foreman was + elected, no one knew for what reasons, and all went back to the + Court to be "charged." A gentleman in black-and-scarlet made an + hour's speech, reviewing the principal cases with as much + solemnity as if the Grand Jury's decisions would affect the Last + Judgment, and Mr. Clarkson began to realise his responsibility so + seriously that when the jurors were dismissed to their duties, he + took his seat before a folio of paper, a pink blotting-pad, and + two clean quill pens, with a resolve to maintain the cause of + justice, whatever might befall.</p> + + <p>"Page eight, number twenty-one," shouted the black-robed + usher, who guided the jurors as a dog guides sheep, and wore the + cheerful air of congenial labour successfully performed. Turning + up the reference in the book of cases presented to each juror, + Mr. Clarkson found: "Charles Jones, 35, clerk; forging and + uttering, knowing the same to be forged, a receipt for money, to + wit, a receipt for fees on a plaint note of the Fulham County + Court, with intent to defraud."</p> + + <p>"This threatens to be a very abstruse case," he remarked to a + red-faced juror on his right.</p> + + <p>"A half of bitter would elucidate it wonderful to my mind," + was the answer.</p> + + <p>But already a policeman had been sworn, and given his evidence + with the decisiveness of a gramophone.</p> + + <p>"Any questions?" said the foreman, looking round the table. No + one spoke.</p> + + <p>"Signify, gentlemen, signify!" cried the genial usher, and all + but Mr. Clarkson held up a hand.</p> + + <p>"Two, four, six, eight, ten, twelve," counted the usher, + totting up the hands till he reached a majority. "True Bill, True + Bill! Next case. Page eleven, number fifty-two."</p> + + <p>"Do you mean to tell me that is all?" asked Mr. Clarkson, + turning to his neighbour.</p> + + <p>"Say no more, and I'll make it a quart," replied the red-faced + man, ticking off the last case and turning up the new one, in + which a doctor was already giving his evidence against a woman + charged with the wilful murder of her newly-born male child.</p> + + <p>"Signify, gentlemen, signify!" cried the usher. "Two, four, + six, eight, ten, twelve. True Bill, True Bill! Next case. Page + fourteen, number seventy-two."</p> + + <p>"Stop a moment," stammered Mr. Clarkson, half rising; "if you + please, stop one moment. I wish to ask if we are justified in + rushing through questions of life and death in this manner. What + do we know of this woman, for instance—her history, her + distress, her state of mind?"</p> + + <p>"Sit down!" cried some. "Oh, shut it!" cried others. All + looked at him with the amused curiosity of people in a tramcar + looking at a talkative child. The usher bustled across the room, + and said in a loud and reassuring whisper: "All them things has + got nothing to do with you, sir. Those is questions for the Judge + and Petty Jury upstairs. The magistrates have sat on all these + cases already and committed them for trial; so all you've got to + do is to find a True Bill, and you can't go wrong."</p> + + <p>"If we can't go wrong, there's no merit in going right," + protested Mr. Clarkson.</p> + + <p>"Next case. Page fourteen, number seventy-two," shouted the + usher again, and as the witness was a Jew, his hat was sent for. + "There's a lot of history behind that hat," said Mr. Clarkson, + wishing to propitiate public opinion.</p> + + <p>"Wish that was all there was behind it," said the juror on his + left. The Jew finished his evidence and went away. The foreman + glanced round, and the usher had already got as far as "Signify," + when a venerable juror, prompted by Mr. Clarkson's example, + interposed.</p> + + <p>"I should like to ask that witness one further question," he + said in a fine Scottish accent, and after considerable shouting, + the Jew was recalled.</p> + + <p>"I should like to ask you, my man," said the venerable juror, + "how you spell your name?" The name was spelt, the juror + carefully inscribed it on a blank space opposite the charge, + sighed with relief, and looked round. "Signify, gentlemen, + signify!" cried the usher. "Two, four, six, eight, ten, twelve. + True Bill, True Bill! Next case. Page six, number eleven."</p> + + <p>Number eleven was a genuine murder case, and sensation + pervaded the room when the murdered man's wife was brought in, + weeping. She sobbed out the oath, and the foreman, wishing to be + kind, said, encouragingly, "State briefly what you know of this + case."</p> + + <p>She sobbed out her story, and was led away. The foreman + glanced round the tables.</p> + + <p>"I think we ought to hear the doctor," said the red-faced man. + The doctor was called and described a deep incised wound, + severing certain anatomical details.</p> + + <p>"I think we ought to hear the constable," said the red-faced + man, and there was a murmur of agreement. A policeman came in, + carrying a brown paper parcel. Having described the arrest, he + unwrapped a long knife, which was handed round the tables for + inspection. When it reached the red-faced juror, he regarded the + blade closely up and down, with gloating satisfaction. "Are those + stains blood?" he asked the policeman.</p> + + <p>"Yes, sir; them there is the poor feller's blood."</p> + + <p>The red-faced man looked again, and suddenly turning upon Mr. + Clarkson, went through a pantomime of plunging the knife into his + throat. At Mr. Clarkson's horrified recoil he laughed himself + purple.</p> + + <p>"Well said the Preacher you may know a man by his laughter," + Mr. Clarkson murmured, while the red-faced man patted him + amicably on the back.</p> + + <p>"No offence, I hope; no offence!" he said. "Come and have some + lunch. I always must, and I always do eat a substantial lunch. + Nice, juicy cut from the joint, and a little dry sherry? What do + you say?"</p> + + <p>"Thank you very much indeed," said Mr. Clarkson, instantly + benign. "You are most kind, but I always have coffee and a roll + and butter."</p> + + <p>"O my God!" exclaimed the red-faced man, and speaking across + Mr. Clarkson to another substantial juror, he entered into + discussion on the comparative merits of dry sherry and + champagne-and-bitters.</p> + + <p>Soon after two they both returned in the comfortable state of + mind produced by the solution of doubt. But Mr. Clarkson's doubts + had not been solved, and his state of mind was far from + comfortable. All through the lunch hour he had been tortured by + uncertainty. A plain duty confronted him, but how could he face + it? He hated a scene. He abhorred publicity as he abhorred the + glaring advertisements in the streets. He had never suffered so + much since the hour before he had spoken at the Oxford Union on + the question whether the sense for beauty can be imparted by + instruction. He closed his eyes. He felt the sweat standing on + his forehead. And still the cases went on. "Two, four, six, + eight, ten, twelve. True Bill. True Bill. Two, four, six, + eight...."</p> + + <p>"Now then, sleepy!" cried the red-faced man in his ear, giving + him a genial dig with his elbow. Mr. Clarkson quivered at the + touch, but he rose.</p> + + <p>"Gentlemen," he began, "I wish to protest against the + continuation of this farce."</p> + + <p>The jury became suddenly alert, and his voice was drowned in + chaos. "Order, order! Chair, chair!" they shouted. "Everybody's + doing it!" sang one.</p> + + <p>"I call that gentleman to order," said the foreman, rising + with dignity. "He has previously interrupted and delayed our + proceedings, without bringing fresh light to bear upon our + investigations. After the luncheon interval, I was pleased to + observe that for one cause or another—I repeat, for one + cause or another—he was distinctly—shall I say + somnolent, gentlemen? Yes, I will say somnolent. And I wish to + inform him that the more somnolent he remains, the better we + shall all be pleased."</p> + + <p>"Hear, hear! Quite true!" shouted the jury.</p> + + <p>"Does it appear to you, sir, fitting to sit here wasting + time?" Mr. Clarkson continued, with diminishing timidity. "Does + it seem to you a proper task for twenty-three apparently rational + beings—"</p> + + <p>"Twenty-two! Twenty-two!" cried the red-faced man, adding up + the jurors with the end of a pen, and ostentatiously omitting Mr. + Clarkson.</p> + + <p>The jurors shook with laughter. They wiped tears from their + eyes. They rolled their heads on the pink blotting-paper in their + joy. When quiet was restored, the foreman proceeded:</p> + + <p>"I have already ruled that gentleman out of order, and I warn + him that if he perseveres in his contumacious disregard of common + decency and the chair, I shall proceed to extremities as the law + directs. We are here, gentlemen, to fulfil a public duty as + honourable British citizens, and here we will remain until that + duty is fulfilled, or we will know the reason why."</p> + + <p>He glanced defiantly round, assuming an aspect worthy of the + last stand at Maiwand. Looking at Mr. Clarkson as turkeys might + look at a stray canary, the jurors expressed their applause.</p> + + <p>But the genial usher took pity, and whispered across the table + to him, "It'll all come right, sir; it'll all come right. You + wait a bit. The Grand Jury always rejects one case before it's + done; sometimes two."</p> + + <p>And sure enough, next morning, while Mr. Clarkson was reading + Burke's speeches which he had brought with him, one of the jurors + objected to the evidence in the eighty-seventh case. "We cannot + be too cautious, gentlemen," he said, "in arriving at a decision + in these delicate matters. The apprehension of blackmail in + relation to females hangs over every living man in this + country."</p> + + <p>"Delicate matters; blackmail; relation to females; great + apprehension of blackmail in these delicate matters," murmured + the jury, shaking their heads, and they threw out the Bill with + the consciousness of an independent and righteous deed.</p> + + <p>Soon after midday, the last of the cases was finished, and + having signified a True Bill for nearly the hundredth time, the + jurors were conducted into the Court where a prisoner was + standing in the dock for his real trial. As though they had saved + a tottering State, the Judge thanked them graciously for their + services, and they were discharged.</p> + + <p>"Just a drop of something to show there's no ill-feeling?" + said the red-faced man as they passed into the street.</p> + + <p>"Thank you very much," replied Mr. Clarkson warmly. "I assure + you I have not the slightest ill-feeling of any kind. But I + seldom drink."</p> + + <p>"Bless my soul!" said the red-faced man. "Then, what <i>do</i> + you do?"</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p><a name="RULE4_14"><!-- RULE4 14 --></a><a name= + "114"></a> + + <h2>XV</h2> + + <center> + A NEW CONSCRIPTION + </center> + + <p>When the Territorial exclaims that, for his part, he would + refuse to inhabit a planet on which there was no hope of war, the + peaceful listener shudderingly charges the inventor of + Territorials with promoting a bloodthirsty mind. After all the + prayers for peace in our time—prayers in which even + Territorials are expected to join on church parade—it + appears an impious folly to appraise war as a necessity for human + happiness. Or if indeed it be a blessing, however much in + disguise, why not boldly pray to have the full benefit of it in + our time, instead of passing it on, like unearned increment, for + the advantage of posterity? Such a thing is unimaginable. A + prayer for war would make people jump; it would empty a church + quicker than the collection. Nevertheless, it is probable that + the great majority of every congregation does in its heart share + the Territorial's opinion, and, if there were no possibility of + war ever again anywhere in the world, they would find life upon + this planet a trifle flat.</p> + + <p>The impulse to hostilities arises not merely from the delight + in scenes of blood enjoyed at a distance, though that is the + commonest form of military ardour, and in many a bloody battle + the finest fruits of victory are reaped over newspapers and + cigars at the bar or in the back<a name="115"></a> garden. There + is no such courage as glows in the citizen's bosom when he + peruses the telegrams of slaughter, just as there is no such + ferocity as he imbibes from the details of a dripping murder. + "War! War! Bloody war! North, South, East, or West!" cries the + soldier in one of Mr. Kipling's pretty tales; but in real life + that cry arises rather from the music-halls than from the + soldier, and many a high-souled patriot at home would think + himself wronged if perpetual peace deprived him of his one + opportunity of displaying valour to his friends, his readers, or + his family. All these imaginative people, whose bravery may be + none the less genuine for being vicarious, must be reckoned as + the natural supporters of war, and, indeed, one can hardly + conceive any form of distant conflict for which they would not + stand prepared.</p> + + <p>But still, the widespread dislike of peace is not entirely + derived from their prowess; nor does it spring entirely from the + nursemaid's love of the red coat and martial gait, though this is + on a far nobler plane, and comes much nearer to the heart of + things. The gleam of uniforms in a drab world, the upright + bearing, the rattle of a kettledrum, the boom of a salute, the + murmur of the "Dead March," the goodnight of the "Last Post" + sounding over the home-faring traffic and the quiet + cradles—one does not know by what substitutes eternal peace + could exactly replace them. For they are symbols of a spiritual + protest against the degradation of security. They perpetually + re-assert the claim of a beauty and a passion that have no + concern with material advantages. They sound defiance in the dull + ears of comfort, and proclaim woe unto them that are at ease in + the city of life. Dimly the nursemaid is aware of<a name= + "116"></a> the protest; most people are dimly aware of it; and + the few who seriously labour for an unending reign of peace must + take it into account.</p> + + <p>It is useless to allure mankind by promises of a pig's + paradise. Much has been rightly written about the horrors of war. + Everyone knows them to be sudden, hideous, and overwhelming; + those who have seen them can speak also of the squalor, the + filthiness, the murderous swindling, and the inconceivable + absurdity of the whole monstrous performance. But the horrors of + peace, if not so obvious, come nearer to our daily life, and we + are naturally terrified at its softness, its monotony, and its + enfeebling relaxation. Of all people in the world the wealthy + classes of England and America are probably the furthest removed + from danger, and no one admires them in the least; no one in the + least envies their treadmill of successive pleasures. The most + unwarlike of men are haunted by the fear that perpetual peace + would induce a general degeneration of soul and body such as they + now behold amid the rich man's sheltered comforts. They dread the + growth of a population slack of nerve, soft of body, cruel + through fear of pain, and incapable of endurance or high + endeavour. They dread the entire disappearance of that clear + decisiveness, that disregard of pleasure, that quiet devotion of + self in the face of instant death, which are to be found, now and + again, in the course of every war. Even peace, they say, may be + bought too dear, and what shall it profit a people if it gain a + swill-tub of comforts and lose its own soul?</p> + + <p>The same argument is chosen by those who would persuade the + whole population to submit to military training, whether it is + needful for the<a name="117"></a> country's defence or not. Under + such training, they suppose, the virtues that peace imperils + would be maintained; a sense of equality and comradeship would + pervade all classes, and for two or three years of life the + wealthy would enjoy the realities of labour and discomfort. It is + a tempting vision, and if this were the only means of escape from + such a danger as is represented, the wealthy would surely be the + first to embrace it for their own salvation. But is there no + other means? asked Professor William James, and his answer to the + question was that distinguished psychologist's last service. What + we are looking for, he rightly said, is a moral equivalent for + war, and he suddenly found it in a conscription, not for + fighting, but for work. After showing that the life of many is + nothing else but toil and pain, while others "get no taste of + this campaigning life at all," he continued:</p> + <pre> + "If now—and this is my idea—there were, instead of military + conscription, a conscription of the whole youthful population + to form for a certain number of years a part of the army enlisted + against <i>nature</i>, the injustice would tend to be evened out, and + numerous other benefits to the commonwealth would follow. + The military ideals of hardihood and discipline would be wrought + into the growing fibre of the people; no one would remain + blind, as the luxurious classes now are blind, to man's real + relations to the globe he lives on, and to the permanently solid + and hard foundations of his higher life. To coal and iron mines, + to freight trains, to fishing fleets in December, to dish-washing, + clothes-washing, and window-washing, to road-building and + tunnel-making, to foundries and stoke-holes, and to the frames + of skyscrapers, would our gilded youths be drafted off, according + to their choice, to get the childishness knocked out of them, and + to come back into society with healthier sympathies and soberer + ideas." +</pre> + + <p><a name="118"></a> Here, indeed, is a vision more tempting + than ever conscription was. To be sure, it is not new, for Ruskin + had a glimpse of it, and that was why he induced the Oxford + undergraduates to vary their comfortable Greek studies and games + at ball with a little honest work upon the Hinksey road. But the + vision is irresistible. There cannot be the smallest doubt it + will be realised, and when the young dukes, landed proprietors, + financiers, motorists, officers in the Guards, barristers, and + curates are marched off in gangs to their apportioned labour in + the stoke-holes, coal-mines, and December fishing fleets, how the + workmen will laugh, how exult!</p> + + <p>Nor let it be supposed that the conscription would subject + even the most luxurious conscripts to any unendurable hardship. + So hateful is idleness to man that the toil of the poor is + continually being adopted by the rich as sport. To climb a + mountain was once the irksome duty of the shepherd and wandering + hawker; now it is the privilege of wealth to hang by the + finger-nails over an abyss. Once it was the penalty of slaves to + pull the galleys; now it is only the well-to-do who labour day by + day at the purposeless oar, and rack their bodies with a toil + that brings home neither fish nor merchandise. Once it fell to + the thin bowman and despised butcher to provide the table with + flesh and fowl; now, at enormous expense, the rich man plays the + poulterer for himself, and statesmen seek the strenuous life in + the slaughter of a scarcely edible rhinoceros. Let the conscripts + of comfort take heart. They will run more risks in the galleries + of the mines than on the mountain precipice, and one night's + trawl upon the Dogger Bank would provide more weight of fish than + if they whipped the Tay from spring to winter.</p> + + <p><a name="119"></a> Under this great conscription, a New Model + would, indeed, be initiated, as far superior to the conscript + armies as Cromwell's Ironsides were to the mercenaries of their + time. The whole nation from prince to beggar would by this means + be transformed, labour would cease to be despised or riches to be + worshipped, the reproach of effeminacy would be removed, the + horrors of peace mitigated, and the moral equivalent of war + discovered. For the first time a true comradeship between class + and class would arise, for, as Goethe said, work makes the + comrade, and democracy might have a chance of becoming a reality + instead of a party phrase. After three years' service down the + sewers or at the smelting works, our men of leisure would no + longer raise their wail over national degeneracy or the need of + maintaining the standard of hardihood by barrack-square drill. As + things are now, it is themselves who chiefly need the drill. + "Those who live at ease," said Professor James, "are an island on + a stormy ocean." In the summing up of the nation they, in their + security, would hardly count, were they not so vocal; but the + molten iron, the flaming mine, the whirling machine, the + engulfing sea, and hunger always at the door take care that, for + all but a very few among the people, the discipline of danger and + perpetual effort shall not be wanting. You do not find the + pitman, the dustman, or the bargee puling for bayonet exercise to + make them hard, and if our nervous gentlemen were all serving the + State in those capacities, they might even approach their + addition sums in "Dreadnoughts" without a tremor. Besides, as + Professor James added for a final inducement, the women would + value them more highly.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p><a name="RULE4_15"><!-- RULE4 15 --></a><a name= + "120"></a> + + <h2>XVI</h2> + + <center> + THE LAST OF THE RUNNYMEDES + </center> + + <p>The high debate was over, and Lord Runnymede issued from the + House, proud in his melancholy, like a garrison withdrawing from + a fortress with colours flying and all the honours of war. He had + sent a messenger (he called him an "orderly") for his carriage. + He might have telephoned, but he disliked the Board-School voice + that said "Number, please!" and he still more disliked the idea + of a coachman speaking down a tube (as he imagined it) into his + ear. Not that he was opposed to inventions, or the advance of + science as such. He recognised the necessity of progress, and had + not openly reproached his own sister when she instituted a motor + in place of her carriage. But for himself the two dark bays were + waiting—heads erect, feet firmly planted on the solid + earth. For he loved horses, and the Runnymede stables maintained + the blood of King Charles's importations from Arabian chivalry. + Besides, what manners, what sense, could be expected of a + chauffeur, occupied with oily wheels and engines, instead of + living things and corn?</p> + + <p>Some of the small crowd standing about the gate recognised him + as he came out, and one called his name and said "What ho!" For + his appearance was fairly well known through political + caricatures, which usually represented him in plate-armour, + holding a spear, and wearing a coat-of-arms. He had once + instructed his secretary to write privately to an editor pointing + out that the caricaturist had committed a gross error in + heraldry; but in his heart he rather enjoyed the pictures, and it + was the duty of one of his maids to stick them into a scrap-book, + inscribed with the proper dates, for the instruction and + entertainment of his descendants. In fact, he had lately been + found showing the book to a boy of three, who picked out his + figure by its long nose, and said "Granpa!" with unerring + decision.</p> + + <p>But what was the good of son or grandchild now? He had nothing + to hand down to them but the barren title, the old estate, and + wealth safely invested in urban land and financial enterprises + which his stockbroker recommended. Titles, estates, and wealth + were but shadows without the vitalising breath of power. + Cotton-spinners, boot-finishers, purveyors of food at popular + prices could now possess such things, and they appeared to enjoy + them. There were people, he believed, satisfied with comfort, + amusements, rounds of visits, social ambitions, and domestic or + luxurious joys. But for a Runnymede thus to decline would be + worse than extinction.</p> + + <p>For six centuries the Runnymedes had served their country. + Edward I had summoned one of them to his "model Parliament," and + the present lord could still spell out a word or two of the + ancient writ that hung framed in the hall at Stennynge, with the + royal seal attached. Two of his ancestors had died by public + violence (one killed in battle, fighting for the Yorkists, who + Lord Runnymede inclined to think represented the Legitimist side; + the other executed under Elizabeth, apparently by mistake), and + regretting there were not more, he had searched the records of + the Civil Wars and the 'Forty-five in vain. But never had a + Runnymede failed in Parliament, or the Council of the King, as he + preferred to call it; and their name had frequently appeared + among the holders of subordinate but dignified offices, such as + the Mastership of the Buckhounds, to which special knowledge gave + an honourable claim.</p> + + <p>Trained from his first pony in political tradition, and + encouraged by every gamekeeper to follow the footsteps of his + ancestors, Lord Runnymede had inevitably taken "Noblesse oblige" + as his private motto. But of what service was nobility if its + obligations were abolished? He sometimes pictured with a shudder + the fate of the surviving French nobility—retaining their + titles by courtesy, and compelled to fritter away their lives + upon châteaux, travelling, aeroplanes, or amatory + intrigues, instead of directing their wisdom and influence to the + right government of the State. The guillotine was better. He + could not imagine his descendants without a House of Lords to sit + in. Without the Lords, he was indeed the last of the Runnymedes, + and upon the scaffold he might at least die worthy of his + name.</p> + + <p>Compromise he despised as the artifice of lawyers and upstart + politicians. It had been a dagger in his heart to hear his leader + speaking of some readjustment between the two Houses as + inevitable. He denied the necessity, unless the readjustment + augmented the power of the Lords. Planting himself on Edward I's + statute, he had vehemently maintained the right of the Lords to + control finance, though he was willing to allow the commercial + gentlemen in the Commons the privilege of working out the figures + of national income and expenditure. He now regarded the + threatened creation of Peers as a gross insult to public decency. + Properly speaking, he protested, Peers cannot be created. You + might as well put terriers into kennels and call them foxhounds. + Now and then a distinguished soldier or even a statesman could be + ennobled without much harm; and he supposed there was something + to be said for a learned man, and a writer or two, though he + preferred them to be childless. He had once published a book + himself, with the Runnymede arms on the cover. But the thought of + making Lords by batches vulgarised the King's majesty, and + reversed the order of nature. "Are we worse than Chinamen," he + asked, "that we seek to confer nobility on fellows sprung from + unknown forefathers?" The Archbishop of Canterbury had appealed + to the House to approach the question with mutual consideration + and respect, high public spirit and common sense. But on such a + question consideration was dangerous, and common sense fatal. He + wished the Bishops had stuck to their own Convocation from + Plantagenet times, instead of intruding their inharmonious white + sleeves where they were not wanted. He was sorry he had + subscribed so handsomely to the restoration of Stennynge Church. + He ought to have ear-marked his contribution for the Runnymede + aisle.</p> + + <p>Worse still, the Archbishop had mentioned "the average voter + in tramcar or railway train," and the words had called up a + haunting vision of disgust. He often said that he had no + objection to the working classes as such. He rather liked them. + He found them intelligent and unpretentious. He could converse + with them without effort, and they always had the interest of + sport in common. He felt no depression in passing through the + working quarters of the city, and at Stennynge he was well + acquainted with all the cottagers and farmers alike. In one + family he had put out a puppy at walk; in another he had let off + a man who had poached a pheasant when his wife was ill; in a + third he had stood godfather to the baby when the father was + killed falling from a stack. He felt a kind of warmth towards the + poor whenever he saw them upon his own estate.</p> + + <p>But of the average voter, such as the Archbishop described, he + could not think without pain and apprehension. Coming to London + from any part of the country, he always closed his eyes as the + train entered the suburbs. Those long rows of monotonous little + houses—so decent, so uneventful, so + temporary—oppressed him like a physical disease. If he + contemplated them, they induced violent dyspepsia, such as he had + once incurred by visiting the Crystal Palace. The consciousness + that they were there, even as he passed through tunnels, lowered + his vitality until he reached his town house or club in the + centre of things. Not even the considerable income he derived + from land on the outskirts of a large manufacturing town consoled + him for the horror of the town's extension. In those uniform + houses—in their railings, their Venetian blinds, + indiarubber plants, and stained-glass panels to the + doors—he beheld the coming degradation of his country. He + saw them, like great armies of white or red ants, creeping over + the land, devouring all that was beautiful in it, or ancient, or + redolent of grandeur. Bit by bit, street by street, the ignoble, + the tidy, the pettiness of the parlour, was gaining upon + splendour and renown, and the anticipation of the change cast a + foreboding sadness over the beauty of his own ancestral home. It + tainted even his unuttered pride in his son, who had been at Eton + without expulsion, and served two years in the Foot Guards + without discredit. And now, there was his grandson.</p> + + <p>What future could be theirs? Should a Runnymede sit in a House + shorn of its prerogatives, bound to impotence, reduced to a mere + echo of popular caprice, with hardly the delaying power of a + chaperon at a ball? Or should a son of his trot round from door + to door, seeking the suffrages of those distressing suburbs at + the polls—a son whose ancestry had known the favour of + princes, and withstood foes and traitors upon the field? Lord + Runnymede himself had never thought of election, even before the + House of Lords received him. Yet if you wanted representatives, + who was more truly representative of his own estates and the + interests of every soul upon it—interests identical with + his own? Who was more fit to control the country than a man who + had breathed the atmosphere of State from childhood, and learnt + history from the breast-plates, the swords, the cloaks, the wigs, + and the side-whisker portraits of men whose very blood beat in + his heart?</p> + + <p>As the carriage went down Piccadilly, he was overwhelmed with + the darkness of the prospect. He saw an ancient country + staggering from side to side on its road to ruin, while the hands + which had directed and steadied it for centuries lay bound or + idle. He saw coverts and meadows and cornfields eaten away by + desirable residences, angular garden cities, and Socialist + communities. He saw his own Stennynge advertised for plots, and + its relics catalogued for a museum, while factories spouted smoke + from its lawns and shrubberies, and if a Runnymede survived, he + lived in a rough-cast villa, like an eagle in a cage at the Zoo. + The soul of all his ancestors rose within him. Never should it + happen while he had a sword to draw. At least he could display + the courage of the fine old stock. If he submitted to the + degradation, he would feel himself a coward, unfit for the + position he and his fathers had occupied. Let the enemy do their + worst; they should find him steady at his post. Before him lay + one solemn duty still to be performed for God and country. The + spirit of noble sacrifice was not dead. The populace should see + how an aristocrat still could die. Come what might, he would vote + against the third reading of the Bill!</p> + + <p>Dismounting from his carriage, he approached the + entrance-porch of his house with so proud and resolute a bearing + that three hatless working-girls passing by, in white frocks, + with arms interlaced, all cried out "Percy!" as their ironic + manner is.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p><a name="RULE4_16"><!-- RULE4 16 --></a><a name= + "127"></a> + + <h2>XVII</h2> + + <center> + CHILDREN OF THE STATE + </center> + + <h3>I</h3> + + <p>Mrs. Reeve was an average widow with encumbrances. Ten years + before she had married a steady-going man—a cabinet-maker + during working hours, and something of a Dissenter and a Radical + in the evenings and on Sundays. His wages had touched thirty + shillings, and they had lived in three rooms, first floor, in a + quiet neighbourhood, keeping themselves to themselves, as they + boasted without undue pride. In their living-room was a flowery + tablecloth; a glass shade stood on the mantelpiece; there were a + few books in a cupboard. They had thoughts of buying a live + indiarubber plant to stand by the window, when unexpectedly the + man died.</p> + + <p>He had followed the advice of economists. He had practised + thrift. During his brief illness his society had supplied a + doctor, and it provided a comfortable funeral. His widow was left + with a small sum in hand to start her new life upon, and she + increased it by at once pawning the superfluous furniture and the + books. She lost no time hanging about the old home. Within a week + she had dried her eyes, washed out her handkerchiefs, made a + hatchment of her little girl's frock with quarterings of crape, + piled the few necessities of existence on a barrow and settled in + a single room in the poorest street of the district.</p> + + <p>It was not much of a place, and it cost her half a crown a + week, but in six months she had come to think of it as a home. + She had brushed the ceiling and walls, and scrubbed the boards, + the children helping. She had added the touch of art with + advertisements and picture almanacs. A bed for the three children + stood in one corner—a big green iron bed, once her own. On + the floor was laid a mattress for herself and the baby. Round it + she hung her shawl and petticoats as a screen over some lengths + of cords. Right across the room ran a line for the family's bits + of washing. A tiny looking-glass threw mysterious rays on to the + ceiling at night. On the whole, it really was not so bad, she + thought, as she looked round the room one evening. Only + unfortunately her capital had been slipping away shilling by + shilling, and the first notice to quit had been served that day. + She was what she called "upset" about it.</p> + + <p>"Now, Alfred," she said to her eldest boy, "it's time I got to + my work, and it won't do for you to start gettin' 'ungry again + after yer teas. So you put yerself and Lizzie to bed, and I'll + make a race of it with Hen and the baby."</p> + + <p>"There now," she said when the race was over, "that's what's + called a dead 'eat, and that's a way of winnin' as saves the + expense of givin' a prize."</p> + + <p>With complete disregard for the theorising of science, she + then stuck the poker up in front of the bars to keep the fire + bright.</p> + + <p>"Now, Alfred," she said, "you mind out for baby cryin', and if + she should 'appen to want for anythink, just give a call to Mrs. + Thomas through the next door."</p> + + <p>"Right you are," said Alfred, feeling as important as a 'bus + conductor.</p> + + <p>Mrs. Reeve hurried towards the City to her work. Office + cleaning was the first thing that had offered itself, and she + could arrange the hours so as to look after the children between + whiles. Late at night and again early in the morning she was in + the offices, and she earned a fraction over twopence an hour.</p> + + <p>"You're not seemin' exackly saloobrious to-night, my dear," + said the old woman who had lately come to the same staircase, as + they began to scour the stone with whitening. "I do 'ope 'e ain't + been layin' 'is 'and on yer."</p> + + <p>"My 'usband didn't 'appen to be one of them sort, thankin' yer + kindly," said Mrs. Reeve.</p> + + <p>"Oh, a widder, and beggin' yer pardon. And you'll 'ave + children, of course?"</p> + + <p>"Four," said Mrs. Reeve, and she thought of them asleep in the + firelight.</p> + + <p>The old woman—a mere bundle with a pair of eyes in + it—looked at her for a moment, and pretending out of + delicacy to be talking to herself, she muttered loud enough to be + heard: "Oh, that's where it is, is it? There's four, same as I've + buried. And a deal too many to bring up decent on ten shillin' a + week. Why, I'd sooner let the Poor Law 'ave 'em, though me and + the old man 'ad to go into the 'Ouse for it. And that's what I + said to Mrs. Green when Mrs. Turner was left with six. And Mrs. + Turner she went and done it. An uncommon sensible woman, was Mrs. + Turner, not like some as don't care what comes to their children, + so long as they're 'appy theirselves."</p> + + <p>In the woman's words Mrs. Reeve heard the voice of mankind + condemning her. She knew it was all true. The thought had haunted + her for days, and that she might not hear more, she drowned the + words by sousing about the dirty water under the hiss of the + scouring brush.</p> + + <p>But when she reached home just before midnight, her mind was + made up. Her husband had always insisted that the children should + be well fed and healthy. He had spoken with a countryman's + contempt of the meagre Cockney bodies around them. One at least + should go. She lit the candle, and stood listening to their + sleep. Suddenly the further question came—which of the + four? Should it be Alfred, the child of her girlhood, already so + like his father, though he was only just nine? She couldn't get + on without him, he was so helpful, could be trusted to light the + lire, sweep the room and wash up. It could not possibly be + Alfred. Should it be Lizzie, her little girl of five, so pretty + and nice to dress in the old days when even her father would look + up from his book with a grunt of satisfaction at her bits of + finery on Sundays? But a girl must always need the mother's care. + It couldn't possibly be Lizzie. Or should it be little Ben, lying + there with eyes sunk deep in his head, and one arm outside the + counterpane? Why, Ben was only three. A few months ago he had + been the baby. It couldn't possibly be little Ben. And then there + was the baby herself—well, of course, it couldn't be the + baby.</p> + + <p>So the debate went on, in a kind of all-night sitting. At + half-past five she started for the offices again, sleepless and + undecided.</p> + + <p>That afternoon she went to the relieving officer at the + workhouse. Two days later she was waiting among other "cases" in + a passage there, under an illuminated text: "I have not seen the + righteous forsaken." In her turn she was ushered into the + presence of the Board from behind a black screen. A few questions + were put with all the delicacy which time and custom allowed. + There was a brief discussion.</p> + + <p>"Quite a simple case," said the chairman. "My good woman, the + Guardians will undertake to relieve you of two children to + prevent the whole lot of you coming on the rates. Send the two + eldest to the House at once, and they will be drafted into our + school in due course. Good morning to you. Next case, + please."</p> + + <p>She could do nothing but obey. Alfred and Lizzie were duly + delivered at the gate. Bewildered and terrified, hoping every + hour to be taken home, they hung about the workhouse, and became + acquainted with the flabby pallor and desperate sameness of the + pauper face. After two days they were whirled away, they knew not + where, in something between a brougham and an ambulance cart.</p> + + <p>"You lay, Liz, they're goin' to make us Lord Mayors of London, + same as Whittington, and we'll all ride in a coach together," + said Alfred, excited by the drive, and amazed at the two men on + the box. Then they both laughed with the cheerful irony of London + children.</p> + + <center> + II + </center> + + <p>It was an afternoon in early October, the day after Alfred and + Lizzie had been removed from the workhouse. They were now in the + probation ward of one of the great district schools. Lizzie was + sitting in the girls' room, whimpering quietly to herself, and + every now and then saying, "I want my mother." To which the + female officer replied, "Oh, you'll soon get over that."</p> + + <p>Alfred was standing on the outside of a little group of boys + gathered in idleness round a stove in a large whitewashed room on + the opposite side of the building. Nearest the warmth stood Clem + Bowler, conscious of the dignity which experience gives. For Clem + had a reputation to maintain. He was a redoubtable "in and out." + Four times already within a year his parents had entrusted + themselves and him to the care of the State, and four times, + overcome by individualistic considerations, they had recalled him + to their own protection. His was not an unusual case. The + superintendent boasted that his "turn-over" ran to more than five + hundred children a year. But there was distinction about Clem, + and people remembered him.</p> + + <p>"You 'ear, now," he said, looking round with a veteran's + contempt upon the squad of recruits in pauperism, "if none on yer + don't break out with somethink before the week's over, I'll flay + the lot. I'm not pertikler for what it is. Last time it was + measles first, and then ringworm. Nigh on seven weeks I stopt + 'ere with nothink to do only eat, and never got so much as a + smell of the school. What's them teachers got to learn <i>me</i>, + I'd like to know?"</p> + + <p>He paused with rhetorical defiance, but as no one answered he + proceeded to express the teachers and officers in terms of + unmentionable quantities. Suddenly he turned upon a big, + vacant-looking boy at his side.</p> + + <p>"What's yer name, fat-'ead?" he asked.</p> + + <p>The boy backed away a pace or two, and stood gently moving his + head about, and staring with his large pale eyes, as a calf + stares at a dog.</p> + + <p>"Speak, you dyin' oyster!" said Clem, kicking his shins.</p> + + <p>"Ernest," said the boy, with a sudden gasp, turning fiery red + and twisting his fingers into knots.</p> + + <p>"Ernest what?" said Clem. "But it don't matter, for your sort + always belongs to the fine old family of Looney. You're a deal + too good for the likes of us. Why, you ought to 'ave a private + asylum all to yerself. Hi, Missus!" he shouted to the porter's + wife who was passing through the room. "This young nobleman's + name's Looney, isn't it?"</p> + + <p>"Looks as if it 'ad ought to be," she answered, with a smile, + for she avoided unnecessary difficulties. It was her duty to act + as mother to the children in the probation ward, and she had + already mothered about five thousand.</p> + + <p>"Well, Looney," Clem went on as soon as she had gone, "I'll + give you a fair run for your money. By next Sunday week you must + 'ave a sore 'ead or sore eyes, or I'll see as you get both. But + p'raps I may as well take two of the lot of yer in 'and at + once."</p> + + <p>He seized the daft creature and Alfred by the short hair at + the back of their heads, and began running them up and down as a + pair of ponies. The others laughed, partly for flattery, partly + for change.</p> + + <p>"That don't sound as if they was un'appy, do it, sir?" said + the porter's wife, coming in again at that moment with one of the + managers, who was paying a "surprise visit" to the school.</p> + + <p>"No, indeed!" he answered heartily. "Well, boys, having a real + good time, are you? That's right. Better being here than starving + outside, isn't it?"</p> + + <p>"Oh yuss, sir, a deal better!" said Clem. "Plenty to eat 'ere, + sir, and nobody to be crule to yer, and nice little lessons for + an hour in the afternoon!"</p> + + <p>It was getting dark, and as the gas was lit and cast its + yellow glare over the large room, Alfred thought how his mother + must just then be lighting the candle to give Ben and the baby + their tea.</p> + + <center> + III + </center> + + <p>So the children waited the due fortnight for the appearance of + disease. But no one "broke out." Looney, it is true, developed a + very sore head, but the doctor declared there was nothing + contagious about it; at which neglect of scientific precaution + Clem expressed justifiable disgust. For, indeed, he could have + diagnosed the case completely himself, as a sore due to + compulsory friction of the epidermis against an iron bedstead. + But as science remained deaf to his protests, he hastened to get + first pick of the regulation suits and shoes, and when fairly + satisfied with the fit, he bit private marks on their various + parts, helped to put on Looney's waistcoat wrong way before, + split Alfred's shirt down the back to test its age, and with an + emphatic remark upon the perversity of mortal things, marched + stoically up to the school with the rest of the little band. + Little Lizzie followed with the girls about a hundred yards + behind. Alfred pretended not to see her. Somehow he was now + becoming rather ashamed of having a sister.</p> + + <p>The great bell was just ringing for dinner. Alfred and the + other new boys were at once arranged according to height in the + phalanx of fours mustered in the yard. At the word of command the + whole solid mass put itself in motion, shortest in front, and + advanced towards the hall with the little workhouse shuffle. + Dividing this way and that, the boys filed along the white + tables. At the same moment the girls entered from another door, + and the infants from a third. By a liberal concession, "the + sexes" had lately been allowed to look at each other from a safe + distance at meals.</p> + + <p>A gong sounded: there was instant silence. It sounded again: + all stood up and clasped their hands. Many shut their eyes and + assumed an expression of intensity, as though preparing to + wrestle with the Spirit. Clem, having planted both heels firmly + on Looney's foot, screwed up his face, and appeared to wrestle + more than any. A note was struck on the harmonium. All sang the + grace. The gong sounded: all sat down. It sounded again: all + talked.</p> + + <p>"Yes, we allow them to talk at meals now," said the + superintendent to a visitor who was standing with him in the + middle of the room. "We find it helps to counteract the effects + of over-feeding on the digestion."</p> + + <p>"What a beautiful sight it all is!" said the visitor. "Such + precision and obedience! Everything seems satisfactory."</p> + + <p>"Yes," said the superintendent, "we do our very best to make + it a happy home. Don't we, Ma?"</p> + + <p>"We do, indeed," said the matron. "You see, sir, it has to be + a home as well as a school."</p> + + <p>The superintendent had been employed in workhouse schools for + many years, and had gradually worked himself up to the highest + position. On his appointment he had hoped to introduce many + important changes in the system. Now, at the end of nine years, + he could point to a few improvements in the steam-laundry, and + the substitution of a decent little cap for the old workhouse + Glengarry. At one time he had conceived the idea of allowing the + boys brushes and combs instead of having their hair cropped short + to the skin. But in this and other points he had found it better + to let things slide rather than throw the whole place out of gear + for a trifle. Changes received little encouragement; and the + public didn't really care what happened until some cruel scandal + in the evening papers made their blood boil for half a minute as + they went home to dinner in the suburbs.</p> + + <p>The gong sounded. All stood up again with clasped hands, and + again Looney suffered while Clem joined in the grace. As the boys + marched out at one door, Alfred looked back and caught sight of + Lizzie departing flushed and torpid with the infants after her + struggle to make a "clean plate" of her legal pound of flesh and + solid dough. In the afternoon he was sent to enjoy the leisure of + school with his "standard," or to creep about in the howling + chaos of play-time in the yard. After tea he was herded with four + hundred others into a day-room quite big enough to allow them to + stand without touching each other. Hot pipes ran round the sides + under a little bench, and the whitewashed walls were relieved by + diagrams of the component parts of a sweet pea and scenes from + the life of Abraham. As usual an attempt was made at + hide-and-seek under strange conditions. Some inglorious inventor + had solved the problem of playing that royal game in an empty + oblong room. His method was to plant out the "juniors" in + clusters or copses on the floor, whilst the "seniors" lurked and + ran and hunted in and out their undergrowth. To add zest to the + chase, Clem now let Looney slip as a kind of bag-fox, and the + half-witted creature went lumbering and blubbering about in real + terror of his life, whilst his pursuers encouraged his speed with + artifices in which the animated spinnies and coverts + deferentially joined. Unnoticed and lonely in the crowd, Alfred + was almost sorry he was not half-witted too.</p> + + <p>At last he was marched off to his dormitory with fifty-five + others, and lay for a long time listening with the fascination of + innocence whilst Clem in a low voice described with much detail + the scenes of "human nature" which he had recently witnessed down + hopping with his people. Almost before he was well asleep, as it + seemed, the strange new life began again with the bray of a bugle + and the flaring of gas, and he had to hurry down to the model + lavatory to wash under his special little jet of warm spray, so + elaborately contrived in the hope of keeping ophthalmia in + check.</p> + + <p>So, with drills and scrubbings and breakfasts and schools, the + great circles of childhood's days and nights went by, each + distinguished from another only by the dinner and the Sunday + services. And from first to last the pauper child was haunted by + the peculiar pauper smell, containing elements of whitewash, damp + boards, soap, steam, hot pipes, the last dinner and the next, + corduroys, a little chlorate of lime, and the bodies of hundreds + of children. It was not unwholesome.</p> + + <center> + IV + </center> + + <p>One thing shed a light over the days as it approached, and + then left them dark till the hope of its return brought a dubious + twilight. Once a month, on a Saturday afternoon, Mrs. Reeve had + promised to come and see the two children. She might have come + oftener, for considerable allowance was made for family + affection. But it was difficult enough in four weeks to lay by + the few pence which would take her down to the suburb. Punctually + at two she was at the gate, and till four she might sit with the + children in the lodge. Not much was said. They clung to each + other in silence. Or she undid the boy's stiff waistcoat, and + looked at his grey shirt, and tried to accustom herself to her + Lizzie's short hair and heavy blue dress. Many others came too, + and sat in the same room—eloquent drunkards appealing to + heaven, exuberant relatives with apples and sweets, unsatisfied + till the children howled in answer to their pathos, girls + half-ashamed to be seen, and quiet working mothers. As four + struck, good-bye was said, and with Lizzie's crying in her ears + Mrs. Reeve walked blindly back through the lines of suburban + villas to the station. Twice she came, and, counting the days and + weeks, the children had made themselves ready for the third great + Saturday. Carefully washed and brushed, they sat in their + separate day-rooms, and waited. Two o'clock struck, but no + message came. All the afternoon they waited, sick with + disappointment and loneliness. At last, seeing the matron go by, + Alfred said: "Please, mum, my mother ain't come to-day."</p> + + <p>"Not come?" she answered. "Oh, that <i>is</i> a cruel mother! + But they're all the same. Each time, sure as fate, there's + somebody forgotten, so you're no worse off than anybody else. + Look, here's a nice big sweet for you instead! Oh yes, I'll tell + them about your little sister. What's your name, did you + say?"</p> + + <p>As he went out along the corridor, Alfred came upon Looney + hiding behind an iron column, and crying to himself. "Why, what's + the matter with you?" he asked.</p> + + <p>"My mother ain't been to see me," whined Looney, with + unrestrained sobs; "and Clem says 'e's wrote to tell 'er she'd + best not come no more, 'cos I'm so bad."</p> + + <p>His mother had been for years at the school herself, and after + serving in a brief series of situations, had calculated the + profit and loss, and gone on the streets.</p> + + <p>"Mine didn't come neither," said Alfred. "Matron says they're + all like that. But never you mind, 'ere's a nice sweet for you + instead."</p> + + <p>He took the sweet out of his own mouth. Looney received it + cautiously, and his great watery eyes gazed at Alfred with the + awe of a biologist who watches a new law of nature at work.</p> + + <p>Next day after dinner Lizzie and Alfred met in the hall, as + brothers and sisters were allowed to meet for an hour on Sundays. + They sat side by side with their backs to the long tablecloths + left on for tea.</p> + + <p>"She never come," said Alfred after the growing shyness of + meeting had begun to pass off.</p> + + <p>"You don't know what <i>I've</i> got!" she answered, holding + up her clenched fist.</p> + + <p>"I s'pose she won't never come no more," said Alfred.</p> + + <p>"Look!" she answered, opening her fingers and disclosing a + damp penny, the bribe of one of the nurses.</p> + + <p>"Matron says she's cruel, and 'as forgot about us, same as + they all do," said Alfred.</p> + + <p>Then Lizzie took up her old wail. The penny dropped and rolled + in a fine curve along the boards.</p> + + <p>"There, don't 'e cry, Liz," he said. And they sat huddled + together overcome by the dull exhaustion of childish grief. The + chapel bell began to ring. Alfred took a corner of her white + pinafore, wetted it, and tried to wash off the marks of tears. + And as they hurried away Lizzie stooped and picked up the + penny.</p> + + <p>A few minutes later they were at service in their brick and + iron chapel, which suburban residents sometimes attended instead + of going to church in the evening.</p> + + <p>"My soul doth magnify the Lord," they sang, following the + choir, of which the head-master was justly proud. And the + chaplain preached on the text, "Thou hast clothed me in scarlet, + yea, I have a goodly heritage," demonstrating that there was no + peculiar advantage about scarlet, but that dark blue would serve + quite as well for thankfulness, if only the children would live + up to its ideal.</p> + + <p>"This is a wonderful institution," said the chaplain's friend + after service, as they sat at tea by the fire. "It is a kind of + little Utopia in itself, a modern Phalanstery. How Plato would + have admired it! I'm sure he'd have enjoyed this afternoon's + service."</p> + + <p>"Yes, I daresay he would," said the chaplain. "But you must + excuse me for an hour or so. I make a point of running through + the infirmary and ophthalmic ward on Sundays. Oh yes, we have a + permanent ward for ophthalmia. Please make yourself comfortable + till I come back."</p> + + <p>His friend spent the time in jotting down heads for an essay + on the advantages of communal nurture for the young. He was a + lecturer on social subjects, and liked to be able to appeal to + experience in his lectures.</p> + + <h3>V</h3> + + <p>Next morning came a letter written in a large and careful + hand: "My dear Alfred,—I hope these few lines find you + well, as they don't leave me at present. I fell down the office + stairs last night and got a twist to my inside, so can't come + to-day. Kiss Liz from me, and tell her to be good. From your + loving mother, Mrs. Reeve."</p> + + <p>Day followed day, and the mother did not come. The children + lived on, almost without thought of change in the daily round, + the common task.</p> + + <p>It was early in Christmas week, and the female officers were + doing their best to excite merriment over the decorations. Snow + was falling, but the flakes, after hesitating for a moment, + thawed into sludge on the surface of the asphalte yard. Seeing + Alfred shivering about under the shed, the superintendent sent + him to the office for a plan of the school drainage, which had + lately been reconstructed on the most sanitary principles. The + boy found the plan on the table, under a little brass dog which + someone had given the superintendent as a paper-weight.</p> + + <p>"A dog!" he said to himself, taking it up carefully. It was a + setter with a front paw raised as though it sighted game. Alfred + stroked its back and felt its muzzle. Then he pushed it along the + polished table, and thought of all the things he could make it + do, if only he had it for a bit. He put it down, patted its head + again with his cold hand, and took up the plan. But somehow the + dog suddenly looked at him with a friendly smile, and seemed to + move its tail and silky ears. He caught it up, glanced round, + slipped it up his waistcoat, and ran as hard as he could go.</p> + + <p>"Thank you my boy," said the superintendent, taking the plan. + "You've not been here long, have you?"</p> + + <p>"Oh yes, sir, a tremenjus long time!" said Alfred, shaking all + over, whilst the dog's paw kept scratching through his shirt.</p> + + <p>"My memory isn't what it was," sighed the superintendent to + himself, and he thought of the days when he had struggled to + learn the name at least of every boy in his charge.</p> + + <p>That afternoon Alfred went into school filled with mixed + shame, apprehension, and importance, such as Eve might have felt + if she could have gone back to a girls' school with the apple. + Lessons began with a "combined recitation" from Shakespeare.</p> + + <p>"Now," said the teacher, "go on at 'Mercy on me.'"</p> + + <p>"'Methinks nobody should be sad but I,'" shouted seventy + mouths, opening like one in a unison of sing-song.</p> + + <p>"Now, you there!" cried the teacher. "You with your hand up + your waistcoat! You're not attending. Go on at 'Only for + wantonness.'"</p> + + <p>"'By my Christendom,'" Alfred blurted out, almost bringing dog + and all to light in his terror:</p> + <pre> + "'So I were out of prison and kept sheep, + I should be merry as the day is long. + And so I should be here, but that I doubt—'" +</pre> + + <p>"That'll do," said the teacher, "Now attend."</p> + + <p>The seventy joined in with "My uncle practises," and Alfred + turned from red to white.</p> + + <p>At tea the table jammed the hidden dog against his chest. When + he sought relief by sitting back over the form, Clem corrected + the irregular posture with a pin. At bedtime he undressed in + terror lest the creature should jump out and patter on the boards + as live things will. But at last the gas was turned off at the + main, and he cautiously groped for his pet among his little heap + of clothes under the bed. That night Clem's most outrageous story + could not attract him. He roamed Elysian fields with his dog. + Like all toys, it was something better than alive. And certainly + no mortal setter ever played so many parts. It hunted rats up the + nightgown sleeves, and caught burglars by the throat as they + stole into bed. It tracked murderers over the sheet's pathless + waste. It coursed deer up and down the hills and valleys of his + knees. It drove sheep along the lanes of the striped blanket. It + rescued drowning sailors from the vasty deep around the bed. It + dug out frozen travellers from the snowdrifts of the pillow. And + at last it slept soundly, kennelled between two warm hands, and + continued its adventures in dreams.</p> + + <p>At the first note of the bugle Alfred sprang up in bed, sure + that the drill-sergeant would come to pull him out first. As he + marched listlessly up and down the yard at drill, the wind blew + pitilessly, and the dog gnawed at him till he was red and sore. + At meals and in school he was sure that secret eyes were watching + him. He searched everywhere for some hole where he might hide the + thing. But the building was too irreproachable to shelter a + mouse.</p> + + <p>Next day was Christmas Eve. He had heard from the "permanents" + that at Christmas each child received an apple, an orange, and + twelve nuts in a paper bag. He hungered for them. Even the + ordinary meals had become the chief points of interest in life, + and the days were named from the dinners. He was forgetting the + scanty and uncertain food of his home, now that dinner came as + regularly as in a rich man's house or the Zoo. And Christmas + promised something far beyond the ordinary. There was to be pork. + At Christmas, at all events, he would lay himself out for perfect + enjoyment, undisturbed by terrors. He would take the dog back, + and be at peace again.</p> + + <p>Just before tea-time he saw the superintendent pass over to + the infants' side. He stole along the sounding corridors to the + office, and noiselessly opened the door. There was somebody + there. But it was only Looney, who, being able to count like a + calculating machine because no other thoughts disturbed him, had + been set to tie up in bundles of a hundred each certain pink and + blue envelopes which lay in heaps on the floor. Each envelope + contained a Christmas card with a text, and every child on + Christmas morning found one laid ready on its plate at breakfast. + A wholesale stationer supplied them, and a benevolent lady paid + the bill.</p> + + <p>"Leave me alone," cried Looney from habit, "I ain't doin' + nuffin."</p> + + <p>"All right," said Alfred airily; "I've only come to fetch + somethink."</p> + + <p>But just at that moment he heard the superintendent's footstep + coming along the passage. There was no escape and no time for + thought. With the instinct of terror he put the dog down + noiselessly beside Looney on the carpet, drew quickly back, and + stood rigid beside the door as it opened.</p> + + <p>"Hullo!" said the superintendent, "what are you doing + here?"</p> + + <p>"Nothink, sir, only somethink," Alfred stammered.</p> + + <p>"What's the meaning of that?" said the superintendent.</p> + + <p>"I wanted to speak to that boy very pertikler, sir," said + Alfred.</p> + + <p>The superintendent looked at Looney. But Looney in turning + round had caught sight of the dog at his side, and was gazing at + it open-mouthed, as a countryman gazes at a pigeon produced from + a conjuror's hat. Suddenly he pounced upon it as though he was + afraid it would fly away, and kept it close hidden under his + hands.</p> + + <p>"Oh, that's what you wanted to speak about so particular, is + it?" said the superintendent. "That paperweight's been lost these + two or three days, and it was you who stole it, was it?"</p> + + <p>"Please sir," said Alfred, beginning to cry, "'e never done + it, and I didn't mean no 'arm."</p> + + <p>"Oh, enough of that," said the superintendent. "I've got other + things to do besides standing here arguing with you all night. + I'll send for you both at bed-time, and then I'll teach you to + come stealing about here, you young thieves. Now drop that, and + clear out!" he added more angrily to Looney, who was still + chuckling with astonishment over his prize.</p> + + <p>So they were both well beaten that night, and Looney never + knew why, but took it as an incident in his chain of dim + sensations. Next day they alone did not receive either the + Christmas card or the paper bag. But after dinner Clem had them + up before him, and gave them each a nutshell and a piece of + orange-peel, adding the paternal advice: "Look 'ere, my sons, if + you two can't pinch better than that, you'd best turn up pinchin' + altogether till you see yer father do it."</p> + + <p>On Boxing Day Mrs. Reeve at last contrived to come again. She + was informed that she could not see her son because he was kept + indoors for stealing.</p> + + <p>After this the machinery of the institution had its own way + with him. It was as though he were passed through each of its + scientific appliances in turn—the steam washing machine, + the centrifugal steam wringer, the hot-air drying horse, the + patent mangle, the gas ovens, the heating pipes, the spray baths, + the model bakery, and the central engine. After drifting through + the fourth standard he was sent every other day to a workshop to + fit him for after life. Looney joined a squad of little gardeners + which shuffled about the walks, two deep, with spades shouldered + like rifles. Alfred was sent to the shoemaker's, as there was a + vacancy there. He did such work as he was afraid not to do, and + all went well as long as nothing happened.</p> + + <p>Only two events marked the lapse of time. Mrs. Reeve did not + recover from the "twist in her inside." In answer to her appeal, + a brother-in-law in the north took charge of her two remaining + children, and then she died. It was about three years after + Alfred had entered the school. He was sorry; but the next day + came, and the next, and there was no visible change. The bell + rang: breakfast, dinner, and tea succeeded each other. It was + difficult to imagine that he had suffered any loss.</p> + + <p>The other event was more startling, and it helped to + obliterate the last thought of his mother's death. After a brief + interval of parental guidance, Clem had returned to the school + for about the tenth time. As usual he devoted his vivacious + intellect chiefly to Looney, in whose progress he expressed an + almost grandmotherly interest. Looney sputtered and made sport as + usual, till one night an unbaptized idea was somehow wafted into + the limbo of his brain. He was counting over the faggots in the + great store-room under his dormitory when the thought came. Soon + afterwards he went upstairs, and quietly got into bed. It was a + model dormitory. So many cubic feet of air were allowed for each + child. The temperature was regulated according to thermometers + hung on the wall. Windows and ventilators opened on each side of + the room to give a thorough draught across the top. The beds had + spring mattresses of steel, and three striped blankets each, and + spotted red and white counterpanes such as give pauper + dormitories such a cheerful look. Looney and Clem slept side by + side. Before midnight the dormitory was full of suffocating + smoke. The alarm was raised. For a time it was thought that all + the boys had escaped down an iron staircase lately erected + outside the building. But when the flames had been put out in the + store-room below, the bodies of Looney and Clem were found + clasped together on Clem's bed. Looney's arms were twisted very + tightly around Clem's neck, and people said he had perished in + trying to save his friend. Next Sunday the chaplain preached on + the text, "And in death they were not divided." Their names were + inscribed side by side on a little monument set up to commemorate + the event, and underneath was carved a passage from the Psalms: + "Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in + vain."</p><a name="EPI"><!-- EPI --></a> + + <h3>EPILOGUE</h3> + + <p>At last Alfred's discharge paper came from the workhouse, and + he trudged down the road to the station, carrying a wooden box + with his outfit, valued at £7. He had been in charge of the + State for six years, and had quite forgotten the outside world. + His nurture and education had cost the ratepayers £180. He + was now going to a home provided by benevolent persons as a kind + of featherbed to catch the falling workhouse boy. Here the + manager found him a situation with a shoemaker, since shoemaking + was his trade, but after a week's trial his master called one + evening at the home.</p> + + <p>"Look 'ere, Mr. Waterton," he said to the manager. "I took on + that there boy Reeve to do yer a kindness, but it ain't no manner + of good. I suppose the boy 'ad parents of some sort, most likely + bad, but 'e seems to me kind of machine-made, same as a Leicester + boot. I can't make out whether you'd best call 'im a sucklin' + duck or a dummercyle. And as for bootmakin'—I only wish 'e + knowed nothing at all."</p> + + <p>So now Alfred is pushing a truck for an oilman in the Isle of + Dogs at a shilling a day. But the oilman thinks him "kind of + dormant," and it is possible that he may be sent back to the + school for a time. Next year he will be sixteen, and entitled to + the privileges of a "pauper in his own right."</p> + + <p>Meanwhile little Lizzie is slowly getting her outfit ready for + her departure also. A society of thoughtful and energetic ladies + will spend much time and money in placing her out in service at + £6 a year. And, as the pious lady said to herself when she + wrote out a good character for her servant, God help the poor + mistress who gets her!</p> + + <p>But in all countries there is a constant demand of one kind or + another for pretty girls, even for the foster-children of the + State.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p><a name="RULE4_17"><!-- RULE4 17 --></a><a name= + "149"></a> + + <h2>XVIII</h2> + + <center> + THE JUDGMENT OF PARIS + </center> + + <p>Mr. Clarkson, of the Education Office, was coming back from a + Garden Suburb, where the conversation had turned upon Eugenics. + Photographs of the most beautiful Greek statues had stood + displayed along the overmantel; Walter Pater's praise of the + Parthenon frieze had been read; and a discussion had arisen upon + the comparative merits of masculine and feminine beauty, during + which Mr. Clarkson maintained a modest silence. He did, however, + support the contention of his hostess that the human form was the + most beautiful of created things, and he shared her regret that + it is so seldom seen in London to full advantage. He also agreed + with the general conclusion that, in the continuance of the race, + quality was the first thing to be considered, and that the chief + aim of civilisation should be to restore Hellenic beauty by + selecting parentage for the future generation.</p> + + <p>Meditating over the course of the discussion, and regretting, + as he always did, that he had not played a distinguished part in + it, Mr. Clarkson became conscious of a certain dissatisfaction. + "Should not one question," he asked himself, "the possibility of + creating beauty by preconcerted design? Conscious and deliberate + endeavours to manipulate the course of Nature often frustrate + their own purpose, and the action of cultivated intelligence + might conduce to a delicate peculiarity rather than a beauty + widely diffused. Such a sense for form as pervaded Greece must + spring, unconscious as a flower, from a passion for the beautiful + implanted in the heart of the populace themselves."</p> + + <p>His motor-'bus was passing through a region unknown to + him—one of those regions where raw vegetables and meat, + varied with crockery and old books, exuberate into booths and + stalls along the pavement, and salesmen shout to the heedless + passer-by prophetic warnings of opportunities eternally lost. + Contemplating the scene with a sensitive loathing against which + his better nature struggled in vain, Mr. Clarkson had his gaze + suddenly arrested by a flaunting placard which announced:</p> + <pre> + TO-NIGHT AT 10.30! + + UNEXAMPLED ATTRACTION!! + + OUR BEAUTY SHOW!!! + + UNEQUALLED IN THE WORLD! + + PRIZES OF UNPRECEDENTED VALUE!! + + ENCOURAGE HOME LOVELINESS!!! +</pre> + + <p>"The very thing!" thought Mr. Clarkson, rapidly descending + from his seat. "Sometimes one is almost compelled to believe in a + Divinity that shapes our criticism of life."</p> + + <p>"Shillin'," said the box-office man, when Mr. Clarkson asked + for a stall. "Evenin' dress hoptional" And Mr. Clarkson entered + the vast theatre.</p> + + <p>It was crammed throughout. Every seat was taken, and excited + crowds of straw-hatted youths, elderly men, and sweltering women + stood thick at the back of the pit and down the sides of the + stalls. "'Not here, O Apollo,'" quoted Mr. Clarkson sadly, as he + squeezed on to the end of a seat beside a big man who had spread + himself over two. "But still, even in the lower middle, beauty + may have its place."</p> + + <p>"Warm," said the big man conversationally.</p> + + <p>"Unavoidably, with so fine an audience," replied Mr. Clarkson, + with his grateful smile for any sign of friendliness.</p> + + <p>"Like it warm?" asked the big man, turning upon Mr. Clarkson, + as though he had said he preferred babies scolloped.</p> + + <p>"Well, I rather enjoy the sense of common humanity," said Mr. + Clarkson, apologising.</p> + + <p>"Enjoy common humanity?" said the big man, mopping his head. + "Can't say I do. 'Cos why, I was born perticler."</p> + + <p>For a moment Mr. Clarkson was tempted to claim a certain + fastidiousness himself. But he refrained, and only remarked, + "What <i>is</i> a Beauty Show?"</p> + + <p>The big man turned slowly to contemplate him again, and then, + slowly turning back, regarded his empty pipe with sad + attention.</p> + + <p>"'Ear that, Albert?" he whispered at last, leaning over to a + smart little fellow in front, who was dressed in a sportsmanlike + manner, and displayed a large brass horseshoe and hunting crop + stuck sideways in his tie.</p> + + <p>"The ignorance of the upper classes is somethink shockin'," + the sportsman replied, imitating Mr. Clarkson's Oxford accent. + Then turning back half an eye upon Mr. Clarkson, like a horse + that watches its rider, he added, "You wait and see, old cock, + same as the Honourable Asquith."</p> + + <p>"Isn't the retort a trifle middle-aged?" suggested Mr. + Clarkson, with friendly cheerfulness.</p> + + <p>"Who's that he's callin' middle-aged?" cried a girl, sharply + facing round, and removing the sportsman's arm from her + waist.</p> + + <p>"I only meant," pleaded Mr. Clarkson, "that an obsolescent + jest is, like middle-age, occasionally vapid, possessing neither + the interest of antiquity nor the freshness of surprise."</p> + + <p>"Very well, then," said the girl, flouncing back and seeking + Albert's arm again; "you just keep your tongue to yourself, same + as me mine, or <i>I'll</i> surprise you!"</p> + + <p>At that moment the rising curtain revealed a cinematograph + scene, representing a bull-dog which stole a mutton chop, was at + once pursued by a policeman and the village population, rushed + down streets and round corners, leapt through a lawyer's office, + ran up the side of a house, followed by all his pursuers, and was + finally discovered in a child's cot, where the child, with one + arm round his neck, was endeavouring to make him say grace before + meat. The audience was profoundly moved. Cries of "Bless his + 'eart!" and "Good old Ogden!" rang through the house.</p> + + <p>"Great!" said the big man.</p> + + <p>"It illustrates," replied Mr. Clarkson, "the popular sympathy + with the fugitive, combined with the public's love of vicarious + piety."</p> + + <p>"Fine dog," said the sportsmanly Albert.</p> + + <p>"It was a clever touch," Mr. Clarkson agreed, "to introduce so + hideous a creature immediately before a Beauty Show. The strange + thing is that the dog's ugliness only enhanced the sympathetic + affection of the audience. Yet beauty leads us by a single + hair."</p> + + <p>"You wait before you start talkin' about beauty or hair + either!" said Albert.</p> + + <p>The curtain then rose upon a long green-baize table placed at + the back of the stage. Behind it were sitting eleven respectable + and portly gentlemen in black coats. One in the centre, venerable + for gold eye-glasses and grey side-whiskers, acted as + chairman.</p> + + <p>"Are those the beauties?" asked Mr. Clarkson ironically, + recalling the Garden Suburb discussion as to the superiority of + the masculine form.</p> + + <p>"'Ear that, Albert?" said the big man again. "Judges," he + added, in solemn pity.</p> + + <p>"On what qualification are they selected as critics?" Mr. + Clarkson asked.</p> + + <p>"Give prizes," said the big man.</p> + + <p>"That qualifies them for Members of Parliament rather than + judges of beauty," said Mr. Clarkson, but he was shown that on + the table before each judge stood a case of plated articles, a + vase, a candlestick, or something, which he had contributed as a + prize.</p> + + <p>An authoritative person in a brown suit and a heavy + watch-chain festooned across his waistcoat came forward and was + greeted with applause, varied by shouts of "Bluebeard!" + "Crippen!" and "Father Mormon!" In the brief gasps of silence he + explained the rules of the competition, remarking that the + entries were already unusually numerous, the standard of beauty + exceptionally high and accordingly he called upon the audience by + their applause or the reverse to give the judges every assistance + in allotting as desirable a set of prizes as he had ever + handled.</p> + + <p>"The first prize," he went on, "is a silver-plated coffee-set, + presented by our ardent and lifelong supporter, Mr. Joseph Croke, + proprietor of the celebrated grocery store, who now occupies the + chair. The second prize is presented by our eminent butcher, Mr. + James Collins, who considers his own stock unsuitable for the + occasion, and has therefore substituted a turquoise necklace, + equivalent in value to a prime sirloin. For third prize Mr. + Watkins, the conspicuous hairdresser of the High Street, offers a + full-sized plait of hair of the same colour as worn by the + lady."</p> + + <p>"Thoughtful!" observed the big man approvingly.</p> + + <p>"He could hardly give black hair to a yellow-haired woman," + Mr. Clarkson replied.</p> + + <p>"I said thoughtful," the big man repeated; "always thoughtful + is Watkins, more especial towards females."</p> + + <p>"Besides these superb rewards," the showman continued, "the + rest of the judges present sixteen consolation prizes, and Mr. + Crawley, the eminently respected provision-merchant round the + corner, invites all competitors to supper at twelve o'clock + to-night, without distinction of personal appearance."</p> + + <p>"Jolly good blow-out!" said Albert's girl, with + satisfaction.</p> + + <p>"Rather a gross reward for beauty," Mr. Clarkson observed.</p> + + <p>"And why shouldn't nice-lookin' people have a good blow-out, + same as you?" inquired the girl, with a flash of indignation. + "They deserves it more, I 'ope!"</p> + + <p>"I entirely agree," said Mr. Clarkson; "my remark was + Victorian."</p> + + <p>A babel of yells, screams, and howlings greeted the appearance + of the two first candidates. The Master of the Ceremonies led + them forward, by the right and left hand. Pointing at one, he + shouted her name, and a wild outburst of mingled applause and + derision rent the air. Shouting again, he pointed at the other, + and exactly the same turmoil of noise arose. Then he faced the + girls round to the judges, and they instantly became conscious of + the backs of their dresses, and put their hands up to feel if + their blouses were hooked.</p> + + <p>But the chairman, with responsible solemnity, having + contemplated the girls through his eyeglasses, holding his head + slightly on one side, briefly consulted the other judges, and + signalled one girl to pass behind the table on his right, the + other on his left. The one on his left was recognised as winner, + and the house applauded with tumult, the supporters of the + defeated yielding to success.</p> + + <p>Before the applause had died, two more girls were led forward, + and the storm of shouts and yells arose again. One of the + candidates was dressed in pink, with a shiny black belt round her + waist, a huge pink bow in her fluffy, light hair, and white + stockings very visible. When the Master shouted her name, she + cocked her head on one side, giggled, and writhed her shoulders. + Cries of "Saucy!" "Mabel!" "Ain't I a nice little girl?" and + "There's a little bit of all right!" saluted her, and the + approval was beyond question. He pointed to the other, and a rage + of execration burst forth, "O Ginger!" "Ain't she got a cheek?" + "Lock her up for the night!" "Oh, you giddy old thing!" were the + chief cries that Mr. Clarkson could distinguish in the general + howling. A band of youths behind him began singing, "Tell me the + old, old story." In the gallery they sang "Sit down, sit down," + to the tune of the Westminster chimes. Half the theatre joined in + one song, half in the other, and the singing ended in cat-calls, + whistles, and shrieks of mockery. The red-haired girl stood pale + and motionless, her eyes fixed on some point of vacancy beyond + the yelling crowd.</p> + + <p>"Terribly painful position for a woman!" said Mr. + Clarkson.</p> + + <p>"Ill-advised," said the big man, shaking his head; "very + ill-advised."</p> + + <p>"Good lesson for her," remarked Albert. "These shows teach the + ugly ones to know their place. Improve the breed these shows + do—same as 'orse-racing." And having shouted "Ginger!" + again, he added, "Bandy!"</p> + + <p>"Ain't it wicked for a woman to have such an imperence?" cried + Albert's girl, joining in the yell as the candidate was marched + off to the side of the losers.</p> + + <p>"Isn't this all a little personal?" Mr. Clarkson protested; "a + trifle—what should I say?—Oriental, perhaps?"</p> + + <p>"She don't know how hidjus she is," the big man explained. "No + female don't."</p> + + <p>"Nor no man neither, I should 'ope!" said Albert's girl, and + wriggling out of the encircling arm, she suddenly sprang up, put + her hat straight, and forced her way towards the stage.</p> + + <p>"Now the fat's on!" observed the big man, with a foreboding + sigh.</p> + + <p>"You may pull her 'ead off," Albert answered resignedly. + "There ain't no 'oldin' of her."</p> + + <p>"Dangerous, very dangerous!" whispered the big man to Mr. + Clarkson. "A terror is Albert when she's beat! Bloodshed frequent + outside! She's always beat—always starts, and always + beat."</p> + + <p>"Celtic, I suppose," Mr. Clarkson observed.</p> + + <p>"Dangerous, very dangerous!" repeated the big man with a + sigh.</p> + + <p>And so, indeed, it proved. Pair after pair were led forward, + and when the turn of Albert's girl came, she won the heat easily. + Then the process of selection among the forty or fifty of the + first set of winners began, and she won the second heat. At last + the competitors were reduced to six, and she stood on the right, + in line with the others, while the showman pointed to each in + turn, and called for the judgment of the audience. Then, indeed, + passion rose to hurricane. Tumultuous storms of admiration and + fury received each girl. Again and again each was presented, and + the same seething chaos of sound ensued. The whole theatre stood + howling together, waving hats and handkerchiefs, blowing horns + and whistles, carried beyond all limits of reason by the rage for + the beautiful.</p> + + <p>Albert gathered his friends round him, conducted them like an + orchestra, and made them yell, "The one on the right! The one on + the right! We want the one on the right, or well never go home + to-night!"</p> + + <p>"Shout!" he screamed to Mr. Clarkson, who was contemplating + the scene with his habitual interest.</p> + + <p>"Certainly, I will, though the lady is not a Dreadnought," Mr. + Clarkson replied soothingly, and he began saying "Brava! Brava!" + quite loud. Instantly, Albert's opponents caught up the word, and + echoed it in mockery, imitating his correct pronunciation. + Mincing syllables of "Brava! Brava!" were heard on every + side.</p> + + <p>"You just let me catch you booin' my girl!" shouted Albert, + springing in frenzy upon the seat, and shaking his fist close to + Mr. Clarkson's eyes. "You let me catch you! Ever since you came + in, you've been layin' odds against my girl, you and your rotten + talk!"</p> + + <p>"On the contrary," replied Mr. Clarkson, smiling, "even apart + from aesthetic grounds, I should be delighted to see her + victorious."</p> + + <p>"Then put up your dukes or take that on your silly jaw," cried + Albert, preparing to strike.</p> + + <p>"The beautiful is always hard," Mr. Clarkson observed, still + smiling.</p> + + <p>"Best come away with me, mister," said the big man, pushing + between them. "Avoid unpleasantness."</p> + + <p>"Race as good as over," he added, as he forced Mr. Clarkson + down the gangway. "Places: pink first, 'cos she puts her 'ead a' + one side; factory girl second, 'cos they likes her bein' dressed + common; blue third, 'cos of her openwork stockin's; Albert's girl + nowhere, 'cos she never is."</p> + + <p>They mounted one of the cars that are fed on the County + Council's lightning.</p> + + <p>"Certainly a remarkable phase," Mr. Clarkson observed, + "although I concluded that, in regard to beauty, the voice of the + people is not necessarily identical with the voice of God."</p> + + <p>"Coachman!" said the big man, calling down to the driver, and + imitating the voice of a duchess. "Coachman! drive slowly twice + round the Park, and then 'ome."</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p><a name="159"></a> <a name="RULE4_18"> + <!-- RULE4 18 --></a> + + <h2>XIX</h2> + + <center> + ABDUL'S RETREAT + </center> + + <p>"No nasty shells here, Sire! No more screaming shells, and we + are both alive!" said the jester, lying on the ground at his + master's feet.</p> + + <p>It was in May 1909, and the large room was littered with + bundles and various kinds of luggage. Several women, covered from + head to foot in long cloaks and veils, lay about the floor or on + the divans round the walls, hardly distinguishable from the + bundles except that now and then they moaned or uttered some + brief lamentation. From other parts of the house came sounds of + hammering and the hurried swish of cleaning walls. From the long + windows a deep and quiet harbour could be seen, and a few orange + lights were beginning to glimmer from the quay and anchored + boats. Across the purple of the water rose the blue mass of + Olympus, its craggy edges sharp against the sunset sky, and over + Olympus a filmy cloud was blown at intervals across the crescent + moon.</p> + + <p>"No more shells, Sire!" the jester kept repeating, and at the + word "shells" the women groaned. But the man whom he addressed + was silent. Since dawn he had said nothing.</p> + + <p>"Last night no one thought we should be alive this evening, + Sire," said the jester. "We have gained a day of life. Who could + have given us a finer present?"</p> + + <p>The half-moon disappeared behind Olympus, and out of the + gathering darkness in the chamber a voice was at last heard: + "They have killed other Sultans," it said. "They will kill me + too."</p> + + <p>At the sound of the voice the women stirred and whispered. One + cried, "I am hungry;" another said, "Water, O give me water!" but + no one answered her.</p> + + <p>"Death is coming," the voice went on. "Every minute for thirty + years I have escaped death, and to-night it will come. What is so + terrible as death?"</p> + + <p>"One thing is more terrible," said the jester, "it is death's + brother, fear."</p> + + <p>"When death is quick, they say you feel nothing," said the + voice, "but they lie. The shock that stops life—the crash + of the bullet into the brain, the stab of the long, cold dagger + piercing the heart between the ribs, the slice of the axe through + the neck, the stifling of breath when someone kicks away the + stool and the noose runs tight—do you not feel that? To + think of life ending! One moment I am alive, I am well, I can + talk and eat; next moment life is going—going—and it + is no use to struggle. Thought stops, breath stops, I can see and + hear no more. One second, and I am nothing for ever."</p> + + <p>"Your Majesty is pleased to overlook Paradise," said the + jester.</p> + + <p>"Let me live! Only let me live!" the voice continued. "I am + not old. Many men have lived twenty or even thirty years longer + than I have. They say when you are really old death comes like + sleep. Nothing is so terrible as death. That is why I have shown + myself merciful in my power. What other Sultan has kept his own + brother alive for thirty years? Did I not give him a great palace + to live in, and gardens where he could walk with few to watch his + safety? Did I not send him every day delicate food from my own + table? Did I not grant him such women as he desired, and books to + read, and musicians to delight his soul? His were the joys of + Paradise, and he was alive as well. He had life—the one + thing needful, the one thing that can never be restored! And now + my own brother turns against me. He will let them take my life. + The shock of death will strike me down, and I shall be nothing + any more."</p> + + <p>"Truly," said the jester, "the joys of the Prophet's Paradise + are nothing to be compared with the blessedness of your Majesty's + happy reign. Yet men say that where there is life there is + sorrow."</p> + + <p>"Have I not watched over my people? Have I not upheld the city + against the enemy? Have I not toiled? What pleasure have I given + myself? When have I been drunk with wine as the Infidels are + drunken? What excess of delight have I taken with the women sent + me as presents year by year? They dwelt in their beautiful + chambers, and I saw them no more. I have neglected no duty to God + or man. Week by week I risked my life to worship God. From dawn + till evening I have laboured, taking no rest and seeking no + pleasure, though the right to all pleasure was mine. Whatever + passed in my Empire, I knew it. Whatever was whispered in secret, + I heard. The breath of treason could not escape, me, and where + treachery thrust out its head to look, my sword was ready."</p> + + <p>"Truly, Sire," said the jester, "from the days of Midhat it + was ready, and there are peacemakers more silent than the + sword."</p> + + <p>"The Powers of the Infidel stood waiting. Like vultures round + a dying sheep they stood waiting round the dominions of Islam. + Here and there one snatched a living piece and devoured it as + though it were carrion, while the others screamed with gluttonous + fury and threatened with wings and claws."</p> + + <p>"Ah, Sire," said the jester, "you have shown us how these + Christians love one another!"</p> + + <p>"One war," the voice went on, "one war I have lost, but the + enemy did not receive the fruits of victory. In one war I was + victorious, and the Crescent would again be flying over Athens if + the Infidel Powers had not barred the way. I have not lived + without glory. From east to west the moon of Islam shines + brighter now. The sons of Islam are gathering side by side. They + stand again for the glory of the Prophet and his Khalif. I see + the brown peoples of Asia, I see the black hordes from African + deserts and forests. They pass quick messages. They pledge their + faith on the Sacred Book. They issue out again to the conquest of + the world, and it is I who have gathered the might of Islam into + one hand. It is I who have swept away the princes, the ministers, + the governors, and the agents who divided the power of Islam and + squandered its riches. It is I who have stored up wealth for the + great day when the sword of Islam shall again be drawn."</p> + + <p>"Forget not, Sire," said the jester, "the names of Fehim and + Izzet, who stood beside you and also stored up the wealth of + Islam against the coming of that great day. If I could find where + it is stored now, Islam would be more secure, and I less + hungry."</p> + + <p>"I held the city of the world," said the voice from the + darkness: "I kept the breath of life moving throughout the Empire + when all said it must perish. For thirty years my one brain + outmatched the diplomacy of all the Embassies. Emperors have been + proud the dominions of Islam. Here and there one snatched a + living piece and devoured it as though it were carrion, while the + others screamed with gluttonous fury and threatened with wings + and claws."</p> + + <p>"Ah, Sire," said the jester, "you have shown us how these + Christians love one another!"</p> + + <p>"One war," the voice went on, "one war I have lost, but the + enemy did not receive the fruits of victory. In one war I was + victorious, and the Crescent would again be flying over Athens if + the Infidel Powers had not barred the way. I have not lived + without glory. From east to west the moon of Islam shines + brighter now. The sons of Islam are gathering side by side. They + stand again for the glory of the Prophet and his Khalif. I see + the brown peoples of Asia, I see the black hordes from African + deserts and forests. They pass quick messages. They pledge their + faith on the Sacred Book. They issue out again to the conquest of + the world, and it is I who have gathered the might of Islam into + one hand. It is I who have swept away the princes, the ministers, + the governors, and the agents who divided the power of Islam and + squandered its riches. It is I who have stored up wealth for the + great day when the sword of Islam shall again be drawn."</p> + + <p>"Forget not, Sire," said the jester, "the names of Fehim and + Izzet, who stood beside you and also stored up the wealth of + Islam against the coming of that great day. If I could find where + it is stored now, Islam would be more secure, and I less + hungry."</p> + + <p>"I held the city of the world," said the voice from the + darkness: "I kept the breath of life moving throughout the Empire + when all said it must perish. For thirty years my one brain + outmatched the diplomacy of all the Embassies. Emperors have been + proud to visit my palace. Kings have called me venerable. I have + worshipped God, I have protected my people, and now I must + die."</p> + + <p>"Ah, Sire," said the jester, "even in your blessed reign men + have died. Their life was sweet, but they managed to die, and + what is so common can hardly be intolerable. People have even + been murdered before, and if together with the women we should + now be murdered in the dark—"</p> + + <p>He was interrupted by the cries of the women. "We shall be + murdered—murdered in the dark," they moaned. "We knew how + it would end! Death is the honour of a Sultan's wives."</p> + + <p>A rifle-shot sounded from the street and, dark in the + darkness, a form cowered back upon the divan, making the + draperies shake.</p> + + <p>"They are quick," he gasped. "They are always so quick! They + do not leave time for my plans. The sword of Islam is at work in + Asia now. My orders were to slay and slay. They must be dead by + now—thousands of them dead—thousands of cursed men + and women—as many thousands as once made the quays so + red—as many thousands as in the churches and villages long + ago, or on the mountains of Monastir. Europe will not endure it. + The Powers will intervene. They will save my life. They will come + to set me free. They will give me back my power—my power + and my life. I alone can govern this people. They know it. I am + the only chance of peace. I have toiled without ceasing. I have + never harmed a living soul. They themselves say I am merciful. It + is no pleasure to me to have people killed. The Powers will come + to save me. They will not let me die. Why are those rebels so + quick? They do not give me time, and all my plans were ready! Far + down in Asia the killing has begun. Why does not the telegraph + speak? The Powers will intervene. They will not let me die."</p> + + <p>"Sire," said the jester, "people are lighting lamps in the + street. They are firing guns. They are crying 'Long live the new + Sultan!' Your Majesty's brother is proclaimed."</p> + + <p>"I am the Sultan," cried the voice; "I am the Khalif, I am the + successor of the Prophet. Tell them I am the successor of the + Prophet! Tell them they dare not kill me!"</p> + + <p>"Sire," said the jester, "greatness shares the common fate. + The will of the Eternal is above all monarchs."</p> + + <p>The firing of many rifles was heard in the street below. The + door of the large chamber was flung wide, open, and a flood of + yellow light revealed the piled up luggage, the muffled forms of + women, and a dark little figure curled upon the divan, his head + hidden in his arms.</p> + + <p>"Oh, be merciful," he cried. "Spare my life, only spare my + life! What, would you kill a ruler like me? Would you kill an + old, old man?"</p> + + <p>"Your Highness," said an officer in a quiet voice, "dinner is + served."</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p><a name="RULE4_19"><!-- RULE4 19 --></a><a name= + "165"></a> + + <h2>XX</h2> + + <center> + "NATIVES" + </center> + + <p>No doubt the Gods laughed when Macaulay went to India. Among + the millions who breathed religion, and whose purpose in life was + the contemplation of eternity, a man intruded himself who could + not even meditate, and regarded all religion, outside the covers + of the Bible, as a museum of superstitious relics. Into the midst + of peoples of an immemorial age, which seemed to them as unworthy + of reckoning as the beating wings of a parrot's flight from one + temple to the next, there came a man in whose head the dates of + European history were arranged in faultless compartments, and to + whom the past presented itself as a series of Ministerial crises, + diversified by oratory and political songs. To Indians the word + progress meant the passage of the soul through aeons of + reincarnation towards a blissful absorption into the + inconceivable void of indistinctive existence, as when at last a + jar is broken and the space inside it returns to space. For + Macaulay the word progress called up a bustling picture of + mechanical inventions, an increasing output of manufactured + goods, a larger demand for improving literature, and a growth of + political clubs to promulgate the blessings of Reform. The Indian + supposed success in life to lie in patiently following the labour + and the observances of his fathers before him, dwelling in the + same simple home, suppressing all earthly desire, and saving a + little off the daily rice or the annual barter in the hope that, + when the last furrow was driven, or the last brazen pot hammered + out, there might still be time for the glory of pilgrimage and + the sanctification of a holy river. To Macaulay, success in life + was the going shop, the growing trade, a seat on the Treasury + Bench, the applause of listening Senates, and the eligible + residence of deserving age.</p> + + <p>Thus equipped, he was instructed by the Reform Government + which he worshipped, to mark out the lines for Indian education + upon a basis of the wisdom common to East and West. Though others + were dubious, he never hesitated. From childhood he had never + ceased to praise the goodness and the grace that made the happy + English child. As far as in him lay, he would extend that + gracious advantage to the teeming populations of India. In spite + of accidental differences of colour, due to climatic influences, + they too should grow as happy English children, lisping of the + poet's mountain lamb, and hearing how Horatius kept the bridge in + the brave days of old. They should advance to a knowledge of + Party history from the Restoration down to the Reform Bill. The + great masters of the progressive pamphlet, such as Milton and + Burke, should be placed in their hands. Those who displayed + scientific aptitude should be instructed in the miracle of the + steam-engine, and economic minds should early acquaint themselves + with the mysteries of commerce, upon which, as upon the Bible, + the greatness of their conquerors was founded. Under such + influence, the soul of India would be elevated from superstitious + degradation, factories would supersede laborious handicrafts, + artists, learning to paint like young Landseer, would perpetuate + the appearance of the Viceregal party with their horses and dogs + on the Calcutta racecourse, and it might be that in the course of + years the estimable Whigs of India would return their own + majority to a Front Bench in Government House.</p> + + <p>It was an enviable vision—enviable in its imperturbable + self-confidence. It no more occurred to Macaulay to question the + benefaction of English education and the supremacy of England's + commerce and Constitution than it occurred to him to question the + contemptible inferiority of the race among whom he was living, + and for whom he mainly legislated. In his essay on Warren + Hastings he wrote:</p> + <pre> + "A war of Bengalis against Englishmen was like a war of + sheep against wolves, of men against demons.... Courage, + independence, veracity, are qualities to which his constitution + and his situation are equally unfavourable.... All those arts + which are the natural defence of the weak are more familiar + to this subtle race than to the Ionian of the time of Juvenal, + or to the Jew of the Dark Ages. What the horns are to the + buffalo, what the paw is to the tiger, what the sting is to the + bee, what beauty, according to the old Greek song, is to woman, + deceit is to the Bengali." +</pre> + + <p>And yet, impenetrable as Macaulay's own ignorance of the + Indian peoples remained, his Minute of 1835, "to promote English + literature and science," and to decree that "all funds + appropriated for education should be employed in English + education alone," has marked in Indian history an era from which + the present situation of the country dates.</p> + + <p>It is true that the education has not gone far. The Government + spends less than twopence per head upon it; less than a tenth of + what it spends<a name="168"></a> on the army. Only ten per cent. + of the males in India can write or read; only seven per thousand + of the females. But, thanks chiefly to Macaulay's conviction that + if everyone were like himself the world would be happy and + glorious, there are now about a million Indians (or one in three + hundred) who can to some extent communicate with each other in + English as a common tongue, and there are some thousands who have + become acquainted with the history of English liberties, and the + writings of a few political thinkers. Together with railways, the + new common language has increased the sense of unity; the study + of our political thinkers has created the sense of freedom, and + the knowledge of our history has shown how stern and prolonged a + struggle may be required to win that possession which our + thinkers have usually regarded as priceless. "The one great + contribution of the West to the Indian Nationalist movement," + writes Mr. Ramsay Macdonald with emphasis, "is its theory of + political liberty."</p> + + <p>It is a contribution of which we may well be proud—we of + whom Wordsworth wrote that we must be free or die. Whatever the + failures of unsympathetic self-esteem, Macaulay's spirit could + point to this contribution as sufficient counterbalance. From the + works of such teachers as Mill, Cobbett, Bagehot, and Morley, the + mind of India has for the first time derived the principles of + free government. But of all its teachers, I suppose the greatest + and most influential has been Burke. Since we wished to encourage + the love of freedom and the knowledge of constitutional + government, no choice could have been happier than that which + placed the writings and speeches of Burke upon the curriculum of + the five Indian universities. Fortunately for India,<a name= + "169"></a> the value of Burke has been eloquently defined by Lord + Morley, who has himself contributed more to the future + constitutional freedom of India than any other Secretary of + State. In one passage in his well-known volume on Burke, he has + spoken of his "vigorous grasp of masses of compressed detail, his + wide illumination from great principles of human experience, the + strong and masculine feeling for the two great political ends of + Justice and Freedom, his large and generous interpretation of + expediency, the morality, the vision, the noble temper." Writing + of Burke's three speeches on the American War, Lord Morley + declares:</p> + <pre> + "It is no exaggeration to say that they compose the most + perfect manual in our literature, or in any literature, for one + who approaches the study of public affairs, whether for knowledge + or for practice. They are an example without fault of + all the qualities which the critic, whether a theorist or an + actor, of great political situations should strive by night and + day to possess." +</pre> + + <p>For political education, one could hardly go further than + that. "The most perfect manual in any literature"—let us + remember that decisive praise. Or if it be said that students + require style rather than politics, let us recall what Lord + Morley has written of Burke's style:</p> + <pre> + "A magnificence and elevation of expression place him + among the highest masters of literature, in one of its highest + and most commanding senses." +</pre> + + <p>But it is frequently asserted that what Indian students + require is, not political knowledge, or literary power, but a + strengthening of character, an austerity both of language and + life, such as might<a name="170"></a> counteract the natural + softness, effeminacy, and the tendency to deception which + Macaulay and Lord Curzon so freely informed them of. For such + strengthening and austerity, on Lord Morley's showing, no teacher + could be more serviceable than Burke:</p> + <pre> + "The reader is speedily conscious," he writes, "of the precedence + in Burke of the facts of morality and conduct, of the + many interwoven affinities of human affection and historical + relation, over the unreal necessities of mere abstract logic.... + Besides thus diffusing a strong light over the awful tides of + human circumstance, Burke has the sacred gift of inspiring men + to use a grave diligence in caring for high things, and in making + their lives at once rich and austere." +</pre> + + <p>Here are the considered judgments of a man who, by political + experience, by literary power, and the study of conduct, has made + himself an unquestioned judge in the affairs of State, in + letters, and in morality. As examples of the justice of his + eulogy let me quote a few sentences from those very speeches + which Lord Morley thus extols—the speeches on the American + War of Independence. Speaking on Conciliation with the Colonies + in 1775, Burke said:</p> + <pre> + "Permit me to observe that the use of force alone is but + temporary. It may subdue for a moment, but it does not + remove the necessity of subduing again; and a nation is not + governed which is perpetually to be conquered.... Terror is + not always the effect of force, and an armament is not a victory." +</pre> + + <p>Speaking of the resistance of a subject race to the + predominant power, Burke ironically suggested:</p> + <pre> + "Perhaps a more smooth and accommodating spirit of + freedom in them would be more acceptable to us. Perhaps<a name= +"271"></a> + ideas of liberty might be desired more reconcilable with an + arbitrary and boundless authority. Perhaps we might wish + the colonists to be persuaded that their liberty is more secure + when held in trust for them by us (as their guardians during + a perpetual minority) than with any part of it in their own + hands." +</pre> + + <p>And, finally, speaking of self-taxation as the very basis of + all our liberties, Burke exclaimed:</p> + <pre> + "They (British statesmen) took infinite pains to inculcate + as a fundamental principle, that in all monarchies the people + must in effect themselves, mediately or immediately, possess + the power of granting their own money, or no shadow of liberty + could subsist." +</pre> + + <p>It was the second of these noble passages that I once heard + declaimed on the sea-beach at Madras to an Indian crowd by an + Indian speaker, who, following the precepts of Lord Morley, then + Secretary of State for India, had made Burke's speeches his study + by day and night. That phrase describing the ruling Power as the + guardians of a subject race during a perpetual minority has stuck + in my mind, and it recurred to me when I read that Burke's + writings and speeches had been removed from the University + curriculum in India. Carlyle's <i>Heroes</i> and Cowper's + <i>Letters</i> have been substituted—excellent books, the + one giving the Indians in rather portentous language very dubious + information about Odin, Luther, Rousseau, and other conspicuous + people; the other telling them, with a slightly self-conscious + simplicity, about a melancholy invalid's neckcloths, hares, dog, + and health. Such subjects are all very well, but where in them do + we find the magnificence and elevation of expression, the sacred + gift of inspiring men to make their lives at once<a name= + "172"></a> rich and austere, and the other high qualities that + Lord Morley found in "the most perfect manual in any literature"? + Reflecting on this new decision of the Indian University Council, + or whoever has taken on himself to cut Burke out of the + curriculum, some of us may find two passages coming into the + memory. One is a passage from those very speeches of Burke, where + he said, "To prove that the Americans ought not to be free, we + were obliged to depreciate the value of freedom itself." The + other is Biglow's familiar verse, beginning "I du believe in + Freedom's cause, Ez fur away ez Payris is," and ending:</p> + <pre> + "It's wal enough agin a king + To dror resolves an' triggers,— + But libbaty's a kind o' thing + Thet don't agree with niggers." +</pre> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p><a name="RULE4_20"><!-- RULE4 20 --></a><a name= + "173"></a> + + <h2>XXI</h2> + + <center> + UNDER THE YOKE + </center> + + <p>If ever there was a nation which ought to have a + fellow-feeling with subject races it is the inhabitants of + England. I have heard of no land so frequently subjected, unless, + perhaps, it were northern India. Long-headed builders of long + tombs were subjected by round-headed builders of round tombs; and + round-headed builders of tombs were subjected by builders of + Stonehenge; for five hundred years the builders of Stonehenge + were a subject race to Rome; Roman-British civilisation was + subjected to barbarous Jutes and heavy Saxons; Britons, Jutes and + Saxons became the subjects of Danes; Britons, Jutes, Saxons and + Danes lay as one subject race at the feet of the Normans. As far + as subjection goes, English history is like a house that Jack + built:</p> + <pre> + "This is the Norman nobly born, + Who conquered the Dane that drank from a horn. + Who harried the Saxon's kine and corn, + Who banished the Roman all forlorn, + Who tidied the Celt so tattered and torn," +</pre> + + <p>and so on, back to the prehistoric Jack who built the long + house of the dead.</p> + + <p>Our later subjections to the French, the Scots, the Dutch and + the Germans, who have in turn ruled our courts and fattened on + their<a name="174"></a> favours, have not been so violent or so + complete; but for some centuries they depressed our people with a + sense of humiliation, and they have left their mark upon our + national character and language. Indeed, our language is a + synopsis of conquests, a stratification of subjections. We can + hardly speak a sentence without recording a certain number of the + subject races from which we have sprung. The only one ever left + out is the British, and that survives in the names of our most + beautiful rivers and mountains. It is true that all of our + conquerors have come to stay—all with the one exception of + Rome. We have never formed part of a distant and foreign empire + except the Roman. Even our Norman invaders soon regarded our + country as the centre of their power and not as a province. + Nevertheless, nearly every strand of our interwoven ancestry has + at one time or other suffered as a subject race, and perhaps from + that source we derive the quality that Mark Twain perceived when + at the Jubilee Procession of our Empire he observed, "Blessed are + the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." Perhaps also for + this reason we raise the Recessional prayer for a humble and + contrite heart, lest we forget our history—lest we + forget.</p> + + <p>We pray in contrite humility to remember, but we have + forgotten. In speaking of Finland's loss of liberty, Madame + Malmberg, the Finnish patriot, once said that in old days, when + their liberties seemed secure, the Finns felt no sympathy with + other nationalities—the Poles, the Georgians, or the + Russians themselves—struggling to be free. They did not + know what it was to be a subject race. They could not realise the + degrading loss of nationality. They were soon to learn, and they + know now. We have not learned. We have forgotten our lesson. That + is why we remain so indifferent to the cry of freedom, and to the + suppression of<a name="175"></a> nationality all over the + world.</p> + + <p>Let us for a moment imagine that something terrible has + happened; that our statesmen have at last got their addition sums + in Dreadnoughts right, and have learned by hard experience that + we have less than two to one and therefore are wiped from the + seas; or that our august Russian ally, using Finland as a base, + has established an immense naval port in the Norwegian fiords and + thence poured the Tartar and Cossack hordes over our islands. Let + us imagine anything that might leave some dominant Power supreme + in London and reduce us for the sixth or seventh time to the + position of a subject race. Where should we feel the difference + most? Let us suppose that the conqueror retained our country as + part of his empire, just as we have retained Ireland, India, + Egypt, and the South-African Dutch republics; or as Russia has + retained Poland, Georgia, Finland, the Baltic Provinces and + Siberia, and is on the point of retaining Persia; or as Germany + has retained Poland and Alsace-Lorraine; or as France has + retained Tonquin and an enormous empire in north-west Africa and + is on the point of retaining Morocco; or as Austria has retained + Bohemia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Croatia, and many other + nationalities, and is constantly plotting to retain Albania. Let + us only judge of what might happen to us by observing what is + actually happening in other instances at this moment.</p> + <hr> + + <p>The dominant Power—let us call it Germany for short and + merely as an illustration—would at once appoint its own + subjects to all the high positions of State. England would be + divided into four sections under German Governor-Generals and + there would be German Governor-Generals in Scotland, Wales, and + Ireland. Germans would be appointed as District Commissioners to + collect revenue, try cases, and control the police. A Council of + Germans, with a proportion of nominated British lords and + squires, would legislate for each province, and perhaps, after a + century or so, as a great concession a small franchise might be + granted, with special advantages to Presbyterians, so as to keep + religious differences alive, the German Governor-General + retaining the right to reject any candidate and to veto all + legislation. A German Viceroy, surrounded by a Council in which + the majority was always German, and the chief offices of + Chancellor of the Exchequer, Commander-in-Chief of the army, and + so forth, were always filled by Germans, would hold a Court at + Windsor or at Balmoral in summer and Buckingham Palace in winter. + We should have to undertake the support of Lutheran Churches for + the spiritual consolation of our rulers. We should be given a + German Lord Mayor. German would be the official language of the + country, though interpreters might be allowed in the law courts. + Public examinations would be conducted in German, and all + candidates for the highest civilian posts would have to go to + Germany to be educated. The leading newspapers would be published + in German and a strict censorship established over the + <i>Times</i> and other rebellious organs. The smallest criticism + of the German Government would be prosecuted as sedition. English + papers would be confiscated, English editors heavily fined or + imprisoned, English politicians deported to the Orkneys without + trial or cause shown. Writers on liberty, such as Milton, + Wordsworth, Shelley, Burke, Mill, and Lord Morley would be + prohibited. The works of even German authors like Schiller, + Heine, and Karl Marx would be forbidden, and a pamphlet written + by a German and founded on official evidence to prove the + injustice and tortures to which the English people were exposed + under the German system of police would be destroyed. On our + railways English gentlemen and ladies would be expected to travel + second or third class, or, if they travelled first, they would be + exposed to the Teutonic insolence of the dominant race, and would + probably be turned out by some German official. Public buildings + would be erected in the German style. English manufacturers and + all industries would be hampered by an elaborate system of excise + which would flood our markets with German goods. Such art as + England possesses would disappear. Arms would be prohibited. The + common people, especially in Scotland and the North-West + Provinces, would be encouraged to recruit in the native army + under the command of German officers, and the Scottish regiments + would maintain their proud tradition; but no British officer + would be allowed to rise above the rank of sergeant-major. The + Territorials would be disbanded. The Boy Scouts would be declared + seditious associations. If a party of German officers went + fox-shooting in Leicestershire, and the villagers resisted the + slaughter of the sacred animal, some of the leading villagers + would be hanged and others flogged during the execution. Our + National Anthem would begin: "God save our German king! Long live + our foreign king!" The singing of "Rule, Britannia," would be + regarded as a seditious act.</p> + + <p>I am not saying that so complete a subjection of England is + possible. We may believe that in a powerful, wealthy, proud, and + highly civilised country like ours it would not be possible. All + I say is that, if we<a name="178"></a> assume it possible, + something like that would be our condition if we were treated by + the dominant Power as we ourselves are treating other races which + were powerful, wealthy, proud and, in their own estimation, + highly civilised when we invaded or otherwise obtained the + mastery over them. I am only trying to suggest to ourselves the + mood and feelings of a subject race—the humble and contrite + heart for which we pray as God's ancient sacrifice. If we wish to + be done by as we do, these are some incidents in the government + we should wish to lie under when we were reduced beneath a + dominant Power, as India and Egypt are reduced beneath ourselves. + I have not taken the worst instances of the treatment of subject + races I could find. I have not spoken of the old methods of + partial or complete extermination whether in Roman Europe or + Spanish and British Americas; nor have I spoken of the partial or + complete enslavement of subject races in the Dutch, British, + Portuguese, Belgian, and French regions of Africa. I have not + dwelt upon the hideous scenes of massacre, torture, devastation + and lust which I have myself witnessed in Macedonia under the + Turks, and in the Caucasus, the Baltic Provinces, and Poland + under Russia when subject races attempted some poor effort to + regain their freedom. I have not even mentioned the old ruin and + slaughter of Ireland, or the latest murder of a nation in Finland + or in Persia. I have taken my comparison from the government of + subject races at what is probably its very best; at all events, + at what the English people regard as its best—the + administration of India and Egypt—and we have no reason to + suppose that Germany would administer England better if we were a + subject race under the German Empire.</p> + <hr> + + <p>If Germany did as well she would have something to say for + herself. She<a name="179"></a> might lay stress on the great + material advantages she would bestow on this country. Such + industries as she left us she would reorganise on the Kartel + system. She would much improve our railways by unifying them as a + State property, so that even our South-Eastern trains might + arrive in time. She would overhaul our education, ending the long + wrangle between religious sects by abolishing all distinctions. + She would erect an entirely new standard of knowledge, especially + in natural science, chemistry, and book-keeping. She would + institute special classes for prospective chauffeurs and + commercial travellers. She would abolish Eton, Harrow, and the + other public schools, together with the college buildings of + Oxford and Cambridge, converting them all into barracks, while + the students would find their own lodgings in the towns and stand + on far greater equality in regard to wealth. German is not a very + beautiful language, but it has a literature, and we should have + the advantage of speaking German and learning something of German + literature and history. Great improvements would be introduced in + sanitation, town-planning, and municipal government, and we + should all learn to eat black bread, which is much more wholesome + than white.</p> + + <p>In a large part of the country peasant proprietors would be + established, and the peasants as a whole would be far better + protected against the exactions and petty tyranny of the + landlords than they are at present. Under the pressure of + external rule, all the troublesome divisions and small + animosities between English, Scots, Irish, and Welsh would tend + to disappear, though the Germans might show special favour to the + Scots and Presbyterians generally on the principle of "Divide and + Rule," just as<a name="180"></a> we show special favour to the + Mohammedans of India. We should, of course, be compelled to + contribute to the defence of the Empire, and should pay the + expenses of the large German garrisons quartered in our midst and + of the German cruisers that patrolled our shores. But as we + should have no fleet of our own to maintain, and in case of + foreign aggression could draw upon the vast resources of the + German Empire, our taxation for defence would probably be + considerably reduced from its present figure of something over + seventy millions a year.</p> + + <p>That, I think, is an impartial statement of the reasons which + some dominant Power, such as Germany, might fairly advance in + defence of her rule if we were included in a foreign Empire. At + all events, they very closely resemble the reasons we put forward + to glorify the services of our Empire to India and Egypt. I + suppose also that the Fabians among ourselves would support the + foreign domination, just as their leaders supported the overthrow + of the Boer republics, on the ground that larger states bring the + Fabian—the very Fabian—revolution nearer. And, + perhaps, the Social Democrats would support it by an extension of + their theory that the social millennium can best arrive out of a + condition of general enslavement. The Cosmopolitans would support + it as tending to obliterate the old-fashioned distinctions of + nationality that impede the unity of mankind, while a host of + German pedants and poets would pour out libraries in praise of + the Anglo-Teutonic races united at last in irresistible + brotherhood and standing ready to take up the Teuton's burden + imposed upon the Blood by the special ordinance of the Lord.</p> + + <p>The parallel is false, some may say; the conditions are not + the same; in spite of all material and educational advantages, we + in England would<a name="181"></a> never endure such subjection; + we should live in a state of perpetual rebellion; our troops + would mutiny; much as we all detest assassination, the lives of + our foreign Governors would hardly be secure. I agree. I hope + there is implanted in all of us such a hatred of subjection that + we should conspire to die rather than endure it. I only wish to + suggest the mood of a subject race, under the best actual + conditions of subjection—to suggest that other peoples may + possibly feel an equal hatred toward foreign domination—and + to supply in ourselves something of that imaginative sympathy + which Madame Malmberg tells us the Finns only learned after their + own freedom had been overthrown.</p> + + <p>We feel at once that something far more valuable than all the + material, or even moral, advantages which a dominant Power might + give us would be involved in the overthrow of our independent + nationality. That something is nationality itself. But what is + nationality? Like the camel in the familiar saying, it is + difficult to define, but we know it when we see it. Or, as St. + Augustine said of Time, "I know what it is when you don't ask + me." Nationality implies a stock or race, an inborn temperament, + with certain instincts and capacities. It is the slow production + of forgotten movements and obscure endeavours that cannot be + repeated or restored. It is sanctified by the long struggles of + growth, and by the affection that has gathered round its history. + If nationality has kindled and maintained the light of freedom, + it is illuminated by a glory that transforms mountain poverty + into splendour. If it has endured tyranny, its people are welded + together by a common suffering and a common indignation. At the + lowest, the people of the same nationality have their customs, + their religion, generally their language—that most intimate + bond—and always the familiar outward scenes of earth and + water, hill and plain and sky, breathing with memories. + Nationality enters into the soul of each man or woman who + possesses it. Mr. Chesterton has well described it as a + sacrament. It is a silent oath, an invisible mark. Life receives + from it a particular colour. It is felt as an influence in action + and in emotion, almost in every thought. In freedom it sustains + conduct with a proud assurance of community and reputation. Under + oppression, it may fuse all the pleasant uses of existence into + one consuming impulse of fanatical devotion. It has inspired the + noblest literature and all the finest forms of art, and chiefly + in countries where the flame of nationality burned strong and + clear has the human mind achieved its greatest miracles of + beauty, thought, and invention.</p> + + <p>Nationality possesses that demonic and incalculable quality + from which almost anything may be expected in the way of marvel, + just as certain spiky plants that have not varied winter or + summer for years in their habitual unattractiveness will suddenly + shoot up a ten-foot spire of radiant blossom abounding in honey. + Partly by nationality has the human race been preserved from the + dreariness of ant-like uniformity and has retained the power of + variation which appears to be essential for the highest + development of life. With what pleasure, during our travels, we + discover the evidences of nationality even in such things as + dress, ornaments, food, songs, and dancing; still more in + thought, speech, proverbs, literature, music, and the higher + arts! With what regret we see those characteristics swept away by + the advancing tide of dominant<a name="183"></a> monotony and + Imperial dullness! The loss may seem trivial compared with the + loss of personal or political freedom, but it is not trivial. It + is a symptom of spiritual ruin. How deep a degradation of + intellect and personality is shown by the introduction of English + music-hall songs among a highly poetic people like the Irish, or + by the vulgar corruption of India's superb manufactures and forms + of art under the blight of British commerce! You know the Persian + carpets, of what magical beauty they are in design and colour. + When I was on the borders of Persia in 1907 the Persian carpet + merchants were selling one kind of carpet with a huge red lion + being shot by a sportsman in the middle of it to please the + English, and another kind decorated with a Parisian lady in a + motor to please the Russians. From those carpets one may realise + what the English Government's acquiescence in the subjection of + Persia really involves.</p> + + <p>No subject race can entirely escape this degradation. No + matter how good the government may be or how protective, all + forms of subjection involve a certain loss of manhood. Under an + alien Power the nature of the subject nationality becomes soft + and dependent. Instead of working out its own salvation, it looks + to the government for direction or assistance in every + difficulty. Atrophy destroys its power of action. It loses the + political sense and grows incapable of self-help or + self-reliance. The stronger faculties, if not extinguished, + become mutilated. In Ireland, even to-day, we see the result of + domination in the continued belief that the British Government + which has brought the country to ruin possesses the sole power of + restoring it to prosperity. In India we see a people so enervated + by alien and paternal government that they have hardly the + courage or energy to take up such small<a name="184"></a> + responsibilities in local government as may be granted them. This + is what a true Liberal statesman, Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, + meant by his wise saying that self-government is better than good + government. And it might be further illustrated by the present + condition of the largest subject race in the world—the race + of women—to whom all the protective legislation and boasted + chivalry and lap-dog petting, fondly supposed to be lavished upon + them by men, are not to be compared in personal value with just + the small right to a voice in the management of their own and + national affairs.</p> + + <p>Such mutilation of character is the penalty of subjection at + its best. At its worst the subject race pays the penalty in + tormenting rancour, undying hatred, and the savage indignation + that tears the heart. It may be said that indignation is at all + events better than loss of manhood, and again I agree. Where + there is despotism it may well be that for this reason a cruel + despotism is less harmful than a paternal despotism—less + harmful, I mean, to the individual soul, which is the only thing + that counts. But the soul that is choked by hatred and torn by + indignation is not at its best. Its functions go wrong, its sight + is distorted, its judgment perturbed, its sweetness poisoned, its + laughter killed. The whole being suffers and is changed. For a + time it may blaze with a fierce, a magnificent intensity. But we + talk of a "consuming rage," and the phrase is terribly true. Rage + is a consuming fire, always a glorious fire, a wild beacon in the + night of darkness, but it consumes to ashes the nature that is + its fuel.</p> + + <p>Loss of manhood or perpetual rancour—those are the + penalties imposed on the soul of a subject race. Nor does the + dominant race escape scot free.<a name="185"></a> Far from it. On + the whole, it suffers a deeper degradation. A dominant race, like + a domineering person, is always disagreeable and always a bore, + and the nearer it is to the scene of domination the more + disagreeable and wearisome it becomes, just as a tyrannical man + is worst at home. I have known English people start as quiet, + pleasing, modest, and amiable passengers in a P. & O. from + Marseilles, but become less endurable every twenty-four hours of + the fortnight to Bombay. There are noble and conspicuous + exceptions alike in the army, the Indian Civil Service, and among + the officials scattered over the Empire. But, as a rule, we may + say that the worst characteristics not only of our own but of all + dominant races, such as the French, Germans, and Russians, are + displayed among their subject peoples. If, indeed, the subjects + are on a level with spaniels that can be beaten or patted + alternately and retain a constant affection and respect, the + English son of squires thoroughly enjoys his position and does + the beating and patting well. But it is always with a certain + loss of humour and common humanity: it brings a kind of stiffness + and pedantry such as Charles Lamb complained of in the + old-fashioned type of schoolmaster. It exaggerates a sense of + Heaven-born superiority which the English squire has no need to + exaggerate.</p> + + <p>I am not one of those who set out to "crab" their countrymen. + We have lately had so much criticism and contempt poured upon us + by more intelligent people like the Irish, the Germans, and an + ex-President of the United States that sometimes I have been + driven to wonder whether we may not somewhere possess some + element worthy of respect. But, keeping the lash in our own + discriminating hands, we should all perhaps confess that in + regard to other people's feelings and ideas we are rather<a name= + "186"></a> insensitive as a nation. This form of unimaginative + obtuseness undoubtedly increased during the extension of our grip + upon subject races between the overthrow of Gladstone's first + Home Rule Bill and the end of the Boer War. Perhaps those fifteen + years were the most entirely vulgar period of our history, and + vulgarity springs from an insensitive condition of mind. It will + be a terrible recompense if the price of our world-wide Empire is + an Imperial vulgarity upon which the sun never sets.</p> + + <p>There is another danger, not so subtle and pervading, but more + likely to escape the notice of people who are not themselves + acquainted with the frontiers of Empire. It is the production and + encouragement of a set of scoundrels and wasters who trade upon + our country's prestige to rob, harry, and even enslave the + members of a subject race while they pose as pioneers of Empire + and are held up by sentimental travellers, like Mr. Roosevelt, as + examples of toughness and courage to the victims of monotonous + toil who live at home at ease. There is no call either for Mr. + Roosevelt's pity or admiration. I have known those wasters well, + and have studied all their tricks for turning a dirty half-crown. + They enjoy more pleasure and greater ease in a day than any + London shop assistant or bank clerk in a month. They take up the + white man's burden and find it light, because it is the black man + who carries it. Of all the impostors that nestle under our flag, + I have found none more contented with their lot or more harmful + to our national repute than the "toughs" who devour our subject + races and stand in photographic attitudes for Mr. Kipling to + slobber over. These scoundrels and wasters are a far worse evil + than most people think, for they erect a false ideal which easily + corrupts youth with its attraction, and they furnish ready + instruments for land-grabbers and company directors, as is too + often seen in their onslaughts upon Zulus, Basutos, and other + half-savage peoples whom they desire to exterminate or enslave. + They are a singularly poisonous by-product of Empire, all the + more poisonous for their brag; and though they belong to the + class whom their relations gladly contribute to emigrate, they + are far worse employed in debauching and plundering our so-called + fellow-subjects in Africa than they would be in the + public-houses, gambling-dens, pigeon-shooting enclosures, + workhouses, and jails of their native land. Of course, it is very + useful to have dumping-grounds for our wasters, and it is + pleasant to reflect upon the seven thousand miles of sea between + one's self and one's worthless nephew, but a dumping-ground for + nepotism can scarcely be considered the noblest aim of + conquest.</p> + + <p>Why is it, then, that one nation desires to subjugate another + at all? Sometimes the object has simply been space—the + pressure of population upon the extent of ground. Pastoral and + nomad hordes, like the "Barbarians" and Tartars, have had that + object, but, as a rule, it has ended in their own absorption. The + motives of the Roman Empire were strangely mixed. Plunder + certainly came in; trade came in; in later times the slave-trade + and the supply of corn to Rome were great incentives. The + personal advantage and ambition of prominent statesmen like Sulla + or Caesar were among the aims of many conquests. The extension of + religion had little to do with it, for the Romans had the decency + to keep their gods to themselves and never slaughtered in the + name of Jove. But they were compelled to Empire by a peculiar + conviction of destiny. They did not destroy or subdue other + peoples so much for<a name="188"></a> glory as from a sense of + duty. It was their Heaven-sent mission to rule. Their poet + advised other nations to occupy themselves with wisdom, learning, + statuary, the arts, or what other trivialities they pleased; it + was the Roman's task to hold the world in sway. To the Roman the + object of Empire was Empire. It seemed to him the natural thing + to conquer every other nation, making the world one Rome. That + was, in fact, his true religion, and we can but congratulate him + on the unshaken faith of his self-esteem. The Turk, on the other + hand, who was the next Imperial race, boasted no city and no + self-conscious superiority of laws or race. He subdued the + nations only in the name of God, and to all who accepted God he + nobly extended the vision of Paradise and a complete equality of + earthly squalor. The motives of mediaeval and more recent + conquests were the strangest of all. They were usually dynastic. + They depended on the family claim of some family man to a title + implying actual possession of another country and all its + population. There was always one claimant contending against + another claimant, this heir against that heir, as though the + destinies of nationality could be settled by a strip of parchment + or a love-affair with a princess. People grew so accustomed to + this folly that even now we hardly realise its absurdity. Yet I + suppose if the King of Spain left his kingdom by will to his + well-beloved cousin George of England, not an English wherry + would stir to take possession, and our newspapers would merely + remark that there was always a strain of insanity in the Spanish + branch of the Bourbons. Two hundred years ago such a will would + have produced a prolonged and devastating war. Something is + gained. We have eliminated royal dynasties from the motives of + conquest.</p> + + <p><a name="189"></a> In the extension and maintenance of our own + Empire all previous motives have been combined. We have pleaded + want of space; we have sought slaves either for export or for + local labour; we have sought plunder and also trade or "markets"; + we have sought dumping-grounds for our wasters, and careers for + our public school-boys; like the Turks and Spaniards, we have + sought to promote the knowledge of God by the slaughter and + enslavement of His creatures; like the Romans, we have thought it + our manifest duty to paint the world red and rule it. But within + the last sixty or seventy years we have added the further motive + most aptly expressed by the late King Leopold of Belgium in the + document by which he obtained his rights over the Congo: I mean + "the moral and material amelioration" of the subject peoples. + That was a motive unknown to the ancients, though the Romans came + near it when they granted equal citizenship to all + provincials—a measure far in advance of any concession of + ours. And it was unknown to the Middle Ages, though Turks and + Spaniards came near it when they destroyed the infidels for their + good and opened heaven to converted slaves and corpses. To + subjugate a nationality for its own moral and material advantage + is something almost new in history. It sounds the true modern + note. That is not a pleasant note, but it is a sign of change, an + evidence of hope. In the Boer War our real objects were to paint + the country red on the maps and to exploit the gold-mines. But + some people said we were fighting for equal rights; some said it + was to insure good treatment for the natives; some thought we + were Christianising the Boers; one man told me "the Boers wanted + washing." Those excuses may have been false and hypocritical, + but, at all events, they were tributes to virtue. They were + a<a name="190"></a> recognition that the old motives of Empire no + longer sufficed. They exposed the hypocrites themselves to the + retort of serious and innocent people: "Very well, then. If these + were your motives, give equal rights, protect the natives, + Christianise the Boers, wash them if you can." It is a retort + against which hypocrisy cannot long stand out. It proves that a + new standard of judgment is slowly forming in the world. But for + this new standard, where would be the Congo agitation, or the + movement against the Portuguese cocoa slavery, or such sympathy + as exists with the Nationalists of India, Egypt, and Persia? When + the doctrines of equal rights or even of moral and material + amelioration are assumed, honesty will at last raise her protest + and hypocrites be no longer allowed to reap the harvest of a + quiet lie.</p> + + <p>It is an advance. As history counts time it is a rapid + advance. Now that Russia is reducing Finland to a state of entire + subjection without even a pretext of right or the shadow of a + pretence at improved civilisation, a general feeling of shame and + loss pervades Europe. The governments do not move, but here and + there the peoples raise a protest. Not even the most + thorough-going champions of Imperialism, such as the + <i>Times</i>, have ventured to defend the action. They have + contented themselves with Cain's excuse that the murder was no + affair of ours. A century and a half ago they would not have + needed an excuse. No protest would have been raised, for it did + not matter what nationality was enslaved. There is an advance, + and we have now to extend it. In regard to races already subject, + we have but to act up to the pleadings of our own hypocrisy; we + have to maintain among them equal justice, equal rights and + equal<a name="191"></a> consideration as members of one great + community, instead of depriving them of their manhood and kicking + them out of their own railway carriages. We have to train them on + the way to self-government, instead of clapping them into prison + if they mention the subject.</p> + + <p>And in regard to nationalities that still retain their + freedom, we must bring our governments up into line with the + leading thought of the day. We must show them that the + destruction of a free people like Finland or Persia is not a + local or distant disaster only, but affects the whole community + of nations and spreads like a poison, blighting the growth of + freedom in every land and encouraging all the black forces of + tyranny, darkness, and suppression. Rapidly growing among us, + there is already a certain solidarity between free States, and + the problem of the immediate future is how to make their common + action effective on the side of liberty. When I saw Tolstoy + during the Russian revolution of 1905 he said to me:</p> + <pre> + "The present movement in Russia is not a riot; it is not even + a revolution; it is the end of an age. The age that is ending + is the age of Empires—the collection of smaller States under + one large State. There is no true community of heart or thought + between Russia, Finland, Poland, the Caucasus and all our + other States and races. And what has Hungary, Bohemia, + Syria, or the Tyrol to do with Austria? No more than Canada, + Australia, India, or Ireland has to do with England. People + are now beginning to see the absurdity of these things, and in + the end people are reasonable. That is why the age of Empires + is passing away." +</pre> + + <p>It was a bold prophecy, but it contains the root of the whole + matter. Only where there is community of heart and thought is + national or personal life possible in any worthy sense. Unless + that community exists between the various nationalities within an + Empire, we may be sure the Empire is moribund. It is dying, as + Napoleon said, of indigestion, and that other community of the + world which is slowly taking shape among free and reasonable + peoples will demand its dissolution. Our hope is that the other + community will further proceed to demand that these disastrous + experiments in the overthrow and subjection of free nationalities + shall no longer be tolerated by the combined forces of + liberty.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p><a name="RULE4_21"><!-- RULE4 21 --></a><a name= + "193"></a> + + <h2>XXII</h2> + + <center> + BLACK AND WHITE + </center> + + <p>One night Mr. Clarkson, of the Education Office, was rather + late in leaving the Savile Club. He always makes a point of + selecting the best articles in the <i>Nineteenth Century</i>, the + <i>Fortnightly</i>, and the <i>Contemporary</i> on the first + Monday of every month, and, owing to a suspension of political + activity in the House of Commons, he had lately spent more time + than usual over the daily papers as well, since they could now + afford greater space for subjects of interest. He noticed with + some regret that it was half-past eleven as he came up Piccadilly + and admired, as he never failed to admire, that urbane aspect of + nature's charm presented by the Green Park.</p> + + <p>It was late, but the evening was cool and dry. He wished to + follow up a train of thought suggested by the question: "Should + Aristotle be left out?" but, to preserve his mind from + exclusiveness, he now and then considered it advantageous to + plunge into what he called the full tide of humanity at Charing + Cross. So that night, instead of making his way by the shortest + route to his rooms in Westminster, he strolled, with a + pleasurable sense of sympathetic abandonment, through the usual + crowds that were hurrying home from theatres or supper-room.</p> + + <p>But he soon perceived that all the crowds were not usual. Some + were not hurrying; they were stationary. They were nearly all + men, unrelieved by that subdued feminine radiance which Mr. + Clarkson so much valued in the colour scheme of London. They were + mainly silent. They appeared to be waiting for something.</p> + + <p>"Is the King returning from the Opera?" he asked a policeman + near King Charles's statue. But the policeman regarded him with a + silent pity so profound that he suddenly remembered a King's + recent death and the mourning in which the country was still + partially immersed. No, it could not be royalty, and, feeling for + the first time like a stranger in the centre of existence, Mr. + Clarkson hurriedly crossed the road.</p> + + <p>Between the top of Northumberland Avenue and Charing Cross + Station he observed another crowd of the same character, but in + thicker numbers still. Unwilling to eschew any emotion that thus + stirred his fellow citizens, he approached the outskirts and + waited, in hopes of gathering information without further + inquiry. But the crowd was doggedly silent. Nearly all were + reading the evening papers, and the few snatches of conversation + that Mr. Clarkson caught appeared to be meaningless. At last he + ventured to accost a harmless-looking, pale-faced youth in a + straw hat, who was reading the latest <i>Star</i>, and asked him + what he was waiting for.</p> + + <p>The youth looked him up and down from head to foot, and then + slowly uttered the words: "I don't think!"</p> + + <p>"I'm so very sorry for that," said Mr. Clarkson, a little + irritated, but, as he turned hastily away he reflected with a + smile that, after all, one should be grateful to find imbecility + so frankly acknowledged.</p> + + <p>Next time he was more diplomatic. Standing quietly for a while + beside a good-tempered-looking man, who was evidently an + out-of-work cab-driver, he yawned two or three times, and said at + last: "How long shall we have to wait, do you think?"</p> + + <p>"Depends on cable," said the cab-driver. "Got a bit on?"</p> + + <p>"Well, no; I haven't exactly got anything on," said Mr. + Clarkson, uneasily; "but may I ask what cable you mean?"</p> + + <p>"Don't be silly," said the cabman, and spat between his + feet.</p> + + <p>"Cheer up, long-face!" said another man, who had been + listening. "He only means the cable from the States. Perhaps + you've never heard of the White Man's Hope?"</p> + + <p>Light at last broke upon Mr. Clarkson. "Of course," he said, + "it's Independence Day! I've seen the American flag flying from + several buildings. It has always appeared a most remarkable thing + to me that we English people should thus ungrudgingly accept the + celebration of our most disastrous national defeat. Such entire + disappearance of racial animosity is, indeed, full of future + promise. I suppose, if you liked, you might without exaggeration + call it the White Man's Hope?"</p> + + <p>"Stow it," said the cabman.</p> + + <p>"No doubt the day is being marked in the United States by some + special event," Mr. Clarkson continued, "and you are waiting for + the account?"</p> + + <p>No one answered. An American was reading aloud from a + newspaper: "If the Imperturbable Colossus gets knocked out, a + general assault upon all negroes throughout the States may be + expected to ensue. The wail that goes up from Reno will be + re-echoed from every land where the black problem sits like a + nightmare on the chest. It is not too much to say that a new + chapter in the world's history will open before our astonished + eyes, so adequately is the gigantic struggle between the black + and white races prefigured in the persons of their chosen + champions."</p> + + <p>All listened with attention.</p> + + <p>"That's what I call thickened truth," said the American, + looking solemnly round. "If that coloured gentleman with a yellow + streak worries our battle-hardened veteran and undefeated hero of + all time, the negro will grow scarce."</p> + + <p>"They've been praying for Jeffries in all the American + churches," said one, in the solemn pause that followed this + announcement.</p> + + <p>"So they have for Johnson in the negro churches," said + another, "but he counts most on his mother's prayers. She lives + in Chicago."</p> + + <p>"It is peculiar in modern and Christianised countries," said + Mr. Clarkson, anxious to show that he now fully understood the + point at issue; "it is peculiar that the opposing parties in a + war or other contest implore with equal confidence the assistance + of the same deity."</p> + + <p>"Millionaires is sleeping three in a bed at Reno. There's a + thing!" said the man who was most anxious to impart + information.</p> + + <p>"The gate comes to £50,000, let alone the pictures," + said another. "Each of them's going to get £500 a minute + for the time they fight."</p> + + <p>"Beats taxis," said the cabman.</p> + + <p>"It's hardly fair to criticise the amount," Mr. Clarkson + expostulated pleasantly; "the £500 represents prolonged + training and practice in the art. As Whistler said, the payment + is not for a day's work, but for a lifetime."</p> + + <p>"Who are you calling the Whistler?" asked the cabman; "Jim + Corbett, or John Sullivan?"</p> + + <p>"Jeffries ate five lamb chops to his breakfast this morning," + said the man of information, "and Johnson ate a chicken."</p> + + <p>"Wish I'd eat both," said the cabman.</p> + + <p>"What do you think of the upper-cut?" said the other, turning + to Mr. Clarkson to escape the cabman's frivolity.</p> + + <p>"Well, I suppose it's a matter of taste—upper-cut or + under-cut," Mr. Clarkson answered, smiling at his seriousness. + "Most people, I think, prefer under-cut."</p> + + <p>"Johnson's right upper-cut is described as the piston of an + ocean greyhound making twenty-seven knots," said the man, taking + no notice of the answer, and speaking in awestruck tones. "Do you + know, one paper describes Johnson as the best piece of fighting + machinery the world has ever seen!"</p> + + <p>"I thought that was the last <i>Dreadnought</i>?" said Mr. + Clarkson.</p> + + <p>"Perhaps you don't study the literature of the Ring," the + other answered, with cold superiority.</p> + + <p>"Oh, indeed I do!" cried Mr. Clarkson eagerly. "It is rather + remarkable what a fascination the art of boxing has frequently + exercised upon the masters of literature. Even the Greeks, in + spite of their artistic reverence for the human body, practised + boxing with extreme severity, and on their statues, you know, we + sometimes find a recognised distortion which they called 'the + boxer's ear.' It seems to show that they hit round rather than + straight from the shoulder. The ancient boxing-gloves were + intended, not to diminish, but to increase the severity of the + blow, being made of seven or eight strands of cow-hide, heavily + weighted with iron and lead. There is that fine description of a + prize-fight in Virgil, where the veteran—'the imperturbable + colossus' of his time, I suppose we may call him—almost + knocks the life out of the younger man, and sends him from the + contest swinging his head to and fro, and spitting out teeth + mingled with blood—rather a horrible picture!"</p> + + <p>"Ten to six on the boiler-maker," said the cabman; "I'll take + ten to six."</p> + + <p>"And then, of course," Mr. Clarkson continued, "in recent + times there are splendid accounts of the fights in + <i>Lavengro</i> and Meredith's <i>Amazing Marriage</i>, and + Browning once refers to the Tipton Slasher, and we all know Conan + Doyle."</p> + + <p>"No, we don't," said the cabman.</p> + + <p>"It seems rather hard to explain the attraction of + prize-fighting," Mr. Clarkson went on, meditatively; "perhaps it + comes simply from the dramatic element of battle. It is a war in + brief, a concentrated militancy. Or perhaps it is the more + barbaric delight in vicarious pain and endurance; and I think + sometimes we ought to include the pleasure of our race in fair + play and the just and equal rigour of the game."</p> + + <p>What other reasons Mr. Clarkson might have found were lost in + the yelling of newsboys tearing down the Strand. Too excited to + speak, the crowd engulfed them. The papers were torn from their + hands. Short cries, short sentences followed. Here and there Mr. + Clarkson caught an intelligible word: "Revolvers taken at gate"; + "Expected Johnson would be shot if victorious"; "Opening spar + almost academic in its calmness";<a name="199"></a> "Old wound on + Jeffries's right eye opened"; "Both cheeks gashed to the bone"; + "Jack handed out some wicked lefts"; "Terrible gruelling"; "Both + shutters out of working order"; "Defeat certain after eighth + round"; "Johnson hooked his left"; "The Circassian remained on + his knees"; "Counting went on"; "Fatal ten was reached."</p> + + <p>The crowd gasped. Then it shouted, it swore, it broke up + swearing.</p> + + <p>"Negroes had best crawl underground to-night," said the + American; "it ain't good for negroes when their heads grow + through their hair."</p> + + <p>"Another proof," sighed Mr. Clarkson, "another proof that, on + Roosevelt's principle, the United States are unfit for + self-government."</p> + + <p>When he reached his rooms it was nearly one, but a door opened + softly on the top floor, and the landlady's little boy looked + over the banisters and asked: "Please, sir, did Jim win, + sir?"</p> + + <p>"Let me see," said Mr. Clarkson, "which was Jim?"</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p><a name="RULE4_22"><!-- RULE4 22 --></a><a name= + "200"></a> + + <h2>XXIII</h2> + + <p>PEACE AND WAR IN THE BALANCE[<a href="#note-7">7</a>]</p> + + <p>When your Committee invited me to deliver the Moncure Conway + address this year, I was even more surprised at their choice of + subject than at their choice of person. For the chosen subject + was Peace, and my chief study, interest, and means of livelihood + for some twenty years past has been War. It seemed to me like + inviting a butcher to lecture on vegetarianism. So I wrote, with + regret, to refuse. But your Committee very generously repeated + the invitation, giving me free permission to take my own line + upon the subject; and then I perceived that you did not ask for + the mere celebration of an established doctrine, but were still + prepared to join in pursuit, following the track of reason + wherever it might lead, as became the traditions of this classic + building, which I sometimes think of as reason's last lair. I + perceived that what you demanded was not panegyric, or immutable + commonplace, but, above all things, sincerity. And sincerity is a + dog with nose to the ground, uncertain of the trail, often losing + the scent, often harking back, but possessed by an honest + determination to hunt down the truth, if by any means it can be + caught.</p><a name="201"></a> + + <p>It is one of my many regrets for wasted opportunity that I + never heard Moncure Conway; but, with a view to this address, I + have lately read a good deal of his writings. Especially I have + read the <i>Autobiography</i>, an attractive record and + commentary on the intellectual history of rapidly-changing years, + most of which I remember. On the question of peace Moncure Conway + was uncompromising—very nearly uncompromising. Many + Americans feel taller when they think of Lexington and the shot + that echoed round the world. Moncure Conway only saw lynchers in + the champions of freedom who flung the tea-chests into the sea; + and in the War of Independence he saw nothing but St. George + Washington spearing a George the Third dragon.[<a href= + "#note-8">8</a>] He quotes with approval the saying of Quaker + Mifflin to Washington: "General, the worst peace is better than + the best war."[<a href="#note-9">9</a>] Many Americans regard the + Civil War between North and South with admiration as a stupendous + contest either for freedom and unity, or for self-government and + good manners. Moncure Conway was strongly and consistently + opposed to it. The question of slavery did not affect his + opposition. He thought few men had wrought so much evil as John + Brown of Harper's Ferry, whose soul marched with the Northern + Armies.[<a href="#note-10">10</a>] "I hated violence more than + slavery," he wrote, "and much as I disliked President Buchanan, I + thought him right in declining to coerce the seceding + States."[<a href="#note-11">11</a>] Just before the war began, he + wrote in a famous pamphlet: "War is always wrong; it is because + the victories of Peace require so much more courage than those of + war that they are rarely won."[<a href="#note-12">12</a>] "I see + in the Union War," he wrote, "a great catastrophe." "Alas! the + promises of the sword are always broken—always." And in the + concluding pages of his <i>Autobiography</i>, as though uttering + his final message to the world, he wrote:</p> + <pre> + "There can arise no important literature, nor art, nor real + freedom and happiness, among any people until they feel + their uniform a livery, and see in every battlefield an inglorious + arena of human degradation.... The only cause that can + uplift the genius of a people as the anti-slavery cause did in + America is the war against war." +</pre> + + <p>For the very last words of his <i>Autobiography</i> he + wrote:</p> + <pre> + "And now, at the end of my work, I offer yet a new plan + for ending war—namely, that the friends of peace and justice + shall insist on a demand that every declaration of war shall be + regarded as a sentence of death by one people on another; and + shall be made only after a full and formal judicial inquiry and + trial, at which the accused people shall be fairly represented.... The + meanest prisoner cannot be executed without a trial. A + declaration of war is the most terrible of sentences: it sentences + a people to be slain and mutilated, their women to be widowed, + their children orphaned, their cities burned, their commerce + destroyed. The real motives of every declaration of war are + unavowed and unavowable. Let them be dragged into the + light! No war would ever occur after a fair judicial trial by a + tribunal in any country open to its citizens. + + "Implore peace, O my reader, from whom I now part. Implore + peace, not of deified thunderclouds, but of every man, + woman, or child thou shalt meet. Do not merely offer the + prayer, 'Give peace in our time,' but do thy part to answer it! + Then, at least, though the world be at strife, there shall be + peace in thee."[<a href="#note-13">13</a>] +</pre> + + <p>That sounds uncompromising. We cannot doubt that one of the + main motives of Conway's life was "War against War." He suffered + for peace; he lost friends and influence for peace; we may almost + say he was exiled for peace. Those are the marks of sincerity. + He, if anyone, we might suppose, was a "Peace-at-any-price man." + But let us remember one passage in an address delivered only a + few months before his death. In that address, on William Penn, + given in April 1907 (he died in the following November), speaking + of Mr. Carnegie's proposal for a compulsory Court of + International Arbitration, he said:</p> + + <p>"In order to prevent swift attacks of one nation on another + without notice, or outrages on weak and helpless tribes, there + shall be selected from the armaments of the world a combination + armament to act as the international police.... Even if in the + last resort there were needed such united force of mankind to + prevent any one nation from breaking the peace in which the + interests of all nations are involved, that would not be an act + of war, but civilisation's self-defence. Self-defence is not war, + although the phrase is often used to disguise + aggression."[<a href="#note-14">14</a>]</p> + + <p>Speaking with all respect for a distinguished man's memory, I + disagree with every word of those sentences. An international + police, directed by the combined Powers, would almost certainly + develop into a tremendous engine of injustice and oppression. The + Holy Alliance after Napoleon's overthrow aimed at an + international police, and we want no more Holy Alliances. I would + not trust a single government in the world to enter into such a + combination. I would rather trust Satan to combine with sin. + Think of the fate of Egypt from Arabi's time up to the present, + or of Turkey controlled by the Powers, or of Persia and Morocco + to-day! But the point to notice is that you cannot alter things + by altering names. The united force of civilisation brought to + bear upon any nation, however guilty, would be an act of war, + however much you called it international police. Civilisation's + self-defence would be war. Every form of self-defence by + violence, whether it disguises aggression or not, is war. For + many generations every war has been excused as self-defence of + one kind or another. I can hardly imagine a modern war that would + not be excused by both sides as defensive. By making these + admissions—by maintaining that self-defence is not + war—- Moncure Conway gives away the whole case of the + "peace-at-any-price man," He comes down from the ideal positions + of the early Quakers, the modern Tolstoyans, and the Salvation + Army. They preach non-resistance to evil consistently. Like all + extremists who have no reservations, but will trust to their + principle though it slay them, they have gained a certain glow, a + fervour of life, which shrivels up our ordinary compromises and + political considerations. But by advocating civilisation's + self-defence in the form of a combined international armament, + Moncure Conway abandoned that vantage ground. He became sensible, + arguable, uncertain, submitting himself to the balances of reason + and expediency like the rest of us.</p> + + <p>A certain glow, a fervour of life—those are signs that + always distinguish extremists—men and women who are willing + literally to die<a name="205"></a> for their cause. I did not + find those signs at the Hague Peace Conference, when I was sent + there in 1907 as being a war correspondent. Such an assembly + ought to have marked an immense advance in human history. It was + the sort of thing that last-century poets dreamed of as the + Parliament of Man, the Federation of the World. It surpassed + Prince Albert's vision of an eternity of International + Exhibitions. One would have expected such an occasion to be + heralded by Schiller's <i>Ode to Joy</i> sounding through the + triumph of the Choral Symphony. Long and dubious has been the + music's struggle with pain, but at last, in great simplicity, the + voices of the men give out the immortal theme, and the whole + universe joins in harmony with a thunder of exultation:</p> + <pre> + "Seid umschlungen, Millionen, + Diesen Kuss der ganzen Welt!" +</pre> + + <p>Surely at the Hague Conference, in the fulfilment of time, + peace had come on earth and goodwill among men. Here once more + would sound the song that the morning stars sang together, when + all the sons of God shouted for joy.</p> + + <p>As loaders in that celestial chorus, I found about 400 + frock-coated, top-hatted gentlemen from various parts of the + world—elderly diplomatists, ambassadors inured to the + stifling atmosphere of courts, Foreign Ministers who had served + their time of intrigue, professors who worshipped law, worthy + officials primed with a stock of phrases about "the noble + sentiments of justice and humanity," but reared in the deadening + circle of uniforms, decorations, and insincere courtesy, having + no more knowledge of the people's desires than of the people's + bacon, and instructed to maintain the cause of peace chiefly by + safeguarding their country's military interests. An atmosphere of + suspicion and secrecy surrounded them, more dense than the fog of + war. For their president they elected an ambassador who had grown + old in the service of three Tsars, and now represented a tyrant + who refused the first principles of peace to his own people, and + repressed the struggle for freedom by methods of barbarism such + as no general could use against a belligerent in the stress of + war without incurring the execration of mankind.</p> + + <p>With commendable industry, those delegates at this Second + Peace Conference devoted themselves to careful preparations for + the next war, especially for the next naval war. They appeared to + me like two farmers making arrangements to abstain from burning + each other's hay-ricks. "Look here," says one, "this + rick-burning's a dangerous and expensive job. Let us give up wax + vestas, and stick to safety matches." "Done!" says the other. + "Now mind! Only safety matches in future!" and they part with + mutual satisfaction, conscious of thrift and Christian + forbearance. Or, again, I thought the situation might be + expressed in the form of a fable, how the Fox of the Conference + said to the Rabbit of Peace, "With what sauce, Brer Rabbit, would + you like to be eaten?" "Please, Mr. Fox, I don't want to be eaten + at all," said the Rabbit "Now," answered the Fox, "you are + gettin' away from the pint."</p> + + <p>Something, no doubt, has been gained. Even the jealous + diplomatists and cautious lawyers at The Hague have secured + something. Mankind had gradually learnt that certain forms of + horror were too horrible for average civilisation, and The Hague + confirmed man's veto, in some particulars. Laying mines at sea + and the destruction of private property at sea were not + forbidden, nor were the rights of belligerents extended to + subject races or rebels. Men and women are still exposed to every + kind of torture and brutality, provided the brutalities are + practised by their own superior government. But it is something, + certainly, to have gained a permanent Court of Arbitration for + the trial of disputed points between nations. The points are at + present minor, it is true. Questions affecting honour, vital + interests, and independence are expressly excluded. But the habit + of referring any question at all to arbitration is a gain, if + only we could trust the members of the Court. So long as those + members are appointed by the present governments of Europe, there + is danger of the Court becoming merely another engine in the + hands of despotism, as was proved by the conduct of the Savarkar + case at The Hague in February 1911. But the field of reference + will grow imperceptibly, and we have had President Taft + protesting that he desires an Arbitration Treaty with England + from which even questions of honour, vital interests, and + independence shall not be excluded.[<a href="#note-15">15</a>] + Out of the eater cometh forth meat. Even a blood-stained Tsar's + proposals for peace have not been entirely without effect. But in + the midst of the warring diplomatists at The Hague one could + discover none of that glow, that fervour of devotion to peace, + which distinguished the early Quakers and is still felt among a + few fine enthusiasts. The first duty imposed upon every + representative at The Hague was to get everyone to do as much as + possible for peace, except himself. It is not so that the world + is moved.</p><a name="208"></a> + + <p>Neither in the representatives nor in their governments can we + find any principle or passionate desire for peace. The emperors, + kings, and men of wealth, birth, and leisure who impudently claim + the right of deciding questions of peace and war in all nations, + display no objection to war, provided it looks profitable. + Provided it looks profitable—what a vista of devilry those + words call up! What a theme for satire! But also, to some extent, + and in the present day, what ground for hope!</p> + + <p>They bring us suddenly face to face with a little book which + will leave its mark, not only on the mind, but, perhaps, on the + actual and external history of man. In my opinion, the next Nobel + prize should be shared equally between Mr. J.A. Hobson and Mr. + Lane, the younger writer who calls himself Norman Angell. Between + them they have completely analysed the motives, the pretexts, the + hypocrisies, the deceptions, the corruptions, and the fallacies + of modern war.[<a href="#note-16">16</a>] When we say that the + men who impudently claim the control of foreign politics among + the nations display no objection to war, provided it looks + profitable, we enter at once the sphere of that "Great Illusion" + which is the distinguishing theme of Norman Angell's + pamphlet.</p> + + <p>His main contention is that in modern times, owing to the + interdependence of nations, especially in trade, the readiness of + communication, the conduct of commerce and finance almost + entirely by the exchange of bills and cheques, the complicated + banking relations,<a name="209"></a> and the solidarity of credit + in all great capitals, so that if London credit is shaken the + finance of Berlin, Paris, St. Petersburg, and New York feels the + shock almost equally—for all these reasons modern war + cannot be profitable even to the victorious Power.</p> + + <p>To advocates of peace, here comes a gleam of hope at + last—perhaps the strongest gleam that has reached us yet. + Upon the kings of the earth, sitting, as Milton said, with awful + eye; upon diplomatists, ambassadors, Foreign Office officials, + courtiers, clergy, and the governing class in general, appeals to + pity, mercy, humanity, religion, or reason have had no effect + whatever. If you think I speak too strongly, look around you. + Name within the last century any ruler or minister who has been + guided by humanity or religion in the question of peace or war. + Name any ruler who has abstained from war because force is no + argument. With the possible exception of Mr. Gladstone in the + cases of the <i>Alabama</i> and Majuba Hill, I can think of none. + Against that one possible exception place all the wars of a + century past, including three that were among the most terrible + in human history—the Napoleonic war, the Franco-German, and + the Russo-Japanese. And as to the sweet influences of + Christianity, remember the Russian Archbishops, how they blessed + the sacred Icons that were to lead the Russian peasants to the + slaughter of Japanese peasants. Remember our Archbishop of + Canterbury in February 1911 deeply regretting that a previous + engagement prevented him from passing on the blessing of the + Apostles to the battleship <i>Thunderer</i>. Remember how he sent + his wife as a substitute to occupy the Apostolic position in the + hope that the hand which rocks the cradle might prove equally + efficacious.</p><a name="210"></a> + + <p>Against the pugnacity and courage which urge our rulers to + send other people to die for them, the claims of humanity, + reason, and religion have no effect. The new hope is that + self-interest may succeed where the motives that act upon most + decent people almost invariably fail. Norman Angell's appeal goes + straight to the pocket, and his choice of that objective inspires + hope. If rulers can no longer plead that by war they are + advancing the material interests of their State, if it is + recognised that even a victorious war involves as great disaster + as defeat, or even greater (and it is remarkable that, in one of + his latest speeches, Moltke maintained that, next to defeat, the + greatest disaster which could befall any State was + victory)—if it can be shown that, in a war between great + nations, trade does not follow the flag, but moves rapidly in the + other direction, then one of the pretexts of our rulers will be + removed, one veil of hypocrisy will be stripped off. To that + extent the hope of peace will have grown brighter, and that + extent is large.</p> + + <p>On the whole, it is the brightest hope that has lately + risen—or the brightest but one which we will speak of later + on. I would only hint at two considerations which may obscure it. + Granted that in modern times war-power or victory does not give + prosperity; that the invader cannot destroy or capture the + enemy's trade; that his own finance is equally disturbed; and + that the most enormous indemnity can add nothing to the + victorious nation's actual wealth—granted all this, + nevertheless, the warlike, though vicarious, heroism of our + rulers might not on this account be restrained. In many, if not + most, recent wars the object has not been national + aggrandisement, or even national commerce, but private<a name= + "211"></a> gain. We have but to think of the South African War, + so cleverly engineered in the gold-mining interest, or of the + Russo-Japanese war, where so many thousands died for the Russian + aristocracy's timber concessions on the Yalu. Or, as permanent + incitements to warfare, we may think of all the manufacturers of + armaments, the enormous companies that fatten on blood and iron, + the contractors, purveyors, horse-breeders, tailors, advertisers, + army-coaches, landowners, and well-to-do families whose wealth, + livelihood, or position depends mainly upon the continuance of + warlike preparations, and whose personal interests are enormously + increased by actual war. When a nation is pouring out its wealth + at the rate of £2,000,000 or even £10,000,000 a week, + as in the future it may well do, much of it will run away to + waste, but most of it will stick to one finger or another; and + the dirtier the finger the more will stick. It seems silly, it + seems almost incredible, that, only a few generations ago, the + peoples of Europe were engaged in killing each other as fast as + possible over a question of dynasty—whether this or that + poor forked radish of a mortal should be called King of Spain or + King of France. But in our own days men kill each other for + dynasties of cash—for wealthy firms and intermarried + families. Nations fight that private companies may show a higher + percentage on dividends. It is silly; it is almost incredible. + But to shareholders and speculators instigated by these motives + Norman Angell's appeal is futile. Even a victorious war may spell + disaster to the nation; but even defeat spells cash for them.</p> + + <p>Holland was in February 1911 compelled to buy twenty-four + inferior big guns from Krupp, without contract or competition, + for the defence of her Javanese possessions, which no one thinks + of attacking. Do you suppose<a name="212"></a> that Krupp's + Company regards war as disadvantageous, or circulates Norman + Angell's book for a new gospel? "What plunder!" cried + Blücher, looking over London from St. Paul's. Nowadays he + would not wait to plunder a foreign nation; he would invest in a + Dreadnought company, and plunder his own. Our naval expenditure + in 1911-12 amounted to £46,000,000; our army expenditure to + nearly £28,000,000—a total of £73,650,000 for + what is called defence! Ten years ago we were in the midst of a + most expensive war. Nevertheless, in ten years the annual + expenditure upon armaments has increased by + £14,000,000—far more than enough to double our Old + Age Pensions. Within thirty years the naval estimates have more + than quadrupled. Are we to suppose that no one grows fat on the + people's money? <i>Quidquid delirant reges</i>. The kings of the + earth stood up and violently raged together; their subjects died. + But now the kings of the earth are raging financiers with a + shrewd eye to business, and their subjects starve to pay them. We + used to be told that the man who paid the piper called the tune. + Do the people call the tune of peace or war? Not at all. The + ruling classes both call the tune and pocket the pay.</p> + + <p>There is one other point that may obscure the hope arising + from Norman Angell's book. His main contention concerns wars + between great Powers, nearly equally matched—Powers of high + civilisation, with elaborate systems of credit and complicated + interdependence of trade. But most recent wars have been + attacks—defensive attacks, of course—upon small, + powerless, and semi-civilised nations by the great Powers. Under + the pretext of extending law and order, justice, peace, good + government, and the blessings of the Christian faith, a great + Power attacks a small and half-organised people with the object + of taking up the White Man's Burden, capturing markets, + contracting for railways, and extending territory. To wars of + this kind, I think, Norman Angell's comforting theory does not + apply—the great illusion does not come in. A strong Power + may conquer Morocco, or Persia, or seize Bosnia, or enslave + Finland, or penetrate Tibet, or maintain its hold on India, or + occupy Egypt, or even destroy the Dutch Republics of South + Africa, without disorganising its own commerce or raising a panic + on its own credit. Most actual fighting has lately been of this + character. It aims at the suppression of freedom in small or + unarmed nationalities, the absorption of independent countries + into great empires. It is the modern counterpart of the + slave-trade. It is supported by similar arguments, and may be + quite lucrative, as the slave-trade was.</p> + + <p>Actual warfare generally takes this form now, but behind it + one may always feel the latent or diplomatic warfare that + consists in the calculation of armaments. A great Power says: + "How much of Persia, Turkey, China, or Morocco do I dare to + swallow? Germany, Russia, France, Japan, England, or Spain (as + the case may be) will not like it if I swallow much. But what + force could she bring against me, if it came to extremities, and + what force could I set against hers?" Then the Powers set to + counting up army corps and Dreadnoughts. In Dreadnoughts they + seldom get their addition-sums right, but they do their poor + best, strike a balance, and declare that a satisfactory agreement + has been come to. This latent war is expensive, but cheaper than + real war—and it<a name="214"></a> is not bloody; it does + not shock credit, though it weakens it; it does not ruin + commerce, though it hampers it. The drain upon the nations is + exhausting, but it does not kill men so horribly, and our rulers + do not feel it; for the people pay, and the concession-hunters, + the contractors, the company directors, and suchlike people with + whom our rulers chiefly associate, grow very fat.</p> + + <p>If, then, Norman Angell's hopeful theory applies only + partially to these common wars of Imperial aggrandisement and the + perpetual diplomatic war by comparison of armaments, to what may + we look for hope? Lord Rosebery would be the last person to whom + one would look for hope in general. His hope is too like despair + for prudence to smother. Yet, in his speech at the Press banquet + during the Imperial Conference of 1909, when he spoke of our + modern civilisation "rattling into barbarism," he gave a hint of + the movement to which alone I am inclined to trust. "I can only + foresee," he exclaimed, "the working-classes of Europe uniting in + a great federation to cry: 'We will have no more of this madness + and foolery, which is grinding us to powder!'" The words may not + have been entirely sincere—something had to be said for the + Liberal Press tables, which cheered while the Imperialists sat + glum; but there, I believe, lies the ultimate and only possible + chance of hope. We must revolutionise our Governments; we must + recognise the abject folly of<a name="215"></a> allowing these + vital questions of peace, war, and armaments to be decided + according to the caprice or advantage of a single man, a clique + of courtiers, a gang of adventurers, or the Cabal of a Cabinet + formed from the very classes which have most to gain and least to + lose, whether from actual war or the competition in armaments. + Over this Executive, whether it is called Emperor, King, Court, + or Cabinet, the people of the nation has no control—or + nothing like adequate control—in foreign affairs and + questions of war. In England in the year 1910 not a single hour + was allowed for Foreign Office debate in the Commons. In no + country of Europe have the men and women of the State a real + voice in a matter which touches every man and every woman so + closely as war touches them—even distant war, but far more + the kind of war that devastates the larder, sweeps out the + drawing-room, encamps in the back garden, and at any moment may + reduce the family by half.[<a href="#note-17">17</a>] One + remembers that picture in Carlyle, how thirty souls from the + British village of Dumdrudge are brought face to face with thirty + souls from a French Dumdrudge, after infinite effort. The word + "Fire!" is given, and they blow the souls out of one another:</p> + <pre> + "Had these men any quarrel?" asks the Sartor. "Busy as + the Devil is, not the smallest! They lived far enough apart—were + the entirest strangers; nay, in so wide a Universe there + was even, unconsciously, by Commerce, some mutual helpfulness + between them. How then? Simpleton! their Governors had + fallen out; and, instead of shooting one another, had the + cunning to make these poor blockheads shoot." +</pre> + + <p><a name="216"></a> Slowly and dimly the Dumdrudges of the + world—the peasants and artisans, the working people, the + people who have most right to count—are beginning to + recognise the absurdity of paying and dying for wars of which + they know nothing, and in the quarrels of kings and ministers for + whom they have neither reverence nor love. "What is the British + Empire to me," I heard a Whitechapel man say, "when I have to + open the window before I get room to put on my trousers?" A + section of the country was opposed to the Crimean War; a far + larger section was opposed to the Boer War. Both were ridiculed, + persecuted, and maltreated; but nearly everyone now admits that + both were right. In the next unjust or unreasonable war the peace + party will be stronger still. Something has thus been gained; but + the greatest gain ever yet won for the cause of peace was the + refusal of the Catalonian reservists to serve in the war against + the Riff mountaineers of Morocco in July 1909. "Risk our lives + and the subsistence of our little families to secure dividends + for shareholders in mining concessions illegally inveigled from a + semi-savage chieftain? Never! We will raise hell rather, and die + in revolution upon our native streets." So Barcelona flared to + heaven, and for nearly a week the people held the vast city. I + have seen many noble, as well as many terrible, events, but none + more noble or of finer promise for mankind than the sudden + uprising of the Catalan working people against a dastardly and + inglorious war, waged for the benefit of a few speculators in + Paris and Madrid. Ferrer had no direct part in that rising; his + only part lay in sowing the seed of freedom by his writings. It + was a pity he had no other part. He lost an opportunity such as + comes in few men's lives—and he was executed just the + same.[<a href="#note-18">18</a>]</p> + + <p>The event was small and brief, but it was one of the most + significant in modern times. If the working classes refuse to + fight, what will the kings, ministers, speculators, and + contractors do? Will they go out to fight each other? Then, + indeed, warfare would become a blessing undisguised, and we could + freely join the poet in calling carnage God's daughter. When I + was a child I drew up a scheme for a vast British army recruited + from our lunatic asylums. With lunatic soldiers, as I explained + to my mother, the heavier our losses, the greater would be our + gain. It seems to me still a promising idea. But an army + recruited from kings, lords, Cabinet Ministers, Members of + Parliament, speculators, contractors, and officials—the + people who are the primary originators of our wars—would + have even greater advantages, and the losses in battle would be + balanced by still greater compensations.</p> + + <p>The Barcelona rising was, indeed, full of promise. It marked + the gradual approach of a time when the working-people, who + always supply most of the men to be killed in war, will refuse to + fight for the ruling classes, as they would now refuse to fight + for dynasties. If they refuse to fight in the ordinary Government + wars, either war will cease, or it will rise to the higher stage + of war between class and class. It will become either civil + war—the most terrible and difficult, but the finest kind of + war, because some principle of the highest value must be at stake + before civil war can arise; or it will become a combined war of + the classes in various countries between whom there is a feeling + of sympathy and common interest. That would take the form of a + civil war extended throughout Europe, and perhaps America and the + highly-developed parts of Asia. The allied forces in the various + countries would then strike where the need was greatest, the + French or English army corps of working-men going to the + assistance of Russian or German working-men against the forces of + despotism or capital. But a social war on that scale, however + desirable, is like the Spanish fleet in the + <i>Critic</i>—it is not yet in sight. The growing + perfection of modern arms gives too enormous an advantage to + established forces. The movement is much more likely to take the + Barcelona form of refusal to fight; and if the peoples of Europe + could combine in that determination, the effect would be + irresistible. This international movement is, in fact, very + slowly, growing. The telegraph, the railway, cheap tickets, + Cook's tours, the power of reading, and even the peculiar + language taught as French in our schools, combine to wear away + the hostility of peoples. The "beastly foreigner" is almost + extinct. The man who has been for a week in Germany, or for a + trip to lovely Lucerne, feels a reflected glory in saying those + foreigners are not so bad. There was a fine old song with a + refrain, "He's a good 'un when you know him, but you've got to + know him first." Well, we are getting to know the foreigner whom + we once called "beastly."</p> + + <p>Ultimately the best, the only hope for peace lies in the + determination of the peoples not to do anything so silly as to + settle the quarrels of their rulers by killing each other. But + then come the deeper questions:<a name="219"></a> Do people love + peace? Do they hate war? Would the total abolition of war be a + good thing for the world? After a lengthy period of peace there + usually arises a craving for battle. Nearly fifty years of peace + followed the defeat of the Persians in Greece, and at the end of + that time, just before the Peloponnesian War, which was to bring + ruin on the country, Thucydides tells us that all Greece, being + ignorant of the realities of war, stood a-tiptoe with excitement. + It was the same in England just before our disastrous South + African War, when readers of Kipling glutted themselves with + imaginary slaughter, and Henley cried to our country that her + whelps wanted blooding. In England this martial spirit was more + violent than in Greece, because, when war actually came, the + Greeks were themselves exposed to all its horrors and sufferings, + but in England the bloodthirsty mind could enjoy the conflict in + a suburban train with a half-penny paper. As in bull-fights or + gladiatorial shows, the spectators watched the expensive but + entertaining scene of blood and death from a safe and comfortable + distance. They gave the cash and let the credit go; they + thoroughly appreciated the rumble of a distant drum. "Blood! + blood!" they cried. "Give us more blood to make our own blood + circulate more agreeably under our unbroken skins!" Christianity + joined in the cry through the mouths of its best accredited + representatives. As at the Crucifixion it is written, "On that + day Herod and Pilate were friends," so on the outbreak of a + singularly unjust, avaricious, and cruel war, the Christian + Churches of England displayed for the first and last time some + signs of<a name="220"></a> unity. Canterbury and Armagh kissed + each other, and the City Temple applauded the embraces of + unrighteousness and war. Dean Farrar of Canterbury, concluding + his glorification of the hell which I then saw enacted in South + Africa, quoted with heartfelt approval the Archbishop of Armagh's + poem:—</p> + <pre> + "And, as I note how nobly natures form + Under the war's red rain, I deem it true + That He who made the earthquake and the storm + Perhaps makes battles too. + + Thus as the heaven's many-coloured flames + At sunset are but dust in rich disguise, + The ascending earthquake-dust of battle frames + God's picture in the skies."[<a href="#note-19">19</a>] +</pre> + + <p>We are no longer compelled to regard the dogmas of + Christianity or the opinions of eminent Christians as + authoritative. The appeal to Christianity, which used to be + regarded as decisive in favour of peace, is no longer decisive + one way or other. Christ's own teaching is submitted to critical + examination like any other teacher's, and I should be the last to + decry the representatives of the Prince of Peace for acclaiming + the virtues of war, if they think their Master was mistaken. When + bishops and deans and leading Nonconformists thirst for war's red + rain, we must take account of their craving as part of man's + nature. We must remember also that war has popular elements + sometimes overlooked in its general horror. It is believed that + in the American Civil War nearly a million men lost their lives; + but against this loss we must set the peculiar longevity with + which the survivors have been endowed, and the increasing number + of heroes who enjoyed the State's reward for their services of + fifty years before. Even during the South African War certain + compensations were found. A charitable lady went on a visit of + condolence to a poor woman whose husband's name had just appeared + in the list of the killed at Spion Kop. "Ah, Mum," exclaimed the + widow with feeling, "you don't know how many happy homes this war + has made!"</p> + + <p>Before we absolutely condemn war we must take account of these + religious, medicinal, and domestic considerations. On the side of + peace I think it is of little avail to plead the horrors and + unreason of war. We all know how horrible and silly it is for two + countries to pretend to settle a dispute by ordering large + numbers of innocent men to kill each other. If horrors would stop + it, anyone who has known war could a tale unfold surpassing all + that the ghost of Hamlet's father had seen in hell. There are + sights on a battlefield under shell-fire, and in a country + devastated by troops, so horrible that even war correspondents + have silently agreed to leave them undescribed. But the truth is + that people who are not present in war enjoy the horror. That is + what they like reading about in their back-gardens, clubs, and + city offices. The more you talk of the horrors of war the more + warlike they become, and I have met no one quite so bloodthirsty + as the warrior of peace. Nor is it any good pleading for reason + when about ninety-nine per cent. of every man's motives are not + reasonable, but spring from passion, taste, or interest. The + appeal even to expense falls flat in a country like ours, where + about 200,000 horses, valued at £12,000,000, and maintained + at a charge of £8,000,000 a year, are kept entirely for the + pursuit of foxes, which are preserved alive at great cost in + order that they may be pursued to death.[<a href= + "#note-20">20</a>] Protests against the horrors, the unreason, + and even the expense of war have hitherto had very small + effect.</p> + + <p>The real argument in favour of war welcomes horror, defies + reason, and disregards expense. There are certain military + qualities and aspects of life, it says, that are worth preserving + at the cost of all the horror, unreason, and waste of war. The + stern military character, brave but tender, is a type of human + nature for which we cannot pay too much. Consider physical + courage alone, how valuable it is, and how rare. With what speed + the citizen runs at the first glimpse of danger! With what + pleasure or shamefaced cowardice citizens look on while women are + being violently and indecently assaulted when attempting to + vindicate their political rights! How gladly everyone shouts with + the largest crowd! Consider how many noble actions men leave + undone through fear of being hurt or killed. "Dogs! would you + live for ever?" cried Frederick the Great to his soldiers, in + defeat; and most of us would certainly answer: "Yes, we would, if + you please!" Only through war, or the training for war, says the + argument, can this loathly cowardice be kept in check. Only by + war can the spirit be maintained that redeems the world from + sinking into a Pigs' Paradise. Only in the expectation or reality + of war can life be kept sweet, strong, and at its height. War is + life in extremes; it is worth preserving even for its discipline + and training.</p> + <pre> + "Manhood training [said Mr. Garvin, editor of the <i>Observer</i>, + in the issue of January 22, 1911]—manhood training has become<a name="223"></a> + the basis of public life, not only in every great European + State, but in young democratic countries, like Australia and + South Africa. 'One vote, one rifle,' says ex-President Steyn.... As + a means of developing the physical efficiency of whole + nations, of increasing their patriotic cohesion, of implanting in + individuals the sense of political reality and responsibility, no + substitute for manhood training has yet been discovered." +</pre> + + <p>This kind of argument implies despair of perpetual, or even of + long-continued, peace. It is true that those who advocate a + national training of all our manhood for war generally urge upon + us that it is the best security for peace. In the same way, + peaceful Anarchists might plead that they maintained several + enormous bomb-factories in order to impress upon rulers the + advantages of freedom. But if peace were the real and only object + of Conscription, and if Conscription precluded the probability of + war, military training, after some years, would almost certainly + decline, and its supposed advantages would be lost. When you + breed game-cocks, they will fight; but if you forbid + cock-fighting, the breed will decline. You cannot have training + for war without the expectation of war. For many years I was a + strong advocate of national service, even though I knew it would + never be adopted in this country until we had seen the realities + of war in our very midst, and had sat in morning trains to the + City stopped by the enemy's batteries outside Liverpool Street + and London Bridge. I also foresaw the extreme difficulty of + enforcing military training upon Quakers, the Salvation Army, the + Peace Society, and many Nonconformists and Rationalists. + Nevertheless, twenty-five years ago I advocated Conscription in a + carefully-reasoned article that appeared in Mr. Stead's <i>Pall + Mall Gazette</i>. It was received with a howl of rage and + derision by both parties in the State, and by all newspapers that + noticed it at all. It is significant—perhaps terribly + significant—that it would not be received with derision + now, but that nearly the whole of one party and the great + majority of newspapers would welcome it only too gladly.</p> + + <p>It seemed to me at that time—and it seems to me + still—one of the most horrible things in modern British + life that we bribe the unemployed, that we compel them by fear of + starvation, to do our killing and dying for us. I have passed + more men into the army, probably, than any recruiting sergeant, + and I have never known a man who wished to recruit unless he was + unemployed. The Recruiting Report issued by the War Office for + 1911 shows ninety per cent. of the recruits "out of work." I + should have put the percentage still higher. But when you next + see a full company of a hundred soldiers, and reflect that ninety + of them have been persuaded to kill and die for you simply + through fear of starvation under our country's social + system—I say, whether you seek peace or admire war, the + thought is horrible; it is hardly to be endured.</p> + + <p>To wipe out this hideous shame, to put ourselves all in one + boat, and, if war is licensed murder, at all events to share the + murder that we license, and not to starve the poor into criminals + for our own relief, perhaps Conscription would not be too high a + price to pay. Other advantages are more obvious—the + physical advantage of two years' regular food and healthy air and + exercise for rich and poor alike, the social advantage of the + mixture of all classes in the ranks, the moral advantage of + giving the effeminate sons of luxury a stern and bitter time. For + all this we would willingly pay a very heavy price. I would pay + almost any price.</p> + + <p>But should we pay the price of compulsion? That is the only + price that makes me hesitate. I used to cherish a frail belief in + discipline and obedience to authority and the State. My belief in + discipline is still alive—discipline in the sense of entire + mutual confidence between comrades fighting for the same cause; + but I have come to regard obedience to external authority as one + of the most dangerous virtues. I doubt if any possible advantage + could balance an increase of that danger; and every form of + military life is almost certain to increase it. To me the chief + peril of our time is the growing power of the State, its growing + interference in personal opinion and personal life, the intrusion + of an inhuman being called an expert or official into the most + intimate, inexplicable, and changing affairs of our lives and + souls, and the arrogant social legislation of a secret and + self-appointed Cabal or Cabinet, which refuses even to consult + the wishes of that half of the population which social + restrictions touch most nearly. If general military service would + tend to increase respect and obedience to external authority of + this kind, it might be too big a price to pay for all its other + advantages. And I do think it would tend to increase that + abhorrent virtue of indiscriminate obedience. Put a man in + uniform, and ten to one he will shoot his mother, if you order + him. Yet the shame of our present enlistment by hunger is so + overwhelming that I confess I still hesitate between the two + systems, if we must assume that the continuance of war is + inevitable, or to be desired.</p> + + <p><a name="226"></a> Is it inevitable? Is it to be desired? If + it were dying out in the world, should we make efforts to + preserve war artificially, as we preserve sport, which would die + out unless we maintained it at great expense? The sportsman is an + amateur butcher—a butcher for love. Ought we to maintain + soldiers for love—for fear of losing the advantages of war? + Those advantages are thought considerable. War has inspired much + art and much literature. It is the background or foreground in + nearly all history; it sheds a gleam of uniforms and romance upon + a drab world; it delivers us from the horrors of peace—the + softness, the monotony, the sensual corruption, the enfeebling + relaxation. No one desires a population slack of nerve, soft of + body, cruel through fear of pain, and incapable of endurance or + high endeavour.</p> + <pre> + "It is a calumny on men," said Carlyle, "to say they are + roused to heroic action by ease, hope of pleasure, recompense + in this world or the next. Difficulty, abnegation, martyrdom, + death, are the allurements that act on the heart of man."[<a href="#note-21">21</a>] +</pre> + + <p>At times war appears as a kind of Last Judgment, sentencing + folly and sensuality to hell. The shame of France was consumed by + the fire of 1870, and her true genius was restored. Abominable as + the Boer War was, the mind of England was less pestilential after + it than before. Passion purifies, and surely there can be no + passion stronger than one which drives you to kill or die.</p> + + <p>The trouble is that, in modern wars, passion does not drive + <i>you</i>, but you drive someone else, who probably feels no + passion at all. It is thought a reproach against an unwarlike + soldier that "he has never seen<a name="227"></a> a shot fired in + anger." But in these days he might have been through many battles + without seeing a shot fired in anger. Except in the Balkans, few + fire in anger now. What passion can an unemployed workman feel + when he is firing at an invisible unemployed workman or + semi-savage in the interest of a mining concession? Nor is it + true that war in these days encourages eugenics by promoting the + survival of the fittest. On the contrary, the fittest, the + bravest, and the biggest are the most likely to be killed. The + smallest, the cowards, the men who get behind stones and stick + there, will probably survive. And as to the dangers of effeminate + peace, it is only the very small circle of the rich, the overfed, + the over-educated, and the over-sensitive who are exposed to + them. There is no present fear of the working classes becoming + too soft. The molten iron, the flaming mine, the whirling + machine, the engulfing sea, and hunger always at the door take + care of that. Every working man lives in perpetual danger. + Compared to him, and compared to any woman in childbirth, a + soldier is secure, even under fire. The daily peril, the daily + toil, the fear for the daily bread harden most working men and + women enough, and for that very reason we should welcome the fine + suggestion of Professor William James—his last great + service—that the rich and highly educated should pass + through a conscription of labour side by side with the working + classes, who would heartily enjoy the sight of young dukes, + capitalists, barristers, and curates toiling in the stokeholes, + coal-mines, factories, and fishing-fleets, to the incalculable + advantage of their souls and bodies.</p> + + <p>So the balance swings this way and that, and neither scale + will definitely settle down. It is very likely that the bias of + temperament makes us incapable of decision. What is called the + personal equation holds the two scales of our minds painfully + equal, and while we meditate perpetual peace we suddenly hear the + trumpet blowing. In many of us a primitive instinct survives + which blinds and warps the reason, and calls us like a bugle to + the silly and atrocious field. For the immediate future, I can + only hope, as I confidently believe, that the present age of + capitalist war will pass, as the age of dynastic war has passed, + for ever into the inferno where slavery and religious persecution + now lie burning, though they seemed so natural and strong. I + think it will not much longer be possible to fool the working + classes into wars for concessions or the extension of empires. I + believe that already the peoples of the greatest countries are + awakening to the folly of entrusting their foreign politics, + involving questions of peace and war, to the guidance of rulers, + Ministers, and diplomatists who serve the interests of their own + class, and have no knowledge or care for the desires or interests + of the vast populations beneath them. I look forward to the time + when the extreme arbitrament of war will be resorted to mainly in + the form of civil or class contentions, involving one or other of + the noblest and most profound principles of human existence. Or + if war is to be international, we may hope that the finest + peoples of the world will resolve only to declare it in defence + of the threatened independence of some small but gallant race, or + for the assistance of rebel peoples in revolt for freedom against + an intolerable tyranny.</p> + + <p>I suppose a man's truest happiness lies in the keenest energy, + the conquest of difficulties, the highest fulfilment of his own + nature; and<a name="229"></a> I think it possible that, under the + conditions of our existence as men, the finest + happiness—the happiness of ecstasy—can only exist + against a very dark background, or in quick succession after + extreme toil and danger. It can only blaze like lightning against + the thunder-cloud, or like the sun's radiance after storm. For + most of us other perils or disasters or calls for energy supply + that terrific background to joy; but it is none the less + significant that most people who have shared in perilous and + violent contests would, in retrospect, choose to omit any part of + active and happy lives rather than the wars and revolutions in + which they have been present, no matter how terrible the misery, + the sickness, the hunger and thirst, the fear and danger, the + loss of friends, the overwhelming horror, and even the + defeat.</p> + + <p>We must not take as argument a personal note that may sound + only from a primitive and unregenerate mind. But when I look back + upon the long travail of our race, it appears to me still + impossible to adopt the peace position of non-resistance. As a + matter of bare fact, in reviewing history would not all of us + most desire to have chased the enslaving Persian host into the + sea at Marathon, to have driven the Austrians back from the Swiss + mountains, to have charged with Joan of Arc at Orleans, to have + gone with Garibaldi and his Thousand to the wild redemption of + Sicily's freedom, to have severed the invader's sinews with De + Wet, to have shaken an ancient tyranny with the Russian + revolutionists, or to have cleaned up the Sultan's shambles with + the Young Turks? Probably there is no man or woman who would not + choose scenes and actions like those, if the choice were offered. + To very few do such opportunities come; but we must hold + ourselves in daily readiness. We do well to extol peace, to + confront the dangers, labour, and temptations of peace, and to + hope for the general happiness of man in her continuance. But + from time to time there come awful moments to which Heaven has + joined great issues, when the fire kindles, the savage + indignation tears the heart, and the soul, arising against some + incarnate symbol of iniquity, exclaims, "By God, you shall not do + that. I will kill you rather. I will rather die!"</p> + + <center> + FOOTNOTES: + </center> + + <p><a name="note-7"><!-- Note Anchor 7 --></a>[Footnote 7: An + address delivered at South Place Institute in London on Moncure + Conway's birthday, March 17, 1911.]</p> + + <p><a name="note-8"><!-- Note Anchor 8 --></a>[Footnote 8: + Address on William Penn at Dickinson College, April 1907 + (<i>Addresses and Reprints</i>, p. 415).]</p> + + <p><a name="note-9"><!-- Note Anchor 9 --></a>[Footnote 9: + <i>Ibid</i>., p. 411.]</p> + + <p><a name="note-10"><!-- Note Anchor 10 --></a>[Footnote 10: + <i>Autobiography</i>, vol i. p. 239.]</p> + + <p><a name="note-11"><!-- Note Anchor 11 --></a>[Footnote 11: + <i>Ibid</i>., vol. i. p. 320.]</p> + + <p><a name="note-12"><!-- Note Anchor 12 --></a>[Footnote 12: + <i>Autobiography</i>, vol. i. p. 341 (from "The Rejected + Stone").]</p> + + <p><a name="note-13"><!-- Note Anchor 13 --></a>[Footnote 13: + <i>Autobiography</i>, vol. ii. pp. 453, 454.]</p> + + <p><a name="note-14"><!-- Note Anchor 14 --></a>[Footnote 14: + <i>Addresses and Reprints</i>, p. 432.]</p> + + <p><a name="note-15"><!-- Note Anchor 15 --></a>[Footnote 15: + Speech before the American International Arbitration Society, + January 1911.]</p> + + <p><a name="note-16"><!-- Note Anchor 16 --></a>[Footnote 16: See + Mr. Hobson's <i>Imperialism</i> and <i>The Psychology of + Jingoism</i>; Norman Angell's <i>The Great Illusion</i>.]</p> + + <p><a name="note-17"><!-- Note Anchor 17 --></a>[Footnote 17: "It + is especially in the domain of war that we, the bearers of men's + bodies, who supply its most valuable munition, who, not amid the + clamour and ardour of battle, but singly and alone, with a + three-in-the-morning courage, shed our blood and face death that + the battlefield may have its food—a food more precious to + us than our heart's blood; it is we especially who, in the domain + of war, have our word to say—a word no man can say for us. + It is our intention to enter into the domain of war, and to + labour there till, in the course of generations, we have + extinguished it"—Olive Schreiner's <i>Woman and Labour</i>, + p. 178.]</p> + + <p><a name="note-18"><!-- Note Anchor 18 --></a>[Footnote 18: Of + course, other causes combined for the Barcelona + outbreak—hatred of the religious orders, chiefly economic, + and the Catalonian hatred of Castile; but the refusal of + reservists to embark for Melilla was the occasion and the main + cause.]</p> + + <p><a name="note-19"><!-- Note Anchor 19 --></a>[Footnote 19: + Quoted in J.A. Hobson's <i>Psychology of Jingoism</i>, p. + 52.]</p> + + <p><a name="note-20"><!-- Note Anchor 20 --></a>[Footnote 20: + Figures from an article by Mr. Leonard Willoughby in the <i>Pall + Mall Magazine</i> for November 1910.]</p> + + <p><a name="note-21"><!-- Note Anchor 21 --></a>[Footnote 21: + <i>The Hero as Prophet</i>, p. 65.]</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p><a name="RULE4_23"><!-- RULE4 23 --></a><a name= + "231"></a> + + <h2>XXIV</h2> + + <center> + THE MAID + </center> + + <p>From the early morning of Sunday, August 18, 1909, till + evening came, the Square of St. Peter's in Rome and the interior + of the great basilica itself were thronged from end to end with + worshippers and pilgrims. The scene was brilliant with + innumerable lamps, with the robes of many cardinals and the + vestments of bishops, archbishops, and all the ranks of + priesthood. The ceremony of adding one more to the calendar of + the Blessed was performed, a solemn "Te Deum" was sung in praise + of God's eternal greatness, and Pontifical Mass was celebrated, + with all the splendour of ancient ritual and music of the + grandest harmony. In the afternoon Christ's Vicar himself entered + from his palace, attended by fifteen cardinals, seventy of the + archbishops and bishops of France, with an equal number of their + rank from elsewhere, and, amid the gleaming lights of scarlet and + gold, of green and violet, of jewels and holy flames, he + prostrated himself before the figure of the Blessed One, to whom + effectual prayer might now be offered even by the Head of the + Church militant here on earth. Till late at night the vast + cathedral was crowded with increasing multitudes assembled for + the honour of one whom the Church which judges securely as the + world, commanded them to revere.</p> + + <p>It was a simple peasant girl—"just the simplest peasant + you could ever see"—whom the Head of the Church thus + worshipped and crowds delighted to honour. Short and deep-chested + she was, capable of a man's endurance, and with black hair cut + like a boy's. She could not write or read, was so ignorant as to + astonish ladies, and had only the peasant arts. The earliest + description tells of her "common red frock carefully patched." "I + could beat any woman in Rouen at spinning and stitching," she + said to her judges, who, to be sure, had no special knowledge of + anything beyond theology. "I'm only a poor girl, and can't ride + or fight," she said when first she conceived her mission, and she + had just the common instincts of the working woman. We may + suppose her fond of children, for wherever she went she held the + newborn babies at the font. She hated death and cruelty. "The + sight of French blood," she said, "always makes my hair stand on + end," and even to the enemy she always offered peace. "Or, if you + want to fight," she sent a message to the Duke of Burgundy, "you + might go and fight the Saracens." She never killed anyone, she + said at her trial. Just an ordinary peasant girl she + seemed—"la plus simple bergerette qu'on veit + onques"—with no apparent distinction but a sweet and + attractive voice. To be sure, she could put that sweet voice to + shrewd use when she pleased. "What tongue do your Visions speak?" + a theologian kept asking her. "A better tongue than yours!" she + answered with the retort of an open-air meeting. But in those + days there were theologians who would try the patience of a + saint, and Joan of Arc is not a saint even yet, having been only + Beatified on that Sunday, nearly five centuries after her + death.</p> + + <p>And she was only nineteen when they burnt her. At least, she + thought she was about nineteen, but was not quite sure. Few years + had passed since she was a child dancing under the big trees + which fairies haunted still. Her days of glory had lasted only a + few months, and now she had lain week after week in prison, + weighed down with chains and balls of iron, watched day and night + by men in the cell, because she always claimed a prisoner's right + to escape if she could. Her trial before the Bishop of Beauvais + and all the learning and theology of Paris University lasted + nearly three months. Sometimes forty men were present, sometimes + over sixty, for it was a remarkable case, and gave fine + opportunity for the display of the superhuman knowledge and + wisdom upon which divines exist. Human compassion they displayed + also, hurrying away just before the burning began one May + morning, and shedding tears of pity over the sins of one so + young. Indeed, their preachings and exhortations to her whilst + the stake and fire were being arranged continued so long that the + rude English soldiers, so often deaf to the beauty of theology, + asked whether they were going to be kept waiting there past + dinner-time.</p> + + <p>However, the verdict of divine and human law could never be + really doubtful from the first, for the charges on which she was + found guilty comprehended many grievous sins. The inscription + placed over her head as she stood while the flames were being + kindled declared this Joan, who called herself the Maid, to be a + liar, a plague, a deceiver of the people, a sorceress, + superstitious, a blasphemer of God, presumptuous, a misbeliever + in the faith of Christ, a boaster, idolatress, cruel, dissolute, + a witch of devils, apostate, schismatic, and heretic. It was a + heavy crime-sheet for a mere girl, and there was no knowing into + what a monster she might grow up. So the Bishop of Beauvais could + not well hesitate in pronouncing the final sentence whereby, to + avoid further infection to its members, this rotten limb, Joan, + was cast out from the unity of the Church, torn from its body, + and delivered to the secular power, with a request for moderation + in the execution of the sentence. Accordingly she was burnt + alive, and the Voices and Visions to which she had trusted did + not save her from the agony of flames.</p> + + <p>At first sight the contrast between these two scenes, enacted + by the authority of the same Church, may appear a little + bewildering. It might tempt us to criticise the consistency of + ecclesiastic judgment, did we not know that in theology, as in + metaphysics, extreme contradictions are capable of ultimate + reconciliation. The Church's attitude was, in fact, definitely + fixed in January 1909 by the Papal proclamation declaring that + the girl's virtues were heroic and her miracles authentic. One + can only regret that the discovery was not made sooner, in time + to save her from the fire, when her clerical judges came to the + very opposite conclusion. Yet we must not hastily condemn them + for an error which, even apart from theological guidance, most of + us laymen would probably have committed.</p> + + <p>Let us for a moment imagine Joan herself appearing in the + England of to-day on much the same mission. It is not difficult + to picture the contempt, the derision, the ribaldry, with which + she would be greeted. In nearly every point her reception would + be the same as it was, except that fewer people would believe in + her inspiration. We have only to read<a name="235"></a> her + trial, or even the account given in <i>Henry VI</i>, to know what + we should say of her now. There would be the same reproaches of + unwomanliness, the same reminders that a woman's sphere is the + home, the same plea that she should leave serious affairs to men, + who, indeed, had carried them on so well that the whole country + was tormented with perpetual panic of an enemy over sea. There + would be the same taunts of immodesty, the same filthy songs. + Since science has presumed to take the place of theology, we + should talk about hysteria instead of witchcraft, and + hallucination instead of demoniacal possession. Physiologists + would expound her enthusiasm as functional disorder of the + thyroid gland. Historians would draw parallels between her + recurring Voices and the "tarantism" of the Middle Ages. Superior + people would smile with polite curiosity. The vulgar would yell + in crowds and throw filth in her face. The scenes of the + fifteenth century in France would be exactly repeated, except + that we should not actually burn her in Trafalgar Square. If she + escaped the madhouse, the gaol and forcible feeding would be + always ready.</p> + + <p>So that we must not be hard on that theological conclave which + made the mistake of burning a Blessed One alive. They were + inspired by the highest motives, political and divine, and they + made the fullest use of their knowledge of spiritual things. + Being under divine direction, they could not allow any weak + sentiment of pity or human consideration to influence their + judgment. Their only error was in their failure to discern the + authenticity of the girl's miracles, and we must call that a + venial error, since it has taken the Church nearly five centuries + to give a final decision on the point. The authenticity of + miracles! Of all questions that is the most difficult for a + contemporary to decide. In the case of Joan's judges, indeed, the + solution of this mystery must have been almost impossible, unless + they were gifted with prophecy; for most of her miracles were + performed only after her death, or at least only then became + known. And as to the bare facts they knew of her life—the + realities that everyone might have seen or heard, and many + thousands had shared in—there was nothing miraculous about + them, nothing to detain the attention of theologians. They were + natural events.</p> + + <p>For a hundred years the country had been rent and devastated + by foreign war. The enemy still clutched its very centre. The + south-west quarter of the kingdom was his beyond question. By + treaty his young king was heir to the whole. The land was + depopulated by plague and impoverished by vain revolution. + Continuous civil strife tore the people asunder, and the most + powerful of the factions fought for the invader's claim. Armies + ate up the years like locusts, and there was no refuge for the + poor, no preservation of wealth for men or honour for women. Even + religion was distracted by schism, divided against herself into + two, perhaps into three, conflicting churches. In the midst of + the misery and tumult this girl appears, possessed by one thought + only—the pity for her country. Modest beyond all common + decency; most sensitive to pain, for it always made her cry; + conscious, as she said, that in battle she ran as much risk of + being killed as anyone else, she rode among men as one of + themselves, bareheaded, swinging her axe, charging with her + standard which all must follow, heartening her countrymen for the + cause of France, striking the invading enemy with the terrors of + a spirit. Just a clear-witted, womanly girl, except that her + cause had driven fear from her heart, and occupied all her soul, + to the exclusion of lesser things. "Pity she isn't an + Englishwoman!" said one of the enemy who was near her after a + battle, and he meant it for the most delicate praise. In a few + months she changed the face of her country, revived the hope, + inspired the courage, rekindled the belief, re-established the + unity, staggered the invader with a blow in the heart, and + crowned her king as the symbol of national glory. Within a few + months she had set France upon the assured road to future + greatness. Little over twenty years after they burnt her there + was hardly a trace of foreign foot upon French soil.</p> + + <p>It was all quite natural, of course. The theologians who + condemned her to death, and those who have now raised her to + Beatitude, were concerned with the authenticity of her miracles, + and there is nothing miraculous in thus raising a nation from the + dead. Considering the difficulty of their task, we may forgive + the clergy some apparent inconsistency in their treatment. But + for myself, as a mere layman, I should be content to call any + human being Blessed for the natural magic of such a history; and + compared with that deed of hers, I would not turn my head to + witness the most astonishing miracle ever performed in all the + records of the saints.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p><a name="RULE4_24"><!-- RULE4 24 --></a><a name= + "238"></a> + + <h2>XXV</h2> + + <center> + THE HEROINE + </center> + + <p>It is strange to think that up to August of 1910, a woman was + alive who had won the highest fame many years before most people + now living were born. To remember her is like turning the pages + of an illustrated newspaper half-a-century old. Again we see the + men with long and pointed whiskers, the women with ballooning + skirts, bag nets for the hair, and little bonnets or porkpie + hats, a feather raking fore and aft. Those were the years when + Gladstone was still a subordinate statesman, earning credit for + finance, Dickens was writing <i>Hard Times</i>, Carlyle was + beginning his <i>Frederick</i>, Ruskin was at work on <i>Modern + Painters</i>, Browning composing his <i>Men and Women</i>, + Thackeray publishing <i>The Newcomes</i>, George Eliot wondering + whether she was capable of imagination. It all seems very long + ago since that October night when that woman sailed for Boulogne + with her thirty-eight chosen nurses on the way to Scutari. I + suppose that never in the world's history has the change in + thought and manners been so rapid and far-reaching as in the two + generations that have arisen in our country since that night. And + it is certain that Florence Nightingale, when she embarked + without fuss in the packet, was quite unconscious how much she + was contributing to so vast a transformation.</p> + + <p><a name="239"></a> One memory almost alone still keeps a + familiar air, suggesting something that lies perhaps permanently + at the basis of man's nature. The present-day detractors of all + things new, of every step in advance, every breach in routine, + every promise of emancipation, and every departure from the + commonplace, would feel themselves quite at home among the evil + tongues that spewed their venom upon a courageous and + noble-hearted woman. They would recognise as akin to themselves + the calumny, scandal, ridicule, and malignity with which their + natural predecessors pursued her from the moment that she took up + her heroic task to the time when her glory stilled their filthy + breath. She went under Government direction; the Queen mentioned + her with interest in a letter; even the <i>Times</i> supported + her, for in those days the <i>Times</i> frequently stood as + champion for some noble cause, and its own correspondent, William + Russell, had himself first made the suggestion that led to her + departure. But neither the Queen, the Government, nor the + <i>Times</i> could silence the born backbiters of greatness. + Cowards, startled at the sight of courage, were alert with + jealousy. Pleasure-seekers, stung in the midst of comfort, + sniffed with depreciation. Culture, in pursuit of prettiness, + passed by with artistic indifference. The narrow mind attributed + motives and designs. The snake of disguised concupiscence sounded + its rattle. That refined and respectable women should go on such + an errand—how could propriety endure it? No lady could thus + expose herself without the loss of feminine bloom. If decent + women took to this kind of service, where would the charm of + womanhood be fled? "They are impelled by vanity, and seek the + notoriety of scandal," said the envious. "None of them will stand + the mere labour of it for a month, if we know anything," said the + physiologists. "They will run at the first rat," said masculine + wit. "Let them stay at home and nurse babies," cried the suburbs. + "These Nightingales will in due time become ringdoves," sneered + <i>Punch</i>.</p> + + <p>With all that sort of thing we are familiar, and every age has + known it. The shifts to which the <i>Times</i> was driven in + defence show the nature of the assaults:</p> + <pre> + "Young," it wrote of Florence Nightingale, "young (about + the age of our Queen), graceful, feminine, rich, popular, she holds + a singularly gentle and persuasive influence over all with whom + she comes in contact. Her friends and acquaintance are of all + classes and persuasions, but her happiest place is at home, in + the centre of a very large band of accomplished relatives, and + in simplest obedience to her admiring parents." +</pre> + + <p>"About the age of our Queen," "rich," "feminine," "happiest at + home," "with accomplished relatives," and "simply obedient to her + parents," she being then thirty-five—those were the points + that the <i>Times</i> knew would weigh most in answer to her + accusers. With all that sort of thing, as I said, we are familiar + still; but there was one additional line of abuse that has at + last become obsolete. For weeks after her arrival at Scutari, the + papers rang with controversy over her religious beliefs. She had + taken Romish Sisters with her; she had been partly trained in a + convent. She was a Papist in disguise, they cried; her purpose + was to clutch the dying soldier's spirit and send it to a + non-existent Purgatory, instead of to the Hell it probably + deserved. She was the incarnation of the Scarlet Woman; she was + worse, she was a Puseyite, a traitor in the camp of England's + decent Church. "No," cried the others, "she is worse even than a + Puseyite. She is a Unitarian; it is doubtful whether her father's + belief in the Athanasian Creed is intelligent and sincere." + Finally, the climax in her iniquities of mind and conduct reached + its height and she was publicly denounced as a Supralapsarian. I + doubt whether, at the present day, the coward's horror at the + sight of courage, the politician's alarm at the sound of + principle, or envy's utmost malignity would go so far as to call + a woman that.</p> + + <p>I dwell on the opposition and abuse that beset Florence + Nightingale's undertaking, because they are pleasanter and more + instructive than the sentimentality into which her detractors + converted their abuse when her achievement was publicly + glorified. It is significant that, in its minute account of the + Crimean War, the <i>Annual Register</i> of the time appears to + have made no mention of her till the war was over and she had + received a jewel from the Queen. Then it uttered its little + complaint that "the gentler sex seems altogether excluded from + public reward." Well, it is matter for small regret that a great + woman should not be offered such titles as are bestowed upon the + failures in Cabinets, the contributors to party funds, and the + party traitors whom it is hoped to restrain from treachery. But + whether a peerage would have honoured her or not, there is no + question of the disservice done to the truth of her character by + those whose sentimental titles of "Lady with the Lamp," "Leader + of the Angel Band," "Queen of the Gracious Dynasty," "Ministering + angel, thou!" and all the rest of it have created an ideal as + false as it is mawkish. Did the sentimentalists, at first + so<a name="242"></a> horrified at her action, really suppose that + the service which in the end they were compelled to admire could + ever have been accomplished by a soft and maudlin being such as + their imagination created, all brimming eyes and heartfelt sighs, + angelic draperies and white-winged shadows that hairy soldiers + turned to kiss?</p> + + <p>To those who have read her books and the letters written to + her by one of the sanest and least ecstatic men of her day, or + have conversed with people who knew her well, it is evident that + Florence Nightingale was at no point like that. Her temptations + led to love of mastery and impatience with fools. Like all great + organisers, quick and practical in determination, she found + extreme difficulty in suffering fools gladly. To relieve her + irritation at their folly, she used to write her private opinions + of their value on the blotting-paper while they chattered. It was + not for angelic sympathy or enthusiasm that Sidney Herbert chose + her in his famous invitation, but for "administrative capacity + and experience." Those were the real secrets of her great + accomplishment, and one remembers her own scorn of "the commonly + received idea that it requires nothing but a disappointment in + love, or incapacity for other things, to turn a woman into a good + nurse." It was a practical and organising power for getting + things done that distinguished the remarkable women of the last + century, and perhaps of all ages, far more than the soft and + sugary qualities which sentimentality has delighted to plaster on + its ideal of womanhood, while it talks its pretty nonsense about + chivalry and the weakness of woman being her strength. As + instances, one could recall Elizabeth Fry, Sister Dora, Josephine + Butler, Mary Kingsley, Octavia Hill, Dr. Garrett Anderson, Mrs. + F.G.<a name="243"></a> Hogg (whose labour secured the Employment + of Children Act and the Children's Courts), and a crowd more in + education, medicine, natural science, and political life. But, + indeed, we need only point to Queen Victoria herself, her strong + but narrow nature torn by the false ideal which made her protest + that no good woman was fit to reign, while all the time she was + reigning with a persistent industry, a mastery of detail, and a + truthfulness of dealing rare among any rulers, and at intervals + illuminated by sudden glory.</p> + + <p>"Woman is the practical sex," said George Meredith, almost + with over-emphasis, and certainly the saying was true of Florence + Nightingale. In far the best appreciation of her that has + appeared—an appreciation written by Harriet Martineau, who + herself died about forty years ago—that distinguished woman + says: "She effected two great things—a mighty reform in the + cure of the sick, and an opening for her sex into the region of + serious business." The reform of hospital life and sick nursing, + whether military or civil, is near fulfilment now, and it is hard + to imagine such a scene as those Scutari wards where, in William + Russell's words, the sick were tended by the sick and the dying + by the dying, while rats fed upon the corpses and the filth could + not be described. But though her other and much greater service + is, owing to its very magnitude, still far from fulfilment, it is + perhaps even harder for us to imagine the network of custom, + prejudice, and sentiment through which she forced the opening of + which Harriet Martineau speaks.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p><a name="RULE4_25"><!-- RULE4 25 --></a><a name= + "244"></a> + + <h2>XXVI</h2> + + <center> + THE PENALTY OF VIRTUE + </center> + + <p>His crime was that he actually married the girl. It had always + been the fashion for an Austrian Archduke to keep an + opera-dancer, whether he liked it or not, just as he always kept + a racehorse, even though he cared nothing about racing. For any + scion of the Imperial House she was a necessary part of the + surroundings, an item in the entourage of Court. He maintained + her just as our Royal Family pay subscriptions to charities, or + lay the foundation-stone of a church. It was expected of him. + <i>Noblesse oblige</i>. Descent from the House of Hapsburg + involves its duties as well as its rights. The opera-dancer was + as essential to Archducal existence as the seventy-seventh + quartering on the Hapsburg arms. She was the outward and visible + sign of an inward and spiritual Imperialness. She justified the + title of "Transparency." She was the mark of true heredity, like + the Hapsburg lip. As the advertisements say, no Archduke should + be without one.</p><a name="245"></a> + + <p>But really to love an opera-dancer was a scandal for derision, + moving all the Courts of the Empire to scorn. Actually to marry + her was a crime beyond forgiveness. It shook the Throne. It came + very near the sin of treason, for which the penalties prescribed + may hardly be whispered in polite ears. To mingle the Imperial + blood with a creature born without a title, and to demand human + and divine sanction for the deed! It brought a blush to the cheek + of heraldry. What of the possible results of a union with a being + from the stage? Only if illegitimate, could such results + legitimately be recognised; only if ignoble in the eyes of + morality, could they be received without censure among the + nobility. It was not fair to put all one's Imperial relations, to + say nothing of the Court officials, the Lord High Chamberlain, + the Keepers of the Pedigree, the Diamond Sticks in Waiting, the + Grooms of the Bedchamber, and the Valets Extraordinary—it + was not fair to put their poor brains into such a quandary of + contradiction and perplexity. And who shall tell the divine wrath + of that august figure, obscurely visible in the recesses of + ancestral homes, upon whose brow had descended the diadem of + Roman Emperors, the crown of Christ's Vicar in things + terrestrial, and who, when he was not actually wearing the symbol + of Imperial supremacy, enjoyed the absolute right to assume the + regalia of eight kingdoms in turn, including the sacred kingdom + of Jerusalem, and possessed forty-three other titles to + pre-eminent nobility, not counting the etceteras with which each + separate string of titles was concluded? Who, without profanity, + shall tell his wrath?</p> + + <p>It was the Archduke Johann Salvator of Austria, head of the + Tuscan branch of the House of Hapsburg, who confronted in his own + person that Imperial wrath, and committed the inexpiable crime of + marriage. It is true that he was not entirely to blame. He did + not succumb without a struggle, and his efforts to resist the + temptation to legality appear to have been sincere. Indeed, as + has so often happened since the days of<a name="246"></a> Eve, it + was chiefly the woman's fault. He honestly endeavoured to make + her his mistress, in accordance with all Archducal precedent, but + she persistently, nay, obstinately, refused the honour of + Imperial shame. With a rigidity that in other circumstances + might, perhaps, have been commended, but, in relation to an + Archduke, can only be described as designing, she insisted upon + marriage. She was but Fraulein Milli Stubel, light-skirted dancer + at the Court Opera-House, but, with unexampled hardihood, she + maintained her headlong course along the criminal path of virtue. + What could a man do when exposed to temptation so severe?</p> + + <p>The Archduke was in love, and love is an incalculable force, + driving all of us at times irresistibly to deeds of civil and + ecclesiastical wedlock. He was a soldier, a good soldier, in + itself an unusual and suspicious characteristic in one of the + Hapsburg blood. He was a musician and a man of + culture—qualities that, in a prince, must be taken as + dangerous indications of an unbalanced mind. He was an intimate + friend of the Crown Prince Rudolph, that bewildering personality, + whose own fate was so unhappy, so obscure. Skill in war, + intelligence, knowledge, friendship all marked him out as a man + only too likely to bring discredit on Archducal tradition. His + peers in birth shook their heads, and muttered the German synonym + for "crank." Worse than all, he was in love—in love with a + woman of dangerous virtue. What could such a man do against + temptation? Struggle as he might, he could not long repel the + seductive advances of honourable action. He loved, he fell, he + married.</p> + + <p>In London, of all places, this crime against all the natural + dictates of Society was ultimately perpetrated. We do not know + what church lent itself to the deed, or what hotel gave shelter + to the culprits' shame. By hunting up the marriage register of + Johann Orth (to such shifts may an Archduke be reduced in the + pursuit of virtue), one might, perhaps, discover the name of the + officiating clergyman, and we can confidently assume he will not + be found upon the bench of Bishops. But it is all many years ago + now, and directly after the marriage, as though in the vain hope + of concealing every trace of his offence, Johann Orth purchased a + little German ship, which he called by the symbolic name of + <i>Santa Margherita</i>—for St. Margaret suffered martyrdom + for the sin of rejecting a ruler's dishonourable + proposals—and so they sailed for South America. By what + means the wedded fugitives purposed there to support their + guiltless passion, is uncertain. But we know that they arrived, + that the captain gave himself out as ill, and left the ship, + together with most of the crew, no doubt in apprehension of + divine vengeance, if they should seem any longer to participate + in the breach of royal etiquette. We further know that, in July + 1890, the legal lovers sailed from Buenos Ayres, with a fresh + crew, the Archduke himself in command, and were never heard of + more.</p> + + <p>An Austrian cruiser was sent to search the coasts, in vain. No + letters came; no ship has ever hailed the vessel of their + iniquity. The insurance companies have long paid the claims upon + the Archduke's premiums for his life, and that fact alone is + almost as desirable an evidence as a death-certificate to his + heir. But one Sunday in July 1910, the Imperial Court of Austria + also issued an edict to appear simultaneously in the chief + official gazettes of the habitable globe,<a name="248"></a> + declaring that, unless within six months further particulars were + supplied concerning one, namely, the Archduke Johann Salvator, of + the House of Austria and Tuscany, otherwise and hereinafter known + as Johann Orth, master mariner, and concerning his alleged + decease, together with that of one Milli Orth, <i>née</i> + Stubel, his reputed accomplice in matrimony, the property, + estates, effects, titles, jewels, family vaults, and other goods + of the aforesaid Johann Orth, should forthwith and therewithal + pass into the possession of the Archduke Joseph Ferdinand, nephew + and presumptive heir of the aforesaid Johann Orth, to the + estimated value of £150,000 sterling, in excess or defect + thereof as the case might be, it being thereafter presumed that + the aforesaid Johann Orth, together with the aforesaid Milli + Orth, his reputed accomplice in matrimony, did meet or encounter + their death upon the high seas by the act or other intervention + of God.</p> + + <p>Oh, never believe it! There is an unsuspected island in + untravelled seas. Like the island of Tirnanog, which is the Irish + land of eternal youth, it lies below the sunset, brighter than + the island-valley of Avilion:</p> + <pre> + "Where falls not hail, or rain, or any snow, + Nor ever wind blows loudly; but it lies + Deep-meadow'd, happy, fair with orchard lawns + And bowery hollows crown'd with summer sea." +</pre> + + <p>To that island have those star-like lovers fared, since they + gave the world and all its Imperial Courts the slip. There they + have discovered an innocent and lovely race, adorned only with + shells and the flowers of hibiscus; and, intermingled with that + race, in accordance with indigenous marriage ceremonies, the crew + of the <i>Santa Margherita</i> now rear a dusky brood. In her + last extant letter, addressed to the leader of the <i>corps de + ballet</i> at the Ring Theatre in Vienna, Madame Milli Orth + herself hinted at a No-Man's Land, which they were seeking as the + home of their future happiness. They have found it now, having + trodden the golden path of rays. There palls not wealth, or + state, or any rank, nor ever Court snores loudly, but men and + women meet each evening to discuss the next day's occupation, and + the Chancellor of the Exchequer collects the unearned increment + in the form of the shell called Venus' ear. For a time, indeed, + Johann Orth attempted to maintain a kind of kingship, on the + strength of his superior pedigree. But when a democratic + cabin-boy one day turned and told him to stow his Hapsburg lip, + the beautiful ex-opera-dancer burst out laughing, and Johann + agreed in future to be called Archduke only on Sundays. With + their eldest son, now a fine young man coming to maturity, the + title is expected to expire.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p><a name="RULE4_26"><!-- RULE4 26 --></a><a name= + "250"></a> + + <h2>XXVII</h2> + + <center> + "THE DAILY ROUND, THE COMMON TASK" + </center> + + <p>Mr. Clarkson, of the Education Office, was enjoying his + breakfast with his accustomed equanimity and leisure. Having + skimmed the Literary Supplement of the <i>Times</i>, and recalled + a phrase from a symphony on his piano, he began opening his + letters. But at the third he paused in sudden perplexity, holding + his coffee-cup half raised. After a while the brightness of + adventurous decision came into his eyes, and he set the cup down, + almost too violently, on the saucer.</p> + + <p>"I'll do it!" he cried, with the resolute air of an explorer + contemplating the Antarctic. "The world is too much with me. I + will recover my true personality in the wilderness. I will + commune with my own heart and be still!"</p> + + <p>He rang the bell hurriedly, lest his purpose should + weaken.</p> + + <p>"Oh, Mrs. Wilson," he said carelessly, "I am going away for a + few days."</p> + + <p>"Visiting at some gentleman's seat to shoot the gamebirds, I + make no doubt," answered the landlady.</p> + + <p>"Why, no; not precisely that," said Mr. Clarkson. "The fact + is, Mr. Davies, a literary friend of mine—quite the best + authority on Jacobean verse—offers me his house, just by + way of a joke. The house will be empty, and he says he only wants + me to defend his notes on the <i>History of the Masque</i> from + burglary. I shall take him at his word."</p> + + <p>"You alone in a house, sir? There's a thing!" exclaimed the + landlady.</p> + + <p>"A thing to be thankful for," Mr. Clarkson replied. "George + Sand always longed to inhabit an empty house."</p> + + <p>"Mr. Sand's neither here nor there," answered the landlady + firmly. "But you're not fit, sir, begging your pardon. Unless a + person comes in the morning to do for you."</p> + + <p>"I shall prefer complete solitude," said Mr. Clarkson. "The + calm of the uninterrupted morning has for me the greatest + attraction."</p> + + <p>"You'll excuse me mentioning such things," she continued, "but + there's the washing-up and bed-making."</p> + + <p>"Excellent athletic exercises!" cried Mr. Clarkson. "In + Xenophon's charming picture of married life we see the model + husband instructing the young wife to leave off painting and + adorning herself, and to seek the true beauty of health and + strength by housework and turning beds."</p> + + <p>"There's many on us had ought to be beauties, then, without + paint nor yet powder," said the landlady, turning away with a + little sigh. And when Mr. Clarkson drove off that evening with + his bag, she stood by the railings and said to the lady next + door: "There goes my gentleman, and him no more fit to do for + hisself than a babe unborn, and no more idea of cooking than a + crocodile!"</p> + + <p>The question of cooking did not occur to Mr. Clarkson till he + had entered the semi-detached suburban residence with his + friend's latchkey, groped about for the electric lights, and + discovered there was nothing to eat in the house, whereas he was + accustomed to a biscuit or two and a little whisky and soda + before going to bed.</p> + + <p>"Never mind," he thought. "Enterprise implies sacrifice, and + hunger will be a new experience. I can buy something for + breakfast in the morning."</p> + + <p>So he spent a placid hour in reading the titles of his + friend's books, and then retired to the bedroom prepared for + him.</p> + + <p>He woke in the morning with a sense of profound tranquillity, + and thought with admiration of the Dean of his College, whose one + rule of life was never to allow anyone to call him. "This is + worth a little subsequent trouble, if, indeed, trouble is + involved," he murmured to himself, as he turned over and settled + down to sleep again. But hardly had he dozed off when he was + startled by an aggressive double-knock at the front door. He + hoped it would not recur; but it did recur, and was accompanied + by prolonged ringing of an electric bell. Feeling that his peace + was broken, he put on his slippers and crept downstairs.</p> + + <p>"What do you want?" he said at the door.</p> + + <p>"Post," came a voice. Undoing the bolts, he put out a naked + arm. "Even if you are the post," he remarked, "you need not sound + the Last Trumpet!"</p> + + <p>"Davies," said the postman, crammed a bundle of proofs into + the expectant hand, and departed.</p> + + <p>Mr. Clarkson turned into the kitchen. It presented a rather + dreary aspect. The range and fire-irons looked as though they had + been out all night. The grate was piled with ashes, like a + crater.</p> + + <p>"No wonder," said Mr. Clarkson, "that ashes are the popular + comparison for a heart of extinguished affections. Could anything + be more desolate, more hopeless, or, I may say, more + disagreeable? To how many a disappointed cook that simile must + come home when first she gets down in the morning!"</p> + + <p>He took the poker and began raking gently between the bars. + But no matter how tenderly he raked, his hands appeared to grow + black of themselves, and great clouds of dust floated about the + room and covered him.</p> + + <p>"This <i>must</i> be the way to do it," he said, pausing in + perplexity; "I suppose a certain amount of dirt is inevitable + when you are grappling with reality. But my pyjamas will be in a + filthy state."</p> + + <p>Taking them off, he hung them on the banisters, and, with a + passing thought of Lady Godiva, closed the kitchen door and + advanced again towards the grate, still grasping the poker in his + hand. Then he set himself to grapple with reality in earnest. The + ashes crashed together, dust rose in columns, iron rang on iron, + as in war's smithy. But little by little the victory was + achieved, and lines of paper, wood, and coal gave promise of + brighter things. He wiped his sweating brow, tingeing it with a + still deeper black, and, catching sight of himself in a servant's + looking-glass over the mantelpiece, he said, "There is no doubt + man was intended by nature to be a coloured race."</p> + + <p>But while he was thinking what wisdom the Vestal Virgins + showed in never letting their fire go out, another crash came at + the door, followed by the war-whoop of a scalp-hunter. "I seem to + recognise that noise," he thought, "but I can't possibly open the + door in this condition."</p> + + <p>Creeping down the passage, he said "Who's there?" through the + letter-box.</p> + + <p>"Milko!" came the repeated yell.</p> + + <p>"Would there be any objection to your depositing the milk upon + the doorstep?" asked Mr. Clarkson.</p> + + <p>"Righto!" came the answer, and steps retreated with a clang of + pails.</p> + + <p>"Why do the common people love to add 'o' to their words?" Mr. + Clarkson reflected. "Is it that they unconsciously appreciate 'o' + as the most beautiful of vowel sounds? But I wonder whether I + ought to have blacked that range before I lighted the fire? The + ironwork certainly looks rather pre-Dreadnought! What I require + most just now is a hot bath, and I'd soon have one if I only knew + which of these little slides to pull out. But if I pulled out the + wrong one, there might be an explosion, and then what would + become of the <i>History of the Masque?</i>"</p> + + <p>So he put on a kettle, and waited uneasily for it to sing as a + kettle should. "Now I'll shave," he said; "and when I am less + like that too conscientious Othello, I'll go out and buy + something for breakfast."</p> + + <p>The bath was distinctly cool, but when he got out there was a + satisfaction in the water's hue, and, though chilled to the bone, + he carried his pyjamas upstairs with a feeling of something + accomplished. On entering his bedroom, he was confronted by his + disordered pillow, and a bed like a map of Switzerland in high + relief. "Courage!" he cried, "I will make it at once. The secret + of labour-saving is organisation."</p> + + <p>So, with a certain asperity, he dragged off the clothes, and + flung the mattress over, while the bedstead rolled about under + the unaccustomed violence. "Rightly does the Scot talk about + sorting a bed!" he thought,<a name="255"></a> as he wrenched the + blankets asunder, and stood wondering whether the black border + should be tucked in at the sides or the feet. At last he pulled + the counterpane fairly smooth, but in an evil moment, looking + under the bed, he perceived large quantities of fluffy and + coagulated dust.</p> + + <p>"I know what that is," he said. "That's called flue, and it + must be removed. Swift advised the chambermaid, if she was in + haste, to sweep the dust into a corner of the room, but leave her + brush upon it, that it might not be seen, for that would disgrace + her. Well, there is no one to see me, so I must do it as I + can."</p> + + <p>He crawled under the bed, and gathering the flue together in + his two hands, began throwing it out of the window. "Pity it + isn't nesting season for the birds," he said, as he watched it + float away. But this process was too slow; so taking his towel, + he dusted the drawers, the washing-stand, and the greater part of + the floor, shaking the towel out of the window, until, in his + eagerness, he dropped it into the back garden, and it lay + extended upon the wash-house roof.</p> + + <p>Tranquillity had now vanished, and solitude was losing some of + its charm. It was quite time he started for the office, but he + had not begun to dress, and, except for the kettle, which he + could hear boiling over downstairs, there was not a gleam of + breakfast. After washing again, he put on his clothes hurriedly, + and determined to postpone the remainder of his physical exercise + till his return in the evening.</p> + + <p>Running downstairs, he saw his dirty boots staring him in the + face. "Is there any peace in ever climbing up the climbing wave?" + he quoted, with a sinking heart. There was no help for it. The + things had to be cleaned, or people would wonder where he had + been. Searching in a cupboard full of oily rags, grimy leathers, + and other filthy instruments, he found the blacking and the + brushes, and presently the boots began to shine in patches here + and there. Then he washed again, and as he flung open the front + door, he kicked the milk all down the steps. It ran in a broad, + white stream along the tiled pavement to the gate.</p> + + <p>"There goes breakfast!" he thought, but the disaster reached + further. Hastily fetching a pail of water, he soused it over the + steps, with the result that all the whitening came off and + mingled with the milk upon the tiles. A second pail only + heightened the deplorable aspect, and he splashed large + quantities of the water over his trousers and boots. He felt it + running through his socks. It was impossible to go to the office + like that, or to leave his friend's house in such a state.</p> + + <p>He took off his coat and began pushing the milky water to and + fro with a broom. Seeing the maid next door making great wet + curves on her steps with a sort of stone, he called to her to ask + how she did it.</p> + + <p>"Same as other people, saucy," she retorted at once.</p> + + <p>"Is that a bath-brick you are manipulating?" Mr. Clarkson + asked.</p> + + <p>"Bath-brick, indeed! What do you take me for?" she replied, + and continued swirling the stuff round and round.</p> + + <p>After a further search in the cupboard, Mr. Clarkson + discovered a similar piece of stone, and stooping down, began to + swirl it about in the same manner. The stuff was deposited in + yellowish curves, which he believed would turn white. But it + showed the marks so obviously that, to break up the outlines, he + carefully dabbed the steps all over with the flat of his hands. + "The effect will be like an Academician's stippling," he thought, + but when he had swept the surface of the garden path into the + road, he scrutinised his handiwork with some satisfaction.</p> + + <p>Hardly had he cleaned his boots again, washed again, and + changed his socks, when there came another knocking at the door, + polite and important this time. He found a well-dressed man, with + tall hat, frock-coat, and umbrella, who inquired if he could + speak to the proprietor.</p> + + <p>"Mr. Davies is away," said Mr. Clarkson, fixing his eyes on + the stranger's boots. "I beg your pardon, but may I remind you + that you are standing on my steps? I'm afraid you will whiten the + soles of your boots, I mean."</p> + + <p>"Thank you, that's of no consequence," said the stranger, + entering, and leaving two great brown footprints on the step and + several white ones on the passage. "But I thought I might venture + to submit to your consideration a pound of our unsurpassable + tea."</p> + + <p>"Tea?" cried Mr. Clarkson, with joyous eagerness. "I suppose + you don't happen to have milk, sugar, bread and butter, and an + egg or two concealed about your person, do you?"</p> + + <p>"I am not a conjuror," said the stranger, resuming his hat + with some <i>hauteur</i>.</p> + + <p>An hour later, Mr. Clarkson was enjoying at his Club a meal + that he endeavoured to regard as lunch, and on reaching the + office in the afternoon he apologised for having been unavoidably + detained at home.</p> + + <p>"There's no place like home," replied his elderly colleague, + with his usual inanity.</p> + + <p><a name="258"></a> "Perhaps fortunately, there is not," said + Mr. Clarkson, and attempting to straighten his aching back and + ease his suffering limbs, he added, "I am coming to the + conclusion that woman's place is the home."</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p><a name="RULE4_27"><!-- RULE4 27 --></a><a name= + "259"></a> + + <h2>XXVIII</h2> + + <center> + THE CHARM OF COMMONPLACE + </center> + + <p>George Eliot warned us somewhere not to expect Isaiah and + Plato in every country house, and the warning was characteristic + of the time when one really might have met Ruskin or Herbert + Spencer. How uncalled for it would be now! If Isaiah or Plato + were to appear at any country house, what a shock it would give + the company, even if no one present had heard of their names and + death before! We do not know how prophets and philosophers would + behave in a country house, but, to judge from their books, their + conversation could not fail to embarrass. What would they say + when the daughter of the house inquired if her Toy-Pom was not + really rather a darling, or the host proclaimed to the world that + he never took potatoes with fish? What would the host and + daughter say if their guest began to prophesy or discuss the + nature of justice? There is something irreligious in the + incongruity of the scene.</p> + + <p>The age of the wise, in those astonishing eighteen-seventies, + was succeeded by the age of the epigram, when someone was always + expected to say something witty, and it was passed on, like a + sporting tip, through widening circles. Such sayings as "I can + resist everything but temptation" were much sought after. Common + sense became piquant if<a name="260"></a> reversed, and the good, + plain man disappeared in laughter. When a languid creature told + him it was always too late to mend, and never too young to learn, + he was disconcerted. The bases of existence were shaken by little + earthquakes, and he did not know where to stand or what to say. + He felt it was nonsense, but as everyone laughed and applauded he + supposed they were all too clever for him—too clever by + half, and he went away sadder, but no wiser. "If Christ were + again on earth," said Carlyle, of an earlier generation, "Mr. + Milnes (Lord Houghton) would ask him to breakfast, and the clubs + would all be talking of the good things he had said." Frivolity + only changes its form, but the epigrams of the early 'nineties + were not Christlike, and Mr. Milnes would have been as much + astray among them as the good, plain man.</p> + + <p>The epigrammatist still lingers, and sometimes dines; but his + roses have faded, and the weariness of his audience is no longer + a pose. A tragic ghost, he feels like one who treads alone some + banquet-hall, not, indeed, deserted, but filled with another + company, and that is so much drearier. The faces that used to + smile on him are gone, the present faces only stare and if he + told them now that it may be better to have loved and lost than + never to have loved at all, but both are good, they would conceal + a shiver of boredom under politeness. It is recognised that life + with an epigrammatist has become unendurable. "Witty?" (if one + may quote again the Carlyle whom English people are forgetting) + "O be not witty: none of us is bound to be witty under penalties. + A fashionable wit? If you ask me which, he or a death's head, + will be the cheerier company for me, pray send <i>not</i> + him."</p> + + <p><a name="261"></a> Evidently there are some creatures too + bright if not too good for human nature's daily food. They are + like the pudding that was all raisins, because the cook had + forgotten to put in the suet. Sensible people put in the suet + pretty thick, and they find it fortifying. Here in England, for + instance, it has been the standing sneer of upstart pertness that + ordinary men and women always set out upon their conversations + with the weather. Well, and why on earth should they not? In + every part of the world the weather is the most important + subject. India may suffer from unrest, but the Indian's first + thought is whether she suffers from drought. Russia may seethe + with revolution, but ninety-nine per cent. of Russians are + thinking of the crops. France may be disturbed about Germany, but + Frenchmen know the sun promises such a vintage as never was. War + may threaten Russia, but the outbreak depends upon the harvest. + Certainly, in our barren wildernesses of city it does not much + matter whether it rains or shines, except to the top hats and + long skirts of the inhabitants. But mankind cannot live on smuts + and sulphur, and our discussions on the weather keep us in touch + with the kindly fruits of the earth; we show we are not weaned + from Nature, but still remember the cornfields and orchards by + which we live. Every cloud and wind, every ray of sunshine comes + filled with unconscious memories, and secret influences extend to + our very souls with every change in weather. Like fishes, we do + not bite when the east wind blows; like ducks and eels, we sicken + or go mad in thunder.</p> + + <p>Why should we fuddle our conversation with paradoxes and + intellectual interests when nature presents us with this + sempiternal theme? Ruskin observed that Pusey never seemed to + know what sort of a day it was. That showed a mind too absent + from terrestrial things, too much occupied<a name="262"></a> with + immortality. Here in England the variety of the weather affords a + special incitement to discussion. It is like a fellow-creature or + a race-meeting; the sporting element is added, and you never know + what a single day may bring forth. Shallow wits may laugh at such + talk, but neither the publishers' lists nor the Cowes Regatta, + neither the Veto nor the Insurance Act can compare for a moment + with the question whether it will rain this week. Why, then, + should we not talk about rain, and leave plays and books and + pictures and politics and scandal to narrow and abnormal minds? + To adapt a Baconian phrase, the weather is the one subject that + you cannot dull by jading it too far.</p> + + <p>Nor does it arouse the evil passions of imparting information + or contradicting opinions. When someone says, "It is a fine day," + or "It's good weather for ducks," he does not wish to convey a + new fact. I have known only one man who desired to contradict + such statements, and, looking up at the sky, would have liked to + order the sun in or out rather than agree; and he was a + Territorial officer, so that command was in his nature. But + mention the Lords, or the Church, or the Suffrage, and what a + turmoil and tearing of hair! What sandstorms of information, what + semi-courteous contradiction! Whither has the sweet + gregariousness of human converse strayed? Black looks flash from + the miracle of a seeing eye; bad blood rushes to thinking + foreheads; the bonds of hell are loosed; pale gods sit trembling + in their twilight. "O sons of Adam, the sun still shines, and a + spell of fair weather never did no harm, as we heard tell on; but + don't you think a drop of rain to-night would favour the roots? + You'll excuse a farmer's grumbling."</p> + + <p>People do not associate in order to receive epigrammatic + shocks, nor to be fed up with information and have their views + put right. They associate for society. They feel more secure, + more open-hearted and cheerful, when together. Sheep know in + their hearts that numbers are no protection against the dog, who + is so much cleverer and more terrible than they; but still they + like to keep in the flock. It is always comfortable to sit beside + a man as foolish as oneself and hear him say that East is East + and West is West; or that men are men, and women are women; or + that the world is a small place after all, truth is stranger than + fiction, listeners never hear any good of themselves, and a true + friend is known in adversity. That gives the sense of perfect + comradeship. There is here no tiresome rivalry of wits, no plaguy + intellectual effort. One feels one's proper level at once, and + needs no longer go scrambling up the heights with banners of + strange devices. At such moments of pleasant and unadventurous + intercourse, it will be found very soothing to reply that cold + hands show a warm heart, that only town-dwellers really love the + country, that night is darkest before the dawn, that there are + always faults on both sides, that an Englishman's home is his + castle, but travel expands the mind, and marriage is a + lottery.</p> + + <p>Such sentences, delivered alternately, will supply all the + requisites of intercourse. The philosopher rightly esteemed no + knowledge of value unless it was known already, and all these + things have been known a very long time. Sometimes, it is true, a + conversation may become more directly informative and yet remain + amicable, as when the man on the steamer acquaints you with the + facts that lettuce contains opium, that Lincoln's Inn Fields is + the size of the Great Pyramid's base, that Mr. Gladstone took + sixty bites to the mouthful, that hot tea is a cooling drink, + that a Frenchwoman knows how to put on her clothes, that the + engineer on board is sure to be a Scotsman, that fish is good for + the brain because it contains phosphorus, that cheese will digest + everything but itself, that there are more acres in England than + words in the Bible, and that the cigars smoked in a year would go + ten thousand and a quarter times round the earth if placed end to + end. These facts are also familiar to everyone beforehand, and + they present a solid basis for gregarious conversation. They put + the merest stranger at his ease. They make one feel at home.</p> + + <p>Some of the trades and professions secure the same object by + special phrases. When you hear that the horses are fat as butter, + the men keen as mustard, and everything right as rain, you know + you are back to the army again. The kindly mention of the Great + Lexicographer, the Wizard of the North, the Sage of Chelsea, and + London's Particular calls up the vision of a street descending + into the vale of St. Paul's. But such phrases are fleeting. They + hardly last four generations of mankind, and already they wither + to decay. "Every cloud has a silver lining," "It's a poor heart + that never rejoices," "There are as good fish in the sea as ever + were caught"—those are the observations that give stability + and permanence to the intercourse of man. They are not clever; + they contain no paradox; like the Ugly Duckling, they cannot emit + sparks. But one's heart leaps up at hearing them, as at the sight + of a rainbow. For, like the rainbow, they are an assurance that + while the earth remaineth, seed-time and harvest, cold and heat, + summer and winter, day and night, shall never cease.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p><a name="RULE4_28"><!-- RULE4 28 --></a><a name= + "265"></a> + + <h2>XXIX</h2> + + <center> + THE PRIEST OF NEMI + </center> + + <p>Here it is cool under thick alders, close to the water's edge, + where frogs are doing their very best to sing. Hidden in some + depth of the sky, the Dog Star rages, and overhead the mid-day + sun marches across his blazing barrack-square. Far away the + heathen violently rage; the world is full of rumours of war, and + the kings of the earth take counsel together against liberty and + peace. But here under thick alders it is cool, and the deep water + of the lake that lies brooding within the silent crater of these + Alban hills, stretches before us an unruffled surface of green + and indigo profoundly mingled. Wandering about among overgrown + and indistinguishable gardens under the woods, women and girls + are gathering strawberries and loading them up in great wicker + baskets for the market of Rome. The sound of sawing comes from a + few old houses by the lake-side, that once were mills turned by + the nymph Egeria's stream, where Ovid drank. Opposite, across the + lake, on the top of the old crater's edge, stands a brown + village—the church tower, unoccupied "palace," huddled + walls and roofs piled up the steep, as Italian villages are made. + That is Genzano. On the precipitous crag high above our heads + stands a more ancient village, with fortress tower, + unoccupied<a name="266"></a> castle, crumbling gates, and the + walls and roofs of dwellings huddled around them. That is Nemi, + the village of the sacred wood.</p> + + <p>Except where the rock is too steep for growth, the slopes of + the deep hollow are covered with trees and bushes on every side. + But the trees are thickest where the slope falls most + gently—so gently that from the foot of the crater to the + water's edge the ground for a few hundred yards might almost be + called a bit of plain. Under the trees there the best + strawberries grow, and there stood the temple of mysterious and + blood-stained rites. Prowling continually round and round one of + the trees, the ghastly priest was for centuries there to be + seen:</p> + <pre> + "The priest who slew the slayer, + And shall himself be slain." +</pre> + + <p>No one can tell in what prehistoric age the succession of + murdering and murdered priests first began that vigil for their + lives. It continued with recurrent slaughter through Rome's + greatest years. About the time when Virgil was still alive, or + perhaps just after Christ himself was born, the geographer Strabo + appears actually to have seen that living assassin and victim + lurking in the wood; for he vividly describes him "with sword + always drawn, turning his eyes on every side, ready to defend + himself against an onslaught." Possibly the priest suspected + Strabo himself for his outlandish look and tongue, for only a + runaway slave might murder and succeed him. Possibly it was that + self-same priest whom Caligula, a few years after Christ's death, + hired a stalwart ruffian to finish off, because he was growing + old and decrepit, having defended himself from onslaughts too + long. Upon the lake the Emperor<a name="267"></a> constructed two + fine house-boats, devoted to the habits that house-boats + generally induce (you may still fish up bits of their splendour + from the bottom, if you have luck), and very likely it was + annoying to watch the old man still doddering round his tree with + drawn sword. One would like to ask whether the crazy tyrant was + aware how well he was fulfilling the ancient rite by ordaining + the slaughter of decrepitude. And one would like to ask also + whether the stalwart ruffian himself took up the line of + consecrated and ghastly succession. Someone, at all events, took + it up; for in the bland age of the Antonines the priest was still + there, pacing with drawn sword, turning his eyes in every + direction, lest his successor should spring upon him + unawares.</p> + + <p>In the opening chapter, which states the central problem, + still slowly being worked out in the great series of <i>The + Golden Bough</i>, Dr. Frazer has drawn the well-known picture of + that haunted man. "The dreamy blue," he writes:</p> + <pre> + "The dreamy blue of Italian skies, the dappled shade of + summer woods, and the sparkle of waves in the sun, can have + accorded but ill with that stern and sinister figure. Rather + we picture to ourselves the scene as it may have been witnessed + by a belated wayfarer on one of those wild autumn nights + when the dead leaves are falling thick, and the winds seem to + sing the dirge of the dying year. It is a sombre picture, set to + melancholy music—the background of forest showing black and + jagged against a lowering and stormy sky, the sighing of the + wind in the branches, the rustle of the withered leaves under + foot, the lapping of the cold water on the shore, and, in the + foreground, pacing to and fro, now in twilight and now in + gloom, a dark figure with a glitter of steel at the shoulder + whenever the pale moon, riding clear of the cloud-rack, peers + down at him through the matted boughs." +</pre> + + <p><a name="268"></a> For the priest himself it can hardly have + been a happy life. Thanks to Dr. Frazer, we now partly know how + much of man's religious hope and fear that sinister figure + represented. But he himself had no conception of all this, nor + can we suppose that even if he had possessed Dr. Frazer's own + wealth of knowledge, it would have cheered him much. When violent + death impends on every moment and lurks in every shade, it is + small consolation to reflect that you stand as a holy emblem, + protector of a symbolic tree, the mystic mate both of the tree + itself and of the goddess of fertility in man and beast and + plant. There is no comfort in the knowledge that the slave who + waits to kill you, as you killed your predecessor in the office, + only obeys the widespread injunction of primitive religion + whereby the divine powers incarnate in the priest are maintained + active and wholesome with all the fervour and sprightliness of + youth. Such knowledge would not relax the perpetual strain of + terror, nor could the priest have displayed an intelligent and + scientific interest in all the queer mythologies forcibly dragged + in and combined to explain his presence there—Orestes + fleeing like a runaway from the blood-stained Euxine shore; or + Hippolytus, faithful worshipper of the unwedded goddess, rent by + wild horses, and by Diana's prayer to the medicine-god + subsequently pieced together into life; or Virbius, counterpart + of Hippolytus; or perhaps even the two-faced Janus himself, + looking before and after. The finest conjectures of research, + though illustrated in the person of the priest himself, could + have supplied him with no antidote to those terrors of ambushed + assassination.</p> + + <p>In his investigations among the "sword-dancers" of Northern + England, Mr. Cecil Sharp has discovered that at Earsdon, after + the usual captain's song, a strange interlude occurs, in which + two of the dancers feign a quarrel, and one is killed and carried + out for burial amid the lamentations of the "Bessy." A travelled + doctor, however, arrives, and calls to the dead man, "Jack! take + a drop of my bottle, that'll go down your thrittle-throttle." + Whereupon up jumps Jack and shakes his sword, and the dance + proceeds amid the rejoicings of Bessy and the rest. So priest + slays priest, the British Diana laments her hero slain, the + British Aesculapius, in verse inferior to Euripides, tends him + back to life, and who in that Northumbrian dance could fail to + recognise a rite sprung from the same primitive worship as the + myths of Nemi? But if one had been able to stand beside that + murderous and apprehensive priest, and to foretell to him that in + future centuries, long after his form of religion had died away, + far off in Britain, beside the wall of the Empire's frontier, his + tragedy would thus be burlesqued by Bessy, Jack, and the doctor, + one may doubt if he would have expressed any kind of scientific + interest, or have even smiled, as, sword in hand, he prowled + around his sacred tree, peering on every side.</p> + + <p>Why, then, did he do it? How came it that there was always a + candidate for that bloody deed and disquieting existence? It is + true that the competition for the post appears to have decreased + with years. Originally, the priest's murder seems to have been an + annual affair, regular as the "grotter" which we are called upon + to remember every August in London streets, or as the Guy Faux, + whose fires will in future ages be connected with autumnal myths + or with the disappearance of Adonis or Thammuz yearly wounded. + The virtues of fertility's god had to be renewed each spring; + year by year the priest was slain; and only by a subsequent + concession to human weakness was he allowed to retain his life + till he could no longer defend it. The change seems to show that, + as time went on, the privileges of the office were regarded with + less eagerness, and it was more difficult to find one man a year + anxious to be killed.</p> + + <p>But with what motive, century after century, no matter at what + interval of years, did a volunteer always come forward to slay + and to be slain? Certainly, the priest had to be a runaway slave; + but was Roman slavery so hideous that a life of unending terror + by day and night was to be preferred—a life enslaved as a + horse's chained to the grinding mill in a brickyard, and without + the horse's hours of stabled peace? Hunger will drive to much, + but even when the risky encounter with one's predecessor had been + successfully accomplished, what enjoyment could there be in meals + eaten in bitter haste, with one hand upon the sword? As to money, + what should all the wealth of the shrine profit a man compelled, + in Bishop Ken's language, to live each day as it were his last? + Promise of future and eternal bliss? The religion held out no + sure and certain hope of such a state. Joy in the divine service? + It is not to vigorous runaway slaves that we look for ecstatic + rapture in performing heaven's will. Upon the priest was bestowed + the title of "King of the Wood." Can it be that for that barren + honour a human being dyed his hands with murder and risked + momentary assassination for the remainder of his lifetime? Well, + we have heard of the Man who would be King, and empty titles + still are sought by political services equally repellent.</p> + + <p>But, for ourselves, in that forlorn and hag-ridden figure we + more naturally see a symbol of the generations that slay the + slayer and shall themselves be slain. It is thus that each + generation comes knocking at the door—comes, rather, so + suddenly and unannounced, clutching at the Tree of Life, and with + the glittering sword of youth beating down its worn-out + defenders. New blood, new thoughts and hopes each generation + brings to resuscitate the genius of fertility and growth. Often + it longs imperiously to summon a stalwart ruffian, who will + finish off decrepitude and make an end; but hardly has the + younger generation itself assumed the office and taken its stand + as the Warder of the Tree, when its life and hopes in turn are + threatened, and among the ambuscading woods it hears a footstep + coming and sees the gleam of a drawn sword. Let us not think too + precisely on such events. But rather let us climb the toilsome + track up to the little town, where Cicero once waited to meet the + assassin Brutus after the murder of the world's greatest man; and + there, in the ancient inn still called "Diana's Looking-glass" + from the old name of the beautiful and mysterious lake which lies + in profoundly mingled green and indigo below it, let us forget + impending doom over a twopenny quart of wine and a plate of + little cuttlefish stewed in garlic, after which any priest might + confront his successor with equanimity.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p><a name="RULE4_29"><!-- RULE4 29 --></a><a name= + "272"></a> + + <h2>XXX</h2> + + <center> + THE UNDERWORLD OF TIME + </center> + + <p>Sometimes, for a moment, the curtain of the past is rolled up, + the seven seals of its book are loosened, and we are allowed to + know more of the history than the round number of soldiers with + which a general crossed a river, or the succession that brought + one crazy voluptuary to follow another upon the Imperial throne. + We do not refuse gratitude for what we ordinarily receive. To the + general it made all the difference whether he had a thousand + soldiers more or less, and to us it makes some. To the Imperial + maniac it was of consequence that his predecessor in the + government of civilised mankind was slain before him, and for us + the information counts for something, too; just as one meets + travellers who satisfy an artistic craving by enumerating the + columns of a ruined shrine, and seeing that they agree with the + guidebook. But it is not often that historians tell us what we + really want to know, or that artists will stoop to our + questionings. We would willingly go wrong over a thousand or two + of those soldiers, if we might catch the language of just one of + them as he waded into the river; and how many a simpering Venus + would we grind into face-powder if we could follow for just one + day the thoughts of a single priest who once guarded her temple! + But, occupied with grandeur and beauty, the artists and + historians move upon their own elevated plane, and it is only by + furtive glimpses that we catch sight of the common and unclean + underworld of life, always lumbering along with much the same + chaotic noise of hungry desires and incessant labour, of + animalism and spiritual aspiration.</p><a name="273"></a> + + <p>One such glimpse we are given in that book of <i>The Golden + Ass</i>, now issued by the Clarendon Press, in Mr. H.E. Butler's + English version, but hitherto best known through a chapter in + Walter Pater's <i>Marius</i>, or by William Adlington's sixteenth + century rendering, included among <i>The Tudor Translations</i>. + It is a strange and incoherent picture that the book presents. + Pater well compares it to a dream: "Story within + story—stories with the sudden, unlooked-for changes of + dreams." And, as though to suit this dream-like inconsequence, + the scene is laid in Thessaly, the natural home of + witchcraft—where, in fact, I was myself laid under a + witch's incantation little more than ten years ago, and might + have been transformed into heaven knows what, if a remembered + passage from this same book of Apuleius had not caused an + outburst of laughter that broke the spell only just in time. It + is a savage country, running into deep glens of forest and + precipitous defiles among the mountains, fit haunt for the robber + bands with which the few roads were infested. The region where + the Lucius of the book wandered, either as man, or after his own + curiosity into mysterious things had converted him into an ass + (whereas he had wished to become a beautiful bird)—the + region recalls some wild picture of Salvator Rosa's. We are + surrounded by gloomy shades, sepulchral caverns, and trees + writhing in storm, nor are cut-throat bandits ever far away. + Violence and murder threaten at every turn. Through the narrow + and filthy streets young noblemen, flown with wine, storm at + midnight. When a robber chief is nailed through the hand to a + door, his devoted followers hew off his arm and set him free. + They capture girls for ransom, and sell them to panders. When one + is troublesome, they propose to sew her up in the paunch of the + yet living ass, and expose her to the mid-day sun. One of the + gang, disguised as a bear, slays all his keepers, and is himself + torn in pieces by men and dogs. All the band are finally + slaughtered or flung from precipices. Gladiatorial beasts are + kept as sepulchres for criminals. A slave is smeared with honey + and slowly devoured by ants till only his white skeleton remains + tied to a tree. A dragon eats one of the party, quite cursorily. + What with bears, wolves, wild boars, and savage dogs, each step + in life would seem a peril, were not the cruelty of man more + perilous still. Continued existence in that region was, indeed, + so insecure, that men and women in large numbers ended the + torments of anxiety by cutting life short.</p> + + <p>And then there were the witches, perpetually adding to the + uncertainty by rendering it dubious in what form one might awake, + if one awoke at all. During sleep, a witch could draw the heart + out through a hole in the neck, and, stopping up the orifice with + a sponge, allow her victim to pine in wonder why he felt so + incomplete. With ointments compounded of dead men's flesh she + could transform a lover into a beaver, or an innkeeper into a + frog swimming in his own vat of wine and with doleful croak + inviting his former customers to drink; or herself, with the aid + of a little shaking, she could convert into a feathered owl + uttering a<a name="275"></a> queasy note as it flitted out of the + window. Indeed, the whole of nature was uncertain, especially if + disaster impended, and sometimes a chicken would be born without + the formality of an egg, or a bottomless abyss spurted with gore + under the dining-room table, or the wine began to boil in the + bottles, or a green frog leapt out of the sheepdog's mouth.</p> + + <p>So life was a little trying, a little perplexing; but it + afforded wide scope for curiosity, and Apuleius, an African, + brought up in Athens, and living in Rome, was endlessly curious. + In his attraction to horrors, to bloodshed, and the shudder of + grisly phantoms there was, perhaps, something of the man of + peace. It is only the unwarlike citizen who could delight in + imagining a brigand nurtured from babyhood on human blood. He + was, indeed, writing in the very period which the historian fixed + upon as the happiest and most prosperous that the human race has + ever enjoyed—those two or three benign generations when, + under the Antonines, provincials combined with Romans in + celebrating "the increasing splendours of the cities, the + beautiful face of the country, cultivated and adorned like an + immense garden, and the long festival of peace, which was enjoyed + by so many nations, forgetful of their ancient animosities, and + delivered from the apprehension of future danger." The slow and + secret poison that Gibbon says was introduced by the long peace + into the vitals of the Empire, was, perhaps, among the causes + that turned the thoughts of Apuleius to scenes of violence and + terror—to the "macabre," as Pater said—just as it + touched his style with the preciosity of decadence, and prompted + him to occupy a page with rapture over the "swift lightnings" + flashed against the sunlight from women's hair. He was, in fact, + writing for citizens much like the English of twenty years ago, + when the interest of readers, protected from the harsh realities + of danger and anxiety, was flattered equally by bloodthirsty + slaughters, the shimmer of veiled radiance, and haunted byways + for access to the unknown gods.</p> + + <p>Those byways to unknown gods were much affected by Apuleius + himself. The world was at the slack, waiting, as it were, for the + next tide to flow, and seldom has religion been so powerless or + religions so many. Of one abandoned woman it is told as the + climax of her other wickednesses that she blasphemously + proclaimed her belief in one god only. Apuleius seems to have + been initiated into every cult of religious mystery, and in his + story he exultingly shows us the dog-faced gods of Egypt + triumphing on the soil that Apollo and Athene had blessed. Here + was Anubis, their messenger, and unconquered Osiris, supreme + father of gods, and another whose emblem no mortal tongue might + expound. So it came that at the great procession of Isis through + a Greek city the ass was at last able, after unutterable + sufferings, to devour the chaplet of roses destined to restore + him to human shape; and thereupon he took the vows of chastity + and abstinence (so difficult for him to observe) until at length + he was worthy to be initiated into the mysteries of the goddess, + and, in his own words, "drew nigh to the confines of death, trod + the threshold of Proserpine, was borne through all the elements, + and returned to earth again, saw the sun gleaming with bright + splendour at dead of night, approached the gods above and the + gods below, and worshipped them face to face."</p> + + <p>It was this redemption by roses, and the initiation into + virtue's path, that caused Adlington in his introduction to call + the book "a figure of man's life, egging mortal men forward from + their asinal form to their human and perfect shape, that so they + might take a pattern to regenerate their lives from brutish and + beastly custom," And, indeed, the book is, in a wider sense, the + figure of man's life, for almost alone among the writings of + antiquity it reveals to us every phase of that dim underworld + which persists, as we have supposed, almost unnoticed and + unchanged from one generation of man to another, and takes little + account either of government, the arts, or the other interests of + intellectual classes. It is a world of incessant toil and + primitive passion, yet laughter has place in it, and Apuleius + shows us how two slave cooks could laugh as they peered through a + chink at their ass carefully selecting the choicest dainties from + the table; and how the whole populace of a country town roared + with delight at the trial of a man who thought he had killed + three thieves, but had really pierced three wine skins; and how + the ass in his distress appealed unto Caesar for the rights of a + Roman citizen, but could get no further with his best Greek than + "O!" It is a world of violence and obscenity and laughter, but, + above all, a world of pity. Virgil, too, was touched with the + pity of mortal things, but towards the poor and the labouring man + he rather affected a pastoral envy. Apuleius had looked poverty + nearer in the eyes, and he knew the piteous terror on its face. + To him we must turn if we would know how the poor lived in the + happiest and most prosperous age that mankind has enjoyed. In the + course of his adventures, the ass was sold to a mill—a + great flour factory employing numerous hands—and, with his + usual curiosity, he there observed, as he says, the way in which + that loathsome workshop was conducted:</p> + <pre> + "What stunted little men met my eye, their skin all striped + with livid scars, their backs a mass of sores, with tattered + patchwork clothing that gave them shade rather than covering! + ... Letters were branded on their foreheads, their heads were + half shaven, iron rings were welded about their ankles, they + were hideously pale, and the smoky darkness of that steaming, + gloomy den had ulcerated their eyelids: their sight was impaired, + and their bodies smeared and filthy white with the + powdered meal, making them look like boxers who sprinkle + themselves with dust before they fight." +</pre> + + <p>Even to animals the same pity for their sufferings is + extended—a pity unusual among the ancients, and still + hardly known around the Mediterranean. Yet Apuleius counted the + sorrows of the ill-used ass, and, speaking of the same flour + mill, he describes the old mules and pack-horses labouring there, + with drooping heads, their necks swollen with gangrenes and + putrid sores, their nostrils panting with the harsh cough that + continually racked them, their chests ulcerated by the ceaseless + rubbing of their hempen harness, their hoofs swollen to an + enormous size as the result of their long journeys round the + mill, their ribs laid bare even to the bone by their endless + floggings, and all their hides rough with the scab of neglect and + decay.</p> + + <p>The first writer of the modern novel—first of + romanticists—Apuleius has been called. Romance! If we must + keep those rather futile distinctions, it is as the first of + realists that we would remember him. For, as in a dream, he has + shown us the actual life that mankind led in the temple, the + workshop, the market-place, and the forest, during the century + after the Apostles died. And we find it much the same as the + actual life of toiling mankind in all ages—full of + unwelcome labour and suffering and continual apprehension, + haunted by ghostly fears and self-imagined horrors, but + illuminated by sudden laughter, and continually goaded on by an + inexplicable desire to submit itself to that hard service of + perfection under which, as the priest of the goddess informed + Lucius in the story, man may perceive most fully the greatness of + his liberty.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p><a name="RULE4_30"><!-- RULE4 30 --></a><a name= + "280"></a> + + <h2>XXXI</h2> + + <center> + MENTAL EUGENICS + </center> + + <p>It is horrible. We are being overpopulated with spirits. Day + by day, hundreds of newly-created ghosts issue into the + world—not the poor relics and incorporeal shadows of the + dead, but real living ghosts, who never had any other existence + except as they now appear. They are creations of the + mind—figments they are sometimes called—but they have + as real an existence as any other created thing. We love them or + hate them, we talk about them, we quote them, we discuss their + characters. To many people they are much more alive than the + solid human beings whom in some respects they resemble. Obviously + they are more interesting, else the travellers in a railway + carriage would converse instead of reading. Some minds cannot + help producing them. They produce them as easily as the queen bee + produces the eggs that hatch into drones. And both the number and + productivity of such minds are terribly on the increase. A few + years ago Anatole France told us that, in Paris alone, fifty + volumes a day were published, not to mention the newspapers; and + the rate has gone up since then. He called it a monstrous orgy. + He said it would end in driving us mad. He called books the opium + of the West. They devour us, he said. He foresaw the day when we + shall all be librarians. We are rushing, he said, through study + into general paralysis.</p> + + <p>Does it not remind one of the horror with which the wise and + prudent about a century ago began to regard the birth-rate? They + beheld the geometrical progression of life catching up the + arithmetical progression of food with fearful strides. Mankind + became to them a devouring mouth, always agape, like a + nestling's, and incessantly multiplying, like a bacillus. What + was the good of improving the condition of Tom and Sal, if Tom + and Sal, in consequence of the improvement, went their way and in + a few years produced Dick, Poll, Bill, and Meg, who proceeded to + eat up the improvement, and in a generation produced sixteen + other devourers hungrier than themselves? It was an awesome + picture, that ravenous and reduplicating mouth! It cast a chill + over humanity, and blighted the hope of progress for many years. + To some it is still a bodeful portent, presaging eternal famine. + It still hangs ominously over the nations. But, on the whole, its + terrors have lately declined; one cannot exactly say why. Either + the mouth is not so hungry, or it gets more to eat, or, for good + or evil, it does not multiply so fast. And now there are these + teachers of Eugenics, always insisting on quality.</p> + + <p>The question is whether some similar means might not check the + multiplication of the ghosts that threaten to devour the mind of + man. The progression of man's mind can hardly be called even + arithmetical, and the increase of ghosts accelerates frightfully + in comparison. If Paris produced fifty books a day some years + ago, London probably produces a hundred now. And then there is + Berlin, and all the German Universities, where professors must + write or die. And there are New York and Boston. Rome and Athens + still count for something, and so does Madrid. Scandinavia is no + longer sterile, and a few of Russia's mournful progeny escape + strangulation at their birth. Not every book, it is true, + embodies a living soul. Many are stillborn; many are like dolls, + bleeding sawdust. But in most there dwells some kind of life, + hungry for the human brain, and day by day its share of + sustenance diminishes, if shares are equal. They are not equal, + but the inequality only increases the clamour of the poor among + the ghosts.</p> + + <p>Take the case of novels, which make up the majority of books + in the modern world. We will assume the average of souls in a + novel to be five, the same as the average of a human family. + Probably it is considerably higher, but take it at five. Let us + suppose that fifty novels are produced per day in London, Paris, + New York, Berlin, and other large cities together, which I + believe to be a low estimate. Not counting Sundays and Bank + holidays, this will give us rather more than 75,000 newly created + souls a year—cannibal souls, ravening for the brains of men + and women similar to the brains that gave them birth, and each + able to devour as many brains as it can catch. It is no good + saying that nearly all are short-lived, dying in six months like + summer flies. The dead are but succeeded by increasing hordes. + They swarm about us; they bite us at every turn. They sit in our + chairs, and hover round our tables. They speak to us on mountain + tops, and if we descend into the Tube, they are there. They + absorb the solid world, making it of no account beside the spirit + world in which we dwell, so that we neither see nor hear nor + handle the realities of outward life, but perceive them<a name= + "283"></a> only, if at all, through filmy veils and apparitions, + the haunting offspring of another's mind. And remember, we are + now speaking of the spirits in novels alone. Besides novels, + there are the breeding grounds of the drama, the essay, the + lyric, and every other kind of spiritual and imaginative book. In + every corner the spirits lurk, ready to spring upon us unaware. + We are ghost-ridden. The witches tear us. Our life is no longer + our own. It has become a nebula of alien dreams. O wretched men + that we are! Who shall deliver us from the body of these + shades?</p> + + <p>To what can we look? Prudence may save us in the end, for if + the spirits utterly devour us, they will find they cannot live + themselves. In the end, Nature may adjust their birthrate. But at + what cost, after how cruel a struggle for existence! Might not + teachers of eugenics do something drastic, and at once? Critics + are the teachers of spiritual eugenics. Could not a few timely + words from them hold the productive powers of certain brains in + check? It is easily said, but the result is very doubtful. Mr. + Walkley, in an unintentionally despairing article in the + <i>Times</i>, once maintained that the critics were powerless to + stem the increasing flood that pours in upon us, like that + hideous stream of babies that Mr. Wells once saw pouring down + some gutter or rain-pipe. Mr. Walkley said no real and + industrious artist ever stops to listen to criticism. He said the + artist simply cannot help it; the creature is bound to go on + creating, whatever people say. Mr. Walkley went further, and told + us the critic himself is an artist; that he also cannot help it, + but is bound to create. So we go on from bad to worse, the + creative artist not only producing shadows on his own account, + but the shades of<a name="284"></a> shadows through the critics. + Our state is becoming a bewildered horror; and yet we cannot deny + that Mr. Walkley was right, though we may regard his pessimism as + exaggerated. There are one or two cases on record in which + criticism, or the fear of it, has really checked the production + of peculiarly sensitive and fastidious minds. I will not mention + Keats, for after the savage and Tartarly article he went on + producing in greater quantity and finer quality than ever before, + and would have so continued but for a very natural death. Robert + Montgomery, whom Macaulay killed, is a happier instance. And + there may here and there also have been a poet or novelist like + that "Pictor Ignotus" of Browning's, who cried:</p> + <pre> + "I could have painted pictures like that youth's + Ye praise so!" +</pre> + + <p>He would have had a painter's fame:</p> + <pre> + "But a voice changed it. Glimpses of such sights + Have scared me, like the revels through a door + Of some strange house of idols at its rites! + This world seemed not the world it was, before: + Mixed with my loving, trusting ones, there trooped + ... Who summoned those cold faces that begun + To press on me and judge me? Though I stooped + Shrinking, as from the soldiery a nun, + They drew me forth, and spite of me ... enough!" +</pre> + + <p>Unhappily, there are few souls so humble, so conventual as + that. George Eliot, as Mr. Walkley recalled, was terrified lest + ill-judged blame or ill-judged praise should discourage her + production; but then she made it a strict rule never to read any + criticism, so that, of course, it had no restraining effect upon + her. Wordsworth seems to have read his critics, but though they + did their utmost to restrain or silence him, he paid no<a name= + "285"></a> heed. "Too petulant to be passive to a genuine poet," + he called them:</p> + <pre> + "Too petulant to be passive to a genuine poet, and too + feeble to grapple with him;—men of palsied imagination and + indurated hearts; in whose minds all healthy action is languid, + who therefore feed as the many direct them, or, with the many, + are greedy after vicious provocatives;—judges, whose censure + is auspicious, and whose praise ominous!" +</pre> + + <p>In them there was no restraining power for such a man, any + more than in Christopher North for Tennyson:</p> + <pre> + "When I heard from whom it came, + I forgave you all the blame; + I could not forgive the praise, + Rusty Christopher!" +</pre> + + <p>On this line, then, there is not much to be hoped from the + critics. Over-sensitive writers are too rare, and the productive + impulse of the others is too self-confident for prudence to + smother. Obviously, they care no more for the critics than Tom + and Sal a century ago cared for Malthus. They disregard them. The + most savage criticism only confirms their belief in the beauty + and necessity of their progeny, just as a mother always fondles + the child that its aunts consider plain. Against such obstinacy, + what headway can the critics make? May we not advise them to drop + the old method of frontal attack altogether? Let them adopt the + methods of these new teachers of Eugenics, whom we have described + as insisting on quality. For the teachers of Eugenics, as I + understand, do not go about saying, "O parents, what inferior and + degenerate children you have! How goose-faced, rabbit-mouthed, + lantern-jawed, pot-bellied,<a name="286"></a> spindle-shanked, + and splay-footed they are! It was a most anti-social action to + produce these puny monstrosities, and when you found yourselves + falling in love, you ought to have run to opposite antipodes." + That, I believe, is no longer the method of the Eugenic teacher. + He now shows beforehand wherein the beauty and excellence of + human development may lie. He insists upon quality, he raises a + standard, he diffuses an unconscious fastidiousness of selection. + He does not prevent Tom and Sal from falling in love, but he + makes Tom, and especially Sal, less satisfied with the first that + comes, less easily bemused with the tenth-rate rubbish of a man + or girl.</p> + + <p>By similar methods, it seems to us, the critics might even now + relieve humanity from the oncoming host of spirits that threatens + to overwhelm us. They find it useless to tell creative writers + how hideous and mis-begotten their productions are—how + deeply tainted with erotics, neurotics, hysteria, consumption, or + fatty degeneration. Either the writers do not listen, or they + reply, "Thank you, but neurotics and degeneracy are in the + fashion, and we like them." Let the critics change their method + by widely extending their action. Let them insist upon quality, + and show beforehand what quality means. Let them rise from the + position of reviewers, and apply to the general thought of the + world that critical power of which Matthew Arnold was thinking + when he wrote:</p> + <pre> + "The best spiritual work of criticism is to keep man from + self-satisfaction which is retarding and vulgarising, to lead him + towards perfection by making his mind dwell upon what is + excellent in itself, and the absolute beauty and fitness of things." +</pre> + + <p>Such criticism, if persisted in by all critics for a + generation, would act as so wholesome and tonic a course of + Eugenic instruction, would so strongly insist upon quality, and + so widely diffuse an unconscious fastidiousness of selection, + that the locust cloud of phantoms which now darken the zenith + might be dissipated, and again we should behold the sky which is + the home of stars. For we may safely suppose that excellence will + never be super-abundant, nor quality be found in hordes. No one + can tell how fine, how fit, and few the children of our creative + artists might then become. But, as in prophetic vision, we can + picture the rarity of their beauty, and when they come knocking + at our door, we will share with them the spiritual food that they + demand from our brains, and give them a drink of our brief and + irrevocable time.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p><a name="RULE4_31"><!-- RULE4 31 --></a><a name= + "288"></a> + + <h2>XXXII</h2> + + <center> + THE MEDICINE OF THE MIND + </center> + + <p>There are minds that run to maxims as Messrs. Holloway and + Beecham ran to pills. From the fields and mines of experience + they cull their secret ingredients, concentrate them in the + alembic of wit, mould them into compact and serviceable form, and + put them upon the market of publicity for the universal benefit + of mankind. Such essence of wisdom will surely cure all ills; + such maxims must be worth a guinea a box. When the wise and the + worldly have condensed their knowledge and observation into + portable shape, why go further and pay more for a medicine of the + soul, or, indeed, for the soul's sustenance? Pills, did we say? + Are there not tabloids that supply the body with oxygen, + hydrogen, calorics, or whatever else is essential to life in the + common hundredweights and gallons of bread, meat, and drink? Why + not feed our souls on maxims, like those who spread the board for + courses of a bovril lozenge apiece, two grains of phosphorus, + three of nitrogen, one of saccharine, a dewdrop of alcohol, and + half a scruple of caffeine to conclude?</p> + + <p>It is a stimulating thought, encouraging to economy of time + and space. We read to acquire wisdom, and no one grudges zeal in + that pursuit. But still, the time spent upon it, especially in + our own country, is what<a name="289"></a> old journalists used + to call "positively appalling," and in some books, perhaps, we + may draw blank. Read only maxims, and in the twinkling of an eye + you catch the thing that you pursue. It is not "Wisdom while you + wait"; there is no waiting at all. It is a "lightning lunch," a + "kill" without the risk and fatigue of hunting. The find and the + death are simultaneous. And as to space, a poacher's pocket will + hold your library; where now the sewers of Bloomsbury crack + beneath the accumulating masses of superfluous print, one single + shelf will contain all that man needs to know; and Mr. Carnegie's + occupation will be gone.</p> + + <p>For these reasons, one heartily welcomes Messrs. Methuen's + re-issue of an old and excellent translation of Rochefoucauld's + <i>Maxims</i>, edited by Mr. George Powell. The book is a little + large for tabloids. It runs to nearly two hundred pages, and it + might have been more conveniently divided by ten or even by a + hundred. But still, as Rochefoucauld is the very medicine-man of + maxims, we will leave it at that. He united every quality of the + moral and intellectual pill-doctor. He lived in an artificial and + highly intellectualised society. He was a contemporary and friend + of great wits. He haunted salons, and was graciously received by + perceptive ladies, who never made a boredom of virtue. He mingled + in a chaos of political intrigue, and was involved in burlesque + rebellion. He was intimate with something below the face-value of + public men, and he used the language that Providence made for + maxims. But, above all, he had the acid or tang of poison needed + to make the true, the medicinal maxim. His present editor + compares him with Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, and + Bacon—great names, but gnomic philosophers rather than + authors of maxims proper. Nor were the splendid figures of the + eighteenth century,<a name="290"></a> who wrote so eloquently + about love, virtue, and humanity, real inventors of maxims. Their + sugar-coating was spread too thick. Often their teaching was + sugar to the core—a sweetmeat, not a pill; or, like the + fraudulent patents in the trade, it revealed soft soap within the + covering, and nothing more. George Meredith had a natural love of + maxims, and an instinct for them. One remembers the "Pilgrim's + Scrip" in <i>Richard Feverel</i>, and the Old Buccaneer in <i>The + Amazing Marriage</i>. But usually his maxims want the bitter + tang:</p> + <pre> + "Who rises from Prayer a better man, his Prayer is answered." + + "For this reason so many fall from God, who have attained + to Him; that they cling to Him with their weakness, not with + their strength." + + "No regrets; they unman the heart we want for to-morrow." + + "My foe can spoil my face; he beats me if he spoils my + temper." +</pre> + + <p>One sees at once that these are not medicinal maxims, but + excellent advice—concentrated sermons, after our English + manner. "Friends may laugh: I am not roused. My enemy's laugh is + a bugle blown in the night"—that has a keener flavour. So + has "Never forgive an injury without a return blow for it." Among + the living, Mr. Bernard Shaw is sometimes infected by an English + habit of sermonising. "Never resist temptation: prove all things: + hold fast that which is good," is a sermon. But he has the inborn + love of maxims, all the same, and, though they are too often as + long as a book, or even as a preface, his maxims sometimes have + the genuine medicinal taste. These from <i>The Revolutionist's + Handbook</i>, for instance, are true maxims:</p> + <pre> +<a name="291"></a> + "Vulgarity in a king flatters the majority of the nation." + + "He who can, does. He who cannot, teaches." + + "Marriage is popular because it combines the maximum of + temptation with the maximum of opportunity." + + "When a man wants to murder a tiger, he calls it sport; + when the tiger wants to murder him he calls it ferocity. The + distinction between Crime and Justice is no greater." + + "Home is the girl's prison, and the woman's workhouse." + + "Decency is Indecency's Conspiracy of Silence." +</pre> + + <p>But among the masters of the maxim, I suppose no one has come + so near as Chamfort to the Master himself. There is a difference. + If Chamfort brings rather less strength and bitterness to his + dose, he presents it with a certain grace, a sense of mortal + things, and a kind of pity mingled with his contempt that + Rochefoucauld would have despised:</p> + <pre> + "Il est malheureux pour les hommes que les pauvres n'aient + pas l'instinct ou la fierté de l'éléphant, qui ne se reproduit pas + dans la servitude." + + "Otez l'amour-propre de l'amour, il en reste très peu de + chose." + + "Il n'y a que l'inutilité du premier déluge qui empêche + Dieu d'en envoyer un second." + + "L'homme arrive novice à chaque âge de la vie." + + "Sans le gouvernement on ne rirait plus en France." +</pre> + + <p>With a difference, these come very near Rochefoucauld's own. + "Take self-love from love, and little remains," might be an + extract from that Doomsday Book of Egoism in which Rochefoucauld + was so deeply read. "Self-love is the Love of a man's own Self, + and of everything else, for his own Sake": so begins his terrible + analysis of human motives, and no man escapes from a perusal of + it without recognition of himself, just as there is no escape + from Meredith's Egoist. All of us move darkly in that awful abyss + of Self, and as the fourth Maxim says, "When a Man hath travelled + never so far, and discovered never so much in the world of + Self-love, yet still the Terra Incognita will take up a + considerable part of the Map." On the belief that self-love + prompts and pervades all actions, the greater part of the maxims + are founded. The most famous of them all is the saying that + "Hypocrisy is a sort of Homage which Vice pays to Virtue," but + there are others that fly from mouth to mouth, and treat more + definitely of self-love. "The reason why Ladies and their Lovers + are at ease in one another's company, is because they never talk + of anything but themselves"; or "There is something not + unpleasing to us in the misfortunes of our best friends." These + are, perhaps, the three most famous, though we doubt whether the + last of them has enough truth in it for a first-rate maxim. Might + one not rather say that the perpetual misfortunes of our friends + are the chief plague of existence? Goethe came nearer the truth + when he wrote: "I am happy enough for myself. Joy comes streaming + in upon me from every side. Only, for others, I am not happy." + But Rochefoucauld had to play the cynic, and a dash of cynicism + adds a fine ingredient to a maxim.</p> + + <p>Nevertheless, after reading this book of <i>Maxims</i> through + again, all the seven hundred and more (a hideous task, almost as + bad as reading a whole volume of <i>Punch</i> on end), I incline + to think Rochefoucauld's reputation for cynicism much + exaggerated. It may be that the world grows more cynical with + age, unlike a man, whose cynical period ends with youth. At all + events, in the last twenty years we have had half a dozen writers + who, as far as cynicism goes, could give Rochefoucauld fifty + maxims in a hundred. In all artificial and inactive times and + places, as in Rochefoucauld's France, Queen Anne's England, the + London of the end of last century, and our Universities always, + epigram and a dandy cynicism are sure to flourish until they + often sicken us with the name of literature. But in Rochefoucauld + we perceive glimpses of something far deeper than the cynicism + that makes his reputation. It is not to a cynic, or to the middle + of the seventeenth century in France, that we should look for + such sayings as these:</p> + <pre> + "A Man at some times differs as much from himself as he + does from other People." + + "Eloquence is as much seen in the Tone and Cadence of + the Eyes, and the Air of the Face, as in the Choice of proper + Expressions." + + "When we commend good Actions heartily, we make them + in some measure our own." +</pre> + + <p>Such sayings lie beyond the probe of the cynic, or the wit of + the literary man. They spring from sympathetic observation and a + quietly serious mind. And there is something equally fresh and + unexpected in some of the sayings upon passion:</p> + <pre> + "The Passions are the only Orators that are always successful + in persuading." + + "It is not in the Power of any the most crafty Dissimulation + to conceal Love long where it really is, nor to counterfeit it + long where it is not." + + "Love pure and untainted with any other Passions (if such + a Thing there be) lies hidden in the Bottom of our Heart, so + exceedingly close that we scarcely know it ourselves." + + "The more passionately a Man loves his Mistress, the readier + he is to hate her." (Compare Catullus's "Odi et amo.") + + "The same Resolution which helps to resist Love, helps to + make it more violent and lasting too. People of unsettled + Minds are always driven about with Passions, but never absolutely + filled with any." +</pre> + + <p>No one who knew Rochefoucauld only by reputation would guess + such sentences to be his. They reveal "the man differing from + himself"; or, rather, perhaps, they reveal the true nature, that + usually put on a thin but protective armour of cynicism when it + appeared before the world. Here we see the inward being of the + man who, twice in his life, was overwhelmed by that "violent and + lasting passion," and was driven by it into strange and dangerous + courses where self-love was no guide. But to quote more would + induce the peculiar weariness that maxims always bring—the + weariness that comes of scattered, disconnected, and abstract + thought, no matter how wise. "Give us instances," we cry. "Show + us the thing in the warmth of flesh and blood." Nor will we any + longer be put off by pillules from seeking the abundance of + life's great feast.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p><a name="RULE4_32"><!-- RULE4 32 --></a><a name= + "295"></a> + + <h2>XXXIII</h2> + + <center> + THE LAST FENCE + </center> + + <p>He was riding May Dolly, a Cheshire six-year-old, and one of + his own breeding; for just as some people think that everyone + should go to his own parish church, it was a principle with Mr. + James Tomkinson that a man should ride a horse from his own + county. Straight, lithe, and ruddy, he trotted to the + starting-post, and the crowd cheered him as he went, for they + liked to see a bit of pluck. He modestly enjoyed their applause: + "I think I never saw anybody so pleased," said Mr. Justice + Grantham, who was judge in the race. It was known that the old + man had passed the limit of seventy, but only five years before + he won a steeplechase on his own, and if ever a rider fulfilled + Montaigne's ideal of a life spent in the saddle, it was he. So he + rode to the starting-post, happy in himself and modestly + confident—the very model of what a well-to-do English + countryman should wish to be—a Rugby and Balliol man, above + suspicion for honesty, a busy man of affairs, a consummate + horseman, a bad speaker, and a true-hearted Liberal, holding an + equally unblemished record for courage in convictions and at + fences.</p> + + <p>The race was three and a half miles—twice round the + circuit. The first circuit was run, the last fence of it safely + cleared. The second circuit was nearly complete: only that last + fence remained. It was three<a name="296"></a> hundred yards + away, and he rode fast for it along the bottom. Someone was + abreast of him, someone close behind. May Dolly rushed forward, + and the fence drew nearer and nearer. He was leading; once over + that fence and victory was his—the latest victory, always + worth all the rest. He felt the moving saddle between his thighs; + he heard the quick beating of the hoofs. Something happened; + there was a swerve, a sideways jump, a vain effort at recovery, a + crashing fall too quick for thought; and before the joy of + victory had died, the darkness came.</p> + + <p>Who would not choose to plunge out of life like that? A sudden + end at the moment of victory has always been the commonplace of + human desire. When the antique sage was asked to select the + happiest man in history, his choice fell on one whose destiny + resembled that of the Member for Crewe; for Tellus the Athenian + had lived a full and well-contented life, had seen fine and + gentlemanly sons and many grandchildren growing up around him, + had shared the honour and prosperity of his country, and died + fighting at Eleusis when victory was assured. Next in happiness + to Tellus came the two Argive boys, who, for want of oxen, + themselves drew their mother in a cart up the hill to worship, + and, as though in answer to her prayer for blessings on them, + died in the temple that night. It has always been so. The leap of + Rome's greatest treasure into the Gulf of earthquake was + accounted an enviable opportunity. When they asked Caesar what + death he would choose, he answered, "A sudden one," and he had + his wish. "Oh, happy he whom thou in battles findest," cried + Faust to Death in the midst of all his learning; and "Let me like + a soldier fall" is the natural marching song of our + Territorials.</p> + + <p><a name="297"></a> The advantages of these hot-blooded ends + are so obvious that they need hardly be recalled, and, indeed, + they have provided a theme for many of our most inspiriting + writers. To go when life is strongest and passion is at its + height; to avoid the terrors of expectation and escape the + lingering paraphernalia of sick chambers and deathbed scenes; to + shirk the stuffy and inactive hours, marked by nothing but + medicines and unwelcome meals; to elude the doctor's feigned + encouragements, the sympathy of relations anxious to resume their + ordinary pursuits, the buzzing of the parson in the ear, the + fading of the casement into that "glimmering square"—should + we not all go a long way round to seek so merciful a deliverance? + "I will not die in my bed like a cow!" cried the Northumbrian + king, and was set on his feet in full armour to confront the Arch + Fear face to face. There was some poor comfort in a pose like + that; it was better than our helpless collapse into a middle-aged + cradle, with pap-boat for feeding-bottle, and a last sleep in the + nurse's arms, younger and less muscular than our own. But how + much finer to die like Romeo with a kiss, quick as the true + apothecary's drugs; to sink like Shelley in the blue water, with + mind still full of the Greek poet whom he tucked against his + heart; to pass hot with fever, like Byron, from the height of + fame, while thunder presaged to the mountaineers the loss of + their great champion in freedom's war!</p> + + <p>There is no question of it; these are axioms that all mankind + is agreed upon. Every mortal soul would choose a quick and + impassioned death; all admire a certain recklessness, an + indifference to personal safety or existence, especially in the + old, to whom recklessness is most natural,<a name="298"></a> + since they have less of life to risk. That was why the crowd + cheered Mr. James Tomkinson as he trotted to the starting-post, + and that was why everybody envied his rapid and victorious end. + In his <i>Tales from a Field Hospital</i>, Sir Frederick Treves + told of a soldier who was brought down from Spion Kop as a mere + fragment, his limbs shattered, his face blown away, incapable of + speech or sight. When asked if he had any message to send home + before he died, he wrote upon the paper, "Did we win?" In those + words lives the very spirit of that enviable death which all men + think they long for—the death which takes no thought of + self, and swallows up fear in victory. Such a man Stevenson would + have delighted to include in his brave roll-call, and of him + those final, well-known words in <i>Aes Triplex</i> might have + been written:</p> + <pre> + "In the hot-fit of life, a-tiptoe on the highest point of being, + he passes at a bound on to the other side. The noise of the + mallet and chisel is scarcely quenched, the trumpets are hardly + done blowing, when, trailing with him clouds of glory, this + happy-starred, full-blooded spirit shoots into the spiritual + land." +</pre> + + <p>Yes, it is all very beautiful, and all very true. Stevenson + himself, like Caesar, received the death he wished for, and, + whether in reason or in passion, every soul among us would agree + that death in the midst of life is the most desirable end. And + yet—and yet—we hardly know how it is, but, as a + matter of fact, we do not seek it, and when the thing comes our + way, we prefer, if possible, to walk in the opposite direction. + The Territorial may sing himself hoarse with his prayer to fall + like a soldier, but when the bullets begin to wail around him, it + is a thousand to one that he will duck his head. A man may be + reasonably<a name="299"></a> convinced that, since he must die + some day, and his reprieve cannot be extended long, it is best to + die in battle and shoot full-blooded into the spiritual land; + nevertheless, if the shadow of a rock gives some shelter from the + guns, he will crawl behind it. A few years ago there was a great + Oxford philosopher who, after lecturing all morning on the beauty + of being absorbed by death into the absolute and eternal, was + granted the opportunity of being wrecked on a lake in the + afternoon, but displayed no satisfaction at the immediate + prospect of such absorption.</p> + + <p>In the same way, despite our natural and reasonable desires + for a death like Mr. Tomkinson's, we still continue to speak, not + only of sleeping in our beds, but of dying in them, as one of the + chief objects of a virtuous and happy existence. The longest and + most devotional part of the Anglican Common Prayer contains a + special petition entreating that we may be delivered from the + sudden death which we have all agreed is so excellent a piece of + fortune. That we are not set free from love of living is shown by + what Matthew Arnold called a bloodthirsty clinging to life at a + moment of crisis. I shall not forget the green terror on the + faces of all the men in a railway carriage when I accidentally + set fire to the train, nor have I found it really appetising to + suspect even the quickest poison in my soup. Instead of leaping + gallantly into death while the trumpets are still blowing, nearly + every civilised man deliberately plots out his existence so as to + die, like Tolstoy's Ivan Ilyitch, amid the pitiful squalor of + domestic indifference or solicitude. We think health universally + interesting, we meditate on diet, we measure our exercise, and + shun all risks more carefully than sin. Praising with our lips + the glories of the soldier's death, we tread with minute + observance the bath-chair pathway to the sick-rooms of old + age.</p> + + <p>Are our praises of death in victory, then, all cant, and are + all the eloquent rhapsodies of poets and essayists a sham? + Montaigne seems to have thought so, for, writing of those who + talk fine of dying bravely, he says:</p> + + <p>"It happeneth that most men set a stern countenance on the + matter, look big, and speak stoutly, thereby to acquire + reputation, which, if they chance to live, they hope to + enjoy."</p> + + <p>The case of our eloquent rhapsodists who hymn the joys of + sudden and courageous death is evidently more favourable still, + since they have every chance of living for a time, and so of + enjoying a reputation for bravery without much risk. But rather + than accuse mankind of purposely dissembling terror in the hope + of braggart fame, we would lay the charge upon a queer divergence + between the mind and the bodily will. No matter what the mind may + say in commendation of swift and glorious death, the bodily will + continues to maintain its life to the utmost, and is the last and + savages enemy that the mind can overcome. So it is that no one + should reckon beforehand upon courageous behaviour when the + supreme summons for courage comes, and only those are faultlessly + brave who have never known peril. In reason everyone is convinced + that all mankind is mortal, and we hear with vague sympathy of + the hosts of dead whose skulls went to pile the pyramids of + Tamerlane, or of the thousands that the sea engulfs and + earthquakes shatter. But few realise that the life of each among + those thousands was as dear to him as our life is, and, though we + congratulate heroes upon the opportunity of their death, the + moment when that opportunity would be most happy for ourselves + never seems exactly to arrive. Hardly anyone really thinks he + will die, or is persuaded that the limit to his nature has now + come. But it is through realising the incalculable craving of + this bodily will to survive that men who have themselves known + danger will pay the greater reverence to those who, conscious of + mortal fears, and throbbing with the fullness of existence, none + the less in the calm ecstasy of their devotion commit themselves + to the battle, the firing squad, or the prison death as to a + chariot of fire.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p><a name="RULE4_33"><!-- RULE4 33 --></a><a name= + "302"></a> + + <h2>XXXIV</h2> + + <center> + THE ELEMENT OF CALM + </center> + + <p>All are aware that we have no abiding city here, but that, + says the hymn-writer, is a truth which should not cost the saint + a tear, and our politicians appear to lament it as little as the + saints. Their eyes are dry; it does not distress their mind, it + seems hardly to occur to them, unless, perhaps, they are defeated + candidates. One might suppose from their manner that eternal + truths depended on their efforts, and that the city they seek to + build would abide for ever. Could all this toil and expenditure + be lavished on a transitory show, all this eloquence upon the + baseless fabric of a vision, all this hatred and malice upon + things that wax old as doth a garment and like a vesture are + rolled up? One would think from his preoccupied zeal that every + politician was laying the foundation stone of an everlasting + Jerusalem, did not reason and experience alike forbid the + possibility.</p> + + <p>May it not rather be that the politicians, like the saints, + keep the tears of mortality out of their eyes by contemplating + this passing dream under the aspect of eternal realities? In + months when the heavens at night are filled with constellations + of peculiar beauty, may we not suppose that the politician, + emerging from the Town Hall amid the cheers and execrations of + the voice that represents the voice of God, lifts up his eyes + unto the heavens, where prone Orion still grasps his sword, and + Auriga drives his chariot of fire, and the pole star hangs + immovable, by which Ulysses set his helm? And as he gazes, he + recognises with joy in his heart that the stars themselves, with + all their recurrent comets and flaming meteors and immovable + constellations, hardly cast a stain upon the white radiance of + eternity, under which he has been striving and crying and + perpetrating comparatively trifling deviations from + exactness.</p> + + <p>It is a consolation which a large proportion, probably more + than half, of mankind shares with our politicians. Like them, the + greater part of mankind is aware that there is peace somewhere + beyond these voices, that life with all its unsatisfied longings + and its repetition of care is transitory as a summer cloud, and + that the only way of escape from the pain and misery, the + foulness and corruption, of this material universe is by the + destruction of all desires, except the one engrossing desire for + non-existence. That is why the majority of mankind has set itself + to overcome the unholy urgings of ambition, the pleasure of + selfish and revengeful purposes, and the deeply-implanted delight + in cruelty and unkindness. Such conquest is the essential part of + the Fourfold Path by which the bliss of extinction may be + attained. Let him cease to be ambitious, let him purge himself of + selfish aims and revengeful or unkind thoughts, and a man may at + last enter into Nirvana, even a politician may slowly be + extinguished. Life follows life, and each life fulfils its Karma + of destined expiation, working out the earthly stain of previous + existences. "Quisque suos patimur manes." The sin that most + easily besets us fixes the shape of our next incarnation, and, + did not a<a name="304"></a> politician strictly follow the + guidance of the Fourfold Path, the first election after his death + might see him re-appear as a sheep, a cave-dweller, or a rat.</p> + + <p>Never to have been born is best; never to be born again is the + hope and motive of all good men among the greater part of + mankind. It is not only the teaching of the most famous Buddha + which has told them so. A Preacher more familiar to us has said + the same, and our Western churches do but repeat an echo from the + East. "I praised the dead who are already dead more than the + living who are yet alive," he wrote; "yea, better is he than both + they which hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work + that is done under the sun." Wherefore is light given to him that + is in misery? asked Job. From age to age the question has been + asked by far more than half the human race, and yet the human + race continues, miserable and unholy though it is.</p> + + <p>But the widest expression of this common cry is found in + Buddhism, and therein is found also a doctrine of peace that + seeks to answer it. From the turmoil of the street and + market-place, from the atomic vortex of public meetings, ballot + stations, and motors decked with flags, let us turn to the + "Psalms of the Sisters," those Buddhist nuns whose utterances + Mrs. Rhys Davids has edited for the Pali Text Society. In this + inextricable error of existence—this charnel-house of + corrupting bodies wherein the soul lies imprisoned too + long—time and space do not seriously matter. Let us turn + from Haggerston and Battersea and the Parliamentary squabbles of + to-day, and visit the regions where the great mountains were + standing and the holy Ganges flowed within two or three centuries + before or after the birth of Christ. Somewhere about that time, + somewhere about that place, these women, having in most cases, + fulfilled their various parts in wives, mothers, or courtesans, + retired to the Homeless Life in mountains, forests, or the banks + of streams where they might seek deliverance for their souls. + With shaven heads, and clad in the deep saffron cloth such as the + ascetic wanderer of India still wears, furnished only with a bowl + for the unasked offerings of the pious and compassionate, they + went their way, free from the cares and desires of this + putrefying world. As one of them—a goldsmith's daughter, to + whom the Master himself had taught the Norm of the Fourfold + Path—as one of them explained to the tiresome relations who + tried to call her back:</p> + <pre> + "Why herewithal, my kinsmen—nay, my foes— + Why yoke me in your minds with sense desires? + Know me as her who fled the life of sense, + Shorn of her hair, wrapt in her yellow robe. + The food from hand to mouth, glean'd here and there, + The patchwork robe—these things are meet for me, + The base and groundwork of the homeless life." +</pre> + + <p>Some sought escape from the depression of luxury, some from + the wretchedness of the poor, some from the abominations of the + wanton, some from the boredom of tending an indifferent husband. + One of them thus utters her complaint with frank simplicity:</p> + <pre> + "Rising betimes, I went about the house, + Then, with my hands and feet well cleansed I went + To bring respectful greeting to my lord, + And taking comb and mirror, unguents, soap, + I dressed and groomed him as a handmaid might. + I boiled the rice, I washed the pots and pans; + And as a mother on her only child, + So did I minister to my good man. + For me, who with toil infinite then worked, + And rendered service with a humble mind, + Rose early, ever diligent and good, + For me he nothing felt, save sore dislike." +</pre> + + <p>Others sought freedom of intellect, others the free + development of personality; but, in the end, it was deliverance + from earthly desires that all were seeking, for it is only + through such deliverance that the final blessedness of total + extinction can be reached. Then, as they cry, they cease to + wander in the jungles of the senses, rebirth comes no more, and + the peace of Nirvana is won. A poor Brahmin's daughter who had + been married to a cripple, thus exults in a multiplied + redemption:</p> + <pre> + "O free, indeed! O gloriously free + Am I in freedom from three crooked things:— + From quern, from mortar, from my crook-back'd lord! + Ay, but I'm free from rebirth and from death, + And all that dragged me back is hurled away." +</pre> + + <p>But more truly characteristic of the spiritual mind is the + joyful advice of one who, having perfected herself in meditation, + could thus commune with her soul:</p> + <pre> + "Hast thou not seen sorrow and ill in all + The springs of life? Come thou not back to birth! + Cast out the passionate desire again to Be. + So shalt thou go thy ways calm and serene." +</pre> + + <p>Thus only by the recognition of the sorrow of the world, by + the conquest of all desires, and by the exercise of kindliness to + all that breathe this life of misery, is that Path to be trodden + of which the fourth stage enters Nirvana's peace. Thus only can + we escape from this<a name="307"></a> repulsive + carcass—"this bag of skin with carrion filled," as one of + the Sisters called it—and so be merged into the element of + calm, just as the space inside a bowl is merged into the element + of space when at last the bowl is broken and will never need + scrubbing more.</p> + + <p>It is thought that Gautama, the great Buddha, whose effigy in + the calm of contemplation is the noblest work of Indian art, + fondly believed that all mankind would seek deliverance along the + path he pointed out, and that so, within a few generations, the + human race, together, perhaps, with every living thing that + breathes beneath the law of Karma, would pass from sorrow into + nothingness. Mankind has not fulfilled his expectation. The task + of expiation is not yet completed, and, in the midst of anguish, + corruption, and the flux of all material things, the human race + goes swarming on. I suppose it is about as numerous as ever, and, + though something like half of it accepts the teaching of the + Buddha as divine, they seem in no more hurry to fulfil its + precepts than are the followers of other Founders. We cannot say + that mankind has gone very far along the Fourfold Path, for there + are still many of us who would rather be a mouse than nothing; + yet it remains an accepted truth of the Buddhistic doctrine, that + above this fleeting and variegated world there abides the element + of calm. As the final Chorus "Mysticus" of <i>Faust</i> + proclaims: "All things transitory are but a symbol," and if any + politician during the storm of worldly desires has for a moment + lost sight of truth's eternal stars that guide his way, let him + now turn to the "Psalms of the Sisters." Even if he has been + successful in his ambition, he will there find peace, discovering + in Nirvana the quiet Chiltern Hundreds of the soul.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p><a name="RULE4_34"><!-- RULE4 34 --></a><a name= + "308"></a> + + <h2>XXXV</h2> + + <center> + "THE KING OF TERRORS" + </center> + + <p>Skulls may not affright us, nor present fashion ordain + cross-bones upon our sepulchres; but still in the face of death + the commonplaces of comfort shrivel, and philosophy's + consolations strike cold as the symbolism of the tomb. All that + lives must die; we know it, but that death is common does not + assuage particular grief, nor can the contemplation of + prehistoric ruins soften regret for one baby's smile. Man's dogma + has proved vain as his philosophy. Age after age has composed + some vision of continued life, and sought to allay its fear or + sorrow with suitable imaginations. Mummies of death outlive their + granite; vermilion and the scalping-knife lie ready for the happy + hunting grounds; beside the royal carcass two score of concubines + and warriors are buried quick; Walhalla rings with clashing + swords whose wounds close up again at sunset; heroes tread the + fields of shadowy asphodel, and on Elysian plains attenuated + poets welcome the sage newcomer to their converse; houris reward + the faithful for holy slaughter; prophets reveal a gorgeous city + and pearly gates beyond the river; the poet tells of circles + winding downward to the abyss, and upward to the Rose of + Paradise; upon the bishop's tomb in St. Praxed's one Pan is + carved, and Moses with the tables; upon the gravestone of + an<a name="309"></a> Albanian chief they scratch his rifle and + his horse; and over the slave's low mound in Angola plantations + his basket and mattock are laid, lest he should miss them. So + various are the devices contrived for the solace of mankind, or + for his instruction. But one by one, like the dead themselves, + those devices have passed and passed away, leaving mankind + unwitting and unconsoled. For there is still one road that each + traveller must discover afresh, and death's door, at which all + men stand, opens only inwards.</p> + + <p>Maurice Maeterlinck has always remained very conscious of that + door. How often in his whispering dramas we are made aware of it! + How often, without even the knock of warning, it suddenly gapes + or stands ajar, and unseen hands are pulling, and children are + drawn in, and young girls are drawn in, and wise men, and the + old, while the living world remains outside, still at breakfast, + still busy with its evening games and sewing, still blindly + groping for its departed guide! From the outset, Maeterlinck has + been an amateur of death. In a little volume that bears Death's + name, he utters his meditation upon death's nature and + significance. Like other philosophers and all old wives, he also + attempts our consolation. Mankind demands a consolation, for + without it, perhaps, the species could hardly have survived their + foreknowledge of the end. But in treating the first two terrors + to which he applies his comfortable arguments, Maeterlinck's + reasoning appears to me almost irrelevant, almost obsolete. He + attributes the terrified apprehension of death, first, to the + fear of pain in dying, and, secondly, to the fear of anguish + hereafter. In neither fear, I think, does the essential horror of + death now lie. All who have witnessed various forms of + death,<a name="310"></a> whether on the field or in the sick + chamber, will agree that the process of dying is seldom more + difficult or more painful than taking off one's clothes. The + blood ebbs, the senses sleep, "the casement slowly grows a + glimmering square," breath gradually fails, unconsciousness + faints into deeper unconsciousness, and that is all. Even in + terrible wounds and cases of extreme pain, medicine can now + alleviate the worst, nor, in any case, do I believe that the + expectation of physical agony, however severe, has much share in + the instinct that stands aghast at death. If fear of pain thus + preoccupied the soul, martyrs would not have sown the Church, nor + would births continue.</p> + + <p>In combating the dread of future torment, Maeterlinck may have + better cause for giving comfort. Long generations have been + haunted by that terror. "Ay, but to die," cries Claudio in + <i>Measure for Measure</i>:</p> + <pre> + "Ay, but to die, and go we know not where; + To lie in cold obstruction, and to rot; + This sensible warm motion to become + A kneaded clod; and the delighted spirit + To bathe in fiery floods, or to reside + In thrilling regions of thick-ribbed ice; + To be imprison'd in the viewless winds, + And blown with restless violence round about + The pendant world; or to be worse than worst + Of those that lawless and incertain thoughts + Imagine howling!" +</pre> + + <p>Nor were such terrors mediaeval only. Till quite recent years + they cast a gloom over the existence of honourable and laborious + men. Remember that scene in Oxford when Dr. Johnson, with a look + of horror, acknowledged that he was much oppressed by the fear of + death, and when<a name="311"></a> the amiable Dr. Adams suggested + that God was infinitely good, he replied:</p> + + <p>"'As I cannot be sure that I have fulfilled the conditions on + which salvation is granted, I am afraid I may be one of those who + shall be damned' (looking dismally). Dr. Adams: 'What do you mean + by damned?' Johnson (passionately and loudly): 'Sent to Hell, + Sir, and punished everlastingly.'"</p> + + <p>No one disputes that for many ages the lives of even the just + and good were burdened by such oppressive fears. Perhaps, indeed, + the just and good were more burdened than the wicked; for to the + wicked their own sins seldom appear so deadly black, and when a + Balkan priest lately displayed pictures of eternal torment as + warnings to a savage mountaineer's enormities, he was met by the + reply, "Even we should not be so cruel." But to the greater part + of thinking mankind, Maeterlinck's reassurances upon the subject, + even if they could be established, would appear a little + out-of-date, and I do not believe that, even where they linger, + such terrors form the basis of the fear of death. Was there not, + at all events, one strenuous Canon of the Established Church who + defiantly proclaimed that he would rather be damned than + annihilated?</p> + + <p>"Men fear death," says Bacon's familiar sentence; "men fear + death, as children fear to go in the dark." It is not the dread + of pain and torment; it is the dark that terrifies; it is + Kingsley's horror of annihilation; it is the hot life's fear of + ceasing to be. I grant that many are unconscious of this fear. In + word, at all events, there are multitudes, perhaps the greater + part of mankind, who long for the annihilation of self, who + direct their lives by the great hope of<a name="312"></a> + becoming in the end absorbed into the Universe. Their perpetual + prayer is to be rid of personality at the last, no matter through + what strange embodiments the self must pass before it reach the + bliss of nothingness. Similar, though less doctrinal, was the + prayer of Job when he counted himself among those who long for + death, but it cometh not, and dig for it more than for hid + treasures; who rejoice exceedingly, and are glad when they can + find the grave. "Why died I not from the womb?" he cried:</p> + <pre> + "For now should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept; + then, had I been at rest, with kings and counsellors of the earth, which + built solitary places for themselves." +</pre> + + <p>How far the loss of personal consciousness by absorption into + universal infinity is identical with the eternal rest desired by + Job might be long disputed. Sir Thomas Browne, having heard of + the Brahmin or Buddhist conceptions of futurity, would draw a + thin distinction:</p> + <pre> +"Others," he says, "rather than be lost in the uncomfortable night of +nothing, were content to recede into the common being; and make one +particle of the public soul of all things, which was no more than to +return into their unknown and divine original again." +</pre> + + <p>In effect this doctrine comes very near Maeterlinck's plea of + comfort. Annihilation, he says, is impossible, because nothing is + destructible. But when confronted with the eternal antinomy of + death, that both the end and the survival of personality are + equally inconceivable, he hesitates. He admits that survival + without consciousness would be the same as the annihilation o + self (in which case he maintains death could be no evil, bringing + only eternal sleep). But he rejects this solution as flattering + only to ignorance, and has visions of a new ego collecting a + fresh nucleus round itself and developing in infinity. For the + "narrow ego" which we partly know—the humble self of + memories and identity, the soul that sums up experience into some + kind of unity—he expresses considerable contempt, as a + frail and forgetful thing; and he seeks to waft us away into an + intellect devoid of senses, which he says almost certainly + exists, and into an infinity which is "nothing if it be not + felicity."</p> + + <p>I do not know. A man may say what he pleases about intellect + devoid of senses, or about the felicity of infinity. One + statement may be as true as the other, or the reverse of both may + be true. Talk of that kind rests on no sounder basis than the old + assertions about the houris and the happy hunting-grounds, and it + brings no surer consolation. Even when Maeterlinck tells us that + it is impossible for the universe to be a mistake, and that our + own reason necessarily corresponds with the eternal laws of the + universe, we may answer that we hope, and even believe, that he + is right, but on such a basis we can found no certainty whatever. + Nor does the self, when, warm with life, inspired with vital + passion, and energising for its own fulfilment, it stands + horrified before the gulf of death, fearing no conceivable + torment, but only the cessation of its power and + identity—at such a moment that inward and isolated self can + derive no reassurance from the dim possibility of some future + nucleus, under cover of which it may pass into the felicity of + the universal infinite, stripped of its memory, its present + personality, and its flesh.</p> + + <p>Fear of annihilation, or of the loss of identity, which is the + same thing, I take to be one of the remaining terrors in European + minds meditating on death. Of all the imagined forms of survival, + only one is obviously more horrible than the night of nothing, + and that is the state in which Beethoven twangs a banjo and + Gladstone utters the political forecasts of a distinguished + journalist. It may be that my affection for the "narrow ego" is + too violent, but, for myself, I do not find M. Maeterlinck's + consolations more genuinely consoling than other philosophy. On + the second and far more poignant terror that still survives in + the very nature of death, he hardly touches. I mean the severance + of love, the disappearance of the beloved. "No, no, no life," + cries Lear:</p> + <pre> + "Why should a dog, a horse, a rat, have life, + And thou no breath at all? Thou'lt come no more, + Never, never, never, never, never!" +</pre> + + <p>It is the cry of all mankind when love is thus slit in twain; + nor is sorrow comforted because coral is made of love's bones, or + violets spring from his flesh, and the vanished self is possibly + absorbed into the felicity of an infinite and everlasting + azure.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p><a name="RULE4_35"><!-- RULE4 35 --></a><a name= + "315"></a> + + <h2>XXXVI</h2> + + <center> + STRULDBRUGS + </center> + + <p>What a fuss they make, proclaiming the secret of long life! We + must stay abed till noon, they say; we must take life slowly and + comfortably; we must avoid worry, live moderately, drink wine, + smoke cigars, and read the <i>Times</i>. Yes; there is one who, + in a letter to the <i>Times</i>, boasted his grandfather + sustained life for a hundred and one years by reading all the + leading and special articles of that paper; his father got to + eighty-eight on the same diet; himself follows their footsteps on + fare that is new every morning. Another writer has subscribed to + the <i>Times</i> for sixty-seven years, and now is ninety-two on + the strength of it. Avoid worry, fret not yourself because of + evildoers, let not indignation lacerate your heart, take the + sensible and solid view of things, read the <i>Times</i>, and you + will surpass the Psalmist's limit of threescore years and + ten.</p> + + <p>What a picture of beneficent comfort it calls up! The + breakfast-room furniture fit to outlast the Pyramids, the maroon + leather of deep armchairs, the marble clock ticking to half-past + nine beneath the bronze figure with the scythe and hourglass, the + boots set to warm upon the hearthrug, the crisp bacon sizzling + gently beneath its silver cover, the pleasant wife murmuring + gently behind the silver urn, the paper set beside the master's + plate. Isaiah knew not of such regimen, else he would not have + cried that all flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof as + the flower of the field.</p> + + <p>Others there are whom poverty precludes from silver, and the + narrow estate of home from daily sustenance on the <i>Times</i>. + Some study diuturnity upon two meals a day, or pursue old age by + means of "unfired food," Others devour roots by moonlight, or + savagely dine upon a pocket of raw beans. These are intemperate + on water, or bewail the touch of salt as sacrilege against the + sacrifice of eggs. These grovel for nuts like the Hampshire hog, + or impiously celebrate the fruitage by which man fell. Some cast + away their coats, some their hosen, some their hats. They go + barefoot but for sandals. They wander about in sheepskins and + goatskins, eschewing flesh for their food, and vegetables for + their clothing. They plunge distracted into boiling water. + Shudderingly, they break the frosty Serpentine. They absorb the + sun's rays like pigeons upon the housetops, or shiver naked in + suburban chambers that they may recover the barbaric tang. They + walk through rivers fully clothed, and shake their vesture as a + dog his coat; or are hydrophobic for their skins, fearing to wash + lest they disturb essential oils. They shave their heads as a + cure for baldness, or in gentle gardens emulate the raging lion's + mane. One dreads to miss his curdled milk by the fraction of a + minute; another, at the semblance of a cold, puts off his supper + for three weeks and a day. One calculates upon longevity by means + of bare knees, another apprehends the approach of death through + the orifice in the palm of a leather glove.</p> + + <p><a name="317"></a> Of course, it is all right. Life is of + inestimable value, and nothing can compensate a corpse for the + loss of it. Falstaff knew that, and, like the Magpie Moth, wisely + counterfeited death to avoid the irretrievable step of dying. Our + prudent livers display an equal wisdom, not exactly + counterfeiting death, but living gingerly—living, as it + were, at half-cock, lest life should go off suddenly with a flash + and bang, leaving them nowhere. Of course, they are quite right. + Life being pleasurable, it is well to spread it out as far as it + will go. As to honour, the hoary head in itself is a crown of + glory, and when a man reaches ninety, people will call him + wonderful, though for ninety years he has been a fool. The + objects of living are, for the most part, obscure and variable, + and prudent livers may well ask why for the obscure and variable + objects of life they should lose life itself—"Propter + causas vivendi perdere vitam," if we may reverse the old + quotation.</p> + + <p>So they are quite justified in eating the bread of + carefulness, and no one who has known danger will condemn their + solicitude for safely. But yet, in hearing of those devices, or + perusing the <i>Sour Milk Gazette</i> and the <i>Valetudinarian's + Handbook</i>, somehow there come to my mind the words, "Insanitas + Sanitutum, omnia Insanitas!" And suddenly the picture of those + woeful islanders whom Gulliver discovered rises before me. For, + as we remember, in the realm of Laputa, he found a certain number + of both sexes (about eleven hundred) who were called Struldbrugs, + or Immortals, because, being born with a certain spot over the + left eyebrow, they were destined never to know the common + visitation of death. We remember how Gulliver envied them, + accounting them the happiest of human beings, since they had + obtained in perpetuity the blessing of life, for which all men + struggle so hard that whoever has one foot in the grave is sure + to hold back the other as strongly as he can. But in the end, he + concluded that their lot was not really enviable, seeing that + increasing years only brought an increase of their dullness and + incapacity:</p> + <pre> + "They were not only opinionative," he writes, "peevish, covetous, + morose, vain, talkative, but incapable of friendship, and dead to all + natural affections, which never descended below their grandchildren. + Envy and impotent desires are their prevailing passions. But those + objects against which their envy seems principally directed are the + vices of the younger sort, and the deaths of the old. By reflecting on + the former they find themselves cut off from all possibility of + pleasure; and whenever they see a funeral they lament and repine that + others have gone to a harbour of rest, to which they themselves never + can hope to arrive." +</pre> + + <p>The explorer further discovered that, after the age of eighty, + the marriages of the Struldbrugs were dissolved, because the law + thought it a reasonable indulgence that those who were condemned, + without any fault of their own, to a perpetual continuance in the + world, should not have their misery doubled by the load of a + wife; also that they could never amuse themselves with reading, + because their memory would not serve to carry them from the + beginning of a sentence to the end; and after about two hundred + years, they could not hold conversation with their neighbours, + the mortals, because the language of the country was always upon + the flux.</p> + + <p>It is a pity that the laws of Laputa stringently forbade the + export of Struldbrugs, else, Gulliver tells us, he would gladly + have brought a couple to this country, to arm our people against + the fear of death.<a name="319"></a> Had he only done so, what a + lot of letters to the <i>Times</i>, advertisements of patent + medicines; and Eugenic discussions we should have been spared! If + earthly immortality were known to be such a curse, we could more + easily convince the most scrupulous devotee of health that old + age was little better than immortality.</p> + + <p>It is not, therefore, as though great age were such a catch + that it should demand all these delicate manipulations of diet, + sleep, rest-cures, health-resorts, scourings, and temperatures, + for its attainment. How refreshing to escape from this hospital + atmosphere into the free air, blowing whither it lists, and to + fling oneself carelessly upon existence, as Sir George Birdwood, + for instance, has done! He also wrote to the <i>Times</i>, but in + a very different tone. Like another Gulliver, he pictured the + calamity of millionaires living on till their heirs are senile. + It is all nonsense, he said, to prescribe rules for life. One of + his oldest friends drank a bottle of cognac a day, and, as for + himself—well, we know that he is eighty, has lived a varied + and dangerous life in many lands, has written on carrots, + chestnuts, carpets, art, scholarship, all manner of absorbing + subjects, and yet he heartily survives:</p> + <pre> + "I attribute my senility—let others say senectitude," he shouts in his + cheery way, "to a certain playful devilry of spirit, a ceaseless + militancy, quite suffragettic, so that when I left the Indian Office on + a bilked pension I swore by all the gods I would make up for it by + living on ten years, instead of one, which was all an insurance society + told me I was worth." +</pre> + + <p>That sounds the true note, blowing the horn of old forests and + battles. "A playful devilry of spirit," "a ceaseless + militancy"—how stirring to the stagnant lives of prudent + regularity! "Lie in bed till noon-day!"<a name="320"></a> he goes + on; "I would rather be some monstrous flat-fish at the bottom of + the Atlantic than accept human life on such terms." Who in future + will hear of rest-cures, retirements, retreats, nursings, + comforts, and attention to health, without beholding in his mind + that monstrous flat-fish, blind and deaf with age, rotting at + ease upon the Atlantic slime? Life is not measured by the ticking + of a clock, and it is no new thing to discover eternity in a + minute. "I have not time to make money," said the naturalist, + Agassiz, when his friends advised some pecuniary advantage; and, + in the same way, every really fortunate man says he has no time + to bother about living. So soon as a human being does anything + simply because he thinks it will "do him good," and not for + pleasure, interest, or service, he should withdraw from this + present world as gracefully as he can. Of course, we all want to + live, but even in death there can hardly be anything so very + awful, since it is so common.</p> + + <p>"The Kingdom of Heaven is not meat and drink." "He that loses + his life shall find it," said one Teacher. "Live dangerously," + said another; and "Try to be killed" is still the best advice for + a soldier who would rise. For life is to be measured by its + intensity, and not by the tapping of a death-watch beetle. "I've + lost my appetite. I can't eat!" groaned the patient whom Carlyle + knew. "My dear sir, that is not of the slightest consequence," + replied the good physician; and how wise are those scientists who + deny to invalids the existence of their pain! Sir George Birdwood + recalled the saying of Plato that attention to health is one of + the greatest hindrances to life, and I vaguely remember Plato's + commendation of the working-man, who, in illness, just takes a + dose, and<a name="321"></a> if that doesn't cure him, remarks, + "If I must die, I must die," and dies accordingly. That is how + the working-man dies still; though sometimes he is now buoyed up + by the thought of his funeral's grandeur. "A certain playful + devilry of spirit," "a ceaseless militancy"—for life or + death those are the best regulations.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p><a name="RULE4_36"><!-- RULE4 36 --></a><a name= + "322"></a> + + <h2>XXXVII</h2> + + <center> + "LIBERTÉ, LIBERTÉ, CHÉRIE!" + </center> + + <p>Just escaped from the prison-house of Russia, I had reached + Marseilles. The whole city, the bay, and the surrounding hills, + bright with villas and farms, glittered in sunshine. So did the + spidery bridge that swings the ferry across the Old Harbour's + mouth. Even the fortifications looked quite amiable under such a + sky. Booming sirens sounded the approach of great liners, moving + slowly to their appointed docks. Little steamers hurried from + point to point along the shores with crowded decks, and the + lighthouses stood white against the Mediterranean blue.</p> + + <p>The streets were thronged with busy people. The shops and + cafés were thronged. At all the bathing places along the + bay crowds of men, women, and children were plunging with joy + into the cool, transparent water. The walls and kiosks were + covered with gay advertisements of balls, concerts, theatres, and + open air music-halls. Flaunting and flirting to and fro, women + recalled what pleasure was. Electric trams went clanging down the + lines. Motors hooted as they set off for tours in the Alps. + Little carriages, with many-coloured hoods, loitered temptingly + beside tine pavements. The stalls along the quay shone with every + variety of gleaming fish, and every produce of the kindly earth. + The sun went smiling through the air; the sea smiled in answer. + And over all, high upon her rocky hill, watched the great image + of Notre Dame de la Garde.</p> + + <p>"This is civilisation! This is liberty!" cried a Frenchman, + who had joined our ship in Turkey, and was now seated beside me, + enjoying the return to security, peace, and the comfort of his + own language.</p> + + <p>Yes; it was civilisation, and it was liberty. Has not the name + of Marseilles breathed the very spirit of liberty all over the + world? And yet his words recalled to me another scene, and the + remark of another native of Marseilles.</p> + + <p>We were steaming slowly along the West Coast of Africa, + landing cargo at point after point, or calling for it as + required. Day by day we wallowed through the oily water, under a + misty sun, that did not roast, but boiled. Day by day we watched + the low-lying shore—the unvarying line of white beach, + almost as white as the foam which dashed against it; and beyond + the beach, the long black line of unbroken forest. Nothing was to + be seen but those parallel lines of white beach and black forest, + stretching both ways to the horizon. At dawn they were partly + concealed by serpentining ghosts of mist that slowly vanished + under the increasing heat; and at sunset the mists stole silently + over them again. But all day and all night the sickly stench of + vegetation, putrefying in the steam of those forests from age to + age, pervaded the ship as with the breath of plague.</p> + + <p>One morning the scream of our whistle and the bang of our + little signal-gun, followed by the prolonged rattle of the + anchor-chain running through the hawse-pipe, showed that we had + reached some point of call. The ship lay about half a mile off + shore, and one could see black figures running about the beach + and pushing off a big black boat. The spray shot high in the air + as the bow dived through the surf, and soon we could hear the + hiss and gasp of the rowers as they drew near. They were naked + negroes, shining with oil and sweat. Standing up in the boat, + with face to bow, they plunged their paddles perpendicularly into + the water with a hiss, and drew them out with a gasp. A swirling + circle of foam marked where each stroke had fallen, and the boat + surged nearer through the swell, till, with a swish of backing + paddles, it stopped alongside the ship's ladder, like a horse + reined up. Out of the stern there stepped a little figure, just + recognisable as a white man. His helmet was soaked and battered + out of shape. The tattered relics of his white-duck suit were + plastered with yellow palm-oil and various kinds of grease. So + was the singlet, which was his only other clothing. So were his + face and hands. But he was a white man, and he came up the ship's + side with the confident air of Europe.</p> + + <p>The purser greeted him on deck, and they disappeared into the + purser's cabin to make out the bill of lading. The hatch was + opened, and the steam crane began hauling barrels and sacks out + of the boat, and then depositing other great barrels in their + place, according to the simplest form of barter. The barrels we + took smelt of palm-oil; the barrels we gave smelt of rum. When + the boat could hold no more, the little man reappeared with the + purser, and was introduced to me as Mr. Jacks.</p> + + <p>He took off his battered helmet, inclined his body from the + middle of his back, and said, "Enchanted, sair!"</p> + + <p><a name="325"></a> Then he gave me his oily hand, which wanted + rubbing down with a bit of deck swabbing.</p> + + <p>"You fit for go shore one time?" he asked in the pidjin + English of the Coast, still keeping his helmet politely + raised.</p> + + <p>"Oui, certainement, toute suite," I replied in the pidjin + French of England.</p> + + <p>If I had been the King conferring on him the title of Duke + with a corresponding income, his face could not have expressed + greater surprise and ecstasy.</p> + + <p>He replied with a torrent of French, of which I understood + nearly all, except the point.</p> + + <p>Taking my arm (the coat-sleeve never recovered from the oily + stain), he led me to the ship's side and steadied the rope ladder + while I went down, the purser following behind, or rather on my + head. We sat on the barrels, M. Jacques took a paddle to steer, + and hissing and gasping, the queer-smelling crew started for the + beach. When we came near, M. Jacques turned with his pleasant + smile to the purser, and said, "Surf no good! Plenty purser live + for drown this one place."</p> + + <p>"That's all right," said the purser. Then the paddling + stopped, and M. Jacques looked over the stern to watch the swell. + For a long time we hung there, the waves rolling smoothly under + us and crashing against the steep bank of sand just in front, as + a stormy sea crashes against a south-coast esplanade at full tide + under a south-west wind. Gently moving his paddle this way and + that, M. Jacques held the stern to the swell, till suddenly he + shouted "One time!" and the natives drove their paddles Into the + water like spears. On the top of a huge billow we rushed forward. + It broke, and we crashed down upon the beach. In a dome of green + and white the surge passed clean over us, and then, with a roar + like a torrent, it dragged us back. Another great wave broke over + the stern, and again we were hurled forward beneath it. This time + a crowd of natives rushed into the foam and, clinging to the + gunwale, held us steady against the backwash. Out we all sprang + into two feet of rushing water, and hauled the boat clear up the + shore.</p> + + <p>"Surf no good!" observed M. Jacques; "but purser live this + time," Then he shook himself like a dog, rolled on the fine sand, + shook himself again, and with the smile of all the angels, + remarked, "Now we fit for go get one dilly drink."</p> + + <p>Leaving the natives to roll up the great barrels from the + boat, we climbed the beach to a long but narrow strip of fairly + hard ground, on which one solitary thorn-tree had contrived to + grow. The further side of the bank fell steeply into the vast + swamp of the coast. There the mangrove trees stood rotting in + black water and slimy ooze, so thick together that the misty sun + never penetrated half-way down their inextricable branches, and + even from the edge of the forest one looked into darkness. On the + top of that thin plateau between the roaring sea and the + impenetrable swamp, M. Jacques had made his home. It was a + ramshackle little house, run together of boards and corrugated + iron, and bearing evidence of all the mistakes of which a West + African native is capable. At midday the solitary thorn afforded + a transparent shade; for the rest of daylight the dwelling + sweltered and boiled unprotected. Round house and tree ran a mud + wall, about five feet high, loop-holed at intervals. And just + inside the house door was fastened a rack of three rifles, kept + tolerably clean.</p> + + <p>"Plenty pom-pom," said M. Jacques, as I looked at them (he + returned to the language that I evidently understood better than + his own). "Black man he cut throats too plenty much."</p> + + <p>Opening a padlocked trap-door in the flooring, he disappeared + into an underground cavern. Calling to me, he struck a match, and + I looked down into a kind of dungeon cell, smelling of damp like + a vault There I saw a broken camp-bed, covered with a Kaffir + blanket.</p> + + <p>"Here live for catch dilly sleep," he cried triumphantly, as + though exhibiting a palace. "Plenty cool night here."</p> + + <p>Then, with a bottle in one hand, he came up the ladder, and + carefully locking the trap-door and pulling a table over it, he + observed, "Black man he thief too plenty much."</p> + + <p>With one thought only—the longing for liquid of any kind + but salt water-we sat in crazy deck-chairs under the iron + verandah, where a few starved chickens pecked unhappily at the + dust. Presently there came the padding sound of naked feet upon + the hard-baked earth, and a dark figure emerged from an inner + kitchen. It was a young negress. Her short, woolly hair was cut + into sections, like a melon, by lines that showed the paler skin + below. The large dark eyes were filmy as a seal's, and the heavy + black lips projected far in front of the flat nostrils, slit + sideways like a bull-dog's. From breast to knee she was covered + with a length of dark blue cotton, wound twice round her body, + and fastened with two safety pins. In her hands, which were + pinkish inside and on the palm like a monkey's, she held a tray, + and coming close to us, she stood, silent and motionless, in + front of M. Jacques.</p> + + <p>Into three meat-tins that served for cups, he poured out wine + from the bottle he had brought up from his subterranean bedroom. + Then he filled up his own cup from a larger meat-tin of water + fresh from the marsh. We did the same to make the wine go + further, and at last we drank. It was the vilest wine the + chemists of Hamburg ever made, though German education favours + chemistry; and the water tasted like the bilge of Charon's boat. + But it was liquid, and when we had drained the tins—I will + not say to the dregs, for Hamburg wine has no dregs—M. + Jacques lay back with a sigh and said, "Drink fine too much."</p> + + <p>The girl handed us sticky slabs of Africa's maize bread, and + then padded off with the tray. Coming out again, she crouched + down on her heels against the doorpost, and silently watched us + with impenetrable eyes, that never blinked or turned aside, no + matter how much one stared.</p> + + <p>Meantime, the natives from the beach, with many sighs and + groans, were rolling up the cargo of barrels, and setting them, + one by one, in a barricaded storehouse. "That's Bank of France," + said M. Jacques, locking the door securely when all the barrels + were stowed. "Plenty rum all the same good for plenty gold."</p> + + <p>Their spell of labour finished, the natives stretched + themselves in the shadow of the enclosure wall, and slept, while + we sat languidly looking over the steaming water at the ship, now + dim in the haze. The heat was so intense that, in spite of our + drenching in the surf, the sweat was running down our faces and + backs again. The repeated crash and drag of the waves were the + only sounds, except when now and again a parrot shrieked from the + forest, or some great trunk, rotted right through at<a name= + "329"></a> last, fell heavily into the swamp among the tangled + roots and slime. Even the mosquitoes were still, and the only + movement was the hovering of giant hornets, attracted by the + smell of the wine.</p> + + <p>"Holiday fine too much," said M. Jacques, smiling at us + dreamily, and stretching out his legs as he sank lower into his + creaking chair.</p> + + <p>"One month, one ship; holiday same time," he explained, and he + went on to tell us he worked too plenty hard the rest of the + month, stowing the palm-oil and kernels as the natives brought + them in by hardly perceptible tracks from their villages far + across the swamp.</p> + + <p>"Bit slow, isn't it, old man?" said the purser.</p> + + <p>"Not slow," he answered quickly; "plenty black man go thief, + go kill; plenty fever, plenty live for die."</p> + + <p>"I should think you miss the French cafés and concerts + and dancing and all that sort of thing," I remarked.</p> + + <p>"No matter for them things," he answered. "Liberty here. + Liberty live for this one place."</p> + + <p>"'Where there ain't no Ten Commandments,'" I quoted.</p> + + <p>"No ten? No <i>one</i>," he cried, shaking one finger in my + face excitedly, so as to make the meaning of "one" quite + clear.</p> + + <p>Just then the steamer sounded her siren.</p> + + <p>"The old man's getting in a stew," said the purser, slowly + standing up and mopping his face.</p> + + <p>The crew stretched themselves, tightened their wisps of + cotton, and slowly stood up too.</p> + + <p>As M. Jacques led us politely down to the surf-boat again, I + heard him quietly singing in an undertone, "Liberté, + Liberté, chérie!"</p> + + <p>"What part of France do you come from?" I asked.</p> + + <p>"From Marseilles, monsieur," he answered, and having helped + push off the boat, he stood with raised hat, watching us dive + through the breakers. Then he slowly climbed the sand again, and + I saw him pass into the gate of his fortified wall.</p> + + <p>It was strange. Against that man every possible Commandment + could be broken, but there was only one which he could have had + any pleasure in breaking himself. And as I sat at Marseilles, + watching the happy crowds of men and women pass to and fro, it + appeared to me that he would have been at liberty to break that + Commandment without leaving his native city.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p><a name="RULE4_37"><!-- RULE4 37 --></a><a name= + "331"></a> + + <h2>XXXVIII</h2> + + <center> + A FAREWELL TO FLEET STREET + </center> + + <p>It is still early, but dinner is over—not the club + dinner with its buzzing conversation, nor yet the restaurant + dinner, hurried into the ten minutes between someone's momentous + speech and the leader that has to be written on it. The suburban + dinner is over, and there was no need to hurry. They tell me I + shall be healthier now. What do I care about being healthier?</p> + + <p>Shall I sit with a novel over the fire? Shall I take life at + second-hand and work up an interest in imaginary loves and the + exigencies of shadows? What are all the firesides and fictions of + the world to me that I should loiter here and doze, doze, as good + as die?</p> + + <p>They tell me it is a fine thing to take a little walk before + bed-time. I go out into the suburban street. A thin, wet mist + hangs over the silent and monotonous houses, and blurs the + electric lamps along our road. There will be a fog in Fleet + Street to-night, but everyone is too busy to notice it. How + friendly a fog made us all! How jolly it was that night when I + ran straight into a <i>Chronicle</i> man, and got a lead of him + by a short head over the same curse! There's no chance of running + into anyone here, let alone cursing! A few figures slouch past + and disappear; the last postman goes his round, knocking at one + house in ten; up and down the asphalt path leading into the + obscurity of the Common a wretched woman wanders in vain; the + long, pointed windows of a chapel glimmer with yellowish light + through the dingy air, and I hear the faint groans of a harmonium + cheering the people dismally home. The groaning ceases, the + lights go out, service is over; it will soon be time for decent + people to be in bed.</p> + + <p>In Fleet Street the telegrams will now be falling thick + as—No, I won't say it! No Vallombrosa for me, nor any other + journalistic tag! I remember once a young sub-editor had got as + far as, "The cry is still—" when I took him by the throat. + I have done the State some service.</p> + + <p>Our sub-editors' room is humming now: a low murmur of + questions, rapid orders, the rustle of paper, the quick alarum of + telephones. Boys keep bringing telegrams in orange envelopes. + Each sub-editor is bent over his little lot of news. One sorts + out the speeches from bundles of flimsy. The middle of Lloyd + George's speech has got mixed up with Balfour's peroration. If he + left them mixed, would anyone be the less wise? Perhaps the + speakers might notice it, and that man from Wiltshire would be + sure to write saying he had always supported Mr. Balfour, and + heartily welcomed this fresh evidence of his consistency.</p> + + <p>"Six columns speeches in already; how much?" asks the + sub-editor. "Column and quarter," comes answer from the head of + the table, and the cutting begins. Another sub-editor pieces + together an interview about the approaching comet. "Keep comet to + three sticks," comes the order, and the comet's perihelion is + abbreviated. Another guts a blue-book on prison statistics as + savagely as though he were disembowelling the whole criminal + population.</p> + + <p>There's the telephone ringing. "Hullo, hullo!" calls a + sub-editor quietly. "Who are you? Margate mystery? Go ahead. + They've found the corpse? All right. Keep it to a column, but + send good story. Horrible mutilations? Good. Glimpse the corpse + yourself if you can. Yes. Send full mutilations. Will call for + them at eleven. Good-bye." "You doing the Archbishop, Mr. Jones?" + asks the head of the table. "Cup-tie at Sunderland," answers Mr. + Jones, and all the time the boys go in and out with those + orange-coloured bulletins of the world's health.</p> + + <p>What's a man to do at night out here? Let's have a look at all + these posters displayed in front of the Free Library, where a few + poor creatures are still reading last night's news for the + warmth. Next week there's a concert of chamber-music in the Town + Hall I suppose I might go to that, just to "kill time" as they + say. Think of a journalist wanting to kill time! Or to kill + anything but another fellow's "stuff," and sometimes an editor! + Then there's a boxing competition at the St. John's Arms, and a + subscription dance in the Nelson Rooms, and a lecture on Dante, + with illustrations from contemporary art, for working men and + women, at the Institute. Also there's something called the + Why-Be-Lonesome Club for promoting friendly social intercourse + among the young and old of all classes. I suppose I might go to + that too. It sounds comprehensive.</p> + + <p>There seems no need to be dull in the suburbs. A man in a cart + is still crying coke down the street. Another desires to sell + clothes-props. A brace of lovers come stealing out of the Common + through the mist, careless of mud and soaking grass. I suppose + people would say I'm too old to make love on a County Council + bench. In love's cash-books the balance-sheet of years is kept + with remorseless accuracy.</p> + + <p>The foreign editors are waiting now in their silent room, and + the telegrams come to them from the ends of the world. They fold + them in packets together by countries or continents—the + Indian stuff, the Russian stuff, the Egyptian, Balkan, Austrian, + South African, Persian, Japanese, American, Spanish, and all the + rest. They'll have pretty nearly seven columns by this time, and + the order will come "Two-and-a-half foreign," Then the piecing + and cutting will begin. One of them sits in a telephone box with + bands across his head, and repeats a message from our Paris + correspondent. Through our Paris man we can talk with Berlin and + Rome.</p> + + <p>From this rising ground I can see the light of the city + reflected on the misty air, and somewhere mingled in that light + are the big lamps down in Fleet Street. The City's voice comes to + me like a confused murmur through a telephone when the words are + unintelligible. The only distinct sounds are the dripping of the + moisture from the trees in suburban gardens, and the voice of an + old lady imploring her pet dog to return from his evening + walk.</p> + + <p>The voice of all the world is now heard in that silent room. + From moment to moment news is coming of treaties and revolutions, + of sultans deposed and kings enthroned, of commerce and failures, + of shipwrecks, earthquakes, and explorations, of wars and flooded + camps and sieges, of intrigue, diplomacy, and assassination, of + love, murder, revenge, and all the public joy and sorrow and + business of mankind. All the voices of fear, hope, and + lamentation echo in that silent little room; and maps hang on the + walls, and guide-books are always ready, for who knows where the + next event may come to pass upon this energetic little earth, + already twisting for a hundred million years around the sun?</p> + + <p>The editor must be back by now. Calm and decisive, he takes + his seat in his own room, like the conductor of an orchestra + preparing to raise his baton now that the tuning-up is finished. + The leader-writers are coming in for their instructions. No need + for much consultation to-night—not for the first leader + anyhow. For the second—well, there are a good many things + one could suggest: Turkey or Persia or the eternal German + Dreadnought for a foreign subject; the stage censorship or the + price of cotton; and the cup-ties, or the extinction of hats for + both sexes as a light note to finish with. He's always labouring + to invent "something light," is the editor. He says we must + sometimes consider the public; just as though we wrote the rest + of the paper for our own private fun.</p> + + <p>But there's no doubt about the first leader to-night. There's + only one subject on which it would be a shock to every reader in + the morning not to find it written. And, my word! what a subject + it is! What seriousness and indignation and conviction one could + get into it! I should begin by restating the situation. You must + always assume that the reader's ignorance is new every morning, + as love should be; and anyone who happens to know something about + it likes to see he was right. I should work in adroit references + to this evening's speeches, and that would fill the first + paragraph—say, three sides of my copy, or something over. + In the second paragraph I'd show the immense issues involved in + the present contest, and expose the fallacies of our opponents + who attempt to belittle the matter as temporary and unlikely to + recur—say, three sides of my copy again, but not a word + more. And, then, in the third paragraph, I'd adjure the + Government, in the name of all their party hold sacred, to stand + firm, and I'd appeal to the people of this great Empire never to + allow their ancient liberties to be encroached upon or overridden + by a set of irresponsible—well, in short, I should be like + General Sherman when at the crisis of a battle he used to say, + "Now, let everything go in"—four sides of my copy, or even + five if the stuff is running well.</p> + + <p>Somebody must be writing that leader now. Possibly he is doing + it better than I should, but I hope not. When Hannibal wandered + all those years in Asia at the Court of silly Antiochus this or + stupid Prusias the other, and knew that Carthage was falling to + ruin while he alone might have saved her if only she had allowed + him, would he have rejoiced to hear that someone else was + succeeding better than himself—had traversed the Alps with + a bigger army, had won a second Cannae, and even at Zama snatched + a decisive victory? Hannibal might have rejoiced. He was a very + exceptional man.</p> + + <p>But here's a poor creature still playing the clarionet down + the street, on the pretence of giving pleasure worth a penny. + Yes, my boy, I know you're out of work, and that is why you play + the "Last Rose of Summer" and "When other Lips." I am out of + work, too, and I can't play anything. You say you learnt when a + boy, and once played in the orchestra at Drury Lane; but now + you've come to wandering about suburban streets, and having + finished "When other Lips," you will quite naturally play "My + Lodging's on the Cold Ground." Only last night I was playing in + an orchestra myself, not a hundred miles (obsolete journalistic + tag!)—not a hundred miles from Drury Lane. It was a grand + orchestra, that of ours. Night by night it played the symphony of + the world, and each night a new symphony was performed, without + rehearsal. The drums of our orchestra were the echoes of + thundering wars; the flutes and soft recorders were the eloquence + of an Empire's statesmen; and our 'cellos and violins wailed with + the pity of all mankind. In that vast orchestra I played the horn + that sounds the charge, or with its sharp réveillé + vexes the ear of night before the sun is up. Here is your penny, + my brother in affliction. I, too, have once joined in the music + of a star, and now wander the suburban streets.</p> + + <p>That leader-writer has not finished yet, but the proofs of the + beginning of his article will be coming down. In an hour or so + his work will be over, and he will pass out into the street + exhausted, but happy with the sense of function fulfilled. Fleet + Street is quieter now. The lamps gleam through the fog, a + motor-'bus thunders by, a few late messengers flit along with the + latest telegrams, and some stragglers from the restaurants come + singing past the Temple. For a few moments there is silence but + for the leader-writer's quick footsteps on the pavement. He is + some hours in front of the morning's news, and in a few hours + more half a million people will be reading what he has just + written, and will quote it to each other as their own. How often + I have had whole sentences of my stuff thrown at me as conclusive + arguments almost before the printing ink was dry!</p> + + <p>Here I stand, beside a solitary lamp-post upon a suburban + acclivity. The light of the city's existence I think my successor + would say, of her pulsating and palpitating or ebullient + existence—is pale upon the sky, and the murmur of her voice + sounds like large but distant waves. I stand alone, and near me + there is no sound but the complaint of a homeless tramp swearing + at the cold as he settles down upon a bench for the night.</p> + + <p>How I used to swear at that boy for not coming quick enough to + fetch my copy! I knew the young scoundrel's step—I knew the + step of every man and boy in that office. I knew the way each of + them went up and down the stairs, and coughed or whistled or + spat. What knowledge dies with me now that I am gone! <i>Qualis + artifex pereo!</i> But that boy—how I should love to be + swearing at him now! I wonder whether he misses me? I hope he + does. "It would be an assurance most dear," as an old song of + exile used to say.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p><a name="IDX"><!-- IDX --></a> + + <h2>INDEX</h2> + + <h3>A</h3><br> + Abdul Hamid - <a href="#159">1</a><br> + Angell, Norman - <a href="#208">1</a>, <a href="#210">2</a><br> + Antonines, Age of the - <a href="#4">1</a><br> + Apuleius, <i>Golden Ass</i> of - <a href="#273">1</a><br> + Arbuthnot, Dr. - <a href="#50">1</a><br> + Aristotle, definition of happiness - <a href="#81">1</a><br> + Arnold, Matthew, quoted - <a href="#39">1</a>, <a href= + "#40">2</a>, <a href="#76">3</a>, <a href="#80">4</a>, <a href= + "#286">5</a><br> + Augustine, Saint - <a href="#181">1</a><br> + Austria, Archduke Johann Salvator of - <a href="#245">1</a><br> + + <h3>B</h3><br> + Barcelona - <a href="#10">1</a>, <a href="#216">2</a><br> + Barnett, Canon, quoted - <a href="#76">1</a><br> + Birdwood, Sir George, quoted - <a href="#319">1</a><br> + Boer War - <a href="#9">1</a>, <a href="#10">2</a>, <a href= + "#189">3</a>, <a href="#211">4</a>, <a href="#226">5</a><br> + Börne, Ludwig, quoted - <a href="#36">1</a><br> + Bolivar - <a href="#16">1</a><br> + Booth, Charles - <a href="#79">1</a><br> + Brailsford, H.N., quoted - <a href="#95">1</a><br> + Brown, John - <a href="#16">1</a>, <a href="#41">2</a>, <a href= + "#201">3</a><br> + Browne, Sir Thomas, quoted - <a href="#312">1</a><br> + Browning, Robert - <a href="#31">1</a>, <a href="#238">2</a>, + <a href="#284">3</a>, <a href="#309">4</a><br> + Buddhist Nuns - <a href="#304">1</a><br> + Burke, Edmund - <a href="#44">1</a>, <a href="#169">2</a><br> + Burns, John - <a href="#90">1</a><br> + Byron, as catfish - <a href="#5">1</a><br> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">quoted - <a href= + "#29">1</a></span><br> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">as rebel - <a href= + "#31">1</a></span><br> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">in Greece - <a href= + "#37">1</a></span><br> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">on the poor - <a href= + "#99">1</a>, <a href="#100">2</a></span><br> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">death - <a href= + "#297">1</a></span><br> + + <h3>C</h3><br> + Cade, Jack - <a href="#16">1</a><br> + Calvin - <a href="#43">1</a><br> + Campbell-Bannerman, Sir Henry - <a href="#184">1</a><br> + Canning - <a href="#12">1</a><br> + Canterbury, Archbishop of - <a href="#209">1</a><br> + Carlyle, Thomas, on allurements - <a href="#33">1</a>, <a href= + "#226">2</a><br> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">burning book - <a href= + "#44">1</a></span><br> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">on Mammon - <a href= + "#90">1</a></span><br> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">on Peterloo - <a href= + "#95">1</a></span><br> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">on landowners - <a href= + "#104">1</a></span><br> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">on heroes - </span><br> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">on war - <a href= + "#215">1</a></span><br> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">on Christ - <a href= + "#260">1</a></span><br> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">on invalids - <a href= + "#320">1</a></span><br> + Chamfort - <a href="#291">1</a><br> + Clarkson, Mr., of the Education Office - <a href="#105">1</a>, + <a href="#149">2</a>, <a href="#193">3</a>, <a href= + "#250">4</a><br> + Clough, Arthur - <a href="#31">1</a><br> + Coleridge - <a href="#23">1</a><br> + Conway, Moncure - <a href="#201">1</a><br> + Cooper, Thomas - <a href="#101">1</a><br> + Cowper, William - 1<br> + Cromwell - <a href="#pix">1</a>, <a href="#5">2</a>, <a href= + "#12">3</a>, <a href="#18">4</a>, <a href="#119">5</a><br> + Curzon, Lord - <a href="#170">1</a><br> + + <h3>D</h3><br> + Dante - <a href="#37">1</a><br> + Danton - <a href="#16">1</a><br> + Darwin - <a href="#19">1</a>, <a href="#42">2</a><br> + Davids, Mrs. Rhys - <a href="#304">1</a><br> + Davitt, Michael - <a href="#pviii">1</a><br> + Deborah - <a href="#16">1</a><br> + Delany - <a href="#48">1</a>, <a href="#49">2</a><br> + + <h3>E</h3><br> + Eliot, George, quoted - <a href="#259">1</a><br> + Elliot, Ebenezer - <a href="#101">1</a><br> + Emerson, quoted - <a href="#71">1</a><br> + Emmet, Robert - <a href="#pviii">1</a>, <a href="#16">2</a><br> + + <h3>F</h3><br> + Farrar, Dean - <a href="#220">1</a><br> + Ferrer, of Barcelona - <a href="#10">1</a>, <a href= + "#216">2</a><br> + Finland - <a href="#23">1</a>, <a href="#174">2</a>, <a href= + "#175">3</a><br> + France, Anatole - <a href="#53">1</a>, <a href="#280">2</a><br> + Frazer, <i>The Golden Bough</i>, quoted - <a href= + "#267">1</a><br> + Free, Richard - <a href="#79">1</a><br> + Futurists - <a href="#5">1</a><br> + + <h3>G</h3><br> + Garibaldi - <a href="#16">1</a>, <a href="#18">2</a>, <a href= + "#32">3</a>, <a href="#229">4</a><br> + Gaunt, Elizabeth, burnt - <a href="#9">1</a><br> + George, Henry - <a href="#44">1</a><br> + Germany, her conquest of England imagined - <a href= + "#175">1</a><br> + Gibbon, quoted - <a href="#275">1</a><br> + Ginnell, Lawrence, M.P. - <a href="#13">1</a><br> + Gladstone -<br> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">foreign policy - <a href= + "#12">1</a></span><br> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">arbitration - <a href= + "#209">1</a></span><br> + Goethe - <a href="#pix">1</a><br> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;"><i>Faust</i>, quoted - <a href= + "#2">1</a>, 2, <a href="#307">3</a></span><br> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">science - <a href= + "#37">1</a></span><br> + + <h3>H</h3><br> + Hague, The, Conferences - <a href="#11">1</a>, <a href= + "#205">2</a><br> + Hampden, John - <a href="#16">1</a><br> + Harmodius and Aristogeiton - <a href="#16">1</a><br> + Hebrews, Epistle to, quoted - <a href="#22">1</a><br> + Heine, Heinrich - <a href="#34">1</a><br> + Henley, W.E., quoted - <a href="#219">1</a><br> + Hobbes - <a href="#13">1</a><br> + Hobson, J.A. - <a href="#208">1</a>, <a href="#220">2</a><br> + Hugo, Victor - <a href="#16">1</a>, <a href="#56">2</a><br> + Huxley, Thomas H. - <a href="#71">1</a><br> + + <h3>I</h3><br> + Ibsen, quoted - <a href="#37">1</a><br> + India -<br> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">treatment of rebels - <a href= + "#10">1</a>, <a href="#17">2</a></span><br> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">our government of - <a href= + "#178">1</a></span><br> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">Anglo-Indians - <a href= + "#185">1</a></span><br> + Ireland - <a href="#17">1</a>, <a href="#178">2</a>, <a href= + "#183">3</a><br> + Italy - <a href="#28">1</a><br> + + <h3>J</h3><br> + Jacques, M., of the West Coast - <a href="#325">1</a><br> + James, Prof. William - <a href="#17">1</a>, <a href= + "#227">2</a><br> + Jameson, Sir L. Starr - <a href="#13">1</a><br> + Joan of Arc - <a href="#1">1</a>, <a href="#229">2</a>, <a href= + "#231">3</a><br> + Johnson, Dr., on Hell - <a href="#310">1</a><br> + Jones, Ebenezer - <a href="#101">1</a><br> + Jones, Ernest - <a href="#101">1</a><br> + Judith - <a href="#16">1</a><br> + + <h3>K</h3><br> + Kant, quoted - <a href="#5">1</a><br> + Kingsley, Charles, quoted - <a href="#311">1</a><br> + Kipling, Rudyard, quoted or referred to - <a href="#61">1</a>, + <a href="#78">2</a>, <a href="#92">3</a>, <a href="#115">4</a>, + <a href="#186">5</a>, <a href="#219">6</a>, <a href= + "#329">7</a><br> + Kossuth - <a href="#16">1</a><br> + + <h3>L</h3><br> + Landor, quoted - <a href="#31">1</a><br> + Leopardi, quoted - <a href="#32">1</a><br> + Linton, William James - <a href="#101">1</a><br> + Lowell, J.R., quoted - <a href="#172">1</a><br> + Lynch, Dr., M.P. - <a href="#9">1</a><br> + + <h3>M</h3><br> + Macaulay -<br> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">quoted - <a href= + "#71">1</a></span><br> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">in India - <a href= + "#165">1</a></span><br> + MacDonald, J. Ramsay, M.P. - <a href="#168">1</a><br> + Machiavelli - <a href="#43">1</a><br> + Maeterlinck - <a href="#309">1</a><br> + Malmberg, Mme., of Finland - <a href="#174">1</a><br> + Malthus - <a href="#285">1</a><br> + Mann, Tom - <a href="#90">1</a><br> + Martineau, Harriet - <a href="#243">1</a><br> + Marx, Karl - <a href="#44">1</a><br> + Massey, Gerald - <a href="#101">1</a><br> + Mazzini - <a href="#16">1</a>, <a href="#44">2</a><br> + Meredith, George, quoted - <a href="#290">1</a><br> + Mill, John Stuart - <a href="#43">1</a>, <a href="#168">2</a><br> + Montfort, Simon de - <a href="#16">1</a><br> + Morley, Lord -<br> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">on political offenders - <a href= + "#12">1</a></span><br> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">on books - <a href= + "#41">1</a></span><br> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">on government - <a href= + "#168">1</a></span><br> + Morocco, Sultan of - <a href="#12">1</a><br> + Morris, William - <a href="#39">1</a><br> + + <h3>N</h3><br> + Nash, Vaughan - <a href="#90">1</a><br> + Nietzsche, quoted - <a href="#73">1</a>, <a href="#320">2</a><br> + Norway, the only democracy - <a href="#23">1</a><br> + + <h3>O</h3><br> + O'Neill, Shan - <a href="#16">1</a><br> + Orth, Johann. <i>See</i> Archduke - <a href="#244">1</a><br> + + <h3>P</h3><br> + Paine, Tom - <a href="#43">1</a><br> + Parnell, Charles Stuart - <a href="#16">1</a><br> + Pater, Walter, quoted - <a href="#273">1</a><br> + Paterson, Alexander - <a href="#79">1</a><br> + Pope - <a href="#49">1</a><br> + Proudhon - <a href="#44">1</a><br> + + <h3>R</h3><br> + Rienzi - <a href="#16">1</a><br> + Rochefoucauld - <a href="#289">1</a><br> + Roosevelt, Theodore - <a href="#186">1</a>, <a href= + "#199">2</a><br> + Rosebery, Lord, quoted - <a href="#86">1</a>, <a href= + "#214">2</a><br> + Rousseau, Jean Jacques - <a href="#42">1</a><br> + Ruskin -<br> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">on deeds - <a href= + "#37">1</a></span><br> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">the burning book - <a href= + "#44">1</a></span><br> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">Hinksey road - <a href= + "#118">1</a></span><br> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">on Pusey - <a href= + "#261">1</a></span><br> + Russell, Sir William - <a href="#239">1</a><br> + Russia -<br> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">treatment of rebels - <a href= + "#10">1</a>, <a href="#12">2</a></span><br> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">revolution in - <a href= + "#17">1</a>, <a href="#56">2</a></span><br> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">Finland - <a href= + "#175">1</a></span><br> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">subject races - <a href= + "#178">1</a></span><br> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">our alliance with - <a href= + "#190">1</a></span><br> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">Japanese war - <a href= + "#209">1</a></span><br> + + <h3>S</h3><br> + Schiller - <a href="#205">1</a><br> + Sharp, Cecil - <a href="#268">1</a><br> + Shaw, George Bernard - <a href="#89">1</a>, <a href= + "#290">2</a><br> + Shelley - <a href="#31">1</a>, <a href="#99">2</a><br> + Smith, Sir H. Llewellyn - <a href="#90">1</a><br> + Stead, W.T. - <a href="#223">1</a><br> + Stephen, Sir James, quoted - <a href="#9">1</a><br> + Stevenson, R.L., quoted - <a href="#298">1</a><br> + Stowe, Mrs. Beecher - <a href="#44">1</a><br> + Stubel, Milli. <i>See</i> Archduke - <a href="#246">1</a><br> + Suffrage, women's - <a href="#px">1</a><br> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">penalties for demanding - + <a href="#13">1</a></span><br> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">suffragettes - <a href= + "#17">1</a></span><br> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">in Norway - <a href= + "#23">1</a></span><br> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">subject race - <a href= + "#184">1</a></span><br> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">parallels in past - <a href= + "#235">1</a>, <a href="#242">2</a></span><br> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">in conversation - <a href= + "#262">1</a></span><br> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">woman's place the home - <a href= + "#258">1</a></span><br> + Sumner, Prof., quoted - <a href="#3">1</a><br> + Swift, quoted - <a href="#8">1</a><br> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;"><i>Drapier's Letters</i> - + <a href="#44">1</a></span><br> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">indignation - <a href= + "#48">1</a></span><br> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">his lovable nature - <a href= + "#50">1</a></span><br> + <i>Gulliver</i>, quoted - <a href="#317">1</a><br> + + <h3>T</h3><br> + Tell, William - <a href="#16">1</a>, <a href="#18">2</a><br> + Tennyson, quoted - <a href="#248">1</a>, <a href="#255">2</a>, + <a href="#285">3</a><br> + Tillett, Ben - <a href="#90">1</a><br> + Tolstoy, the burning book - <a href="#44">1</a><br> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">death - <a href= + "#56">1</a></span><br> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">as rebel - <a href= + "#57">1</a></span><br> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">on Empires - <a href= + "#191">1</a></span><br> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">on death - <a href= + "#299">1</a></span><br> + Tomkinson, James - <a href="#295">1</a><br> + Tone, Wolfe - <a href="#16">1</a><br> + Trevelyan, George M. - <a href="#29">1</a><br> + Treves, Sir Frederick, quoted - <a href="#298">1</a><br> + Tripoli - <a href="#11">1</a><br> + Turkey - <a href="#10">1</a>, <a href="#17">2</a>, <a href= + "#188">3</a>, <a href="#229">4</a><br> + Twain, Mark, quoted - <a href="#174">1</a><br> + Tyler, Wat - <a href="#16">1</a><br> + + <h3>U</h3><br> + Unwin, Mrs. Cobden, quoted - <a href="#97">1</a><br> + + <h3>V</h3><br> + Vaughan, Cardinal - <a href="#65">1</a><br> + Victoria, Queen - <a href="#243">1</a><br> + + <h3>W</h3><br> + Walkley, A.W. - <a href="#283">1</a><br> + Wallace, Sir William - <a href="#9">1</a>, <a href= + "#16">2</a><br> + Weils, H.G. - <a href="#283">1</a><br> + Whitman, Walt, quoted - <a href="#37">1</a>, <a href= + "#41">2</a><br> + William the Silent - <a href="#16">1</a><br> + Wolseley, Lord, quoted - <a href="#91">1</a><br> + Wordsworth - <a href="#pvii">1</a><br> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + <p> </p> + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Essays in Rebellion, by Henry W. 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