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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d559cfe --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #67432 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/67432) diff --git a/old/67432-0.txt b/old/67432-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 5f25b56..0000000 --- a/old/67432-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4733 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of An Experiment in Altruism, by -Elizabeth Hastings - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. 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. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: An Experiment in Altruism - -Author: Elizabeth Hastings - -Release Date: February 18, 2022 [eBook #67432] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Richard Tonsing and the Online Distributed Proofreading - Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from - images generously made available by The Internet Archive) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AN EXPERIMENT IN -ALTRUISM *** - - - - - - AN EXPERIMENT IN ALTRUISM - - -[Illustration] - - - - - AN EXPERIMENT IN ALTRUISM - - - BY - - ELIZABETH HASTINGS - - “The world, which took but six days to make, is like to take six - thousand to make out.”—SIR THOMAS BROWNE. - - - New York - MACMILLAN AND CO. - AND LONDON - 1895 - - _All rights reserved_ - - - - - COPYRIGHT, 1895, - BY MACMILLAN AND CO. - - - Norwood Press: - J. S. Cushing & Co.—Berwick & Smith. - Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. - - - - - CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER PAGE - I. The Doctor, Janet, and I converse 1 - II. I explain why I am here 6 - III. I visit the Altruist 9 - IV. I meet the Man of the World 17 - V. I set forth the general situation 21 - VI. I become acquainted with the Lad 24 - VII. Janet and I converse about life and philanthropy 27 - VIII. The Lad meets Baby Jean 33 - IX. I visit Barnet House 37 - X. I visit the Woman’s Settlement 46 - XI. I describe the Butterfly Hunter 51 - XII. The Lad and I discuss religious matters 55 - XIII. The Doctor describes a case 62 - XIV. We act as committee 68 - XV. I rouse the sympathy of the Man of the World 74 - XVI. Janet and the Lad sit by the window 78 - XVII. I hear the Altruist lecture on Job 82 - XVIII. Another baby enters the world 88 - XIX. I describe our conferences and board-meetings 93 - XX. Janet and the Lad become better acquainted 103 - XXI. I almost decide to stop thinking 108 - XXII. The Young Reformer calls 111 - XXIII. I meet the People 117 - XXIV. I find everybody unhappy 126 - XXV. I introduce the Tailoress 131 - XXVI. I describe our afternoon teas 138 - XXVII. Baby Jean philosophizes 144 - XXVIII. We again act as committee 147 - XXIX. The Tailoress and I visit the Anarchist 153 - XXX. The Lad loses a lectureship 160 - XXXI. The Tailoress leads a strike 164 - XXXII. The Doctor sets forth her views 171 - XXXIII. Janet expounds her new philosophy 177 - XXXIV. I hear Polly’s story 183 - XXXV. I search for Polly 188 - XXXVI. The crisis comes 192 - XXXVII. I again explain the general situation 196 - XXXVIII. I say good-bye to the Lad 199 - XXXIX. Baby Jean plays with the telegram 202 - XL. I rebel against God and the Altruist 204 - XLI. I converse with the Doctor 208 - XLII. I find that Janet has no philosophy 211 - XLIII. I dry my pen, and again take up my Cause 214 - - - - - AN EXPERIMENT IN ALTRUISM - - - - - CHAPTER I - - -“When Tantalus,” said Janet, “was standing in the water that he could -not reach, and was dying of thirst, a Philosopher came by. ‘Don’t you -understand,’ said the Philosopher, ‘that what you want is _water_?’” - -“What do you mean by that?” I asked, turning to look at the girl’s face. -Her colour was shifting quickly in the cool October air. - -“I mean,” she answered, with her lips curling into her wickedest smile, -“that I have been talking with my cousin Paul. He explained, with an air -of giving information, that what I need is faith.” - -“Your cousin Paul,” growled the Doctor, “has a most remarkable way of -discovering what the rest of us have always known.” - -“Did you always know that?” asked the girl. “I had an idea that you -thought I needed a tonic.” - -“There’s the ‘brotherhood of man,’” the Doctor went on. “Your cousin -Paul thinks that he has discovered or invented the ‘brotherhood of -man.’” - -“Don’t you mean,” I suggested, “that he discovers and acts upon what the -rest of us have always known without letting it make any particular -difference?” - -“I cannot see that he is trying any harder than the rest of us to find -out how to treat his neighbour,” said the Doctor. “Living in the slums -is as comfortable nowadays as living anywhere else. At least, it is at -Barnet House. That has as good appointments as any house in the city.” - -“Good plumbing isn’t quite everything,” I ventured to say. - -“Those university men who go to live with the poor are too -supercilious,” said the Doctor. “They patronize humanity. And the -‘cousin Paul’ doesn’t stop there. He patronizes the Creator, too. He is -constantly reminding the Creator that He is being recognized by one of -the first families.” - -Janet laughed. “You are clever,” she said, “but you aren’t polite. Paul -does bend over a little in his efforts to help. But his mother’s son -could hardly avoid that. Think of the family!” - -“The whole thing is artificial,” continued the Doctor. “Your cousin goes -to live in a tenement, tries to become intimate with its inhabitants, -and carries up his own coal. He could never realize that it would be -just as lofty a course of action to carry coal in his own house in -Endicott Square, and to become intimate with his barber!” - -“That would not be picturesque,” said Janet. - -There was a pause. - -“You say he patronizes the Creator,” mused Janet. “Wouldn’t it be better -to say that he interprets God and patronizes man? I think that I dislike -the former more than the latter. He is so sure of his beliefs. And he is -so puzzled to know how any one can doubt what he believes.” - -The Doctor changed the subject with, “What you want is some work to do.” - -The girl’s smile vanished, and her face grew bitter. - -“What’s the use of working,” she demanded, “when it doesn’t mean -anything? You can never do the thing you want to do. You can only do -what somebody else wants to do. I am tired of succeeding in other -people’s ambitions.” - -“You haven’t had a great deal of experience of that kind, have you?” -asked the Doctor. - -She did not listen. “The world is buttoned up wrong,” she said, “just -one hole wrong. I get what you want, and somebody else wants what you -get. I believe that hopes were given to us simply in order to hurt. The -gods must enjoy dangling before our eyes, just out of reach, the things -we pray for. Probably they like to see us clutching the air.” - -“Do you know how to ride a horse?” asked the Doctor. - -“Yes.” - -“Then you had better do it, and let the gods alone. There is one good -thing about being on horseback: you can’t despair. If you do, you fall -off.” - -Here we reached my door, and I went in. I paused for a minute, to watch -the two women going down the street,—the Doctor, with her free, even -step; the girl with quick, irregular movements. - -It seemed to me that Janet was the most inexplicable of all the -inexplicable people I had met since my arrival, six weeks ago. Something -must have hurt her cruelly. She saw all life in the light of her own -pain, and she rebelled against the suffering whose ultimate meaning she -could not understand. - -Yet now, with the sunlight in her warm brown hair, she looked, in her -radiant colouring, like a symbol of all the joy and gladness in the -world. - - - - - CHAPTER II - - -I had come to a strange city, to do a peculiar work. At last—and I was -thirty-nine years old—I was free to render humanity the service I had -always wanted to give. - -So I took up my Cause. What special cause it was there is no need to -say. It was one of those that are never won while the world sins on, and -yet are never lost. - -The city was new to me. Its streets, its spires, and its sky were all -strange. - -But not so strange as its ideas. I found that I had come to a centre of -new notions, and that my scheme was only one of many for the salvation -of mankind. All that was most advanced was represented here: new faiths, -new co-operative experiments in trade, new revelations of the occult. - -The men and women that I met filled me with astonishment. They were all -self-conscious and introspective. Most of them were brooding over -wrongs,—the concrete wrongs of others, or their own abstract injuries, -in a world that hid from them the great secret of existence. And they -were all devising ways and means to correct the misdeeds of man and of -God. - -Perhaps it was the many theories that lent a kind of unreality to the -life in the streets. I used almost to wonder if it were a pantomime, -arranged to illustrate our ideas. Something certainly made the -thoroughfares and the houses in the city look like scenery in a play, -and I was always half-expecting them to fold up and move off the stage. - -The street on which I lived was especially theatrical. Opposite was a -house consisting of one Gothic tower; the stucco houses next, with their -low windows and gabled roofs, suggested Nürenburg. Near by was a studio -building, guarded by two carven lions; and round the corner stood a huge -armoury, with a machicolated roof. It all looked like a mediæval -background, prepared for the tumult of a play. - -But the tumult never came. Nothing ever disturbed us there except great -thoughts. - -If it had not been for the Cause, I should have been lonely. Not that it -was especially companionable, but that it made me acquainted with the -Doctor and the Altruist, and, in fact, with all the other people, except -the Lad, and the Man of the World, and the Butterfly Hunter. They were -at my boarding-place. - -The Altruist was Janet’s cousin Paul. It was he who introduced me to -Janet, and to her namesake, little Jean. They lived opposite in one of -the gray stucco houses. Jean was a year-old baby, and her godmother a -young woman of twenty-four. - -I used often to see them together upstairs, Jean’s yellow head shining -against her aunt’s brown hair. I liked to think of them as I went -wandering with my ideas about abstract humanity through this visionary -town. - - - - - CHAPTER III - - -The Altruist was terribly in earnest. He considered our social system -all wrong, and he wrote and lectured and preached about it constantly. - -He lived in one of the city slums. - -The morning after my arrival I went down to the East End to ask him -about his work. I had heard much about him. He had left a home of great -beauty to go to that sin-stricken corner of the city, and the fame of -his sacrifice had spread abroad. - -I found him nailing a board to the steps of the tenement-house where he -lived. He greeted me cordially, holding out a small, shapely right hand -in welcome. - -The house stood in a row of tall tenements, near the terminus of an -elevated road. All round it the streets were swarming with children, -Russian and Jewish children, dirty, ragged, and forlorn. Some of them -were kicking dirt toward the Altruist’s clean steps; others were eyeing -him with respectful curiosity. - -“What do you do down here? How can you help?” I asked when the Altruist -had seated me in his study. It was in the rear of the building, on the -ground floor, and it looked out into a densely populated court. - -“Do? Oh, very little actual work. I just live, for the most part,” he -answered, smiling. - -He still held in his hand the hammer with which he had been working. I -watched him closely, as he sat in the rough wooden chair in the bare, -uncarpeted room. - -He was a small man, with vivid blue eyes and dark hair. There was a -touch of excitement in his manner, and I thought I detected in his face -a certain dramatic interest in the situation. - -“I live quietly in my rooms here,” he continued. It was hard to hear his -voice above the noise of the court and the roar of the elevated trains. -“There is no organized work that I am attempting. I have even given up -my church, in order that no machinery may interfere with my purely human -relation to my neighbours. I am trying simply to lead a normal life -among my brethren. I study; I make calls and receive them. There is -nothing extraordinary in the situation. I merely choose my friends, and -choose them here, instead of up-town.” - -I glanced at the hammer that the Altruist’s hands were clasping -nervously. A look of exultation crept into his eyes. - -“Yes, I repair the doorstep,” he said. “That I do not do up-town. But -somebody has to do it here. I am willing to do anything that will -convince my friends here of my desire for good-fellowship.” - -The pathos of this unasked service touched me. It was full of the -everlasting irony of zeal; the queer achievement mocked the great -design. - -“But do you not feel a little at a loss,” I asked, “as to what to do -next?” - -“Does one feel at a loss in De Ruyter or in Endicott Square?” demanded -the Altruist, defiantly. - -“I have come down here because I have seen great misery,—misery of -poverty, misery of sin. I have cast in my lot with the victims of our -civilization. The awful condition of these people is the result not only -of their transgression of the laws of God, but also of our transgression -of the law of Christ. Our whole social and industrial systems are built -up on the law of competition, the law of beasts, by which the greedier -and stronger snatch the portion of the weak.” - -The Altruist had clasped his hands over the end of the upright hammer, -and was leaning his chin against them. His voice had taken a high key, -and it sounded as if it came from a long way off. - -“These people are weak, and are trodden under foot. They are trodden -under our feet, and their blood is on our garments.” - -He spoke solemnly, and his eyes gleamed with the look of inspiration -that the world’s fanatics share with the world’s saints. - -“But,” I stammered, with a half-guilty feeling, “your being here does -not bring these people bread.” - -“It does not,” said the Altruist, “but it brings a little beauty into -their lives. I share the work of the residents at Barnet House. We have -clubs of all kinds. We have musicales and art exhibitions. There is much -that is definite in our effort.” - -Looking up, I caught sight of some Burne-Jones pictures on the -roughly-plastered walls of the study. - -“Isn’t it like trying to feed a hungry lion with rose-leaves?” I asked. - -The Altruist’s face lighted up. - -“It is not what we do that is important,” he said. “We stand for an -eternal truth. Barnet House and my study here are only symbols of our -faith. They have inestimable value, not in our petty achievement, but as -a declaration of the right of our fellow-man to our sympathy and love.” - -I listened with interest as my host proceeded to set forth his criticism -of society and to unfold his plans for its reform. He talked -brilliantly. - -The race fell short of its grandest possibilities, he said, in losing -its hold on abstract truths. Devotion to an ideal was forgotten in the -adjustment of human lives to one another, rather than to something above -and beyond them. In attempting to solve minor concrete problems, society -had dissipated all energy for lofty thought. - -In confiding to me his ideas for reconstruction the Altruist talked of -human life as if it were something in which he did not share; as if he -stood apart from its real issues, apart, and higher than his fellows, to -whom he reached down a helping hand. - -His conversation enabled me to understand his face. It was full of a -fierce enthusiasm, which life had not yet tamed. - -I found myself saying: “But your life is ascetic. In your devotion to an -idea you sacrifice too much; you are like monks.” - -“Not at all,” he maintained. “We take no vow. Our life is wonderfully -broad and free. Instead of being bound by mere individual experience we -share the lives of all.” - -I wondered that I had not thought of this before. - -“The usual existence of married people,” he said deliberately, “with its -narrow, selfish interests, seems to me, especially in the case of women, -largely animal. They cannot know the higher joys of service to one’s -kind.” - -It was strange to hear these opinions coming from the rounded, childlike -lips. - -“There is no reason,” he went on, “why families should not come down -here to share their lives with the poor. That would be in some ways a -better solution of the problem than Barnet House, or my solitary effort. -Surely it is the duty of the cultured, to whom much has been given, to -share of their abundance with those who starve.” - -“But the children,—” I suggested. “It would not be possible to bring up -children in such associations.” - -“I sometimes think,” said the Altruist, “that a further sacrifice is -necessary in order to wipe out the sins of our forefathers. Perhaps, in -order to be free for this great work, it is the duty of the race to -abstain for a generation from bringing children into the world,—for a -generation or two,” he added dreamily. - -“That,” I assented mentally, as I rose to go, “would certainly be -effectual.” - - - - - CHAPTER IV - - -The Man of the World (I shall introduce my friends in the order in which -I met them; it is not artistic, but neither is life)—the Man of the -World was fourteen years old. - -I made his acquaintance in this wise. - -One night I went down early to dinner. As I waited in the parlour for -the bell to ring, a portière was drawn, and there entered what I -supposed to be a little boy. He was so short, chubby, and round-faced -that at first sight he looked younger than he was. I bent over, saying -graciously as I held out my hand,— - -“I wonder if you will tell me your name?” - -When he looked up I realized what I had done. Evidently a mistaken world -was in the habit of confusing smallness of stature with lack of -experience. - -“I beg your pardon?” was all he said, but the touch of dignity in the -childish petulance of his tone rebuked me. That was the last time I ever -patronized Morey Steiner. - -The chill in the atmosphere was not dispelled even when he was formally -presented to me by our hostess. - -At dinner the Man of the World and I sat side by side. It was not until -I asked him if he cared for Jefferson’s Rip Van Winkle that my disgrace -was retrieved. Dramatic criticism was the child’s strong point,—one of -his strong points. - -He told me that he thought Rip Van Winkle rather amusing. Then he asked -me if I did not consider the knife-whetting business in Irving’s Shylock -rather stagey. The part that he cared for most of all was Mr. -Mansfield’s Beau Brummell. - -Yes, he went to the theatre a great deal, sometimes with his father or -his sisters, sometimes alone. That was his father, those were his -sisters. His mother was dead. The family had just come to the city, and -they were going to stay at this place until they found a house to live -in. - -I saw that his father represented money, and, looking down at the -worldly-wise scrap of a lad at my side, I realized what wealth and -American civilization can do for the very young. - -“Did I play cards?” he asked suddenly. “No? Perhaps his brother would -teach me when he came. His brother played well.” - -The end of the dinner interrupted our discussion of horses. It also -interrupted the Man of the World in the act of storing away nuts and -candies in his pocket. He was glad I liked riding. - -“Perhaps,” he said, drawing my chair back for me (the Man of the World -was a perfect gentleman—at times) “we can have a ride in the park -together some day.” - -Presently I found myself watching him as he conversed with my hostess’ -daughter in the parlour. The round face was heavy when he was silent. -When he talked, it lit up with precocious intelligence. He had a _blasé_ -air, as of one who is permanently weary of many things, and in his blue -eyes I saw gleams of the knowledge of good and evil. The child was -old,—as old as the serpent in the garden. - -He was destined to much mortification that night. My mistake was -repeated with emphasis by another boarder, an elderly gentleman in -black. - -He chucked the Man of the World under the chin when the latter rose -politely to say, “Won’t you take my chair, sir?” - -“Thank you, thank you, little boy,” said the old gentleman, “and who -might you be?” - -We all suffered for a moment. Then the child said,— - -“I _might_ be the Prince of Wales, but I am Morey Steiner.” - - - - - CHAPTER V - - -Something at last became real to me: that was the misery of the poor. It -seemed sadder than anything else in the world, except the misery of -their benefactors. I could hardly tell whether, in this great tragedy of -poverty, it was actor or spectator who suffered most. - -I saw on the one side hunger, sin, ignorance, and they weighed down upon -me like a nightmare. I became familiar with the crowded quarters of the -city, where the population was nine hundred to the acre. I knew the -inside of great shops, where women worked and starved on two dollars a -week. - -On the other side I saw brave attempts to help, that were yet half -futile. There were charities, religious and secular; relief-giving -societies, working into the hands of general organizations; there were -settlements among the poor. But they all fought against frightful odds. -The lot of many who were trying to help was to look and suffer, -impotently. - -A kind of morbid fascination drew me continually to the foreign -quarters. I liked the picturesqueness of the crowded streets, where -women in gay head-dresses chattered, holding their babies in their arms. -I liked the alley-ways lined with old-clothes shops, and the corners -where Russians, Italians, Germans, Jews congregated, talking, laughing, -quarrelling. The quaint children in old-world garments interested me; -and the aged, wrinkled faces of men and women roused often a feeling of -remembrance, as if I had known them somewhere, in book or picture. - -The most crowded district was near the sea. A broad thoroughfare called -Traffic Street skirted the city at the water edge. On the outer side -were enormous warehouses and dock-yards; on the inner, tall tenements. - -Looking between the great buildings, I caught sudden glimpses of blue -water, with my old friends, the white sea-gulls, floating overhead. And -often, in coming down rickety tenement-house steps, from scenes that -left me sick and faint, the sight of tall masts of ships thrilled me -with their inevitable suggestion of freedom and escape. - -I had begun to feel that the misery of it was greater than I could bear. -Then suddenly the Lad appeared. - - - - - CHAPTER VI - - -The Lad was a great comfort to me. - -I had for several days been conscious of the presence of a new-comer in -the house. He was a young Southerner, with fine dark eyes, and -extraordinary alertness of body. - -There was something in the stranger’s face that pleased me. Perhaps it -was his resolute mouth and a certain air of high-mindedness. Perhaps it -was only the boyish way in which his soft hair waved back from his -forehead. - -I called him “the Lad,” because he looked so young by the side of the -Man of the World. - -One day as I was talking with my friend, the Butterfly Hunter, I was -startled by being told that the Lad had done some brilliant scientific -work, and had already made for himself a reputation. - -“He is only a boy!” I exclaimed. - -“He is a man of twenty-seven,” said the Lad, who had come in unnoticed. - -After that we became acquainted rapidly. - -I had never seen anybody so keenly alive. He was eager, restless, -quivering with vitality. There was a kind of ferocity in his way of -working; he was busy finishing a book, with a name occupying two lines. -I do not yet know what it means. And he walked every day for miles, -coming home hungry and tired. - -I found myself trying to classify him. I had fallen into the habit of -classifying everybody. Was he more interested in his own soul, I -wondered, or in the oppression of the working-man? - -My astonishment was very great to discover that he rarely thought about -his soul, and that he was not trying to reform anything. - -This was partly because he was so busy. His whole effort was centred in -his work, and everything else was crowded out. - -“I feel the strength of my youth upon me,” he said one day, “but I have -done so little, and the days are so short.” - -Before I knew it I was taking long walks with the Lad, by the bridges -over the tidal river north of the city, or eastward by the shipping and -the sea. We watched the sailing of out-bound vessels, and the landing of -emigrants from returning ships. - -He told me about his father and his sister. He talked, too, a great deal -about his work, insisted on talking about it, although he knew that I -could not understand him. - -I presently came to be a kind of maiden aunt to him. I gave him advice -on various matters. I introduced him to Janet and the Doctor and the -Altruist, who all regarded him as a new and interesting specimen. - -The longer I knew him, the more he cheered me. There was something in -his very presence that was like the coming of the young west wind. - - - - - CHAPTER VII - - “Her device, within a ring of clouds, a heart with shine about - it.”—BEN JONSON. - - -“But what do you do it for? You can’t help. You only harrow up your own -feelings.” It was Janet who spoke, perverse, unhappy, winsome Janet, -sitting in a tall, old-fashioned chair at the side of her little -tea-table. - -“I suppose that it is better,” I answered slowly, “to have one’s -feelings harrowed up over other people than over one’s self.” - -“That’s a very neat thrust,” said the girl. “Thank you. Do you know what -the Doctor says about all this reform-scheming and theorizing?” - -“No.” - -“That it is all ‘shoveling-fog.’ That is a ’longshore expression. Don’t -you like it?” - -“Very much,” I said. “But doesn’t it suit as well any kind of talking, -even the discussion of the ‘Is-life-worth-living’ question?” - -“You must have been doing some especially good deed,” said Janet, -leaning her pretty head against the back of her chair and looking at me -through half-shut eyes. “You are so disagreeable. There isn’t any soil -that philanthropy thrives in so well as in the ruins of the social and -domestic virtues.” - -“Child,” I said, “I did not mean to be personal. Why don’t you stop -thinking, and try to find shoes and stockings for some of my poor -people?” - -Quick tears sprang into her shining eyes. - - “‘I sometimes think it were best just to let the Lord alone; - I am sure some people forget he was there before they came,’” - -she quoted. “I do not know what the poor have done that I should descend -upon them as a last affliction. First, dirt; then a financial crisis and -no work; then hunger and cold; and then I. It is like the plagues in -Egypt.” - -I leaned back in my chair, powerless. It was becoming evident to me that -no one could solve Janet’s problems for her. - -“It would be cowardly,” she said. “Because I am unhappy, should I try to -work off my ill-humour upon the poor?” - -“They might like to look at you,” I suggested. - -She was making tea, and she stopped, holding a dainty cup in her right -hand, to look up at me. That face, whose expression changed so often, -baffled and fascinated me. The mouth curved often into cynical smiles, -but the eyes were the eyes of a dreamer. At times Janet seemed to me a -child. At times she bore the weary expression of one who has fought many -battles and has won but few. - -“No,” she said. “I am one of the people whose agnosticism absolves them -from all action. You know the type. We find it difficult to get up in -the morning or to button our boots because we cannot comprehend the -infinite. Really, agnosticism makes a very soft down cushion on which to -recline at one’s ease.” - -“Don’t you sometimes get tired of thrusting arrows into yourself?” I -asked. “It must be hard to be a St. Sebastian where you have to be -persecutor and martyr too.” - -“Please don’t make epigrams,” said the girl. “It is a sign of -degeneracy. I am sorry to see you beginning to show traces of it.” - -“I thought perhaps you would not understand me if I did not try to speak -in epigrams,” I answered meekly. - -Janet rose from her chair and came over to stand at my side, brushing -back, with kindly fingers, a lock of hair that had escaped from under my -bonnet. - -“But to go back to the question of good works,” she said. “It seems to -me that it is useless to try anything. Listen. When I was twelve years -old I wanted to do some work for the city charity organization. - -“They sent me to take two aprons to a woman on Harrow Street. ‘It was -quite safe,’ they said. So I went down through the dirty street into an -inner court, and began to climb the stairs. It was perfectly dark; it -was unutterably filthy. - -“The woman, I found, lived in the garret, and, after the last flight of -stairs, I had to climb a ladder to reach her. In the loft at the top of -the ladder I saw,—I shall never forget it!—a woman diseased, shrunken, -helpless. Half her face was withered and gone; she was cold, hungry, -dirty. Two miserable little girls were crawling around her, crying. - -“And I stood there stupefied, unable to speak, unable to grasp all the -horror before me. I could do nothing for them. I only stared, -helplessly, and petted the little girls. Then I gave that bed-ridden -woman the two gingham aprons and came away. - -“That scene made an impression upon me that I shall never lose. Since -then, all the charity work I have heard of has seemed as ironic as that. -Such misery is hopeless. Something deeper than human misdeeds must be -the cause. I cannot help it; I cannot help believing that we are the -sport of the gods, who sit behind the curtain and laugh at our hurt.” - -In the pause that followed, Janet went to the window, forgetting to put -down the empty cup that she had taken from me. - -Suddenly she turned to me, with her chin raised in defiance. - -“Moreover,” she said slowly, “I don’t want to forget my own life -entirely in the lives of other people. I want it all, the pleasure and -the pain of it, the whole cup down to the dregs.” - -There was nothing for me to say; I rose to go. - -“What do you think of the Lad?” I asked. - -The girl’s face brightened. “He is interesting,” she said. “He is so -different. It seems to me that he is the only one of us who is really -living. The rest of us are merely talking about it.” - - - - - CHAPTER VIII - - -Whether she went driving in royal state under her white carriage robes, -or watched from the nursery window the people passing below, or stood in -her little night-dress on her brass bed before being tucked in, Jean was -always adorable. - -One day I took the Lad to see her. - -He had already called at the house a number of times, but Jean had never -been brought down to the parlour. - -Perhaps he had never before been acquainted with a little child. I saw -him watch every motion of her yellow head as she sat on the floor, -looking solemnly at the people about her. Jean was a grave baby. - -Presently she lifted her hand and very earnestly pointed one tiny finger -at the Lad. - -I had seen her do this many times. It was her usual way of expressing -approval of a new acquaintance. But the Lad had never seen it, and to -him it meant, “Thou art the man.” - -He begged to be allowed to take her up. As he lifted her, his face -flushed. - -I did not tell him that she clung to him so closely, and refused so -peremptorily to go to any one else, partly because his arms were so -strong. Jean liked the grasp of firm muscles. To the Lad it seemed that -her obstinacy was only love for him. - -He would not go home. Sitting before the open fire, he gazed at the -child on his knee, and ignored all my glances. - -Jean looked at him steadily for a long time, her hazel eyes meeting his -of darker brown. Then she played with his watch-chain. Presently she was -induced to display all her accomplishments. She pointed to her feet when -they were named, to her eyes, her hair, and even, ‘by request,’ to her -tongue. - -Sitting there and watching them in the shadows of the firelight, I could -not help thinking how much alike they were. - -Jean played until she was sleepy; then she yawned, and the Lad laughed -to see the tears come into her eyes. - -By and by her head nodded; she was almost asleep. Not content with her -position, she crawled up, as she did with her father, and put her head -down in the Lad’s neck, then went to sleep with one helpless hand -hanging over his shoulder, the other softly patting him. - -The Lad started when she put down her head; then he held her close. - -It was partly the way in which his arm curled round her, and partly the -light from her fuzzy hair that made them look like the Murillo picture -of Saint Anthony and the Christ-child. - -When I went over to take Jean away, the Lad looked up, and I saw that -his eyes were moist with tears. - -They were faithful lovers after that. Jean used to watch for him from -the windows upstairs, and sometimes when she saw him coming she would -smile. - -He called often, always asking for her. (This was partly because he did -not dare ask each time for Janet.) And the child was carried downstairs -with her arms stretched out impatiently to meet him. - -One night he arrived when she was asleep, but her mother sent for her. -The nurse came in softly, cradling the child in her arms. Her yellow -hair was wet and curly about her face; below her white night-dress hung -one baby foot. - -The Lad bent down and kissed it. - - - - - CHAPTER IX - - -My fellow-philanthropists talked much of the “Settlement Idea.” Its -adherents maintained that the world had not yet seen any self-sacrifice -so beautiful as this attempt to share the lives of the poor by living -among them. On the other hand, members of old, thoroughly organized, -comfortable societies for doing good pronounced the new methods -extremely vague. - -I wished to see for myself. - -Before I had visited Barnet House, the settlement of university men in -Brand Street, a similar house was opened by young college women in the -West End. - -The Altruist went with me to Barnet House on Wednesday afternoon, when -the residents always had a musicale or a reading for their friends in -the neighbourhood. As we drew near the house and saw the white curtains -and green plants in the window, shining out from among the dirt-begrimed -tenements, I said to myself (my mood being severe) that it looked -pretty, but sentimental. I tried to remember who had called this kind of -effort to elevate the slums “a philanthropic picnic in a wilderness of -sin.” - -We were ushered by a tall young man into a great sunshiny room that was -full of easy chairs and books and pictures. - -This was one of the residents, the Altruist said in introducing him. He -would doubtless be kind enough to tell me what I wished to know. - -“The Settlement Idea is very simple,” said the Resident, in answer to my -questions. He spoke with an air of dignity that seemed too old for him. -“A number of people who wish to help the poor find a house, put it into -good sanitary condition, and go to live there together, doing some -independent work, and some work in common.” - -“But what kind of work?” I asked. “Pardon me,—I can understand why you -come, but not what you do when you get here.” - -The Resident apparently did not notice the touch of discourtesy in my -remark. - -“The Settlement,” he said, looking hesitatingly toward the Altruist, -“serves two purposes. It is a station for philanthropic work, and also a -centre for social investigation.” - -“What is social investigation?” I asked bluntly. - -To my delight the young man laughed. “That is a quotation from an -article I am writing. It sounds rather bookish, doesn’t it?” - -“It is a very good sentence,—for an article,” I admitted. - -“Why, you see,” said the Resident, his eyes twinkling, “social -investigation means drains and foods and that kind of thing.” - -“Yes?” I said inquiringly. - -“And immorality and crime and amusements. Also wages and causes of -popular discontent. In fact, it embraces almost everything.” - -The mingled audacity and shyness of the boy’s manner were very winning. -I was becoming interested, but the Altruist looked deeply pained by this -lightness of tone. - -“How is this work carried on?” I asked. - -“By visits,” said the Resident briefly, “and statistics.” - -“You go out from here to make the visits upon the poor—” - -“And then we make the statistics,” he interrupted, “and publish them.” - -Suddenly he became grave, and in doing so made himself seem ten years -older. - -“You look sceptical,” he said. “I am myself, sometimes. But, seriously, -I think that this thing is worth doing. We come because we are really -interested in these people. We are interested in all kinds of ways. One -man here is doing regular missionary work. Another is writing a book -about the reasons for unsanitary living in the slums, and is -investigating the condition of every tenement in the East End. There’s a -literary man here, looking for material. He goes around getting local -colour, but he helps, too, and isn’t so useless as he might seem to be.” - -“Helps in what?” I asked. - -“In the collective work done by the House,” said the Resident. “We have -all kinds of clubs,—literary, political, and scientific. You see, though -each man is doing his own private work, we have organized effort. It -isn’t all exploration. However, I believe I made our twofold object -clear in that opening sentence. - -“Then there are art exhibitions and lectures. We invite our neighbours -to come to hear music, and to come to take baths. We charge five cents -for the baths. The music is free. We have dinner parties too, and -receptions. You ought to see the costumes that the East End can turn -out. A Brand Street swell in his evening dress is a sight for gods and -men.” - -“I don’t see what you talk about,” I said. “Your guests must be hard to -entertain.” - -“Oh, we talk about dime museums and Tammany and the things that happen -in the streets. That’s when we are adapting ourselves to our guests. -Then we show them pictures, and talk about high art and literature. -That’s when we are adapting our guests to us. It’s immensely elevating -for them, immensely, just to talk with us.” - -I found that my objections to the Settlement Idea were vanishing rapidly -before this young man’s sense of humour. - -“It really doesn’t do the people down here a great deal of harm,” he was -saying, “and it does us a great deal of good.” - -“Is your interest in the practical or in the theoretical side of the -work?” I asked. - -“In the latter. I am a student of economics, and have just taken my -Ph.D. degree. Lately,” he added, flushing, “I have become a Socialist.” - -The Altruist looked pleased. - -“The state of things down here has convinced me that an entire -reconstruction of our whole industrial system is the only thing that can -help the poor.” - -I asked him if the misery of the poor had not been much exaggerated in -the sensational reform journals. - -“It could not be exaggerated,” he said vehemently. “No, the half has not -been told.” - -As he recounted tale after tale of the sin and suffering caused by -unrighteous laws of trade, I sat numb with that sense of personal hurt -that one feels on first knowing that these things are true. - -But the Resident stopped, for the bell rang, and a “neighbour” entered. - -The other residents came in; several more guests arrived, and the -Altruist, who had been unusually silent for the last fifteen minutes, -became the centre of a group of listeners. - -One of the callers was a Salvation Army captain, whose regiment was -passing through the city. One was a street-car driver. He had half an -hour off, and had come to ask the time of a lecture to be given that -night. Mrs. Milligan, the washerwoman who lived next door, ran in with -her youngest boy. Then came a lady from Endicott Square, in a superb -Parisian gown. - -We conversed most amicably in the intervals of the music. When this was -over, a domestic appeared with a tray, and the literary man made tea. - -Before I left I had a few more words with the young Socialist. - -“There’s no use talking,” he said earnestly. “However little direct -practical good we do, there is no doubt that our opportunity is great -for investigating. It is obviously better to study the working of -economic laws in society itself than in books. I am trying to get -acquainted with the working-people, and look at their grievances from -their point of view. Socialism has been treated entirely too much from -the standpoint of the scholar and the fanatic. I want to work in a more -practical way, getting at the new political economy in the making.” - -I came away quite willing to allow any number of young men with Ph.D. -degrees, and honest enthusiasm, and a saving sense of fun, to live in -the slums. - -But I did not admit this to the Altruist. - - - - - CHAPTER X - - -After a first visit to the settlement of young women in the West End I -found myself going there very often. The gracious friendliness with -which I was met attracted me strongly, and I became more and more -interested in the social experiment. - -This new house was not in the slums. It stood in one of the old city -squares, whose aristocratic inhabitants had long ago drifted away, -leaving empty rooms for the families of mechanics and poorly paid -clerks. - -Life here was gray and monotonous. Into it my young girl friends had -rushed, with little knowledge of its actual conditions, but with a firm -determination to change them for the better. This kind of poverty did -not mean starvation, they said, but something worse: dearth of culture, -of beauty, of ideas. - -They were all political economists of the school of Ruskin. - -The residents numbered ten. Some of them were girls fresh from college; -others were women who bore marks of years of brain-work. At their head -was a slender, dignified lady, who, after ten years of academic life, -had resigned a college professorship in the classics for the sake of -closer contact with humanity. - -All phases of the activity in the house soon became familiar to me. - -Sometimes I found the doors stormed by crowds of eager children, waiting -the moment when the ladies should permit them to enter, that they might -deposit pennies in the bank, or take books from the library. - -Once I watched a Mothers’ Meeting conducted by a fair-haired girl of -twenty-two. - -I visited the boys’ clubs, and realized that the rough lads were -learning courtesy, and much besides. - -Certain evenings were purely social. Then we conversed, or listened to -music, or read stories aloud. On these occasions I learned many useful -things from the “neighbours,” about house-keeping, and the bringing up -of children, and even about politics. - -One shabby little woman, whose husband had marched away with an -industrial delegation to present a petition to Congress, told me that a -terrible revolution was coming in which the working-man would at last -gain his rights by means of powder and shot. - -It would be hard to tell all the ways in which these young collegians -“drew nearer the People”: through medicines given out by the resident -physician in the dispensary downstairs; through presentations of Mrs. -Jarley’s wax-works, and of scenes from eighteenth century comedy; -through the lending of cook-books and of treatises on philosophy. - -Once I even saw a resident taking care of a neighbour’s baby while the -mother went shopping. The young philanthropist told me, however, the -next time I saw her, that she had resolved not to dissipate her energy -in that way. - -But nothing else edified me so much as the evening discussions on -problems of the day. The young women were even more eager than the men -at Barnet House to walk in step with great popular movements. Some of -them were fairly well equipped for practical economic study. Others were -collecting statistics with the most engaging ignorance. - -Every week, a club devoted to the study of social science, the “William -Morris League,” met at the Settlement. On these evenings the head of the -House sat, Lady Abbess fashion, with nun and novice at her side. - -And men and women from various trades-unions, cigar-makers, street-car -drivers, cotton-spinners, garment-workers, a motley group, listened to a -paper on (perhaps): “How to form Protective Unions among Under-Paid -Women.” - -For the deliverance of the working-woman was the hope that lay nearest -the Settlement’s heart. - -I always went away from these discussions with feelings of mingled pride -and amusement. These were strong and earnest young women, inspired by no -wish for notoriety, but eager to help and to understand. - -Yet it was a queer world, where the maidens formed trades-unions, and -young men were making tea! - -It was very good tea. - - - - - CHAPTER XI - - -The only serene face among us was that of the Butterfly Hunter. The eyes -of the Altruist were clouded by the wrath of denunciation; the Lad’s -were full of unfulfilled desire; and my own, I knew, were troubled: they -had been for so long a time a mirror for pictures of sorrow. Into -Janet’s face crept more and more often the puzzled expression of those -who mistake their own bad moods for philosophic thought. - -But the Hunter of Butterflies wore a look of peace. - -I mistook this at first for the peace of attainment. It was not that: he -was still pursuing—pursuing his butterfly. - -He was, they told me, a noted entomologist. Many years ago he had -discovered a very rare butterfly, the _Erebia winifredæ_. He had -classified and named it, but had never been able to follow its entire -history. With the scientist’s fine sense of the importance of the least -details he was still studying it. - -This winter he had come to the city in order to work with a member of -the faculty in the university. They were attempting to raise the insect -under artificial conditions, and were carefully watching its growth. - -The difficulty of observing it in its home is very great, for it can be -found only during certain portions of the year, and at great altitudes. -It lives in the Himalaya Mountains, and in the Caucasus, just below the -snow-line, in the bleak regions of rock and sedge. - -I heard the story of its discovery. Years ago, when the scientist was -young, he had gone with an exploring party through India to the southern -side of the Himalayas. On one long walk he lost his way, and found -himself at the bottom of a deep gully, whose walls were apparently too -steep to climb. He was alone. - -There was nothing to do except to scale the cliff. It was a perilous -journey. After hours of painful struggle the young man reached the top, -in a state of utter exhaustion. By a last effort he drew himself up over -the edge of the precipice, and lay fainting for a time, prostrate on the -rock. - -When he woke, he found under his outstretched hand a little dark -butterfly, with gold dust on its wings. It was his butterfly, and it -made his name famous. - -Every summer since that time he had climbed to the limit of vegetation, -and had camped there on desolate mountain sides for weeks, watching the -butterfly’s growth. He knew where and how it laid its eggs. He knew on -what it fed. He had watched it change from grub to winged creature, and -yet it baffled him. - -He could not find out the length of its life. The seasons of warmth at -the altitude of its home were short, and a part of its existence was -passed in seasons when he could not study it. - -He had brought home a collection of specimens with which to experiment. -A room upstairs was devoted to them. Several times I was invited to -enter. - -I liked to watch the Butterfly Hunter as he bent his gray head over the -cocoons. He was a tall man, and slender and lithe as a boy, from much -walking. - -That kindly, weather-beaten face puzzled me. I could not tell whether or -no traces of passionate human experience lay hidden under the look of -absorbing interest in the specimens he held in his hand. - -He would bend over the little gray winding-sheets, touch one with his -finger, reverently, then look on in silence. - -_His_ butterfly! - - - - - CHAPTER XII - - -The Lad did not tell me how deeply he was interested in Janet. He simply -talked about her a large part of the time when he was with me. At first -it had been the book that filled his thought; now it was Janet and the -book. - -Perhaps he did not know how far he was taking me into his confidence. -Perhaps he did not care. - -Janet puzzled him. “I don’t understand,” he said one day when we were -taking one of our long walks. “She seems to be an absolute pessimist, -and yet she takes a strong interest in some things.” - -“For instance?” - -“Well, in gowns.” He spoke unwillingly. - -“She would not have any right to be a pessimist about her gowns,” I -said. “They are too pretty.” - -Here the Lad shot past me with his long stride. He had a way of -forgetting me for a minute, and of walking swiftly ahead. He always -turned and came back to apologize, and yet I objected decidedly to this -phase of his absent-mindedness. It was hardly deferential, I thought, to -a person of my years. - -“You walk,” I said, when he paused to beg my pardon, “as if you had air -in your bones. You must be related to the birds.” - -“I was thinking,” he said, “and I forgot. I was thinking how strange it -is to find women facing the newer criticism and making up their minds on -religious matters. In the South they do not do it. They are all -orthodox. It goes with being a woman.” - -“I wonder why?” - -“Partly because it is expected of them. Most of the men I know want -their wives to take the beaten paths, no matter how far they themselves -have strayed from them. Marriage of that kind doesn’t seem marriage to -me. I want my wife—if I ever have one—to share all of my life, the -intellectual part of it as well as the rest. - -“That’s one thing I like about your friend,” he continued, apparently -unconscious of the connection of ideas. There was a great deal of the -scholar’s _naïveté_ about the Lad. “She is so broad-minded. She looks at -things as fairly and impersonally as a man does.” - -I changed the subject abruptly, for I perceived that the Lad was going -to say more than he meant to about Janet. - -“How did you reach your present position?” I asked, for lack of -something better. “You are an agnostic, I suppose?” - -“In religious matters, yes,” he answered. “And the reason is, that after -I had been trained in methods of scientific thought, dogmatic thought -became impossible. All the theology I know anything about is founded on -arbitrary dogma.” - -“To an outsider,” I said slowly, “science seems at times dogmatic. Are -not its sceptical conclusions out of proportion to its actual -achievement? You scientists deny beyond your power to prove. Kingsley -convicted you once for all in the argument about the water-babies, and -he did it by your own methods. You have ‘no right to say that God does -not exist until you have seen him not-existing.’” - -But the Lad thought I was trifling. - -“You are mistaken,” he maintained. “Genuine science neither asserts nor -denies where it cannot prove. It is silent about the ideas of God and of -immortality, because it cannot find any basis for scientific reasoning. -It is magnificent,—that reverence that keeps it from making great -unprovable statements about things in general. Oh, think of the patience -with which scientists study the least things, and the self-control that -keeps them from drawing conclusions before they have reached them, and -the splendid faith with which they go on working!” - -The Lad’s eyes glowed with enthusiasm. - -“Of course, my present position is not final,” he added. “I expect to go -on. I have tremendous faith in doubt.” - -“You are creative even in your doubting,” I reflected. - -“Of course,” said the Lad. “Otherwise there would not be the least use -in doubting.” - -I told him that I had never known disbelief so eager and enthusiastic. -Agnosticism, as I had watched it, had weakened the whole moral fibre. -With Janet, for instance, loss of faith in God had meant loss of faith -in herself and in everything else. - -“I can’t understand that,” said the Lad. “The feeling that the old -ground is slipping from under me makes me want to gird up my loins and -start to find new. - -“But there is a terrible amount of suffering in the mental growth of the -race,” he continued, after a pause. “I can stand the loss of the hope -and comfort in the old ideas, but I can’t stand the pain that my changed -belief gives my poor old father. I could have kept still, but that -seemed hardly honest. So I tried to make him understand, and he was very -badly cut up.” - -“And your mother?” I asked. - -He had never talked about his mother. He was silent for a minute. We -were on one of the great bridges over the river, and we stopped to watch -the spires, the gray roofs, and the one gilded dome of the city across -the shining water. - -“My mother,” he said at last, taking off his hat and standing -bare-headed in the cold November air, “my mother is where she -understands. She died when I was a little fellow.” - -Where she understands! I smiled, but the smile brought tears to my eyes. -They all went back, these wise young people who had outgrown the faith -of their fathers and mothers,—they all went back to it in moments of -supreme emotion, and rested in it, like little children. - -Naturally, I did not point out to the Lad his lack of logic. I knew that -he was going to speak again of Janet, and I waited. Presently the remark -came. - -“Such splendid power, and all wasted! That girl could do anything that -she wished to do. There is a kind of impotent idealism in her that keeps -her from acting. She refuses to see the difference between the absolute -and the relative. She can not, or she will not, see that if she is to -have the ideal in this world she must work it out in the actual.” - -“Wait,” I said. “She is young. Now she is only a question mark. But this -uncertainty is a phase of her development. Something positive will grow -out of the mood of denial.” - -“If something could only rouse her,” said the Lad; he had forgotten that -I was there,—“could sting her into life. If something could only make -her _care_!” - - - - - CHAPTER XIII - - -“If they only had a little common sense,” the Doctor grumbled, “there -wouldn’t be any dilemma.” - -“Which?” I asked. “Your poor family or the charities?” - -“Both,” was the answer. “If the Ebsteins had any common sense, they -would not be in this plight; and if the charities had any, the family -would have been helped long ago. The rarest thing in the world is common -sense.” - -“How did you find them?” I asked; I always liked to ask this. The Doctor -was continually taking care of people in trouble, and as continually -trying to conceal the fact. “It is simply for practice,” she always -said. “My visits among the poor are only a kind of clinic. If it weren’t -for the interests of science, I’d never set foot in the slums again.” - -“Did you ever find among them any of the valuable abnormal cases you are -looking for?” I asked once. - -“No,” she answered, “but I might. I am always expecting to.” - -“How did you discover the Ebsteins?” I asked. It was a new charity -“case,” and I took a professional interest in it. - -“I had a patient in Snow Street, in a basement,—an old woman with -rheumatism.” - -“What interesting scientific discoveries you must be making there,” I -murmured. “Chronic rheumatism is no doubt very instructive.” - -The Doctor looked severe. - -“A woman came down from the second floor, and said that there were some -people on the fifth that needed help. She asked me if I came from the -Charity Building,” said the Doctor, in disgust. “I can stand a great -deal, but I cannot stand being mistaken for a philanthropist.” - -“You ought to be more on your guard,” I suggested. “You really put -yourself into positions where it is difficult to discriminate.” - -“I climbed the stairs to the very top of the house, and knocked at the -only door I saw. ‘Herein!’ called somebody. Then I found myself in a -room full of children. No, they are not Mrs. Ebstein’s. She rents a -little hole in the wall from the woman, a German, who lives in this -room. The only passage to the inner apartment is through the outer one. - -“They opened Mrs. Ebstein’s door, and there sat two children—” - -“How old,” I asked. - -“About twenty. Oh, they are grown up and married. They looked like Babes -in the Wood, but they are man and wife. The woman is a little thing with -her hair in two braids down her back. The man was sitting with his arms -on the table. He had been resting his head on his hands; he looked up -when I entered, and was dazed at first, then embarrassed. He is a nice, -honest German boy who ought to be at home in the _Vaterland_ with his -grandmother.” - -“What did they come here for?” I interrupted. - -“To starve,” said the Doctor. “America is like a great almshouse with no -endowment. She opens her arms to the poor of all nations, and says: -‘Come here and die.’ Luckily we have room enough to bury them all in.” - -“How did you begin to talk with them?” I asked. “What is the best way of -beginning? Do you suppose these people resent being intruded upon as we -should?” - -“I simply held out my hand,” answered the Doctor, and said: ‘Is this -Mrs. Ebstein?’ I spoke in German. The little woman burst out crying. She -had been crying before. Then I said: ‘Somebody told me that you are in -trouble. What can I do for you?’ She only pulled her husband’s sleeve -and said: ‘Heinrich, Heinrich! Komm mal, sprich!’ - -“I found out that they are German Jews, ‘aus Berlin.’ They came here -more than a year ago, just after their marriage. The man is a -brass-finisher. He had a job when he first came, and worked for six -months, I believe. Then the work shut down. Since then they have lived -on little or nothing. - -“They have really almost starved. I glanced at a roll lying on the -table, and one of them told me that for weeks they have lived on bread. -Their landlady is too poor to help them. They have both tried to get -work of any kind, and have failed. - -“‘They said we could make gran’ fortune in America,’ said Mrs. Ebstein. -‘Look! this is my fortune!’ and she took two pennies out of her -apron-pocket and shook them. ‘We eat these! After that we starve!’ - -“She is a vivacious little thing. When she talked she was inimitable. -Her eyes—she has bright brown eyes—twinkled, and she forgot that she was -hungry. She was telling me about her experiences in trying to get work.” - -“Give me their address,” I said, “and I will report them to the Good -Samaritans.” - -“No,” said the Doctor, quietly, “I want to take care of them myself. -Will you help?” - -“Certainly,” I answered. “They are very interesting. Only you should -have found them in a garret. Something is lacking in your background. It -isn’t artistic.” - -“There was altogether too much background,” said the Doctor. “Nearly all -the inhabitants of the tenement-house swarmed up while I was there, and -all of the landlady’s children came as far into that tiny room as was -possible. No, the lonely garret exists only in story-books. Its -seclusion is too good to be true. The worst feature in the lives of the -poor is that they have to be born and to die in public. - -“Now that I think of it,” added the Doctor, rising and looking at her -list of calls, “do you think that you could get a baby’s wardrobe -together for Mrs. Ebstein?” - - - - - CHAPTER XIV - - “Into our hands hath it been given to settle the course of the - world.”—_Shah Nameh_, FIRDAUSI. - - -We were a committee—the Doctor, Janet, the Altruist, and I—to consider -what could be done for the women and girls in Brand Street. The Altruist -wished us to undertake some work in connection with Barnet House. - -We sat round the table in the parlour of my boarding-house. The cloth -had been removed. A block of paper and a pencil lay in front of each of -us, ready for taking notes. - -“I like the way we have,” said Janet, who looked the incarnation of the -spirit of mischief, “of trying to teach other people how to live because -we do not know how ourselves.” - -“You and I have not erred very deeply in that way, Janet,” said the -Doctor, drily. “You must not accuse yourself where you do not deserve -it.” - -The Altruist looked impatient. “We want to consider,” he said, “how we -can help our friends in Brand Street. We must begin at once. I have an -appointment at four.” - -“Another lecture?” asked Janet. - -“Yes,” answered the Altruist, wearily. “I get invitations almost every -day to lecture on life in the slums.” - -“Paul,” said Janet, solemnly, though her eyes were dancing, “you will be -talking in the park next on Sunday afternoons, and we will all come and -stand with the crowd to listen to you.” - -“Perhaps I shall,” said the Altruist. “If it is necessary to convince -the working-man of my sympathy, I shall be glad to do it. I should like -to see my up-town friends standing side by side with my neighbours from -the slums. Only,” he added thoughtfully, “I doubt if my voice could -carry. I have said definitely that I will not speak to more than three -thousand people. And in the open air—” - -Then we opened the discussion. Janet suggested that we begin with -private theatricals for the poor. - -“They need to have their minds taken off their troubles,” she said. “We -cannot really better their condition. Perhaps we can divert their -attention.” - -The Altruist withheld his opinion of this idea. He did not wish to -discourage Janet. It was partly in order to give her a practical -interest that he had started the work. But an expression came into his -face that made Janet whisper,— - -“It really is not polite, Paul, to look bored when other people are -talking.” - -“We want to accomplish something that will be of permanent service,” he -began. “Mere temporary distraction will not do. I thought that you three -women would know how to bring them something of the graciousness and -sweetness of your own lives.” - -“How can we effect anything whatever,” asked the Doctor, “while those -women live under the conditions in which they must live? They cannot -even keep clean. It is absolutely impossible. Cleanliness is the most -expensive luxury in the world. What beauty and graciousness can be -brought into their lives so long as they cannot take baths?” - -“We cannot correct at once,” the Altruist answered, “all the evil -consequences of our present system. But we can bring these people into -touch with higher spiritual ideals—” - -“We can form clubs,” I hastened to say, wishing to appease the Doctor by -means of a practical suggestion. “We can teach the women to sew, or we -can have a literary club and teach them how to read.” - -The Altruist’s face brightened. - -“Yes,” he said, “these cruder methods open the way. When our neighbours -understand that we want to meet them on the common ground of human -brotherhood, that we ignore all class distinctions—” - -“Don’t you think,” asked the Doctor, eyeing the Altruist sharply, “that -you create class distinctions in order to wipe them out? I thought that -the idea of any class distinction ran counter to the principles of -American democracy.” - -“It is impossible to ignore the fact that the distinctions do exist,” -answered the Altruist. “The lines of caste are just as exclusive here as -in Europe.” - -“And are you willing to forget them, and to tell those people that you -meet them on terms of absolute equality? I think that you will do it,” -smiled the Doctor, “just as long as you are not taken at your word.” - -There was something about the Altruist that made him superior to petty -annoyance of this kind. He was not angry. - -“We can convince them of our sympathy, we can share with them our faith -and our aspiration,” he said gently. - -“My faith and aspiration would be a great support to them,” murmured -Janet, her lip curling in self-scorn. “No, cousin Paul, just at present -the relations between Providence and me are a little strained, and the -greatest service I can do the world is to hold my peace. There is no -command to go into all the world and preach the interrogation point.” - -After beating the air for this length of time we began to work, and in -ten minutes had formed a plan for a woman’s club. It was to meet every -week at Barnet House. It was to be a literary club, carried on by -reading and by lectures. Once a week there was to be a social evening. - -“We must have a party at least as often as that,” pleaded the Altruist. -“Our parties are a great success. The neighbours do so delight in -lemonade.” - -“In short,” said Janet, “we will elevate the masses by Swinburne and -_frappee_!” - -We reproved her for her flippancy, and proceeded to work out the details -of our plan. - - - - - CHAPTER XV - - -I told the Man of the World the story of a business failure in the East -End. The sufferers were two very tiny Italian boys, joint proprietors of -a fruit-stand. An unexpected season of warm weather had proved bad for -bananas, and the firm was insolvent. - -I was right in thinking that the Man of the World would be interested in -hearing of this, and I described the situation to him in much detail. - -The Man of the World and I had become great friends, and he had taken me -into his confidence. I knew all about the money that he made at cards. A -set of his brother’s friends had taught him to play poker, and were in -the habit of amusing themselves by letting him win. I knew too about the -horse that he had bought without his father’s knowledge. He kept it in a -stable near the park, and rode it every afternoon. - -“I have to work a bluff game to get there,” he said one day, “but I get -there just the same.” - -He told me about his young lady acquaintances. Evidently he had several -who admired him much. Two embroidered pillows and an elaborate -photograph case were proudly displayed by him as trophies of conquest. -One day, however, he had a bitter quarrel with his prettiest girl -friend. It was, I believe, about a bag of popcorn. After that he was -very satirical in regard to the entire sex, and had no communications -with any member of it except myself. “There are no women in it for me -any longer,” he said darkly. - -When I asked him if he would like to hear the story of my latest “case,” -he responded that it would give him great pleasure. - -Then he regarded me for a minute with a judicial air. - -“What is it you do with people, anyway?” he asked. “I don’t understand.” - -“Oh, a great many things—” I began. - -“I wonder if you’re like my Sunday-school teacher. She’s awful good, she -is really. She goes down to the Traffic Street wharves and picks up -drunken men and converts ’em. Do you do that?” - -“No,” I answered. - -“Well, could you?” - -“No,” I admitted, “I do not think that I could.” - -But in spite of the confession of inferiority on my part, he paid close -attention to my tale. - -“How old did you say those kids are?” he asked when I had finished. - -“Seven and nine,” I replied. - -“They’re game ones, aren’t they?” commented the Man of the World. - -He went over to the window and stood there, thinking, for a few minutes. - -“If they had any money, do you think they could start up the business -again?” he asked. - -“Probably.” - -The Man of the World thrust his hand into his pocket and drew out a roll -of bills, which he offered me, sheepishly. - -“We had a game of poker last night,” he said, “and I scooped in—I mean, -I won. Take it, will you, for the little beggars? I don’t need it. I’m -flush, and can ante just as well as not.” - - - - - CHAPTER XVI - - -Our second committee-meeting left us spent and weary. In making our -programme we began to question the wisdom of presenting to working-women -the scepticism and doubt and denial of modern English literature. We -wandered off into a wilderness of abstract questions, and, as usual, -lost our way. - -Suddenly the door opened, and the Lad strode in. - -“I beg your pardon,” he said, retreating. - -We urged him to enter, saying that our work was done. - -He brought with him the freshness of the open air. A wave of -cheerfulness swept over us, and we remembered that the sun was shining -out of doors. - -“It is a glorious day,” observed the Lad. “I have just come in.” - -“I must go out for a walk,” said the Doctor, rising. - -The Altruist followed, and Janet would have gone, but the Lad looked at -her entreatingly. - -“Oh, don’t go!” he begged, with no perception of the fact that his -remark was embarrassing. “I have so many things to say to you.” - -To my great surprise the girl smiled and lingered. When Janet chose to -be gracious, she was very gracious indeed. - -I kindly took up my notes to make out the minutes of the meeting, and my -young friends seated themselves by the window. - -“You all looked rather blue when I came in,” remarked the Lad. - -“We were,” said Janet. “We had been talking of the future of the human -soul as argued by Tennyson, and assumed by Browning, and ignored by -Swinburne. You see, we can’t decide whether to teach the lower classes -doubt or conviction.” - -The Lad was too much in earnest to notice the irony. - -“I don’t see why you are all so troubled about a life beyond this,” he -said. “Immortality isn’t the question, is it, while we have this world -on our hands?” - -“It is at least very human,” the girl answered, “as we cannot conduct -this life properly, to ask for another and a larger one to spoil.” - -“But this one is so satisfactory!” cried the Lad. “The mere delight in -breathing is enough, if we cannot have anything else. I don’t feel the -need of metaphysical certainties so long as I can feel the pulses beat, -as they do beat in my wrists.” - -“What if your physical joy in living should change into physical pain?” -asked Janet, gravely. - -“Suppose we talk of something else,” suggested the Lad. “We never get -anywhere in discussing questions like this.” - -“Except into corners in the argument,” retorted Janet, smiling -maliciously. “You are in one now.” - -“Well, I’m very happy there,” laughed the Lad. - -That was only too evident. - -They stayed, talking eagerly of Heaven knows what, until the sun went -down. It made a golden background for the profiles outlined against the -window-pane. Stray locks of Janet’s hair were touched into sombre -brightness, and the colour in her cheeks grew warm and red. - -The Lad was gazing at her with softly shining eyes. - - - - - CHAPTER XVII - - -One Sunday afternoon I went to hear the Altruist lecture on the book of -Job. - -He had converted a Brand Street dance-hall into an auditorium, and the -popular lectures he gave there drew many followers to his feet. He spoke -with equal power on social, on religious, and on literary themes. Young -working-men flocked round him to hear him set forth the wrongs of our -present system of government, and the better things to be. Night after -night the hall was crowded by men and women of all ranks and all -occupations, who watched with untiring interest his treatment of -positivism, agnosticism, atheism, Schopenhauerism, and his triumphant -exposition of a belief that they are all recognized and transcended in -the creed of the Anglican church. - -I can see him now, if I shut my eyes,—a nervous little figure behind the -low desk. There was a curious glint in his eyes, which were always -looking over and beyond the heads of his audience. I can see, too, the -eager, stricken faces of his hearers. They drank in his teachings with -consuming thirst. - -I have heard him speak many times, but I have rarely seen the eyes of -one of his listeners removed an instant from his face. A kind of -mesmeric power held them. There were questionings and rebellious -objections before his arrival, or after his departure, but never in his -presence. - -I remember the comments made by two young granite-cutters one night -before his lecture, Lecture X., in the “Exposition of Contemporary -Thought.” - -“I can’t for the life of me see,” said one of them, “how he can believe -all this ’ere science and evolution and believe in Genesis too. ’Spose -he’ll answer if I ask him?” - -“Try,” said the other. “If he can’t answer your question, he’ll turn it -into something he can answer. He’ll talk, anyway. And I’ll bet a dollar -you won’t know but what he’s talking about the thing you asked him.” - -But that very night the two young sceptics were smitten down. The -Altruist pronounced their questions ignorant and crude, and explained -the apparent contradiction in his beliefs as a part of the eternal -paradox at the heart of all things. - -I invited Janet to go with me on this particular Sunday, but she -refused. - -“I think that I would rather not hear Paul expound Job,” she said. - -“He will do it brilliantly,” I suggested. - -“Too brilliantly,” she laughed. “He talks so wisely of all human -experience that you suspect him of never having had any of his own. He -stands condemned by the amount of wisdom that he can utter concerning -life which he has not shared. You feel that it all came from books.” - -“But perhaps he will not deal with Job’s emotional experiences. The -lecture may be purely abstract. Don’t you like to hear your cousin -philosophize?” - -“No,” said the girl, “I don’t. Paul finds the universe easy to explain, -but I mistrust his logic. To quote, I have forgotten whom: ‘Corner him -in an argument, and he escapes out of the window into the Infinite.’” - -So I went alone. Before the Altruist had been speaking five minutes I -regretted that Janet had not come. He was alluding to other great rebels -of literature,—Dante, Prometheus, and our own Carlyle,—souls stung by -hurt into war with God, and afterward fighting their way through to a -bitter peace. - -There was a hush. Then we heard Job talking with God. His upbraiding of -the Creator thundered through the room. - -The impression given cannot be translated into words. The audience was -swayed by the Altruist as grass is swayed by the wind. - -Who had not known moments like that, when one arraigned God for hiding -his meanings from the eyes of men? That time of negation was necessary, -leading, as it must, to affirmation. It was only a season of darkness, -breaking into clearest light. Soon insight followed blindness; -conviction followed doubt. Uncertainty could be only temporary with -noble souls. For them the fog cleared, and a universe of order rose from -chaos. They would suffer no longer the clouding of the intellect, or -know the rebellion of the heart. Their cry was answered, and reason -grasped the scheme of things. - -Of this sure knowledge, universal expression had been given in the -formulas of Anglican belief. - -As the Altruist expounded the final relations of Job to the Creator, and -explained God’s thought for man, the sudden illumination was blinding. -For a moment the ultimate meaning of life and of death seemed ours. - -The audience crowded round the Altruist to utter words of gratitude. One -or two women wiped their eyes, and working-men of known sceptical -tendencies came forward, with a certain shame-facedness, to grasp the -Altruist’s hand. - -I walked home alone in the early winter twilight. - -There was no one in the parlour except the Butterfly Hunter, who was -sitting by a western window, with a sheet of sketches from his specimens -lying on his knee. - -It was too dark to see clearly any longer. The old scientist had -forgotten his drawings, and was watching one great star in an orange -patch of sky between two dark lines of cloud. - -“It is strange,” he said, half to himself, half to me, as I seated -myself in an easy chair, “that truth, the least truth, is so hard to -find. We buy it dearly, and with long effort, and then we do not -understand the whole of it.” - -He rose and brought his pictures to me. - -“I have been studying that little creature,” he said, “for forty years, -and yet I know nothing of the beginning or of the end of its life. It -begins in mystery; it ends in mystery.” - - - - - CHAPTER XVIII - - -I collected for Mrs. Ebstein a wardrobe of tiny garments. Some of them -were Jean’s outgrown clothing. Some of them I made myself, sitting alone -in my study in the early winter evenings. - -It was almost Christmas time when I took them down to Snow Street. I too -climbed the long flights of stairs, and passed through the noisy room -where the seven children lived. - -I found Mrs. Ebstein in her room alone. When I opened my bag and gave -her its contents, her face shone. She grasped both my hands and gave me -a great kiss. - -“You are so good toward me!” she said in broken English. “You make so -much trouble for me!” - -Then she stroked the little socks. “Wie niedlich! Wie reizend!” - -We talked for some time in bad English and worse German. When at last I -rose to go, Mrs. Ebstein took both my hands again. - -“I did not know,” she said, “but you are so good,—and I am ganz allein! -No sister, keine Mutter. Will you come mit the doctor-lady when she -comes?” - -And smiling to see into what strange paths my endeavour to serve -humanity was leading me, I promised. She was so young; she was so far -away from home. - -Her child was born on the night of the twenty-sixth of December. I went -down in the afternoon with the Doctor; and all night long I waited and -watched, in the outer room, from which the seven children had been -banished. - -The Doctor and the district nurse cared for the patient. - -Sitting out by the fire, I hung the little flannel robes again and again -in the warmest place, saying over and over the lines of the folk-song:— - - “Mine ear is full of the murmur of rocking cradles. - ‘For a single cradle,’ saith Nature, ‘I would give every one of my - graves.’” - -All night long I was hushed into awe by the coming of new life, and hurt -by a pain that the presence of death does not give. - -When it was almost morning, I heard a cry, and the words of the -folk-song changed into the words of the Bible: “And so she brought forth -her first-born child.” - -We were high over the city. It was just before dawn. In the east I -caught the first hint of the morning light, and down below me I saw the -roofs of the city dimly outlined in the fading darkness. - -As I watched, the Doctor came out and joined me, weary, but with a look -upon her face that I had never seen before. - -“I never perform this service,” she said slowly, “without feeling that I -have been doing a sacrificial act.” - -I did not speak. - -“No wonder,” said the Doctor, “that the symbol of the world’s salvation -has been so long a mother with her baby in her arms. It pictures the -greatest glory of all our human life.” - -The light grew stronger in the east. The Doctor’s eyes were strained -toward it, and her face was very beautiful. - -“I suppose it is because it is so near Christmas time that I think of -this,” she continued. “I wonder why we have always tried to read a -supernatural meaning into the story of the Christ-child. ‘The Holy Ghost -shall come upon thee,—the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee; -therefore the holy thing that shall be born of thee’—I tell you,” said -the Doctor, interrupting herself energetically, “that means only that -the birth of human life is always sacred. We might well say at every -birth: ‘Go and search—for the young child—and bring me word—that I may -come and worship him.’” - -We watched the light grow strong and clear over the quiet city. The -grimy tenement houses and the polluted streets became more and more -distinct. Then the noise of rattling wheels and of hurrying feet came -faintly to our ears. The toil of another day had begun. - -After a time the nurse came out of the inner room, holding in her arms -the newborn child. It was wriggling in the garments in which it had been -wrapped. The Doctor looked down at the little purple face and screwed-up -nose, and her expression changed to one of professional disgust. - -“I haven’t a doubt,” she muttered, “that it is a poor, miserable, -rickety little vagabond. Why must there be this terrible increase of -population among paupers?” - - - - - CHAPTER XIX - - -My colleagues did not share my discouragement in regard to the East End. -There was much to hope for, they maintained, from the spread of -information concerning it, from the awakening interest of the upper -classes in its condition, and from all our new and intelligent methods -of doing good. - -This was true. Each board-meeting, conference, committee-meeting to -which I went as guest or member, gave me fresh proof of the growth of -knowledge about the destitute, while the practical activity of -individuals and of societies seemed full of promise for the poor. - -There was one great Bureau of Inquiry which existed solely for the -purpose of investigating new “cases.” Its agents, visiting the needy, -gleaned innumerable facts that were entered in the books under heads -like these: “Work, How Many? Bad Habits, What? Ill? Rent? Pay? Can Read? -Can Write?” - -This vast body was constantly torn in twain between a desire to find out -genuine suffering, and a fear of being deceived. - -Closely connected with this Bureau was the Society of Good Samaritans, -who represented, not only the new knowledge concerning the poor, but -also improved methods of relief. The Samaritans always sat in lengthy -conference on Friday night, discussing in friendly fashion (not without -gossip) the domestic affairs of the family in hand, and voting: “No -Aid”; or, “Aid, $2.00 in groceries, visitor please follow up”; or, “Give -Citizen’s Emergency Ticket for snow-shovelling”; and again, “No Aid.” - -Another relief-giving society, the Almoners, differed from the Good -Samaritans only in the greater carefulness of its proceedings. All its -action was well considered and most deliberate. Its committee-meetings -were full of anxious discussion of the question, “What do we do with -such cases in District A?” and its most innocent reports were headed -“Confidential!” - -For instance: - - -“The Almoners request that the facts given below be used, especially if -unfavourable, with great care. - - In the case of - Abruzzi, Federigo, - No. 10 Mulberry Street. - -“Barber. Six children. No work. Gave shoes and stockings.” - - -These organizations were alike in the business-like quality of their -work, in the wary kindliness with which they treated the poor, and in -their thirst for accurate information. It occasionally happened that -representatives of all three societies met by chance in the one room of -a new “case,” and gravely carried on their investigations together. - -Perhaps some of the questions that these agents of organized -philanthropy were authorized to ask passed the line where friendly -interest becomes impertinence. However, they but voiced the popular -opinion, that “people of that sort” do not mind intrusion. Of many this -was doubtless true, and a great corporation can hardly be expected to -engage in character-study. - -The intellectual curiosity evinced by these bodies in matters of -practical detail was visible also in their theories of work. New charity -methods, English, German, and Australian, were carefully discussed. On -our boards were men who were familiar with all known schemes of in-door -and outdoor relief, and women who were masters of statistics. We knew -not only the best ways of carrying on investigation, but also the best -ways of co-operating with the Church, with the State, and with one -another. - -But here theorizing stopped. These students of social disease did not -seem to doubt the essential soundness of the social constitution. -Criticism of the present industrial system and of the relation between -classes did not, apparently, occur to them. The Altruist’s economic -ideas would have filled them with surprise. - -My misgivings concerning all this work did not come from the usual -objections to it, that the proceedings of huge bodies are often too slow -to be of use, because of the time wasted in adjusting formalities, and -that the energy meant for action is dissipated in argument. I was -impressed only by the hopelessness of finding out what to do. After -patient inquiry the gulf between misery and the wish to help was nearly -as wide as before. Facts may be facts without telling the truth, and -with all our knowledge we did not understand. - -This was not true of every member of the associations. There were -certain women who possessed a gift of practical kindness, and were -philanthropists by divine right. And surely the effectiveness of an -organized body means the effectiveness of the individuals composing it. - -But different attitudes were represented. Side by side with these women -who were quick to help and slow to condemn, were others who allowed -their respect for the ten commandments of the Old Testament to keep them -from obeying the one command of the New. They pronounced judgment on the -unfortunate with the most impressive finality, as if wrong-doing were -doubly wrong in the East End. As I listened to them I sometimes thought -that the ethical standard which the rich try to preserve for the poor is -very high. - -I liked to watch these charitable women, and to wonder why they were -doing this work. Some, whose faces had been made sweet by sorrow, were -striving only to find expression for sympathy with human pain. Some, who -looked eager, restless, dissatisfied, were trying, I thought, to find in -the lives of others the absorbing interest they had missed in their own. -A few, I feared, had espoused the cause of the needy for the sake of -social distinction. An interest in the poor was one of the really -important things, like the cut of one’s sleeves, or one’s knowledge of -Buddha. - -I discovered a new species of benevolent woman, unlike the old-fashioned -Saint Elizabeth who encouraged pauperism by indiscriminate distribution -of loaves. A call that I made on a fellow-Almoner (for in an interval -when my Cause did not keep me busy I had rashly joined this body) made -me hope that the old Lady Bountiful armed with pity will never quite -give place to this new Lady Bountiful armed with views. - -I had given my friend this name because she looked so sympathetic. She -was a blithe little woman, very wealthy and very charitable. On this -occasion I found her just going out. As she came smiling to meet me, in -her light cloth gown with gloves and gaiters of the exact shade, I -thought how charming she was. - -My Lady Bountiful had principles. She always performed her full social -duty, and she told me, before I introduced the subject I had come to -discuss, how tired she was. Dinners and receptions and the theatre had -tired her out. Yet she had given up none of her charity work. Her maid -did all the necessary visiting for her. - -When I set forth the object of my visit she looked disapproving. I -wanted to change the policy of our Board, of which she was a director, -to meet the distress caused by a sudden financial crisis. But My Lady -interrupted my description of the misery of the unemployed in the East -End. - -“I do not believe in voting special relief for these people,” she said. -“Their suffering will be a lesson to them. When they have work they are -improvident; when it stops they starve. They must learn thrift and -economy, even if it has to be taught them in this severe way.” - -It was a strange situation,—Dives in his purple and Lazarus in his rags -again. But Dives played a new rôle, no longer standing aloof, but coming -near enough the gate to study Lazarus, and then intimating that his -character was not all it should be. - -My Lady went on to speak of work, of how noble it is, and how little -common people appreciate its sacredness. I watched with a certain -feeling of curiosity the dainty figure against the rich background of -the beautiful house. The fingers that were emphasizing the panegyric of -work had never been guilty of a half-hour’s honest toil. - -“No,” said my hostess, when I rose to go, “this crisis means discipline -for the poor, and we must not interfere. I think as you investigate -further you will find that poverty is always the result of idleness, -intemperance, or crime.” - -“Then this distress is retributive?” I murmured. “It testifies to the -negligence of the poor, and indirectly to our own industry, temperance, -virtue?” - -“Yes,” said My Lady, firmly. She was always firm. “Don’t look so -unhappy,” she added, as she took my hand at parting. “It isn’t such a -bad world, after all. I never can see why people insist on crying out -all sorts of unpleasant things about it. I am a thorough optimist, you -see.” - -I reflected, after the cool air of the street had soothed my irritation, -that we were all like that. Each one of us had pronounced opinions, -right or wrong. I wondered if it would not be better for the poor if we -knew less about them and cared more. - - - - - CHAPTER XX - - -Through all my study of human misery, the thought of my little romance -flashed like swift sunshine. Some of the sadness faded out of Janet’s -face, and every day, I thought, the Lad’s lips were more firmly set in -his effort to win. I wondered what the outcome would be. If his chin had -not been so square and so determined, I should have doubted his victory. - -Janet joined us in our expeditions. Then, as the weeks went on, the two -young Bohemians took long walks by themselves, while I stayed at home or -in my office,—for my Cause had a downtown office,—following them only -with my blessing. - -I had grown very fond of both. It was well for them to be together. -Janet was waking up, as in a keen electric shock, under the influence of -the Lad’s resistless energy. “There is something contagious in his -vitality,” she said one day. “When you are with him, you feel that you -are face to face with immortal youth, and can never grow old.” - -In their long conversations they passed, as was natural, from the -abstract to the personal. It was amusing to hear their encounters of -words. Every bitter remark that the girl made was met and worsted by the -strong logic and the strong hopefulness of her opponent. - -She heard from him the history of his book. It was controversial. He was -waging a scientific battle with his dearest friend, the author of an -article that the Lad said was “all off.” It had served as the flinging -of a gauntlet, and the Lad had picked it up. The book was to be, he -said, not only a criticism of Rainforth, but the first setting forth of -his own theory, and the Lad felt that his future welfare depended on his -triumph. - -“Not that I can come anywhere near Rainforth generally,” he said. “He’s -a genius. Yes, he’s the only genius I have ever known. I am simply a -pigmy by the side of him. But just here I know he is wrong, and I intend -to prove it. If I succeed, nobody will congratulate me so heartily as -he.” - -As to me, he had talked of Janet and the book, to her he talked of the -book and Rainforth. They had been like David and Jonathan in college and -ever since. In argument they had fought many a glorious field. Now -Rainforth was winning honour in the West, and the Lad was watching every -step of his career with intense pride. - -“You ought to see him,” cried the Lad. “He fairly towers above all the -people near him.” - -There was a touch of novelty in the situation. That a hero-worshipper -should invite his hero to step down from the pedestal and do battle with -him seemed a dangerous proceeding. Yet I knew that if the hero came out -second-best, the worship would be no whit abated. - -I fancied that Janet grew weary of hearing so much of Rainforth, but I -was not sure. She spoke less and less often of the Lad. In place of the -specific frankness with which he talked of her, she generalized; and -because her “humorous melancholy” was so little appreciated by him, she -spent it all on me. - -She was talking one day of the elusiveness of life. We were always -seeming to catch a meaning in it, she said, first in one place, then in -another. In will-o’-the-wisp fashion it danced through religion, through -philosophy, through aspiration of every kind. We went from illusion to -illusion, from dream to dream. The gods (thus Janet named the hostile -powers whom she sometimes imagined behind the scenes), in order to amuse -themselves, had made this world as a great playground, where their -creatures, cobweb-blinded, played an endless game of blindman’s buff. -The last and most cruel illusion of all was love. - -It was then that I knew that she had begun to care for the Lad. - -In the early winter my work developed so as to demand all my time. In -consequence of the business depression, the suffering in the city had -increased tenfold. My experiences of the daytime haunted me at night. In -my dreams I climbed the dark stairways of the poor, and door after door -opened in my sleep upon scenes of misery that I could not help. - -I had no time now to talk with my young friends, but the sight of them -comforted me. I found myself looking at Janet with the Lad’s eyes. I, -too, in watching her face, saw “a glory upon it, as upon the face of one -who feels a light round his hair.” - - - - - CHAPTER XXI - - “The more I muse there inne the mistier it semeth, - And the depper I devyne the derker me it thinketh.” - WILLIAM LANGLAND. - - -As I look back I am amazed at the amount of talking that we all did. The -memory of the winter is a mist of “words, words, words.” - -Long discussions of spiritual questions were new to me. I had come from -a world where one took God and one’s duty for granted, and endeavoured -to act. Here we wavered so long over uncertainties in belief that we had -little energy left for work, and we talked of conflicting causes until -the world was turned into a snarl of tangled theories. - -In my bewilderment I found myself asking if it were worth while to try -to understand. - -My pretty Janet was wasting her days in attempting to find a -satisfactory way of thinking about life; while the Altruist, who alone -among us was content with his knowledge of things seen and unseen, had -succeeded only, I sometimes thought, in thrusting between himself and -his fellow-man a theory of how to treat him, and between himself and God -the shadow of an explanation of Him. - -Could one, after all, take life as simply as the Lad took it, waiving -abstract inquiry while one attended to the matter in hand? It seemed as -if he, a denier of all knowledge of God, had come very near to Him in -that ceaseless, unquestioning activity. - -I began to doubt even the value of our ideas about the poor. - -Their deep satisfaction in existing contrasted strongly with our -restless questioning of the uses of existence. Perhaps we, who were so -filled with pity for the victims of life, had been better for a share in -its suffering; for it might be that the wisdom denied to thought lay -written only in experience. - -Thus I decided that an intellectual grasp of things in general is -impossible, then, woman-like, turned and did a little reasoning of my -own. - -Were there not enough strong young souls like the Lad’s to break through -the woven spells of theory and wake the world from sleep? - - - - - CHAPTER XXII - - -“—just to stir up stagnation, you know, and rouse interest by telling -people how things really are; for it’s ignorance that’s the matter, -sheer ignorance, and I’m convinced that if the rich can be made to -understand the condition of the poor, they’ll take measures to better -it, so I’m trying to raise the standard of general intelligence and -bring the classes together—” - -The sentence went on and on. I could hardly remember when it had begun. -The Young Reformer, who was calling on me, had asked me to co-operate, -and I had innocently asked in what. - -“—public opinion is what we want,” he was saying, “and we are safe if we -can get the press on our side; for it’s the press that really rules the -country, and not the pulpit, and I say the thing is to get the great -popular organs on our side and let them work with us instead of against -us, and they will if we only use tact; for I’ve found that if you only -use tact the thing is done.” - -“What special work are you attempting?” I asked. - -“Oh, everything,” said the Young Reformer, cheerfully. “It doesn’t make -any difference. When I see an evil I begin to call attention to it. You -have got to be busy if you are going to accomplish anything.” - -“And what would you like to have me do?” I inquired, gazing at my guest -with undisguised curiosity. - -There was an indescribable air of aimless activity about him. He sat, in -a somewhat vague and tentative way, on the edge of his chair, holding on -his knee a bundle of newspapers and manuscript that he had been too busy -to put down. - -“Well, what’s your strong point?” he demanded. - -I was staggered, but it made no difference. - -“Now mine is the platform,” he continued confidentially. “Yes, I’m at my -best on the platform. It took me a long time to find it out. I tried -business and I tried the law, but I was always restless and felt that I -wasn’t in the right place. Then I got interested in social questions, -and thought I’d give myself up to public effort.” - -I wondered if this young man were one of those who, finding the duties -of citizen difficult to perform, condemn society. - -I repeated my question. - -“Oh, do anything you are interested in. Just begin where you choose, and -I’ll try to help you. It doesn’t make much difference.” - -Here he smiled encouragingly. - -“May I ask in what way you learned my name?” I inquired. - -The slight reproof for his intrusion passed unnoticed. - -“Oh, I’ve heard everywhere in the city about what you’re doing. I’m -trying to get acquainted with everybody who is working for the general -good, and I thought that if you would co-operate with me in some way it -would be better than for us to work alone.” - -I was conscious of a momentary wish to write a manual of etiquette for -reformers, but my guest looked so innocent that I forgave him. - -“My opportunities for influencing public opinion are limited,” I said. -“I doubt if I can assist you.” - -“But I am sure you can,” he answered, cordially. “I want to undertake -something new here. I try to adapt my programme to the needs of each -city. In Chicago I gave a course of lectures on ‘The Crying Evils of the -Day.’ The press co-operated, and we made an organized attack on wrong of -all kinds. I couldn’t follow it up because I had to go on to another -place. That’s the trouble. But as I said, the great thing is to rouse -interest. I know that here there’s a great deal of study of social -questions, and I want to do something to encourage that. I like to be in -the crest of each wave of progress. Just what are you doing now?” - -I described for him some of the minor workings of my Cause. The details -were dry. - -“Now that kind of practical thing doesn’t appeal to me,” he said. “I -know it’s necessary, but there isn’t any emotion in it. You can’t get -hold of the popular heart that way. There’s nothing like the platform, -not even the pulpit. Well, I’ll tell you. I’m going to begin a series of -banquets at St. Mark’s Hotel to bring the classes together. I’ll have -one next week, and I want you to come. I’ll invite some up-town people -and the leaders of various movements to meet some of the lower classes, -the real People, you know, and we’ll see what can be done. - -“There’s nothing like beginning and just letting a thing get under way, -and then when it’s started you know better what to do. Start a movement -and you can turn it into almost anything you want to. All you need is to -get your forces going.” - -I accepted, I fear from curiosity, the invitation to meet the People, -and my caller took his departure. He stood irresolute on the steps for a -moment, as if wondering in which of all possible directions he would -better go. I reflected that in the battle with human nature to which he -stepped out so airily, he would at least have the satisfaction of never -knowing his defeat. - -And I wondered who would deliver society from its deliverers. - - - - - CHAPTER XXIII - -“Ich selber bin Volk.”—HEINRICH HEINE. - - -The socialistic banquet was a success. Various members of the upper -classes were present, and several representatives of the People. The -Young Reformer presided with great ease. - -The repast was not formal. Neither were the speeches afterward. We -hastened over the material part of the feast, and our host dismissed the -waiters abruptly when the coffee had been served. - -As I looked around the table in the centre of the great hotel -dining-room, I realized that we were a distinctly curious collection of -human beings. Each one of us stood for a cause. Representatives of -Church and University were sitting side by side with Socialist and -Anarchist. Two residents from Barnet House and the head of the Woman’s -Settlement were there. Opposite me sat a Single Tax agitator. At my left -was a Knight of Labour. There were present also four prominent Trades -Unionists, a Temperance woman, a White Ribbon woman, and a Populist. - -Our eyes were all fixed upon the Young Reformer as he rapped upon the -table and called upon my friend, the Resident at Barnet House, to speak -in behalf of Socialism. - -The Resident spoke with dignity. - -“It is,” he said, “an economic fact that Socialism is inevitable. -Whether we will or no, it is coming as surely as the days are moving on. -It is equally true that it, as a system, offers to the individual a -justice that no other form of government can offer. Under the -centralizing system of Socialism, with land and the forces of production -in the collective ownership of the People, and monopolies done away, -will come at last that granting of equal rights to all that democracy -has failed to realize.” - -The speaker was enthusiastically applauded. - -Then the Altruist was called upon in behalf of the Brotherhood of Man. - -An abstract of his remarks can give no idea of their power. The Altruist -alluded to our new recognition in this century of the close relationship -between high and low. He described certain attempts, both secular and -religious, that have been made to recognize this relationship. Then he -set forth his hope for the future, when government shall be -spiritualized, and the principles of the Christian religion shall be -worked into our laws. - -The address was eloquent, and the audience was strongly moved. - -The Altruist ended with an appeal. The cultured must return to the -People, and the People must realize that in doing this the upper classes -have no sense of superiority, and are actuated by motives of purest -Christian love. - -Our host was leaning back in his chair, and his face wore a happy smile. - -A Trades Unionist, in responding to the two preceding orators, said that -it did him good all over to hear remarks like theirs. They expressed his -sentiments exactly. If more folks felt that way, there wouldn’t be all -this trouble between labour and capital. The working-people were going -to have their rights, and if these were not given, they would fight for -them. But the working-man was quite willing to meet the capitalist half -way and settle things peacefully if it could be done. - -The young Socialist smiled at this militant formulation of the principle -of brotherly love, but the Altruist did not hear. He rarely listened to -what other people said. - -I fell into a fit of abstraction and caught only fragments of the two -next speeches. I knew, in a dim fashion, that the Populist had the -floor, and was insisting that the one way to achieve universal good was -by adopting the platform of his political party. I knew that the -Temperance woman, who was sweet-faced and young, rose to say sternly -that we were all wrong. Only by wakening the moral forces could the race -be saved. For a world given over to passion there was no economic -salvation. - -Watching these burdened, anxious faces in the brilliant electric light, -I wondered how I could have lived nine and thirty years without knowing -that this old earth, which I loved, was so very bad. Three months ago I -had seen only here and there a thistle or a bramble bush in its fair -fields. Now it looked to me all weeds and tares, weeds and tares. - -But the Professor was responding to the toast: “The University and the -People.” - -“There is no gulf between the University and the People,” he said in a -quick, emphatic voice. He had a perplexed air, as if wondering why he -had come. - -“The University was founded by the People, for the People. Its interests -are the interests of the People. In its hands lies one of the highest -powers in a nation’s life. Economic conditions, moral forces, are naught -without the intellectual guidance that comes through the trained minds -of a country’s devoted servants, her scholars.” - -These remarks were sufficiently noncommittal, yet the Professor was -troubled, fearing that he had not said the right thing. - -The word People ran like a refrain through all these remarks, and it -puzzled me. The People, it would seem, had been injured, and their -wrongs were to be set right. But who were the People, and who had harmed -them? - -We pronounced ourselves ready to waive all differences between ourselves -and the People. Who had suggested the differences? Surely not the -People. Even now the voice of a clergyman was in my ears, adjuring us -all, indiscriminately, to get nearer the People. I, who was conscious -that I belonged to the People and had never gone away, was puzzled, -feeling a certain lack of programme in the suggestion. - -At last the Anarchist arose. I had heard of him before, but had not seen -him. His quoted opinions had made my blood run cold. Now I gazed at him -in surprise, for he did not at all resemble the picture of him that my -fancy had made. Standing with his large old hands folded, and his long -gray beard rippling over his bosom, he looked like an aged apostle who -was near the beatific vision. - -“Friends,” he said, and his voice was like the sound of a benediction, -“I’ve heerd all you’ve said about injestice and wrong. You hain’t said -half enough. Nobody could say half enough about how bad things be. But -you ain’t got the right remedy. Talkin’ won’t do it. We’ve got to act. -Friends, we’re workin’ towards peace, but we may hev to walk to it -through blood.” - -There was a look of benevolence in his large, mild eyes as he said this. - -“None of you goes down far enough,” he continued. “It’s gover’ment that -is the root of all evil, and gover’ment has got to be wiped out.” - -We sat motionless around our broad table, as if held to our chairs by a -spell, forgetting even to drink our coffee, which grew cold as we -listened. There was an awful fascination about the Anarchist as he went -on to describe the millennium of anarchy, where there should be no -government, but where each man, standing as a law to himself, should -seek his own good in the good of his neighbour. The oration was long and -full of rambling eloquence, whose mixed metaphors suggested confusion of -thought. - -But the Anarchist stopped. “I hev spoke the truth,” he said solemnly, -“but ’twont hev no effect. ’Twill be like the morning dew, in at one ear -and out at other.” - -There was a pause. Then we all drank cold water to the success of our -respective causes, and shortly after came away. - -All the way home my thoughts and my feet kept pace with those lines -concerning two reformers who strolled one day by the sea:— - - “The Walrus and the Carpenter - Were walking close at hand; - They wept like anything to see - Such quantities of sand. - ‘If this were only swept away,’ - They said, ‘it would be grand.’” - - - - - CHAPTER XXIV - - -That was one of the days when everybody was unhappy, everybody except -the Altruist. But it was against the Altruist’s principles to let the -world know his changes in mood, and he may have been sad underneath his -smile. - -It began with the Man of the World. He came down to breakfast with a -dragging step, and took his seat wearily. His face looked faded, and his -eyes were dull. - -“I wish somebody would give me something to make me sleep,” he said. “I -lie awake every night until almost morning.” - -A laugh went round the table. The habits of the Man of the World were -notoriously conducive to sleeplessness. Late suppers too often robbed -him of the slumber due his years. - -The laughter offended him. He rose with dignity and went away. When I -followed him a few minutes later I found him sulking in the hall. The -look of age in his blue eyes moved me to pity, and I drew the Man of the -World toward me, as if he were a child. - -I do not know what I said to him. It was something about changing all -this, and beginning over again, without the smoking and the cards and -the horses. He did not mind. In fact, he seemed to like having me touch -him, and laid his cheek against my hand, very much as Jean liked to do. -But he straightened up again. - -“No,” he said firmly, “you are barking up the wrong tree. I mean,—I beg -your pardon,—it doesn’t do any good. I might have done it once, but I -can’t now.” And saying “Good morning” very courteously, he went up to -his room. - -I had promised the Doctor to visit with her a patient on Traffic Street, -near Edgerley Bend. For once even the Doctor had lost courage. As we -threaded our way along the crowded sidewalks of the East End she -bewailed her unfitness for her work. Evidently she was disheartened -because she could not cure the incurable. - -I walked on in silence, too miserable to speak. The air was stifling, -for there seemed to be but little space between the sky and the mud in -the street. Gazing at the faces that drifted past us, some bad, some -apathetic, some despairing, I wondered which were the more pitiful, -those that had lost hope, or those that had never known it. - -The Doctor’s mood changed when she reached her patient and found -something to do; but I, who had not that means of relief, came home as -wretched as before. - -In the afternoon I went to Janet for comfort. As I crossed the street, -the quaint stucco houses looked more than ever like the scenery of a -stage. Through the half-drawn curtains I caught a glimpse of the Lad, -and smiled. The play had really begun. - -I had come for consolation, but I was disappointed. The Lad was alone -with baby Jean. He looked up when I entered, and I saw that his eyes -were clouded. - -“Isn’t it cold?” he said, with an absentminded air. - -I asked where everybody was. Jean’s father and mother were away. Yes. -Miss Janet was at home, and had been here, but was now upstairs. He did -not know if she was coming back. - -We relapsed into silence. The Lad took Jean upon his knee. Something -made the child feel neglected; neither by holding up her new bronze -shoes nor by winking both her eyes could she win the Lad’s attention. He -had forgotten us both. Suddenly he lifted the child to his face and -kissed her passionately, murmuring, “Janet! Janet!” - -I escaped to Janet’s room. The girl was pretending to read. Her lips -were tight-set, and her eyes unnaturally bright. - -“Do you know that you have a guest downstairs?” I asked. - -“It is time that my guest went away,” was her answer. - -“You haven’t a very polite way of inducing him to do it,” I said. -“Child, what are you doing? Do you know what you are doing?” - -She came and put her arms around my neck. - -“I am finding out what happens when an insurmountable obstacle is met by -an irresistible force. I cannot consent to be the Lad’s wife. I am not -happy enough.” - -“Don’t you care for him?” I asked. - -“Perhaps I care too much to do that,” she answered slowly. - -I was silent for very pity. I knew that all the obstinacy and -incredulity of the girl’s nature had risen in battle against this new -emotion. Love had come to her, but had come like a great sorrow. - - - - - CHAPTER XXV - - -Of all our protégés among the “People,” none interested us more than the -Tailoress. The discovery of interesting characters among the poor was -one of the rewards that we hoped for from our work. - -The Tailoress was a tall, gaunt, strong-featured woman of forty, who -lived alone on the fifth floor of a Brand Street lodging-house. She -worked ten hours a day; at night she read. From the city library she had -obtained stray volumes of Browning and Ruskin and Carlyle. Her comments -on these books had marked individuality. - -The Tailoress had been an ambitious country girl, and had come to the -city to work her way through sewing into an art-education. Once she had -succeeded in taking a six-weeks course in elementary drawing. The work -had been interrupted, but the Tailoress had not yet given up her hope. -That was the reason why, although she commanded comparatively good -wages, she lived up so many flights of stairs, and fared on porridge and -tea. - -She had a peculiar face, with a long nose, and strong under-jaw. Her -skin was brown, despite her years of confinement in a shop, so brown -that her blue eyes looked paler than they really were. I liked to see -her pupils dilate when an idea came to her. They expanded, and her whole -face glowed with enthusiasm. - -For the Tailoress had the soul of a poet. Through all her starved life -she had carefully saved up every semblance of beauty that had fallen to -her lot. In her room hung a Carlo Dolce Madonna, in a narrow -black-walnut frame, and an unmounted photograph of two Corregio cherubs -was pinned to the wall-paper. She owned a few books: a volume of -Longfellow, selections from Ruskin, and an Emerson Birthday Book. The -heavy underlining in these few volumes revealed an admiration deep and -uncritical. - -“It looks,” said Janet, with mock gravity, when I told her about the -Tailoress, “as if a sphere of usefulness were going to be given me. May -I lead the Tailoress up from Carlo Dolce to a love for French -impressionism? I will take her to see the pictures of M. Puvis de -Chavannes.” - -“If you choose,” I answered, “but leave her her books.” - -“Nay,” said Janet, “I will take away her Longfellow and give her Amiel. -Shall the poor be shut off from the sources of our inspiration?” - -The Tailoress was different from the other working-people that I knew. -Most of them were weighed down by a constant sense of wrong, but the -Tailoress never rebelled against the hardships of her lot. They seemed -to have no power over her. Perhaps she forgot them in her hunger and -thirst for beauty and knowledge. - -I remember some of her remarks. Once, when some one was denouncing the -useless luxury of the lives of the rich, the Tailoress looked up -quickly. - -“I don’t feel like that,” she said, in her deep, masculine voice. “Why -should we grudge them the beauty of their lives? God knows what is best. -I am glad that there are people in the world who can have the things -they want.” - -We took her to the Art Museum, and she was as one possessed. I found her -in a room devoted to Greek sculpture, sitting alone and silent. She -rose, with the face of one greatly moved, and grasped my arm. - -“What does it matter,” she said, “all the suffering and the lack, in a -world that has in it things like this?” - -It was hard to induce her to come away. “It makes me so happy to stay -here,” she said. “It is full of beauty and of peace.” - -Doubtless it was her longing for something else that kept her from -rising in her trade. After twenty-two years of work she was still a -vest-maker, never having shown sufficient ambition to try her skill as a -maker of coats. - -Now a crisis came in her life. She went to hear the Altruist lecture, -and became his most ardent disciple. I think that he unlocked the gates -of Heaven to her. Through the glamour of his eloquence she caught sight -of the pinnacles and towers of the city of her dreams. Unconsciously she -adopted his opinions and his tastes. Cardinal Newman’s “Dream of -Gerontius” appeared among the books on her table, and the Correggio -cherubs gave way to a thin Giotto saint. - -Her devotion was so extreme that the Altruist at last learned to -distinguish her from his many other followers. He saw her strength, and -confided to me the way in which he thought it should be used. The -Tailoress had personal ambition, aspiration, he said, but it seemed to -him hardly worth while to encourage that. She was too old. In our -attempts to serve Humanity, we must utilize our forces in the most -economical way, and must work with the young. It was too late for her to -fulfil her own life; she must learn to help fulfil the lives of others. - -She needed, first of all, to be led up to a higher spiritual plane. -There was something pagan in her thirst for pure beauty. Under his -forming touch she might grow into more impersonal and holier ambition. - -And there was no nobler mission for her than the liberation of her sex. -The Tailoress was employed in an ill-paid industry, which was almost -entirely in the hands of women. Already in her own shop she was looked -upon as an oracle. Could she not learn that, in helping secure better -conditions of life for her fellow-workers, she would be doing higher -service than she could ever do in search for knowledge, or in devotion -to art? - -I, who was still at the mercy of indiscriminate enthusiasm, and had not -yet learned to let other people’s causes alone, promised to go with the -Tailoress to the Anarchist, that she might learn from him the social -wrong from which she was suffering, and the social mission to which she -was called. - - - - - CHAPTER XXVI - - -Our passion for comprehending invaded even our friendships. A friend was -no longer simply a friend, but a riddle to be read, a proposition to be -understood and expounded. Everybody talked of everybody else, and we -analyzed and dissected one another with great calmness. The temperaments -of our _confrères_, their growth and change in ideas,—all these matters -we tossed back and forth over many a cup of afternoon tea. - -The Lad did not shine in this work of analysis. We all decided that he -was no judge of character: he had so little insight into people’s -faults. The opinions that he formed were most astounding. To him the Man -of the World was a promising child, and he regarded me as a person of -firmest conviction, not seeing how I was swayed this way and that by any -new idea. In those days everything that I heard impressed me greatly. - -When we were all together, we talked of our remoter acquaintances. The -Man of the World afforded us much amusement, and the Butterfly Hunter -interested us greatly. But when the little coterie was not complete, the -absent members often became the subject of conversation. - -Our best epigrams, I noticed, were made about the Altruist. It was easy -to be clever at his expense. - -“What I admire most about him,” said the Doctor, “is his brilliant lack -of logic. He is never so convincing as when he contradicts himself.” - -“Paul has that exclusive belief in his immediate notion which is so -effective in this world,” said Janet. “The difference between him and me -is this: I can never believe in anything that I am doing, and he can -never believe in anything that he is not doing.” - -I defended the Altruist. His burning zeal for good, I maintained, -consumed all minor faults. One could forgive him much for the greatness -of his endeavour. - -Yet I could not help admitting that the Altruist’s passionate devotion -to his idea kept him remote, apart from the world he was trying to -uplift. - -“He is rather an ingenious theory of living than a part of life itself,” -said Janet one day. “I sometimes think that he is like a beautiful -religion that never saved a soul.” - -“Yes,” answered the Doctor, impiously, “he ought to commit some sin that -would humble him thoroughly. Then he would understand better the common -experience of mankind.” - -“I haven’t a doubt that he would do it,” laughed Janet, “if he thought -it necessary to bring him ‘in touch with the masses.’” - -It was on this occasion that the Doctor made her famous inquiry as to -whether, in becoming too literally an Altruist, one ceased to be an -individual. - -When the Altruist was with us, we talked often of the Lad. We rarely -discussed the Doctor, because in doing so the Altruist and I quarrelled. - -“There is something lacking in the Lad,” the Altruist said. “He has the -old Greek joyousness in mere living, but one misses the touch of the -spiritual, the mystical. It is a nature that is limited to delight in -sensuous and intellectual life. It has no hold on the Infinite.” - -“That is what the Altruist says about everybody who doesn’t agree with -him,” the Doctor remarked afterward. “I wish that he did not confuse -lack of appreciation of himself with lack of appreciation of the good.” - -I feared that the Altruist might withhold his approval from the Lad. The -two men stood very far apart in aim and in ways of thinking. It was true -that the Lad did not entirely understand the Altruist and his gallant -efforts to come to the rescue of the fainting powers of Heaven; and the -Doctor’s suggestion that the Altruist regarded criticism of himself as a -mark of mental limitation in the critic, was not wholly unjust. Yet -knowing that the younger man was not numbered among his disciples, the -Altruist treated him with great cordiality. - -I did not scruple to criticise the Lad myself. It seemed to me that he -had parted too easily with his old faith, and that he was not -sufficiently interested in my Cause. - -“He stands for nothing,” I said one day to Janet and the Doctor. - -“O yes he does,” laughed Janet. “He stands for the forgotten art of -living unconsciously. He has rediscovered a lost point of view.” - -Janet usually refused to talk of the Lad, but to-day she took up the -cudgels in his defence. - -“I like that radiant scepticism. There is nothing negative about it. I -sometimes think that the Lad has more than his share of the primal -creative impulse that is at the heart of all things. His energy always -urges him forward. The rest of us are working backward, by an analysis -that is death, as if the meaning of life lay behind us and not before.” - -“Janet,” said the Doctor, “did you think of that just now, or did you -make it up before?” - -“I thought of it a long time ago,” answered Janet, raising her chin -saucily, but flushing, “and I wrote it down in my note-book.” - -Janet herself was one of our most interesting subjects at these -afternoon séances. I was constantly tempted into a bit of analysis at -her expense: she was so complex, so puzzling. - -I have regretted since our free discussions of one another. We -considered them impersonal, artistic, critical. One’s friends, I have -come to think, should serve other ends than those of amateur psychology. - - - - - CHAPTER XXVII - - -While we wrestled with our problems, baby Jean wrestled with a great -many that were all her own. The difference between her and the rest of -us was that she said nothing. - -But as day after day she watched with shining eyes the life in the -street below, I fancy that the question of the Sphinx presented itself -to her in many forms. Why articles that she threw from the window -re-appeared in the nursery; why some people passed and did not come -back, while others came back so often; why the big dog ran when the -little dog chased him,—all these things were to her parts of an -encompassing mystery. - -Her vague wonder grew into childish thought. I watched—with a guilty -feeling that I was neglecting the great things I had been set to do—her -quick development. - -She found that putting her fingers in her ears kept out unpleasant -sound, and once when her mother reproved her she held them there, -triumphant and unhearing. She found that she could agitate the entire -family by hiding small possessions. And she did this often, looking -inscrutable and dignified through the search for the lost articles, then -always bringing them back when the fun was over. She never forgot. - -The ways of life were hard for her tiny feet. She was quick-tempered, -easily angered, and easily hurt. But always, after running away in wrath -and tears, she would be back again in a minute with a solemn little face -uplifted to be kissed. - -She was born in an age of denial, and her first spoken word was “no.” -With a sweet perversity she stoutly repudiated all her most ardent -wishes. Even while her arms were stretched out to reach the desire of -her heart, she always protested that she did not want it. - -I think that I remember every one of her pretty attitudes, the turn of -her head, the curves of her lithe little body. - -I remember her as she looked one morning, tiptoe in her bed. It was very -early; all the world was asleep. She had crawled up outside the curtain, -and stood against the window, with her two hands outspread upon the -pane, white as a little flower. - -I remember her as she clung one day to the Lad as he was leaving the -house. - -“You do like me a little, don’t you, Jean?” said the Lad. - -“No, no, no,” said the child, clasping her arms tightly about his neck. - -“Ah, this is the baby,” said a caller who was entering. “Isn’t she like -her aunt!” - -The Lad’s eyes twinkled, and he answered the question, which had been -addressed to me. - -“Very much indeed,” he said gravely. - - - - - CHAPTER XXVIII - - -Our literary club, whether successful or not, was interesting. It -embraced hardworking women who were comparatively well read in modern -English literature, and girls who could hardly spell their own names. -The effects of our teaching were varied, ranging all the way from keen -stimulus to mental paralysis. - -The activity of its committee-meetings never waned. Here we continued to -debate on Life and Humanity and other abstract themes. Here the Doctor -and the Altruist disputed with great plainness of speech, but with -underlying good-humour. - -I remember one meeting at which the Doctor began with knitted brows:— - -“What troubles me in all this work with the poor is, that it is -external. We turn and set them an example, and demand that they shall -conform. We impose something on them from without—” - -“But they certainly need uplifting,” said the Altruist, puzzled. - -“No,” asserted the Doctor, “they need simply a chance to live their own -lives decently and to develop themselves. Their only hope lies in their -natural human instincts. We cannot bring round the kingdom of Heaven for -them either by preaching or by making laws. If they could have plenty of -hot water and soap, and could be let alone, they would be better off -than if we try to teach them our ideas.” - -“I do not agree with you,” said the Altruist. “They will instinctively -gain more delicate shades of feeling by coming in contact with us—” - -I think that the Doctor was really angry. - -“For true delicacy of feeling,” she said, “commend me to the very poor. -We ought to go down on our knees to learn of them. The kindness, -forbearance, patience, and the quiet heroism of the poor are almost -beyond our grasp. Look at it! We haven’t their opportunity for -cultivating the virtues,—unselfishness, for instance. They have none of -the modern methods for doing their duty to their neighbours without -letting it cost anything. They know nothing about ‘organizations.’ They -actually think that the only way to help is by kindness. As for us, -humanity has been civilized out of us.” - -“The poor ought to be informed of this at once,” said Janet, “and ought -to be urged to start a society for the cultivation of humane instincts -among the well-to-do.” - -“You do find,” admitted the Altruist, “a certain primitive generosity -among the lower classes. But when you say that they do not need the -refining influences of culture, I do not understand you.” - -“I mean,” said the Doctor, “that we are absurd when we talk of teaching -the lower classes rightness of feeling, for by good rights they ought to -teach us. So far as I know, the moral forces are not the result of -culture. They work up from below. There has never been a great reform -that did not originate with the so-called ‘People.’ All that culture can -do is occasionally to supply directing power, cold brain force, to the -impulse of the masses. Something deeper than thought, in the primary -instincts of the masses, keeps the race sane, healthy, right at heart.” - -“It is strange to hear that,” mused the Altruist, “in the face of the -awful degradation and the crying sin of the slums of this city. Nothing -short of miraculous regeneration, physical, mental, and spiritual, can -save them.” - -“What is it that Whitman says?” asked Janet. Then she quoted softly: - - “‘In this broad earth of ours, - Amid the measureless grossness and the slag, - Enclosed and safe within its central heart, - Nestles the seed perfection.’” - -“That crass optimism,” said the Altruist, sternly, “is materialistic and -superficial. It simply ignores the vileness of a sin-stricken world.” - -This question, as to whether the People are more sane at heart than the -not-People we never settled, for the committee-meeting drew to its -close. - -When we separated, I went into the corridor with the Altruist for a -parting word. - -“I am very sanguine in regard to our club,” he said, stroking his -smooth-shaven chin. “Janet will do fine work if her power can be set -free. I find it hard to be patient with her unreasonable pessimism.” - -“It isn’t quite fair to call it unreasonable, is it,” I murmured, “until -one knows the reason for it? We have not yet discovered that.” - -“As for the Doctor,”—he continued, not noticing my remark, “she is a -forceful woman, but crude. I actually feel that she does not understand -me half the time when I am talking. Of course she springs too directly -from the People to be thoroughly fine. And our difference in belief -would always make full spiritual communion impossible.” - -Then he looked at me, and his eyes lighted up. - -“I have an idea that you comprehend me better than any of the others,” -he said, graciously. - -When I went back to the parlour, I found the Doctor preparing to go. - -“There is one thing that can be said about the Altruist,” she remarked, -fastening her gloves with a snap. “He may know a great deal about God, -but he knows precious little about men and women.” - - - - - CHAPTER XXIX - - -We found the Anarchist at his own fireside, playing with a kitten. Two -children stood at his knee, and he was telling them stories, while the -kitten made dashes at his long gray beard. - -He lived in one of the workmen’s houses that have lately sprung up on -the outskirts of the city. They are two-story houses, made of brick, -with narrow windows and narrow stone doorsteps. Standing, row after row -in uniform regularity, they look like blocks made for some queer game -which nobody ever plays. - -The Anarchist reached out both hands to me with a cordial smile. He was -doubly cordial when I introduced the Tailoress and told him why I had -come. - -That was right, he said, as he seated us in great wooden rocking-chairs. -We were starting a movement in the right direction. Organization alone -could protect women against atrociously low wages and against long hours -of work. They were now absolutely at the mercy of their employers. - -“There ain’t no animal,” said the Anarchist, raising his arm in a -sweeping gesture, “that gets so little wage in proportion to its work as -half the women in this city. And that’s because they don’t organize. -They ain’t got the fraternity spirit. They’re comin’ on, but in one -respect the men’s ahead. The Brotherhood of Man is fur outstrippin’ the -Sisterhood of Women! - -“But draw up by the fire and warm ye,” he added, dropping the tone of a -demagogue for a natural voice. “It’s a right cold day out-doors.” - -The Anarchist’s large, patriarchal figure looked out of place in this -tiny sitting-room. His gray age emphasized the newness of his -surroundings. He should have for a background, I thought, the great elms -and weather-beaten porches of an ancestral farmhouse, instead of the -gaudy wall-paper and cheap, stained wood-work of this roughly finished -room. - -My companion did not look at the apartment. Her gaze was fastened on the -Anarchist, and a look, now of terror, now of kindling enthusiasm, -dilated her eyes. - -The difficulty, the Anarchist repeated, was with the women themselves. -They would not band together to demand their rights, because they were -afraid. They did not want to do anything “unladylike.” It seemed to me -that under the flowery and confused style, there was much sound sense in -his remarks. - -“Now if you,” he said, rising and striding up and down the room, with -his long cretonne dressing-gown flapping about his slippered heels, “if -you could influence any shop of ill-paid girls to form a union for -mutual protection of each other, and to go out on a strike, for their -lawful rights, which are theirs, you would be opening the eyes of the -captive and letting the maimed and halt and blind go free!” - -I do not know whether the Tailoress liked the rhetoric, but the idea had -taken possession of her. Her face was illumined by a new inspiration. -She looked, with her high cheek bones and her deep-set eyes, like an -ancient Sybil about to deliver a solemn message. - -The Anarchist seated himself again in his great rocking-chair, and one -of the children—a curly-headed boy of four—crept to his knee, and -cuddled down on his shoulder. - -“More,” coaxed the boy, “more Jack and the Bean-stalk.” - -The Anarchist looked up at us with smiling pride. - -“Is this a grandchild?” I asked. - -“No, no; he belongs to one of my neighbours. The two of ’em come over to -play with me since I give up work. I had to do it. What with organizin’ -and the conferences and the committee-meetings, I couldn’t get time for -no work.” - -I did not mean to look inquiringly at my host, but perhaps I did, for he -continued:— - -“The organization helps us considerable, and my wife, she sews. We -manage to get along.” - -I fancied that the Anarchist’s wife had laid aside her sewing and was -getting supper, for she was moving up and down in the kitchen. I -wondered if she were tired. - -The Tailoress was rapt and silent, with a Jeanne D’Arc look upon her -face. She was too much absorbed to hear the friendly remarks that the -Anarchist was making. - -“I’m glad you come to me,” he said. “I’ll do all I can to help on your -enterprise. There’s nothin’ in the world I wouldn’t do for a woman.” - -To check the thoughts that the busy footsteps in the kitchen suggested, -I asked the Anarchist a question. - -“Isn’t the idea of combining for any purpose contrary to your -principles? I thought that the first article in your political creed was -that each man should stand alone.” - -“E-ventually,” answered the Anarchist, with deliberation. “That’s the -eyedeal. This is only a perliminary step. We’ve got to combine first to -break the bands of unlawful power. It’s jest the same thing I said the -other night at the banquet. I reckon I scairt ye a little then?” he -queried, with a broad smile. “I don’t know but what I ought to have said -less, and yet I don’t know as I had. Those are only my temporary -sentiments.” - -“Yes?” I said, suggestively. - -“I’m a man of peace,” said the Anarchist, slowly. “A man of peace. I -want to see the day when we all stand side by side, free and equal, and -no man the minion of any other. That’s anarchy, that is. There won’t be -no injestice then, for there won’t be no gover’ment to meddle and mess -things up. We’ll all work separate and harmonious, and every man will -know that his interests and the interests of his neighbour are -eyedentical. - -“But I tell you,” he cried, starting up suddenly, and then subsiding for -the sake of the child nestled on his arm, “we’ve got to fight to bring -about this peace! The gover’ment’s on our shoulders, and it’s got to be -got off. That’s somethin’ we can’t do without co-operation, and we’ll -hev to fight together. - -“And it’s comin’,” he added solemnly. “The crisis is comin’. It won’t be -long before the worm will turn. Soon you’ll see the poor worms of the -dust ridin’ triumphant on the whirlwinds of war!” - - - - - CHAPTER XXX - - -We had a bit of good news to discuss over our tea. - -A lectureship had been offered to the Lad by a great Canadian -university. The opportunity was unusual for a man so young, and we were -all jubilant. A very human interest in his success had survived our -exhaustive analysis of his temperament. We talked much of his future. - -A week went by. Then the Lad read me a letter that gave me bitter -disappointment. The honour was lost, and that through the Lad’s own -action. - -He had written, before accepting, that he was not an orthodox churchman. -The authorities had replied that he could not then instruct their youth. - -“That boy has a great deal more religion than he thinks he has,” the -Doctor grumbled. “I should like to know where the university will get a -stronger influence for good.” - -But the Altruist shook his head. “His character has a certain nobility,” -he said, “but he lacks the supreme touch of definite belief. The -loftiest souls are sure. But I think the university wrong in confusing -spiritual instinct with intellectual power.” - -The Altruist was curiously radical in some of his views. - -Even I gave the Lad only half-hearted approval. He had but his brains -and his forth-coming book to win his way for him, and I could not help -wondering if the confession had been necessary. - -Janet was the only one of us who thoroughly liked the action. - -“He could not have done anything else, being the man he is,” she said -proudly. “He is the most delicately honest human being I have ever -known.” - -Gradually, as we went on talking, we decided that the step was worthy of -our admiration. It was characteristic of a nature, we said, whose chief -charm was a peculiar directness, mental and moral. In this lay the Lad’s -great strength. - -The Lad lost much in this transaction, but he gained more. It was a bold -stroke in the battle of love. Janet was warm in her praise, and the -Lad’s face began to wear a half-triumphant smile, most unbecoming in one -whose hope of advancement had been lost. - -It was then that the Altruist and I broke down another wall of reserve, -and grew confidential over the unfinished love-story. The confession of -this shames me. Hitherto we had kept it sacred from discussion. I was -surprised to find that the Altruist was as eager as I for its happy -completion. In our spare moments we made many plans for “the children,” -as we called them. The Altruist and I were beginning to feel old. - -Often the Altruist, in a musing vein, interpreted to me the spiritual -significance of the simple romance. - -“It is said that we walk blindly in this world, and cannot tell what the -events of life mean. But see the way in which Janet’s nature changes -under this influence! Can we doubt that her past unhappiness was sent to -make her future happiness deeper? Ah, we do see and share the thoughts -of God!” - -I looked at the Altruist dubiously. Sometimes I thought he understood -God’s plans too well. Then I reflected, and decided that he was right. -In the shaping of Janet’s life I was confident that I too could read the -design of the Almighty. - - - - - CHAPTER XXXI - - “At parting—Andres—said to Don Quixote, ‘For the love of God, Signor - Knight-errant, if ever you meet me again, though you see me beaten to - pieces, do not come with your help, but leave me to my fate, which - cannot be so bad but that it will be made worse by your - worship.’”—CERVANTES. - - -The Tailoress learned her lesson well. She listened to the Anarchist -until she was convinced that the hard conditions of her class were due, -not as she had always thought, to the will of God, but to the -selfishness of man, and that it was her duty to lead her fellow-workers -in rebellion. - -She was shrinking, timid, sensitive, but she nerved herself to her task. - -She began by forming a union in her own shop. It spread rapidly, soon -including most of the vest-makers in the city. The few who had good -wages joined for the sake of the many who had not. - -The Tailoress did the work of organization admirably, and developed -powers of generalship of which no one had suspected her. Only a little -while after the formation of the union the time for action came. The -monetary depression, which had been causing unusual distress among the -poor, affected trade so seriously that the wages of garment-makers were -cut down everywhere throughout the city. The vest-makers suffered with -the rest. - -The Tailoress acted as spokeswoman in the committee appointed by her -union to wait on the contractors for this kind of work. To each she -stated her case of grievances admirably, but no one of them gave her -assurance of redress. - -Then she led the vest-makers triumphantly out on a strike. - -I have not the heart to give the details of the fight that followed. It -was a case where the employers won a speedy victory, because of the ease -with which this work can be secured. In a few days many of the -contractors had filled their shops with new employés, and the work was -going on as usual, while the Tailoress and her followers were adrift. -Nothing had been ripe for the revolt except the enthusiasm of the -rebels. - -I had been sorely puzzled by the problem. The cause I felt was just, but -I found it difficult to face the idea of the misery that failure would -bring. I was hardly heroic enough to agree with the Altruist and the -Anarchist that the defeated strikers would be sufficiently rewarded by -the martyr’s consolation of suffering gloriously for their faith. -Possibly this was because I was acquainted with some of them. - -The battle was lost, and the Tailoress was broken-hearted. Her Jeanne -D’Arc courage left her. In her consciousness of the wretchedness she had -caused, she forgot that her impulse had been noble. She shrank from the -prophetess into a nervous, hysterical woman. - -We tried every method of consolation. The practical came first, and we -laboured incessantly, seeking employment for the vest-makers thrown out -of work. Two shops, after slight intercession, took back their employés, -in spite of the prejudice roused by the union. Many of the women were -successful in securing new work of a lower grade. - -The Altruist, I discovered in an indirect way, sacrificed a large part -of his private income in providing for the many who could find no -employment. The excitement of the occasion afforded him a kind of -painful happiness. The war of liberation had begun. He gave a lecture in -his auditorium on “The Defeat that is Success.” - -“I am really beginning to sway these young working-men,” he confided to -me exultantly afterward. “The labour-movement will lose its chief danger -if men who occupy neutral ground between the two parties in the struggle -can act as mediators. It is full of noble impulse that often acts -irrationally, and needs judicious guidance. The labourer fails in -presenting his claims in the right way because he cannot think logically -or speak efficiently. I am coming to think that my mission is to -interpret the mind of the working-man.” - -The Doctor, though she breathed out many imprecations against the -strike, helped a score of its stranded victims. - -“Do you think that this kind of protest against injustice is always -wrong?” I asked, rather deprecatingly, one day. - -“Yes, when it is stirred up by outsiders,” she answered with emphasis. -“With the labour-movement itself, in spite of its terrible mistakes, I -feel deep sympathy. In any demand so persistent, so universal, there -must be a certain justice, a certain right.” - -But her next remarks were not so agreeable. - -“I cannot understand how employers fail to see the trend of all this -agitation, and to realize that great concessions must be made to the -working-men. The peace of the country is menaced, yet the question at -issue is left, in times of outbreak to the military, in times of quiet -to professional agitators, a class of vagrants who represent neither -labour nor capital, and understand the position of neither employer nor -employé. The burden of responsibility which the business men of the -country refuse to shoulder is taken up by men like our friends the -Anarchist and the Young Reformer. The greatest danger lies there.” - -I smiled, thinking that possibly many of the agitators were, like the -Anarchist, not so dangerous as they tried to be. - -The news of the relief for her companions in revolt affected the -Tailoress but slightly. She shut herself up in her garret room with her -remorse. We visited her, and attempted consolation, but to no effect. - -At last she softened a little. One day the Altruist came to me with a -grieved look. - -“Will you ask the Doctor to go and talk with the Tailoress?” he said -gently. “I think the Doctor might reach her as none of the rest can. I -seem to have lost all influence over her.” - -I promised to fulfil the request. - -“I do not understand,” said the Altruist wistfully, “why I cannot touch -people at times like this. Before this grief came, the Tailoress hung on -every word I said. I sometimes feel a sense of lack, as if I cannot get -near simple human moods. It is much easier for me to cope with -intellectual difficulties.” - - - - - CHAPTER XXXII - - -“Our elaborate schemes for helping people are making us forget,” said -the Doctor one day, “that the one thing human beings want is human -sympathy.” - -To this I assented readily. - -“In the first place,” she continued, with a thoughtful air, “through all -this machinery of leagues and clubs and organizations we are beginning -to lose our sense of individual responsibility. As soon as we find an -act of charity that ought to be done, we start a society to do it for -us.” - -“But when,” I protested, “has a sense of individual responsibility in -regard to the poor been so strong? Social problems have never been so -closely studied as they are to-day. Look at the seriousness of our young -men and women! Think of Barnet House, and the College Settlement!” - -“Yes, think of them,” said the Doctor. “The only trouble with the -residents at Barnet House is that they have too great a sense of -responsibility about other people’s lives, and too little about their -own. Society has, I presume, as just a claim to a man’s best work as the -poor have to his interest. Those young men do not belong to society at -all, because they do not share its burdens. ‘Two men I honour, and no -third,’—the man who works with his hands, and the man who works at a -necessary profession. But the man who gives up all regular occupation -just out of sheer benevolence I do not understand. - -“And I hope,” the Doctor added grimly, “that these young socialists may -be spared to share the labour of the era they are trying to usher in. -There will be no more of the _dolce-far-niente_ of doing good then, only -pick-axes and spades all round, with maybe an hour off at noon! If -socialism means work by all for all, I fail to see why those who -advocate it should devote themselves to an existence made of a little -study, a little lecturing, and much visiting, for scientific purposes, -of popular amusements.” - -“Do you consider that just?” I demanded. “I do not know any men who work -harder than some of those residents at Barnet House. Whether their -effort is mistaken is not for us to decide.” - -“No, I was not fair,” said the Doctor, penitently, “but I have been -meditating a long time on the relation of the man with a mission to the -public at large. It seems to me that no one ought to throw the burden of -his support on benevolent societies. You can’t take doing good as a -profession: you have got to do good work. We have no right to palm off -an interest in the lives of others as a substitute for living -ourselves.” - -“You have given much criticism, and very telling criticism of our -methods of work,” I remarked in a tone that anger made only the more -polite. “Now won’t you suggest some way in which things ought to be -done?” - -“I haven’t finished my criticism yet,” said the Doctor, undaunted. “I am -finding fault with myself too. In a way we all fail, and to go back to -what I said first, it is largely because of a lack of sympathy. We -forget that this is all-important, and keep thrusting our ideals between -us and human beings. Each one of us has an abstract standard to which -mankind must conform. It is equally fatal when the idea is cleanliness -and when it is godliness. I suppose that it will take a thousand years -for us to learn that we are responsible to humanity and not to notions.” - -My silence did not indicate that I had nothing to say. - -“The trouble with the world is,” the Doctor went on, “that it has -suffered from too much lofty thought. If there had been less of that, -there might have been more lofty action, and closer sympathy between man -and man. We shouldn’t be allowed to try to impress on our fellow-beings -pure, cold abstract notions. The only legitimate way of presenting our -theories to the world is by working them out in our own lives. We -haven’t any right to ideals for other people. I am more and more -convinced that we ought to keep our thoughts to ourselves, and give the -world simply the benefit of our actions.” - -“That is the first constructive suggestion that you have given,” I -muttered. “It is good. I like it.” - -“We are making our problem too hard.” The Doctor was very much in -earnest as she said this. “It is perfectly simple, after all. We must -take care of people ourselves. No organization should be allowed to -relieve us of our share of responsibility. The distress of those who -suffer must remain with every man a standing personal problem. So long -as the poor are with us, and any one of them needs a cup of cold water, -it is for us to give it, and with our own hands.” - -“That idea is very beautiful,” I commented, with hypocritical sweetness. -“Human sympathy is the one thing we all want. If one cultivate it long -enough, it may become so far-reaching as to extend to one’s -fellow-philanthropists, and even to one’s friends!” - -This was unkind, but the Doctor deserved it. - - - - - CHAPTER XXXIII - - “Hope evermore and believe, O man; for e’en as thy thought - So are the things that thou see’st; e’en as thy hope and belief.” - —ARTHUR HUGH CLOUGH. - - -Janet worked out a new theory of life. For a time she had ceased to form -opinions, and I had rejoiced in seeing her ideas driven like dead leaves -before the first healthy emotion of her life. Now she drew herself -together and deluded herself into the belief that she had a new -philosophy. - -“The trouble with us all is,” she remarked sententiously to me one day, -“that we are always trying to convince God of our perfect intellectual -clearness in matters religious, while all the time God, ‘if there be a -God,’ knows perfectly well that we haven’t the means of getting it. He -wants the kind of answer that we can give, not the kind that we cannot -give.” - -“And what is that?” I asked. - -“Action,” she answered, “determination toward good, even when we cannot -understand the whole scheme of things.” - -I watched the girl’s quickly changing face with much admiration and with -some amusement. Once she had mistaken her peculiar moods for speculative -thought; now she was mistaking her thought of the Lad for a system of -philosophy. She had translated her lover’s personality into ethics. - -“We keep asking questions,” she went on, “and thinking that there will -be an answer. I suppose that God wishes us to answer our own questions -in deeds and not in words.” - -I liked her new ideas because they made her happy. Intrinsically they -were better than the old ones. But I fear that I should have liked any -thought of hers that made her face look like that. There was a light in -it that I had never seen before. - -“I think,” she said, looking up at me wistfully, “that all the sickening -sense I had of defeat—defeat before the battle—was because I stood -waiting for a voice from heaven to tell me what the outcome was to be. I -forgot that the voice must speak through my own lips.” - -“Isn’t your new gospel of action very much like the Lad’s?” I -insinuated. - -“I suppose it is,” said Janet, slowly; “and yet, and yet the Lad is a -positivist. He insists that the present world is the limit of all our -knowledge, perhaps of all our action.” - -“And you do not?” - -“I don’t know,” said the girl. “I sometimes wonder if the will to be and -to be good cannot rule in another world as well as in this. Perhaps the -will needs another world to realize the hope of this.” - -“Won’t you explain?” I begged meekly. I sometimes find it difficult to -understand the wisdom of the young. - -“I mean,” she said, “that we speak of God and love and immortality, and -ask if our ideas can be true. But God and love and immortality are not -to be had for the asking. They are true in so far as we make them true.” - -“So you have solved the problem of the Sphinx?” I said. “It is a good -solution; that is, as good as any mere thought about life can be.” - -“I suppose,” continued Janet, “that we are bound to answer back in act -to every question we can ask. We must rise to the level of our loftiest -inquiry. The first suspicion we get of immortality makes us responsible -for it. Henceforth we must win it for ourselves.” - -“O Socrates!” I interrupted, “how did you learn so much in so short a -time?” - -“Don’t stop me,” laughed the girl. “You may never have another chance to -listen to words of optimism from my lips. Listen: if we can even wonder -whether love works back of all the hurt of life, aren’t we bound to act -as if it were true?” - -“You must found a school,” I said. “Let me be your first disciple.” - -“No,” said Janet. “It has all been said a great many times, but I never -understood it before. The only thing that puzzles me is the Lad.” - -“That is simply fair. You puzzle him as well,” I murmured. - -“His renouncement of belief in another world to work in makes him more -eager to do well the work of this one. His denial of a life to be gives -him an added interest in this.” - -I assented, and in doing so felt that I was making a generous admission. -I was usually impatient with the pseudo-scientific thought of my -agnostic friends. - -“But remember that positivism would have a different effect on a nature -less rare,” I added by way of caution. - -“There is something very beautiful in it, something fine and -self-controlled, yet very sad,” said Janet, with a look of tenderness -creeping into her eyes. “He so longs to find the most exquisite -adjustment of this life to its ends, to make it a perfect artistic -whole. And I cannot make him say, with my pet philosopher,” said the -girl, looking up with one of her sweet, sudden smiles, “‘God, love, and -immortality shall be, for I am!’” - - - - - CHAPTER XXXIV - - -I hesitate to tell the story of Polly. She is not fit to enter the -presence of these friends of mine. Moreover, I do not know her, for I -never saw her after her disgrace. I remember her as a chubby, -curly-headed child; I remember her as a girl of twelve. - -But her fate came to me as an awful confirmation of some facts that the -Anarchist had told me about conditions of work in our large city shops. -I had refused to believe them: they were too sensational. I have learned -since that they are sensational enough to be true. - -The day before Easter I was in the office alone, examining reports. The -door opened. Looking up, I saw a feeble old man, who walked unsteadily -as he entered the room. - -“I come to see,” he said solemnly, “if you knowed anything about Polly.” - -“Polly?” I said inquiringly. Then I recognized the wrinkled face before -me, with its fringe of beard, and I stretched out my hand to my guest. -He had been my host for two summers, long ago, on his farm in Vermont. - -“Polly’s gone wrong,” said the old man. - -I saw that grief had settled in every line and wrinkle of his -weather-beaten face. - -He told me the story very simply. Polly had been restless. They had -grown poorer every year upon their rocky farm, and Polly rebelled -against her narrow life. She had come to the city to work in a shop, and -after three years had given up the struggle and had gone away with a man -who did not marry her. - -“I ain’t never been able to understand it,” said her father, looking at -me pleadingly with his pale blue eyes. “It ain’t in the family. I don’t -know how she come by it. I’ve always thought there must be something to -account for it.” - -“There are many things that might account for it,” I answered. “She may -have been deceived, or perhaps she was actually starving, and saw no -other way of escape.” - -But her father shook his head. - -“No, ’twan’t that. She had good pay, a dollar and seventy-five cents a -week at Hempin and Morton’s. She sent considerable money home.” - -I groaned. Less than two dollars a week; a dollar to pay for a room; -poverty crying out in the old home; slow starvation, and the inevitable -end. - -“She could not live on that in the city!” I cried. “She could not keep -body and soul together. Hempin and Morton’s is a great cheap, gaudy -shop. Hempin and Morton’s women clerks are kept on starvation wages, and -are told, yes, are told by members of the firm, when they rebel, that -pretty girls are not expected to live upon their pay.” - -I was quoting the Anarchist. - -“You must forgive her,” I went on. “I am sure she suffered more than we -can tell. I am sure she fought bravely before she gave up.” - -“I ain’t never blamed her much,” he whispered, his cold blue eyes -gleaming with tears. “Her mother was for lettin’ her go. But every year -since it happened I’ve come up to the city for a spell to look for her. -I heard of your place here, and su’mised you might know something about -her.” - -I took the old man to my home. He was too feeble to come with me in my -search. Then I went to the only woman in the city who could find Polly -for me. - -That was Miss Hobbs, the little missionary. She lives in a wretched -court, in the wickedest part of the city, down where the great Jewish -thoroughfare of the East End runs across the Italian and the Portuguese -quarters, on its way to Traffic Street. - -She is alone except for one girl whom she has taken from the streets. -Together they do what the city charities call ‘rescue work.’ Night after -night they search through the dives and dens and opium-joints of the -city for the women who are stranded there. For every one saved from that -life, twenty drift back to it. Yet the rescue work never stops. - -“Polly?” said Miss Hobbs, her homely face lighting up under her -Salvation Army bonnet, “Polly Nemor? That is the name of a beautiful -girl I have been hunting for for weeks. We will look for her everywhere -to-night. You must go with us, for perhaps you can induce her to come -away.” - - - - - CHAPTER XXXV - - -The search for Polly was like going down through the open gates of Hell. - -Miss Hobbs left her fire burning, and her door half-opened. Then we went -out through the gloomy court into the street. - -In the gleam of flickering electric lights, my old feeling of the -unreality of all I saw came back to me. We were in a broad thoroughfare, -where night after night is played the tragedy of a great city’s sin. The -actors passed and re-passed. The scene shifted. We saw the leering faces -of men, and heard the evil laughter of women. The sights and sounds -faded, then came again, but the curtain never fell. Even closed eyelids -could not shut the horror out. - -I shrank back and would have given up the search, but the old man’s face -was always before my eyes, begging me to go on; and the woman at my side -knew no fear. She walked with charmed feet. Ruffians on the street -kicked each other out of the way to let her pass; the carousers in every -dance hall and saloon fell back that she might enter; drunken women rose -when she touched them, and followed her home to the fresh beds that she -had made ready for all who would come. - -Polly was nowhere here. She must have drifted still lower. We went from -the glaring lights down where, under the tracks of an elevated road, the -streets narrowed and darkened and closed in upon us. We were near the -wharves and the bridges. - -Here is cast up a whole city’s refuse. Tides of foul life, subsiding, -leave here on the street, or in dive and den, the sodden-faced women who -have shared the flood of passion in its fury, and must suffer its ebb. -There is nothing lower. There is nothing beyond, except the river, which -runs foul and slimy here along the dirty wharves. - -We found a girl waiting on a street corner, alone. Under the little -shawl tied over her head I saw tears on her cheeks. I held out my hand -to her, and she came with us. In one saloon a pink-eyed, foolish woman -clung to us, and followed of her own will when we came away. - -But we could not find Polly. There was no one on any street, or in any -drinking-den who looked like the woman that my old friend had called his -“little girl.” - -At last, with hope almost given up, we turned toward the Chinese -quarter. - -The odour of incense floating from joss-houses, the fumes from -opium-joints, made us faint and sick. But we went on, searching through -thin-walled, whitewashed houses, and climbing narrow ladders to rooms -that Miss Hobbs, in her work of mercy, had earned the right to enter. - -Again and again, outside closed doors, Miss Hobbs stood calling “Polly! -Polly!” No answer came. We heard the pattering feet of Chinamen, who -swarmed around us like rats; we saw their sneering faces, and heard -their chuckling laughter.... - -At last we came away, discouraged. - -Nearly all night our weary pilgrimage lasted. When, in the early -morning, my companion said that we must give up the search, we found -ourselves down close by the water. It was dark and sullen: the great -bridges overhead looked black and unholy. Even the moonlight seemed -stained with sin. I reflected with bitterness that it was Easter -Eve,—Easter Eve in a world that was only one great, hideous carousal. - -Then, glancing up, I saw the look on Miss Hobbs’s face, and my ears rang -with triumphant music:— - - “Christ ist erstanden! - Freude dem sterblichen, - Den die verderblichen - Schleichenden, erblichen - Mängel umwanden”.... - -We came home in the glimmering dawn, through a city white with Easter -lilies. - - - - - CHAPTER XXXVI - - “Of Paradys ne can not I speken propurly; for I was not there.”—SIR - JOHN MAUNDEVILLE. - - -There came a day that was different from all other days. Its light, I -think, will go shining down through all the days of my life, to the very -end. - -It was early spring. We were walking, Janet and the Lad and I, along the -river, where it winds and curves among meadows, inland from the sea. The -first spring green had rippled over the country, and along the -water-ways, tiny leaves shivered on the silver beeches and the tall -young poplar trees. - -Janet chattered and laughed like a child. “Isn’t it hard to believe,” -she said, shading her radiant face with her hands, “that one can be so -much alive, and that—” - -“That what?” I questioned. - -“That the very air can be made to shine around us in this way,” she -answered softly. - -We were to walk to Sunset Hill, and to climb to its very top. But we -loitered, and the river loitered too. It ran so lazily between its banks -that we could hardly tell which way the current set. - -I do not remember that we talked much. We toiled along in the warm air, -with our wraps growing warm at every step, and we picked the violets and -the wind-flowers near our path. At the foot of the hill my courage -failed. I seated myself on a great flat rock, and announced my intention -to stay there. - -My two young friends remonstrated. They would wait until I was rested, -and would help me all the way. But I could not and would not go, for I -wished to be alone. - -So I sent them off together, up the hill. They had taken off their hats, -and were walking bare-headed. The wind was blowing the Lad’s dark hair -away from his forehead, and was fluttering in the folds of Janet’s gown. - -Looking across the rolling country I rested as I had not rested for -months. There were hints of blossom among the cool, pale greens of grass -and trees. I forgot my winter and my suffering poor, as the earth had -forgotten its past in the glory of another spring. - -All the knowledge of sin and of unholiness that the winter had brought -me was annulled by the picture before me, of Janet and the Lad climbing -bravely up the hill. How young and strong, how happy they were! What -promise and hope lay in love like that! - -For I knew, I know not how, that the crisis had come. I was sure that at -last the unsurmountable obstacle had given way. I shut my eyes to let -the wind blow on my eyelids. I was content. I wondered almost that the -lovers did not envy me, for I shared the lives of both; both sides of -the story were mine. - -Just once I opened my eyes and looked. The pilgrims were standing at the -end of the long green slope, against the pale blue sky. I saw the Lad -take both the girl’s hands in his own, and then I turned my head. I had -no right to watch them, even from outside the gates, beyond the drawn -sword. - -As I waited, I thought of the fitness of the scene. The passion and the -purity of that love were one with the encompassing life of spring. - -I was alone quite a long time, I think. The air grew cooler and more -cool. The low, sweet piping of frogs came to me from the near river and -the far-off pools. I was alone, dreaming my dreams. - -The sunshine grew fainter as the afternoon wore on. It was full of a -spring haze that was woven, half of light, and half of green, caught -from new leaves. Presently I saw that only the tops of the willows and -the young elms were in the sunlight. The day was almost done. - -When the lovers came down from the hill-top, their faces were shining. -We went home silently along the foot-path in the grass on the river -bank. - - - - - CHAPTER XXXVII - - -It was almost summer. - -The sound of much talking had grown fainter in my ears. Between our long -discussions I had found time to stretch out my hands, and to help, in -definite ways, a few of my fellow-beings. The touch of need brought -strength to me, and clearer sight. - -The city no longer looked like a visionary background for a fantastic -play. Janet and the Lad and my poor people had made it real to me. It -was sacred now with human interest. - -I had learned to take refuge from abstract questions in the details of -my work. It was impossible to speculate while entering the record of one -day’s proceedings, or making memoranda for the next. - -But I shrank from the greatness of my task. Each day the cry for help -was louder; each day I knew more fully my powerlessness. Sometimes I -covered my face with my hands and prayed for any one of the old family -ties to shield me from this mass of collective misery. If I could have -again any slightest duty that was all my own! But no; I had gone out to -take care of all the world, and the way was closed behind me. - -I found that I depended more and more upon my friends, caring less, as -time went on, about our differences in opinion. As the Doctor once -remarked, we were all much better than our ideas. Even the Altruist, -though it seemed to me that his zeal expressed itself largely in -mistakes, gave me a kind of inspiration. It was better to blunder than -to do nothing at all. - -The Doctor was a constant stimulus. She walked unswervingly in the path -that she had chosen, gradually softening a little under the influence of -a physician’s life. Her reputation in surgery, I discovered, was making -her name known beyond our city. I was proud of her. - -I never knew all the kindly deeds that she did among the poor. The -record of every one of them is written in her face, behind the -professional mask that refuses to stay on. - -Yes, the Doctor’s friendship was an abiding help to me. And sometimes in -my work a single incident would make me feel that for this alone I would -willingly have spent all my effort. - -As, for instance, when Miss Hobbs appeared one day in the office, her -face red from hurrying, her eyes shining with delight. - -“I’ve got Polly,” she said. “Shall I take her to her father?” - - - - - CHAPTER XXXVIII - - -The Lad’s book was out. After a season of anxious waiting we knew of its -success. The best reviews spoke highly of its creative thought, and -praised the mental keenness and the logic of its author. - -Rainforth wrote a letter warm with enthusiasm. He pronounced himself and -his arguments annihilated, and declared that nothing in his life had -given him more pleasure than the process of being ground to powder by -his friend. - -Last of all came a few lines from a famous English scientist. The Lad -read them and flushed hot with delight. - -“I declare! This makes me feel like a great man,” he said. - -Then he announced that he was going home. - -“I haven’t set eyes on my old father for over a year. And nobody in the -world will be so pleased as he to know that this thing has gone through -successfully.” - -He went away a few days later. The Butterfly Hunter waited with me in -the parlour to say good-bye to the Lad; he was making a parting call on -Janet. - -“I must be away in a few days too,” said the Butterfly Hunter. - -“Is it a new trip?” I asked. - -“Yes,” he answered cheerfully. “My last butterfly died yesterday. The -experiment was a failure. I am going to the East for a new collection.” - -Through the window I could see the Man of the World, who was standing on -the street corner, watching the passers-by. His new suit looked very -fresh. The trousers were carefully creased, and turned up twice at the -bottom. The Man of the World was probably waiting, though he would not -have admitted it, for a last word with the Lad. The air of the summer -afternoon made him more languid than ever. It was a pathetic little -figure. - -“He will never do any genuine living,” I thought, “but will always be a -spectator, bored and sad.” - -The Lad came back with his quick, running step. He was excited. The hair -above his broad, white forehead was in disorder as he said good-bye; his -eyes were radiant with pure joy. - -“I shall be here again in a week,” he said, as he grasped his bag, “and -ready for the fray once more.” - -I watched him as he went down the street. Once he looked back, lifted -his hat, then disappeared. - -The keenness of my pride in the Lad almost hurt me. If his mother could -only know him now! - -Through the growing dimness of my eyes I saw him in fancy after he was -gone. In his eager movement he resembled the figures on Greek reliefs of -youths speeding for a prize, and always after in my thought I likened -him to those immortal runners and winners of the race. - - - - - CHAPTER XXXIX - - “All that was death - Grows life, grows love, - Grows love!” - - -Janet and I came in the next evening out of the warm twilight, and found -baby Jean waiting for us with her father and mother in the library. - -Janet had spoken again of the Lad’s love for her. We had been walking in -the deep green shadows of the trees in the park. - -“I cannot understand it,” she said, with a little gasp that was half a -sob. “The very air seems warm with the breath of the people who love me. -The Lad has made the whole world care. Even the beggars and the children -on the street are fond of me.” - -We sat in the library for a few minutes, talking of old things and new. -As I rose to go, a boy came to the house, bringing a telegram. It said -that the Lad had been killed in an accident. - -A silence like the hush of eternity fell upon the room. No one dared -look at Janet’s face. - -Presently Jean pattered across the room and picked up the telegram, -which had fallen from hands powerless to hold it. She looked at it -soberly for a minute. Then with a ripple of laughter she crumpled it up -in her hands. She was very fond of all things yellow. - - - - - CHAPTER XL - - -I went home, and in the quiet of my own room I said that I would not let -this thing be true. - -I, who had been walking with the Altruist on heights where the hidden -meanings of the world lay clear to view, fell into a horror of great -darkness. One utterly inexplicable event made all life incoherent. - -The Lad was dead. He had perished in an accident that was the result of -his own reckless daring. For the mere physical delight of battling with -danger he had rushed to his destruction. A life guided steadily toward -great issues had ended in a swift caprice. - -Now for the first time I knew what Janet had meant when she said that -there is no God, but only a mocking will that makes sport of our hope -and our endeavour. - -Infinite irony could find no expression more cruel, I thought, as I -walked up and down my long floor, than in making us the instruments of -our own undoing, in causing us to tear down ourselves the work of our -own hands. - -All that the Lad had thought of life was contradicted by his death. It -could be perfect in itself, he had said so often. Its completeness lay -in finished work. And now— - -I turned, sick at heart, from this place so full of tragedy and of -baffling puzzles, and resolved to go back to the lanes and garden-plots -of my native village. There in peace and loneliness I would try to -forget all that I had known here, even this little story. - -But oh, the pity of it! The Lad had walked with so firm a tread. I had -thought of him as one real, moving among the shows of things, where we -groped our way, uncertain of the path. - -All through the winter, against the dark background of my new knowledge -of evil, I had seen him, strong in body and alert in mind, with a heart -like the heart of a little child. Often, in thinking of him, I had said: -“God now and then sends a man into the world who stands as a promise to -the race.” - -I thought of Janet, and I cried out to know the meaning of the world’s -great waste of human pain. - -The Altruist explained it all to me the next day. - -He came to ask me to visit Janet. I had not dared to go. He was -surprised and grieved by my mood. - -“The meaning of this sorrow is very clear,” he said gently, with the old -ecstatic gleam in his eyes. - -“You explained everything very differently a few weeks ago,” I said -rebelliously, when he had finished. “You told me then, and I believed -you, that God was leading that girl out of her mental tangles into -simple human happiness.” - -“Did I?” said the Altruist, dreamily. “It all looks different to me -now.” - -“I can see that it does,” I retorted in anger. - -“The shock will carry Janet out of her old, cheap pessimism into -conviction and into action of some kind. She will merge her individual -experience in the general life. She will lose herself in great ideas. -Now, at the crisis of so many great questions, she will find her work. I -can see a career for her infinitely more lofty than she could have had -if this sad event had not occurred.” - -Here the Doctor entered, interrupting the words of prophecy. - - - - - CHAPTER XLI - - -I was sorry that the Doctor had arrived in time to catch the Altruist’s -last remarks. She waited until he was gone, then sank wearily into a -chair. - -“How the angels in heaven must smile at that man’s assurance,” she -exclaimed. “I wish, I wish he could tell the difference between his -voice and the voice of God!” - -I was in no mood to defend the Altruist, and so said nothing. - -“If the Altruist knows what all this trouble means, he knows a great -deal more than I do,” she went on grimly. “I cannot see, I cannot see -how the Lad could so forget all the people who cared for him.” - -The sentence ended in a half sob that almost frightened me. It had never -occurred to me that the Doctor could shed tears. - -“Have you seen Janet?” I asked, attempting to change the subject. I -succeeded only in turning the Doctor’s wrath back upon the Altruist. - -“Yes,” she said, “I have seen Janet, and I wish the Altruist were in -Timbuctoo! He has been at the house and has utterly unnerved her.” - -“How?” I asked. - -“It is hard to believe, even of the Altruist. How do you suppose he -greeted that hurt child? ‘Janet,’ he said, ‘I have always had an -intuition that you were not meant for mere happiness.’” - -I groaned. “He doesn’t mean to be cruel,” I said, “but he has not the -simple instinct—” - -“A few of the simpler human instincts are really necessary,” interrupted -the Doctor, “in any attempt to help human beings. If the Altruist had -more feeling and less transcendentalism, it would be better.” - -“It isn’t a week,” I responded, “since he had an intuition of a directly -opposite kind. And then I was trying to help him,” I confessed, for a -sudden sense of guilt overcame me as I met the Doctor’s clear eyes, “in -his attempt to explain to God what He means.” - -The fierce expression in her face was changing into a look of -tenderness. - -“Go to see the child,” she said huskily, “to-morrow, not to-day. She -will be quieter then.” - -But I waited two long days. The hours were tedious and dull and heavy, -full of cloud and rain. No birds were singing in the sunless air, and -the grass had forgotten to grow. It seemed to me that in the ending of a -life dear to me, all life had paused. - - - - - CHAPTER XLII - - “For the agony of the world’s struggle is the very life of God. Were - He mere spectator, perhaps He too would call life cruel. But in the - unity of our lives with His, our joy is His joy; our pain is His.” - - -I do not know what incoherent words I was saying. Janet stopped me. - -“No, don’t,” she said. “I do not feel like that. You need not be sorry -for me.” - -Her voice was very quiet, and her face was firm with the exalted, -unnatural self-control of extreme grief. - -“Do you know?” she said, “the sorrow almost rests me. I have had so much -of the bitter and meaningless pain. Perhaps my quarrel with life is -over.” - -“But this is so inexplicable,” I cried, taking the girl’s hands in mine -and forgetting that I was there to comfort her. - -“It doesn’t need to be explained, because it hurts, and the hurt is -life, and life is good. Oh, I tell you,” she added proudly, drawing her -hands away and going over to seat herself by the window; “it is only -when you are standing outside, looking at life, talking about it and -thinking about it, that you can say it is cruel. When you are really -living, the very hurt is glorious.” - -I sat and watched the tearless face. The girl had been carried beyond -me, out into the deeps of life where my words of help could not reach -her. - -“I have always been trying to reason out the meaning of things,” she -said, turning quickly toward me, “and nobody even told me that it is -only what cannot be said that makes life worth while.” - -“People have tried to, Janet,” I said softly, “but that is one of the -things that cannot be told.” - -“There isn’t any kind of pain,” she said slowly, “that can equal the joy -of simple human love.” - -I forgot my rebellion of the night before. I bowed my head in the -presence of this power for whose better apprehending we covet the very -agony and pain of life. We follow swiftly to let even its shadow fall -upon us, for if ‘in its face is light, in its shadow there is healing -too.’ - -The sunshine falling through the window turned Janet’s hair into a halo -of waving strands. - -“Child,” I whispered, “it is true. It is good just to live. But remember -also that the old faith may be true. God may be, and may be love.” - -“I don’t know,” said the girl, looking up. “I haven’t any opinions.” - -Then a mist came over her eyes, for even her new comfort was swept away -by the waves of her sorrow; and she bowed her head upon her hands with -the cry that has ever been the one irrefutable witness to His presence: -“O my God!” - - - - - CHAPTER XLIII - - -We are all busy still, and yet the world is not saved. - -The Anarchist is perfecting the process that shall bring his millennium -to be, and the young Socialists in Barnet House are working out the -details of their new economic order. The Altruist still translates the -infinite into finite terms; the Young Reformer is on the platform; I -toil daily in the self-same Cause, but the world is not saved. - -Many times since we closed ranks and marched onward over the Lad’s grave -I have paused, disheartened. Full assurance has not been granted me, and -it is my lot in doing battle to strike often in the dark. Yet I have -moments when I know that the strife is not in vain. In these I wonder -why we are so troubled about our duty to our fellow-man, and about our -knowledge of God. The one command in regard to our neighbour is not -obscure. And our foreboding lest our faith in God shall escape us seems -futile, inasmuch as we cannot escape from our faith. - - - THE END - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - THE IRIS SERIES - - OF ILLUSTRATED COPYRIGHT NOVELS. - - TRYPHENA IN LOVE. - - BY - - WALTER RAYMOND, - - AUTHOR OF “LOVE AND QUIET LIFE,” Etc. - - ILLUSTRATED BY - - J. WALTER WEST. - - 16mo. Artistic Cloth Binding. 75 cents. - - -“Fresh and quaint and wholesome as the scent of the homely -flowers.”—_London Daily News._ - -“Full of freshness and life, of vivid touches of local color and -picturesque details, while written with tenderness, sympathy, and -artistic discernment.” - -“Nothing more daintily charming in style, more tenderly pathetic in -matter, or more exquisitely balanced as a story, has come to our table -for a long time than ‘Tryphena in Love.’ It is a simple tale of humble -life in the Somerset district of England.”—_Boston Traveler._ - -“A sweet little English tale, idyllic in subject and manner. It is -simply the story of an invalid boy who lies in the old manor house, in -‘the room where the king hid,’ and lives in a world of romance, and of -the buxom little cousin who loves and serves him. The picture is -delicately painted, yet firmly and clearly, and with a poetic atmosphere -that is very charming.”—_Philadelphia Times._ - -“No gentler or sweeter tale has appeared in years than Walter Raymond’s -‘Tryphena in Love.’” - -“A delicious, dreamy love story, told for the love of telling.”—_Chicago -Times-Herald._ - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - FURTHER ISSUES IN THE IRIS SERIES - - WILL BE - - - A LOST ENDEAVOUR. - - BY - - GUY BOOTHBY, - - AUTHOR OF “A BID FOR FORTUNE.” - - ILLUSTRATED BY - - STANLEY L. WOOD. - - 16mo. Linen. 75 cents. - - * * * * * - - - MAUREEN’S FAIRING. - - BY - - JANE BARLOW, - - AUTHOR OF “IRISH IDYLLS,” “THE END OF ELFINTOWN,” Etc. - - Illustrated. 16mo. Linen. 75 cents. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - THE WINGS OF ICARUS. - - BEING THE LIFE OF ONE EMILIA FLETCHER, AS REVEALED BY HERSELF IN - - I. Thirty-live Letters written to Constance Norris between July 16, - 188–, and March 26 of the following year. - - II. A Fragmentary Journal. - - III. A Postscript. - - BY - - LAURENCE ALMA TADEMA. - - 18mo. Buckram, gilt top. $1.25. - - -“It is a study of the inner workings of the human heart, and if the -motives of a soul were ever laid bare, it has been done in ‘The Wings of -Icarus.’... A good story, told in an intensely natural and interesting -manner.”—_Providence News._ - -“In ‘The Wings of Icarus,’ Laurence Alma Tadema has given us a book -which, for its literary excellence and for its exquisite pen coloring -and finish in every detail, is as artistic a piece of work as ever her -distinguished father has produced with his brush.”—_Boston Home -Journal._ - -“It is at once delicate and forcible, and holds in its story a depth of -passion whose expression is yet kept within the limits of a true -refinement.”—_Philadelphia Evening Bulletin._ - -“It is exquisite in style, spontaneous and well-sustained in movement.” - -“It is a story of Italian coloring delicately suggestive, artistic -rather than strong, dreamy rather than aggressive.”—_Chicago Evening -Post._ - - - UNIFORM WITH “THE WINGS OF ICARUS.” - - - MAD SIR UCHTRED OF THE HILLS. - - BY - - S. R. CROCKETT, - - AUTHOR OF “THE RAIDERS,” “THE STICKIT MINISTER,” ETC., ETC. - - 16mo. Buckram. $1.25. - -“Mr. Crockett is surely the poet-laureate of Galloway. The scene of his -latest tale (‘Mad Sir Uchtred’) is laid among the hills with which we -became familiar in ‘The Raiders.’ It is a brief tale, not a novel, and -it can be read through in an hour; indeed, if one begins it, one must -read it through, so compelling is the charm of it. The Lady of Garthland -makes a gracious and pathetic figure, and the wild and terrible Uchtred, -the wrong done him, the vengeance which he did not take,—all these -things are narrated in a style of exquisite clearness and beauty. Mr. -Crockett need not fear comparison with any of the young Scotsmen who are -giving to English literature, just now, so much that is fresh, and -wholesome, and powerful.”—_Boston Courier._ - - - THE SILVER CHRIST, - AND - A LEMON TREE. - - BY OUIDA, - - AUTHOR OF “UNDER TWO FLAGS,” “TWO LITTLE WOODEN SHOES,” ETC., ETC. - - 16mo. Buckram. $1.25. - -“Two charming stories by ‘Ouida’ are included in a dainty little volume -(‘The Silver Christ’; ‘A Lemon Tree’). Comparatively few persons—so at -least it seems to us—appreciate this writer at her true value. We have -not the highest opinion of much of her work; it is meretricious and even -vulgar. But at her best she is capable of truly exquisite writing, and -it is in shorter tales, dealing with an episode—brief studies of -character—that she is at her best.”—_Boston Courier._ - -“Is pathetic, simple, and beautifully told, and those who have classed -Ouida among the forbidden fruits of literature, should read it to -understand what an artist with the pen she is.”—_Boston Times._ - - MACMILLAN & CO., - 66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES - - - 1. Silently corrected obvious typographical errors and variations in - spelling. - 2. 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} - p,h1,h2,h3 { clear: both; } - .chapter { clear: both; page-break-before: always; } - .ol_1 li {font-size: .9em; } - .x-ebookmaker .ol_1 li {padding-left: 1em; text-indent: 0em; } - body {font-family: Georgia, serif; text-align: justify; } - table {font-size: .9em; padding: 1.5em .5em 1em; page-break-inside: avoid; - clear: both; } - div.titlepage {text-align: center; page-break-before: always; - page-break-after: always; } - div.titlepage p {text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; font-weight: bold; - line-height: 1.5; margin-top: 3em; } - .ph1 { text-indent: 0em; font-weight: bold; font-size: xx-large; - margin: .67em auto; page-break-before: always; } - .ph2 { text-indent: 0em; font-weight: bold; font-size: x-large; margin: .75em auto; - page-break-before: always; } - .x-ebookmaker p.dropcap:first-letter { float: left; } - /* ]]> */ </style> - </head> - <body> -<p style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of An Experiment in Altruism, by Elizabeth Hastings</p> -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. 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 <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: An Experiment in Altruism</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Elizabeth Hastings</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: February 18, 2022 [eBook #67432]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Richard Tonsing and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AN EXPERIMENT IN ALTRUISM ***</div> - -<div class='tnotes covernote'> - -<p class='c000'><strong>Transcriber’s Note:</strong></p> - -<p class='c000'>The cover image was created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain.</p> - -</div> - -<div class='chapter ph1'> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c001'> - <div>AN EXPERIMENT IN ALTRUISM</div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_trademark.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='titlepage'> - -<div> - <h1 class='c002'>AN EXPERIMENT IN ALTRUISM</h1> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c003'> - <div>BY</div> - <div class='c004'><span class='xlarge'>ELIZABETH HASTINGS</span></div> - <div class='c004'>“The world, which took but six days to make, is like to take six thousand to make out.”—<span class='sc'>Sir Thomas Browne.</span></div> - <div class='c003'>New York</div> - <div><span class='large'>MACMILLAN AND CO.</span></div> - <div>AND LONDON</div> - <div>1895</div> - <div class='c004'><em>All rights reserved</em></div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c001'> - <div><span class='small'><span class='sc'>Copyright, 1895,</span></span></div> - <div><span class='small'><span class='sc'>By</span> MACMILLAN AND CO.</span></div> - <div class='c003'><span class='small'>Norwood Press:</span></div> - <div><span class='small'>J. S. Cushing & Co.—Berwick & Smith.</span></div> - <div><span class='small'>Norwood, Mass., U.S.A.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_v'>v</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CONTENTS</h2> -</div> - -<table class='table0'> - <tr> - <th class='c006'><span class='small'>CHAPTER</span></th> - <th class='c007'> </th> - <th class='c008'><span class='small'>PAGE</span></th> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>I.</td> - <td class='c007'>The Doctor, Janet, and I converse</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_1'>1</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>II.</td> - <td class='c007'>I explain why I am here</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_6'>6</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>III.</td> - <td class='c007'>I visit the Altruist</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_9'>9</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>IV.</td> - <td class='c007'>I meet the Man of the World</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_17'>17</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>V.</td> - <td class='c007'>I set forth the general situation</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_21'>21</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>VI.</td> - <td class='c007'>I become acquainted with the Lad</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_24'>24</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>VII.</td> - <td class='c007'>Janet and I converse about life and philanthropy</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_27'>27</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>VIII.</td> - <td class='c007'>The Lad meets Baby Jean</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_33'>33</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>IX.</td> - <td class='c007'>I visit Barnet House</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_37'>37</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>X.</td> - <td class='c007'>I visit the Woman’s Settlement</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_46'>46</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>XI.</td> - <td class='c007'>I describe the Butterfly Hunter</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_51'>51</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>XII.</td> - <td class='c007'>The Lad and I discuss religious matters</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_55'>55</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>XIII.</td> - <td class='c007'>The Doctor describes a case</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_62'>62</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>XIV.</td> - <td class='c007'>We act as committee</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_68'>68</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>XV.</td> - <td class='c007'>I rouse the sympathy of the Man of the World</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_74'>74</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>XVI.</td> - <td class='c007'>Janet and the Lad sit by the window</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_78'>78</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>XVII.</td> - <td class='c007'>I hear the Altruist lecture on Job</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_82'>82</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>XVIII.</td> - <td class='c007'>Another baby enters the world</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_88'>88</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>XIX.</td> - <td class='c007'>I describe our conferences and board-meetings</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_93'>93</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'><span class='pageno' id='Page_vi'>vi</span>XX.</td> - <td class='c007'>Janet and the Lad become better acquainted</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_103'>103</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>XXI.</td> - <td class='c007'>I almost decide to stop thinking</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_108'>108</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>XXII.</td> - <td class='c007'>The Young Reformer calls</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_111'>111</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>XXIII.</td> - <td class='c007'>I meet the People</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_117'>117</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>XXIV.</td> - <td class='c007'>I find everybody unhappy</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_126'>126</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>XXV.</td> - <td class='c007'>I introduce the Tailoress</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_131'>131</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>XXVI.</td> - <td class='c007'>I describe our afternoon teas</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_138'>138</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>XXVII.</td> - <td class='c007'>Baby Jean philosophizes</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_144'>144</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>XXVIII.</td> - <td class='c007'>We again act as committee</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_147'>147</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>XXIX.</td> - <td class='c007'>The Tailoress and I visit the Anarchist</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_153'>153</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>XXX.</td> - <td class='c007'>The Lad loses a lectureship</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_160'>160</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>XXXI.</td> - <td class='c007'>The Tailoress leads a strike</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_164'>164</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>XXXII.</td> - <td class='c007'>The Doctor sets forth her views</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_171'>171</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>XXXIII.</td> - <td class='c007'>Janet expounds her new philosophy</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_177'>177</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>XXXIV.</td> - <td class='c007'>I hear Polly’s story</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_183'>183</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>XXXV.</td> - <td class='c007'>I search for Polly</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_188'>188</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>XXXVI.</td> - <td class='c007'>The crisis comes</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_192'>192</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>XXXVII.</td> - <td class='c007'>I again explain the general situation</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_196'>196</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>XXXVIII.</td> - <td class='c007'>I say good-bye to the Lad</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_199'>199</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>XXXIX.</td> - <td class='c007'>Baby Jean plays with the telegram</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_202'>202</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>XL.</td> - <td class='c007'>I rebel against God and the Altruist</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_204'>204</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>XLI.</td> - <td class='c007'>I converse with the Doctor</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_208'>208</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>XLII.</td> - <td class='c007'>I find that Janet has no philosophy</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_211'>211</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c006'>XLIII.</td> - <td class='c007'>I dry my pen, and again take up my Cause</td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_214'>214</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<div class='chapter ph1'> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c001'> - <div>AN EXPERIMENT IN ALTRUISM</div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<div> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_1'>1</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER I</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>“When Tantalus,” said Janet, “was -standing in the water that he could not -reach, and was dying of thirst, a Philosopher -came by. ‘Don’t you understand,’ -said the Philosopher, ‘that what you want -is <em>water</em>?’”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“What do you mean by that?” I asked, -turning to look at the girl’s face. Her -colour was shifting quickly in the cool -October air.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I mean,” she answered, with her lips -curling into her wickedest smile, “that I -have been talking with my cousin Paul. -He explained, with an air of giving information, -that what I need is faith.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Your cousin Paul,” growled the Doctor, -“has a most remarkable way of discovering -<span class='pageno' id='Page_2'>2</span>what the rest of us have always -known.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Did you always know that?” asked the -girl. “I had an idea that you thought I -needed a tonic.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“There’s the ‘brotherhood of man,’” -the Doctor went on. “Your cousin Paul -thinks that he has discovered or invented -the ‘brotherhood of man.’”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Don’t you mean,” I suggested, “that -he discovers and acts upon what the rest -of us have always known without letting it -make any particular difference?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I cannot see that he is trying any -harder than the rest of us to find out how -to treat his neighbour,” said the Doctor. -“Living in the slums is as comfortable -nowadays as living anywhere else. At -least, it is at Barnet House. That has -as good appointments as any house in the -city.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Good plumbing isn’t quite everything,” -I ventured to say.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Those university men who go to live -with the poor are too supercilious,” said -<span class='pageno' id='Page_3'>3</span>the Doctor. “They patronize humanity. -And the ‘cousin Paul’ doesn’t stop there. -He patronizes the Creator, too. He is -constantly reminding the Creator that He -is being recognized by one of the first -families.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Janet laughed. “You are clever,” she -said, “but you aren’t polite. Paul does -bend over a little in his efforts to help. -But his mother’s son could hardly avoid -that. Think of the family!”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“The whole thing is artificial,” continued -the Doctor. “Your cousin goes -to live in a tenement, tries to become -intimate with its inhabitants, and carries -up his own coal. He could never realize -that it would be just as lofty a course of -action to carry coal in his own house in -Endicott Square, and to become intimate -with his barber!”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“That would not be picturesque,” said -Janet.</p> - -<p class='c010'>There was a pause.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You say he patronizes the Creator,” -mused Janet. “Wouldn’t it be better to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_4'>4</span>say that he interprets God and patronizes -man? I think that I dislike the former -more than the latter. He is so sure of -his beliefs. And he is so puzzled to know -how any one can doubt what he believes.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>The Doctor changed the subject with, -“What you want is some work to do.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>The girl’s smile vanished, and her face -grew bitter.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“What’s the use of working,” she demanded, -“when it doesn’t mean anything? -You can never do the thing you want to -do. You can only do what somebody else -wants to do. I am tired of succeeding in -other people’s ambitions.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You haven’t had a great deal of experience -of that kind, have you?” asked -the Doctor.</p> - -<p class='c010'>She did not listen. “The world is buttoned -up wrong,” she said, “just one hole -wrong. I get what you want, and somebody -else wants what you get. I believe -that hopes were given to us simply in order -to hurt. The gods must enjoy dangling -before our eyes, just out of reach, the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_5'>5</span>things we pray for. Probably they like to -see us clutching the air.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Do you know how to ride a horse?” -asked the Doctor.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Then you had better do it, and let the -gods alone. There is one good thing about -being on horseback: you can’t despair. If -you do, you fall off.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Here we reached my door, and I went -in. I paused for a minute, to watch the -two women going down the street,—the -Doctor, with her free, even step; the girl -with quick, irregular movements.</p> - -<p class='c010'>It seemed to me that Janet was the -most inexplicable of all the inexplicable -people I had met since my arrival, six -weeks ago. Something must have hurt -her cruelly. She saw all life in the light -of her own pain, and she rebelled against -the suffering whose ultimate meaning she -could not understand.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Yet now, with the sunlight in her warm -brown hair, she looked, in her radiant colouring, -like a symbol of all the joy and -gladness in the world.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_6'>6</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER II</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>I had come to a strange city, to do a -peculiar work. At last—and I was thirty-nine -years old—I was free to render -humanity the service I had always wanted -to give.</p> - -<p class='c010'>So I took up my Cause. What special -cause it was there is no need to say. It -was one of those that are never won while -the world sins on, and yet are never lost.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The city was new to me. Its streets, -its spires, and its sky were all strange.</p> - -<p class='c010'>But not so strange as its ideas. I found -that I had come to a centre of new notions, -and that my scheme was only one of many -for the salvation of mankind. All that -was most advanced was represented here: -new faiths, new co-operative experiments -in trade, new revelations of the occult.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The men and women that I met filled -<span class='pageno' id='Page_7'>7</span>me with astonishment. They were all -self-conscious and introspective. Most of -them were brooding over wrongs,—the -concrete wrongs of others, or their own -abstract injuries, in a world that hid from -them the great secret of existence. And -they were all devising ways and means to -correct the misdeeds of man and of God.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Perhaps it was the many theories that -lent a kind of unreality to the life in the -streets. I used almost to wonder if it -were a pantomime, arranged to illustrate -our ideas. Something certainly made the -thoroughfares and the houses in the city -look like scenery in a play, and I was -always half-expecting them to fold up and -move off the stage.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The street on which I lived was especially -theatrical. Opposite was a house -consisting of one Gothic tower; the stucco -houses next, with their low windows and -gabled roofs, suggested Nürenburg. Near -by was a studio building, guarded by two -carven lions; and round the corner stood -a huge armoury, with a machicolated roof. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_8'>8</span>It all looked like a mediæval background, -prepared for the tumult of a play.</p> - -<p class='c010'>But the tumult never came. Nothing -ever disturbed us there except great -thoughts.</p> - -<p class='c010'>If it had not been for the Cause, I -should have been lonely. Not that it was -especially companionable, but that it made -me acquainted with the Doctor and the -Altruist, and, in fact, with all the other -people, except the Lad, and the Man of -the World, and the Butterfly Hunter. -They were at my boarding-place.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The Altruist was Janet’s cousin Paul. -It was he who introduced me to Janet, and -to her namesake, little Jean. They lived -opposite in one of the gray stucco houses. -Jean was a year-old baby, and her godmother -a young woman of twenty-four.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I used often to see them together upstairs, -Jean’s yellow head shining against -her aunt’s brown hair. I liked to think of -them as I went wandering with my ideas -about abstract humanity through this -visionary town.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_9'>9</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER III</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>The Altruist was terribly in earnest. -He considered our social system all wrong, -and he wrote and lectured and preached -about it constantly.</p> - -<p class='c010'>He lived in one of the city slums.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The morning after my arrival I went -down to the East End to ask him about -his work. I had heard much about him. -He had left a home of great beauty to -go to that sin-stricken corner of the city, -and the fame of his sacrifice had spread -abroad.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I found him nailing a board to the steps -of the tenement-house where he lived. -He greeted me cordially, holding out a -small, shapely right hand in welcome.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The house stood in a row of tall tenements, -near the terminus of an elevated -road. All round it the streets were -<span class='pageno' id='Page_10'>10</span>swarming with children, Russian and Jewish -children, dirty, ragged, and forlorn. -Some of them were kicking dirt toward -the Altruist’s clean steps; others were -eyeing him with respectful curiosity.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“What do you do down here? How -can you help?” I asked when the Altruist -had seated me in his study. It was in the -rear of the building, on the ground floor, -and it looked out into a densely populated -court.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Do? Oh, very little actual work. I -just live, for the most part,” he answered, -smiling.</p> - -<p class='c010'>He still held in his hand the hammer -with which he had been working. I -watched him closely, as he sat in the -rough wooden chair in the bare, uncarpeted -room.</p> - -<p class='c010'>He was a small man, with vivid blue -eyes and dark hair. There was a touch of -excitement in his manner, and I thought -I detected in his face a certain dramatic -interest in the situation.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I live quietly in my rooms here,” he -<span class='pageno' id='Page_11'>11</span>continued. It was hard to hear his voice -above the noise of the court and the roar -of the elevated trains. “There is no organized -work that I am attempting. I have -even given up my church, in order that no -machinery may interfere with my purely -human relation to my neighbours. I am -trying simply to lead a normal life among -my brethren. I study; I make calls and -receive them. There is nothing extraordinary -in the situation. I merely choose my -friends, and choose them here, instead of -up-town.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>I glanced at the hammer that the Altruist’s -hands were clasping nervously. A -look of exultation crept into his eyes.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes, I repair the doorstep,” he said. -“That I do not do up-town. But somebody -has to do it here. I am willing to -do anything that will convince my friends -here of my desire for good-fellowship.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>The pathos of this unasked service -touched me. It was full of the everlasting -irony of zeal; the queer achievement -mocked the great design.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_12'>12</span>“But do you not feel a little at a loss,” -I asked, “as to what to do next?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Does one feel at a loss in De Ruyter -or in Endicott Square?” demanded the -Altruist, defiantly.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I have come down here because I have -seen great misery,—misery of poverty, misery -of sin. I have cast in my lot with the -victims of our civilization. The awful condition -of these people is the result not only -of their transgression of the laws of God, -but also of our transgression of the law of -Christ. Our whole social and industrial -systems are built up on the law of competition, -the law of beasts, by which the -greedier and stronger snatch the portion -of the weak.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>The Altruist had clasped his hands over -the end of the upright hammer, and was -leaning his chin against them. His voice -had taken a high key, and it sounded as if -it came from a long way off.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“These people are weak, and are trodden -under foot. They are trodden under our -feet, and their blood is on our garments.”</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_13'>13</span>He spoke solemnly, and his eyes -gleamed with the look of inspiration that -the world’s fanatics share with the world’s -saints.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“But,” I stammered, with a half-guilty -feeling, “your being here does not bring -these people bread.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“It does not,” said the Altruist, “but it -brings a little beauty into their lives. I -share the work of the residents at Barnet -House. We have clubs of all kinds. We -have musicales and art exhibitions. There -is much that is definite in our effort.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Looking up, I caught sight of some -Burne-Jones pictures on the roughly-plastered -walls of the study.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Isn’t it like trying to feed a hungry -lion with rose-leaves?” I asked.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The Altruist’s face lighted up.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“It is not what we do that is important,” -he said. “We stand for an eternal truth. -Barnet House and my study here are -only symbols of our faith. They have -inestimable value, not in our petty achievement, -but as a declaration of the right -<span class='pageno' id='Page_14'>14</span>of our fellow-man to our sympathy and -love.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>I listened with interest as my host proceeded -to set forth his criticism of society -and to unfold his plans for its reform. He -talked brilliantly.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The race fell short of its grandest possibilities, -he said, in losing its hold on abstract -truths. Devotion to an ideal was -forgotten in the adjustment of human -lives to one another, rather than to something -above and beyond them. In attempting -to solve minor concrete problems, -society had dissipated all energy for lofty -thought.</p> - -<p class='c010'>In confiding to me his ideas for reconstruction -the Altruist talked of human life -as if it were something in which he did not -share; as if he stood apart from its real -issues, apart, and higher than his fellows, -to whom he reached down a helping hand.</p> - -<p class='c010'>His conversation enabled me to understand -his face. It was full of a fierce enthusiasm, -which life had not yet tamed.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I found myself saying: “But your life -<span class='pageno' id='Page_15'>15</span>is ascetic. In your devotion to an idea -you sacrifice too much; you are like -monks.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Not at all,” he maintained. “We -take no vow. Our life is wonderfully -broad and free. Instead of being bound -by mere individual experience we share -the lives of all.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>I wondered that I had not thought of -this before.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“The usual existence of married people,” -he said deliberately, “with its narrow, selfish -interests, seems to me, especially in -the case of women, largely animal. They -cannot know the higher joys of service to -one’s kind.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>It was strange to hear these opinions -coming from the rounded, childlike lips.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“There is no reason,” he went on, -“why families should not come down here -to share their lives with the poor. That -would be in some ways a better solution of -the problem than Barnet House, or my solitary -effort. Surely it is the duty of the -cultured, to whom much has been given, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_16'>16</span>to share of their abundance with those who -starve.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“But the children,—” I suggested. “It -would not be possible to bring up children -in such associations.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I sometimes think,” said the Altruist, -“that a further sacrifice is necessary in -order to wipe out the sins of our forefathers. -Perhaps, in order to be free for -this great work, it is the duty of the race -to abstain for a generation from bringing -children into the world,—for a generation -or two,” he added dreamily.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“That,” I assented mentally, as I rose -to go, “would certainly be effectual.”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_17'>17</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER IV</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>The Man of the World (I shall introduce -my friends in the order in which I -met them; it is not artistic, but neither is -life)—the Man of the World was fourteen -years old.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I made his acquaintance in this wise.</p> - -<p class='c010'>One night I went down early to dinner. -As I waited in the parlour for the bell to -ring, a portière was drawn, and there -entered what I supposed to be a little boy. -He was so short, chubby, and round-faced -that at first sight he looked younger than -he was. I bent over, saying graciously as -I held out my hand,—</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I wonder if you will tell me your -name?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>When he looked up I realized what I -had done. Evidently a mistaken world was -in the habit of confusing smallness of stature -with lack of experience.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_18'>18</span>“I beg your pardon?” was all he said, -but the touch of dignity in the childish -petulance of his tone rebuked me. That -was the last time I ever patronized Morey -Steiner.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The chill in the atmosphere was not dispelled -even when he was formally presented -to me by our hostess.</p> - -<p class='c010'>At dinner the Man of the World and -I sat side by side. It was not until I asked -him if he cared for Jefferson’s Rip Van -Winkle that my disgrace was retrieved. -Dramatic criticism was the child’s strong -point,—one of his strong points.</p> - -<p class='c010'>He told me that he thought Rip Van -Winkle rather amusing. Then he asked -me if I did not consider the knife-whetting -business in Irving’s Shylock rather stagey. -The part that he cared for most of all was -Mr. Mansfield’s Beau Brummell.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Yes, he went to the theatre a great deal, -sometimes with his father or his sisters, -sometimes alone. That was his father, -those were his sisters. His mother was -dead. The family had just come to the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_19'>19</span>city, and they were going to stay at this -place until they found a house to live in.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I saw that his father represented money, -and, looking down at the worldly-wise -scrap of a lad at my side, I realized what -wealth and American civilization can do -for the very young.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Did I play cards?” he asked suddenly. -“No? Perhaps his brother would teach -me when he came. His brother played -well.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>The end of the dinner interrupted our -discussion of horses. It also interrupted -the Man of the World in the act of storing -away nuts and candies in his pocket. He -was glad I liked riding.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Perhaps,” he said, drawing my chair -back for me (the Man of the World was -a perfect gentleman—at times) “we can -have a ride in the park together some -day.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Presently I found myself watching him -as he conversed with my hostess’ daughter -in the parlour. The round face was heavy -when he was silent. When he talked, it -<span class='pageno' id='Page_20'>20</span>lit up with precocious intelligence. He -had a <i><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">blasé</span></i> air, as of one who is permanently -weary of many things, and in his -blue eyes I saw gleams of the knowledge -of good and evil. The child was old,—as -old as the serpent in the garden.</p> - -<p class='c010'>He was destined to much mortification -that night. My mistake was repeated with -emphasis by another boarder, an elderly -gentleman in black.</p> - -<p class='c010'>He chucked the Man of the World under -the chin when the latter rose politely to -say, “Won’t you take my chair, sir?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Thank you, thank you, little boy,” said -the old gentleman, “and who might you -be?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>We all suffered for a moment. Then -the child said,—</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I <em>might</em> be the Prince of Wales, but I -am Morey Steiner.”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_21'>21</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER V</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>Something at last became real to me: -that was the misery of the poor. It -seemed sadder than anything else in the -world, except the misery of their benefactors. -I could hardly tell whether, in -this great tragedy of poverty, it was actor -or spectator who suffered most.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I saw on the one side hunger, sin, ignorance, -and they weighed down upon me -like a nightmare. I became familiar with -the crowded quarters of the city, where the -population was nine hundred to the acre. -I knew the inside of great shops, where -women worked and starved on two dollars -a week.</p> - -<p class='c010'>On the other side I saw brave attempts -to help, that were yet half futile. There -were charities, religious and secular; relief-giving -societies, working into the hands of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_22'>22</span>general organizations; there were settlements -among the poor. But they all -fought against frightful odds. The lot of -many who were trying to help was to look -and suffer, impotently.</p> - -<p class='c010'>A kind of morbid fascination drew me -continually to the foreign quarters. I -liked the picturesqueness of the crowded -streets, where women in gay head-dresses -chattered, holding their babies in their -arms. I liked the alley-ways lined with -old-clothes shops, and the corners where -Russians, Italians, Germans, Jews congregated, -talking, laughing, quarrelling. -The quaint children in old-world garments -interested me; and the aged, wrinkled -faces of men and women roused often a -feeling of remembrance, as if I had known -them somewhere, in book or picture.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The most crowded district was near the -sea. A broad thoroughfare called Traffic -Street skirted the city at the water edge. -On the outer side were enormous warehouses -and dock-yards; on the inner, tall -tenements.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_23'>23</span>Looking between the great buildings, -I caught sudden glimpses of blue water, -with my old friends, the white sea-gulls, -floating overhead. And often, in coming -down rickety tenement-house steps, from -scenes that left me sick and faint, the -sight of tall masts of ships thrilled me -with their inevitable suggestion of freedom -and escape.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I had begun to feel that the misery of -it was greater than I could bear. Then -suddenly the Lad appeared.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_24'>24</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER VI</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>The Lad was a great comfort to me.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I had for several days been conscious of -the presence of a new-comer in the house. -He was a young Southerner, with fine dark -eyes, and extraordinary alertness of body.</p> - -<p class='c010'>There was something in the stranger’s -face that pleased me. Perhaps it was his -resolute mouth and a certain air of high-mindedness. -Perhaps it was only the boyish -way in which his soft hair waved back -from his forehead.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I called him “the Lad,” because he -looked so young by the side of the Man of -the World.</p> - -<p class='c010'>One day as I was talking with my friend, -the Butterfly Hunter, I was startled by -being told that the Lad had done some -brilliant scientific work, and had already -made for himself a reputation.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_25'>25</span>“He is only a boy!” I exclaimed.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“He is a man of twenty-seven,” said the -Lad, who had come in unnoticed.</p> - -<p class='c010'>After that we became acquainted rapidly.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I had never seen anybody so keenly alive. -He was eager, restless, quivering with -vitality. There was a kind of ferocity in -his way of working; he was busy finishing -a book, with a name occupying two lines. I -do not yet know what it means. And he -walked every day for miles, coming home -hungry and tired.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I found myself trying to classify him. I -had fallen into the habit of classifying -everybody. Was he more interested in -his own soul, I wondered, or in the oppression -of the working-man?</p> - -<p class='c010'>My astonishment was very great to discover -that he rarely thought about his soul, -and that he was not trying to reform anything.</p> - -<p class='c010'>This was partly because he was so busy. -His whole effort was centred in his work, -and everything else was crowded out.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I feel the strength of my youth upon -<span class='pageno' id='Page_26'>26</span>me,” he said one day, “but I have done so -little, and the days are so short.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Before I knew it I was taking long walks -with the Lad, by the bridges over the tidal -river north of the city, or eastward by the -shipping and the sea. We watched the -sailing of out-bound vessels, and the landing -of emigrants from returning ships.</p> - -<p class='c010'>He told me about his father and his sister. -He talked, too, a great deal about his -work, insisted on talking about it, although -he knew that I could not understand him.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I presently came to be a kind of maiden -aunt to him. I gave him advice on various -matters. I introduced him to Janet -and the Doctor and the Altruist, who all -regarded him as a new and interesting -specimen.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The longer I knew him, the more he -cheered me. There was something in his -very presence that was like the coming of -the young west wind.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_27'>27</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER VII</h2> -</div> -<p class='c011'>“Her device, within a ring of clouds, a heart with -shine about it.”—<span class='sc'>Ben Jonson.</span></p> - -<p class='c009'>“But what do you do it for? You can’t -help. You only harrow up your own feelings.” -It was Janet who spoke, perverse, -unhappy, winsome Janet, sitting in a tall, -old-fashioned chair at the side of her little -tea-table.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I suppose that it is better,” I answered -slowly, “to have one’s feelings harrowed -up over other people than over one’s self.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“That’s a very neat thrust,” said the -girl. “Thank you. Do you know what -the Doctor says about all this reform-scheming -and theorizing?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“That it is all ‘shoveling-fog.’ That is -a ’longshore expression. Don’t you like -it?”</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_28'>28</span>“Very much,” I said. “But doesn’t it -suit as well any kind of talking, even the -discussion of the ‘Is-life-worth-living’ question?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You must have been doing some especially -good deed,” said Janet, leaning her -pretty head against the back of her chair -and looking at me through half-shut eyes. -“You are so disagreeable. There isn’t any -soil that philanthropy thrives in so well as -in the ruins of the social and domestic -virtues.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Child,” I said, “I did not mean to be -personal. Why don’t you stop thinking, -and try to find shoes and stockings for -some of my poor people?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Quick tears sprang into her shining eyes.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c012'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“‘I sometimes think it were best just to let the Lord alone;</div> - <div class='line'>I am sure some people forget he was there before they came,’”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c013'>she quoted. “I do not know what the -poor have done that I should descend upon -them as a last affliction. First, dirt; then -<span class='pageno' id='Page_29'>29</span>a financial crisis and no work; then hunger -and cold; and then I. It is like the -plagues in Egypt.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>I leaned back in my chair, powerless. -It was becoming evident to me that no -one could solve Janet’s problems for -her.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“It would be cowardly,” she said. “Because -I am unhappy, should I try to work -off my ill-humour upon the poor?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“They might like to look at you,” I -suggested.</p> - -<p class='c010'>She was making tea, and she stopped, -holding a dainty cup in her right hand, to -look up at me. That face, whose expression -changed so often, baffled and fascinated -me. The mouth curved often into -cynical smiles, but the eyes were the eyes -of a dreamer. At times Janet seemed to -me a child. At times she bore the weary -expression of one who has fought many -battles and has won but few.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No,” she said. “I am one of the -people whose agnosticism absolves them -from all action. You know the type. We -<span class='pageno' id='Page_30'>30</span>find it difficult to get up in the morning -or to button our boots because we cannot -comprehend the infinite. Really, agnosticism -makes a very soft down cushion on -which to recline at one’s ease.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Don’t you sometimes get tired of -thrusting arrows into yourself?” I asked. -“It must be hard to be a St. Sebastian -where you have to be persecutor and martyr -too.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Please don’t make epigrams,” said the -girl. “It is a sign of degeneracy. I am -sorry to see you beginning to show traces -of it.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I thought perhaps you would not -understand me if I did not try to speak -in epigrams,” I answered meekly.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Janet rose from her chair and came over -to stand at my side, brushing back, with -kindly fingers, a lock of hair that had -escaped from under my bonnet.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“But to go back to the question of good -works,” she said. “It seems to me that -it is useless to try anything. Listen. -When I was twelve years old I wanted -<span class='pageno' id='Page_31'>31</span>to do some work for the city charity organization.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“They sent me to take two aprons to a -woman on Harrow Street. ‘It was quite -safe,’ they said. So I went down through -the dirty street into an inner court, and -began to climb the stairs. It was perfectly -dark; it was unutterably filthy.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“The woman, I found, lived in the garret, -and, after the last flight of stairs, I -had to climb a ladder to reach her. In -the loft at the top of the ladder I saw,—I -shall never forget it!—a woman diseased, -shrunken, helpless. Half her face was -withered and gone; she was cold, hungry, -dirty. Two miserable little girls were -crawling around her, crying.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And I stood there stupefied, unable to -speak, unable to grasp all the horror before -me. I could do nothing for them. I only -stared, helplessly, and petted the little girls. -Then I gave that bed-ridden woman the -two gingham aprons and came away.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“That scene made an impression upon -me that I shall never lose. Since then, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_32'>32</span>all the charity work I have heard of has -seemed as ironic as that. Such misery is -hopeless. Something deeper than human -misdeeds must be the cause. I cannot -help it; I cannot help believing that we -are the sport of the gods, who sit behind -the curtain and laugh at our hurt.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>In the pause that followed, Janet went -to the window, forgetting to put down the -empty cup that she had taken from me.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Suddenly she turned to me, with her -chin raised in defiance.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Moreover,” she said slowly, “I don’t -want to forget my own life entirely in the -lives of other people. I want it all, the -pleasure and the pain of it, the whole cup -down to the dregs.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>There was nothing for me to say; I -rose to go.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“What do you think of the Lad?” I -asked.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The girl’s face brightened. “He is interesting,” -she said. “He is so different. -It seems to me that he is the only one of -us who is really living. The rest of us -are merely talking about it.”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_33'>33</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER VIII</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>Whether she went driving in royal state -under her white carriage robes, or watched -from the nursery window the people passing -below, or stood in her little night-dress -on her brass bed before being tucked in, -Jean was always adorable.</p> - -<p class='c010'>One day I took the Lad to see her.</p> - -<p class='c010'>He had already called at the house a -number of times, but Jean had never been -brought down to the parlour.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Perhaps he had never before been acquainted -with a little child. I saw him -watch every motion of her yellow head as -she sat on the floor, looking solemnly at -the people about her. Jean was a grave -baby.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Presently she lifted her hand and very -earnestly pointed one tiny finger at the -Lad.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_34'>34</span>I had seen her do this many times. It -was her usual way of expressing approval -of a new acquaintance. But the Lad had -never seen it, and to him it meant, “Thou -art the man.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>He begged to be allowed to take her up. -As he lifted her, his face flushed.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I did not tell him that she clung to -him so closely, and refused so peremptorily -to go to any one else, partly because -his arms were so strong. Jean liked the -grasp of firm muscles. To the Lad it -seemed that her obstinacy was only love -for him.</p> - -<p class='c010'>He would not go home. Sitting before -the open fire, he gazed at the child on his -knee, and ignored all my glances.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Jean looked at him steadily for a long -time, her hazel eyes meeting his of darker -brown. Then she played with his watch-chain. -Presently she was induced to display -all her accomplishments. She pointed -to her feet when they were named, to her -eyes, her hair, and even, ‘by request,’ to her -tongue.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_35'>35</span>Sitting there and watching them in the -shadows of the firelight, I could not help -thinking how much alike they were.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Jean played until she was sleepy; then -she yawned, and the Lad laughed to see -the tears come into her eyes.</p> - -<p class='c010'>By and by her head nodded; she was -almost asleep. Not content with her position, -she crawled up, as she did with her -father, and put her head down in the Lad’s -neck, then went to sleep with one helpless -hand hanging over his shoulder, the other -softly patting him.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The Lad started when she put down her -head; then he held her close.</p> - -<p class='c010'>It was partly the way in which his arm -curled round her, and partly the light from -her fuzzy hair that made them look like the -Murillo picture of Saint Anthony and the -Christ-child.</p> - -<p class='c010'>When I went over to take Jean away, -the Lad looked up, and I saw that his eyes -were moist with tears.</p> - -<p class='c010'>They were faithful lovers after that. -Jean used to watch for him from the windows -<span class='pageno' id='Page_36'>36</span>upstairs, and sometimes when she -saw him coming she would smile.</p> - -<p class='c010'>He called often, always asking for her. -(This was partly because he did not dare ask -each time for Janet.) And the child was -carried downstairs with her arms stretched -out impatiently to meet him.</p> - -<p class='c010'>One night he arrived when she was -asleep, but her mother sent for her. The -nurse came in softly, cradling the child in -her arms. Her yellow hair was wet and -curly about her face; below her white night-dress -hung one baby foot.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The Lad bent down and kissed it.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_37'>37</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER IX</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>My fellow-philanthropists talked much -of the “Settlement Idea.” Its adherents -maintained that the world had not yet seen -any self-sacrifice so beautiful as this attempt -to share the lives of the poor by living -among them. On the other hand, members -of old, thoroughly organized, comfortable -societies for doing good pronounced -the new methods extremely vague.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I wished to see for myself.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Before I had visited Barnet House, the -settlement of university men in Brand -Street, a similar house was opened by -young college women in the West End.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The Altruist went with me to Barnet -House on Wednesday afternoon, when the -residents always had a musicale or a reading -for their friends in the neighbourhood. -As we drew near the house and saw the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_38'>38</span>white curtains and green plants in the -window, shining out from among the dirt-begrimed -tenements, I said to myself (my -mood being severe) that it looked pretty, -but sentimental. I tried to remember who -had called this kind of effort to elevate the -slums “a philanthropic picnic in a wilderness -of sin.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>We were ushered by a tall young man -into a great sunshiny room that was full -of easy chairs and books and pictures.</p> - -<p class='c010'>This was one of the residents, the Altruist -said in introducing him. He would -doubtless be kind enough to tell me what -I wished to know.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“The Settlement Idea is very simple,” -said the Resident, in answer to my questions. -He spoke with an air of dignity -that seemed too old for him. “A number -of people who wish to help the poor find a -house, put it into good sanitary condition, -and go to live there together, doing some -independent work, and some work in -common.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“But what kind of work?” I asked. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_39'>39</span>“Pardon me,—I can understand why you -come, but not what you do when you get -here.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>The Resident apparently did not notice -the touch of discourtesy in my remark.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“The Settlement,” he said, looking hesitatingly -toward the Altruist, “serves two -purposes. It is a station for philanthropic -work, and also a centre for social investigation.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“What is social investigation?” I asked -bluntly.</p> - -<p class='c010'>To my delight the young man laughed. -“That is a quotation from an article I am -writing. It sounds rather bookish, doesn’t -it?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“It is a very good sentence,—for an -article,” I admitted.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Why, you see,” said the Resident, -his eyes twinkling, “social investigation -means drains and foods and that kind of -thing.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes?” I said inquiringly.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And immorality and crime and amusements. -Also wages and causes of popular -<span class='pageno' id='Page_40'>40</span>discontent. In fact, it embraces almost -everything.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>The mingled audacity and shyness of -the boy’s manner were very winning. I -was becoming interested, but the Altruist -looked deeply pained by this lightness of -tone.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“How is this work carried on?” I -asked.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“By visits,” said the Resident briefly, -“and statistics.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You go out from here to make the -visits upon the poor—”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And then we make the statistics,” he -interrupted, “and publish them.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Suddenly he became grave, and in doing -so made himself seem ten years older.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You look sceptical,” he said. “I am -myself, sometimes. But, seriously, I think -that this thing is worth doing. We come -because we are really interested in these -people. We are interested in all kinds of -ways. One man here is doing regular -missionary work. Another is writing a -book about the reasons for unsanitary living -<span class='pageno' id='Page_41'>41</span>in the slums, and is investigating the -condition of every tenement in the East -End. There’s a literary man here, looking -for material. He goes around getting local -colour, but he helps, too, and isn’t so useless -as he might seem to be.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Helps in what?” I asked.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“In the collective work done by the -House,” said the Resident. “We have all -kinds of clubs,—literary, political, and -scientific. You see, though each man is -doing his own private work, we have organized -effort. It isn’t all exploration. However, -I believe I made our twofold object -clear in that opening sentence.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Then there are art exhibitions and lectures. -We invite our neighbours to come -to hear music, and to come to take baths. -We charge five cents for the baths. The -music is free. We have dinner parties -too, and receptions. You ought to see -the costumes that the East End can turn -out. A Brand Street swell in his evening -dress is a sight for gods and men.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I don’t see what you talk about,” I -<span class='pageno' id='Page_42'>42</span>said. “Your guests must be hard to -entertain.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Oh, we talk about dime museums and -Tammany and the things that happen in -the streets. That’s when we are adapting -ourselves to our guests. Then we show -them pictures, and talk about high art and -literature. That’s when we are adapting -our guests to us. It’s immensely elevating -for them, immensely, just to talk with -us.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>I found that my objections to the Settlement -Idea were vanishing rapidly before -this young man’s sense of humour.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“It really doesn’t do the people down -here a great deal of harm,” he was saying, -“and it does us a great deal of good.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Is your interest in the practical or in -the theoretical side of the work?” I asked.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“In the latter. I am a student of economics, -and have just taken my Ph.D. -degree. Lately,” he added, flushing, “I -have become a Socialist.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>The Altruist looked pleased.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“The state of things down here has -<span class='pageno' id='Page_43'>43</span>convinced me that an entire reconstruction -of our whole industrial system is the only -thing that can help the poor.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>I asked him if the misery of the poor -had not been much exaggerated in the -sensational reform journals.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“It could not be exaggerated,” he said -vehemently. “No, the half has not been -told.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>As he recounted tale after tale of the -sin and suffering caused by unrighteous -laws of trade, I sat numb with that sense of -personal hurt that one feels on first knowing -that these things are true.</p> - -<p class='c010'>But the Resident stopped, for the bell -rang, and a “neighbour” entered.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The other residents came in; several -more guests arrived, and the Altruist, -who had been unusually silent for the last -fifteen minutes, became the centre of a -group of listeners.</p> - -<p class='c010'>One of the callers was a Salvation -Army captain, whose regiment was passing -through the city. One was a street-car -driver. He had half an hour off, and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_44'>44</span>had come to ask the time of a lecture to be -given that night. Mrs. Milligan, the washerwoman -who lived next door, ran in with -her youngest boy. Then came a lady from -Endicott Square, in a superb Parisian gown.</p> - -<p class='c010'>We conversed most amicably in the intervals -of the music. When this was over, -a domestic appeared with a tray, and the -literary man made tea.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Before I left I had a few more words -with the young Socialist.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“There’s no use talking,” he said earnestly. -“However little direct practical -good we do, there is no doubt that our opportunity -is great for investigating. It is -obviously better to study the working of -economic laws in society itself than in -books. I am trying to get acquainted -with the working-people, and look at -their grievances from their point of view. -Socialism has been treated entirely too -much from the standpoint of the scholar -and the fanatic. I want to work in a more -practical way, getting at the new political -economy in the making.”</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_45'>45</span>I came away quite willing to allow any -number of young men with Ph.D. degrees, -and honest enthusiasm, and a saving sense -of fun, to live in the slums.</p> - -<p class='c010'>But I did not admit this to the Altruist.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_46'>46</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER X</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>After a first visit to the settlement of -young women in the West End I found myself -going there very often. The gracious -friendliness with which I was met attracted -me strongly, and I became more and more -interested in the social experiment.</p> - -<p class='c010'>This new house was not in the slums. -It stood in one of the old city squares, -whose aristocratic inhabitants had long -ago drifted away, leaving empty rooms for -the families of mechanics and poorly paid -clerks.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Life here was gray and monotonous. -Into it my young girl friends had rushed, -with little knowledge of its actual conditions, -but with a firm determination to -change them for the better. This kind -of poverty did not mean starvation, they -said, but something worse: dearth of culture, -of beauty, of ideas.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_47'>47</span>They were all political economists of -the school of Ruskin.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The residents numbered ten. Some of -them were girls fresh from college; others -were women who bore marks of years of -brain-work. At their head was a slender, -dignified lady, who, after ten years of academic -life, had resigned a college professorship -in the classics for the sake of closer -contact with humanity.</p> - -<p class='c010'>All phases of the activity in the house -soon became familiar to me.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Sometimes I found the doors stormed -by crowds of eager children, waiting the -moment when the ladies should permit -them to enter, that they might deposit -pennies in the bank, or take books from -the library.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Once I watched a Mothers’ Meeting -conducted by a fair-haired girl of twenty-two.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I visited the boys’ clubs, and realized -that the rough lads were learning courtesy, -and much besides.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Certain evenings were purely social. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_48'>48</span>Then we conversed, or listened to music, -or read stories aloud. On these occasions -I learned many useful things from the -“neighbours,” about house-keeping, and -the bringing up of children, and even -about politics.</p> - -<p class='c010'>One shabby little woman, whose husband -had marched away with an industrial -delegation to present a petition to Congress, -told me that a terrible revolution -was coming in which the working-man -would at last gain his rights by means of -powder and shot.</p> - -<p class='c010'>It would be hard to tell all the ways in -which these young collegians “drew nearer -the People”: through medicines given out -by the resident physician in the dispensary -downstairs; through presentations of Mrs. -Jarley’s wax-works, and of scenes from -eighteenth century comedy; through the -lending of cook-books and of treatises on -philosophy.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Once I even saw a resident taking care -of a neighbour’s baby while the mother -went shopping. The young philanthropist -<span class='pageno' id='Page_49'>49</span>told me, however, the next time I -saw her, that she had resolved not to -dissipate her energy in that way.</p> - -<p class='c010'>But nothing else edified me so much as -the evening discussions on problems of the -day. The young women were even more -eager than the men at Barnet House to -walk in step with great popular movements. -Some of them were fairly well equipped for -practical economic study. Others were -collecting statistics with the most engaging -ignorance.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Every week, a club devoted to the study -of social science, the “William Morris -League,” met at the Settlement. On these -evenings the head of the House sat, Lady -Abbess fashion, with nun and novice at -her side.</p> - -<p class='c010'>And men and women from various trades-unions, -cigar-makers, street-car drivers, cotton-spinners, -garment-workers, a motley -group, listened to a paper on (perhaps): -“How to form Protective Unions among -Under-Paid Women.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>For the deliverance of the working-woman -<span class='pageno' id='Page_50'>50</span>was the hope that lay nearest the -Settlement’s heart.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I always went away from these discussions -with feelings of mingled pride and -amusement. These were strong and earnest -young women, inspired by no wish for -notoriety, but eager to help and to understand.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Yet it was a queer world, where the -maidens formed trades-unions, and young -men were making tea!</p> - -<p class='c010'>It was very good tea.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_51'>51</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XI</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>The only serene face among us was that -of the Butterfly Hunter. The eyes of the -Altruist were clouded by the wrath of denunciation; -the Lad’s were full of unfulfilled -desire; and my own, I knew, were -troubled: they had been for so long a -time a mirror for pictures of sorrow. Into -Janet’s face crept more and more often -the puzzled expression of those who mistake -their own bad moods for philosophic -thought.</p> - -<p class='c010'>But the Hunter of Butterflies wore a look -of peace.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I mistook this at first for the peace -of attainment. It was not that: he was -still pursuing—pursuing his butterfly.</p> - -<p class='c010'>He was, they told me, a noted entomologist. -Many years ago he had discovered a -very rare butterfly, the <em>Erebia winifredæ</em>. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_52'>52</span>He had classified and named it, but had -never been able to follow its entire history. -With the scientist’s fine sense of the importance -of the least details he was still -studying it.</p> - -<p class='c010'>This winter he had come to the city in -order to work with a member of the faculty -in the university. They were attempting to -raise the insect under artificial conditions, -and were carefully watching its growth.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The difficulty of observing it in its home -is very great, for it can be found only during -certain portions of the year, and at -great altitudes. It lives in the Himalaya -Mountains, and in the Caucasus, just below -the snow-line, in the bleak regions of rock -and sedge.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I heard the story of its discovery. Years -ago, when the scientist was young, he had -gone with an exploring party through -India to the southern side of the Himalayas. -On one long walk he lost his way, -and found himself at the bottom of a deep -gully, whose walls were apparently too -steep to climb. He was alone.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_53'>53</span>There was nothing to do except to scale -the cliff. It was a perilous journey. After -hours of painful struggle the young man -reached the top, in a state of utter exhaustion. -By a last effort he drew himself up -over the edge of the precipice, and lay fainting -for a time, prostrate on the rock.</p> - -<p class='c010'>When he woke, he found under his outstretched -hand a little dark butterfly, with -gold dust on its wings. It was his butterfly, -and it made his name famous.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Every summer since that time he had -climbed to the limit of vegetation, and had -camped there on desolate mountain sides -for weeks, watching the butterfly’s growth. -He knew where and how it laid its eggs. -He knew on what it fed. He had watched -it change from grub to winged creature, -and yet it baffled him.</p> - -<p class='c010'>He could not find out the length of its -life. The seasons of warmth at the altitude -of its home were short, and a part of -its existence was passed in seasons when -he could not study it.</p> - -<p class='c010'>He had brought home a collection of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_54'>54</span>specimens with which to experiment. A -room upstairs was devoted to them. Several -times I was invited to enter.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I liked to watch the Butterfly Hunter as -he bent his gray head over the cocoons. -He was a tall man, and slender and lithe -as a boy, from much walking.</p> - -<p class='c010'>That kindly, weather-beaten face puzzled -me. I could not tell whether or no traces -of passionate human experience lay hidden -under the look of absorbing interest in the -specimens he held in his hand.</p> - -<p class='c010'>He would bend over the little gray winding-sheets, -touch one with his finger, reverently, -then look on in silence.</p> - -<p class='c010'><em>His</em> butterfly!</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_55'>55</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XII</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>The Lad did not tell me how deeply he -was interested in Janet. He simply talked -about her a large part of the time when -he was with me. At first it had been the -book that filled his thought; now it was -Janet and the book.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Perhaps he did not know how far he was -taking me into his confidence. Perhaps he -did not care.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Janet puzzled him. “I don’t understand,” -he said one day when we were -taking one of our long walks. “She -seems to be an absolute pessimist, and -yet she takes a strong interest in some -things.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“For instance?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Well, in gowns.” He spoke unwillingly.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“She would not have any right to be a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_56'>56</span>pessimist about her gowns,” I said. “They -are too pretty.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Here the Lad shot past me with his -long stride. He had a way of forgetting -me for a minute, and of walking swiftly -ahead. He always turned and came back -to apologize, and yet I objected decidedly -to this phase of his absent-mindedness. -It was hardly deferential, I thought, to a -person of my years.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You walk,” I said, when he paused to -beg my pardon, “as if you had air in your -bones. You must be related to the birds.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I was thinking,” he said, “and I forgot. -I was thinking how strange it is to find -women facing the newer criticism and making -up their minds on religious matters. -In the South they do not do it. They are -all orthodox. It goes with being a woman.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I wonder why?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Partly because it is expected of them. -Most of the men I know want their wives -to take the beaten paths, no matter how -far they themselves have strayed from -them. Marriage of that kind doesn’t -<span class='pageno' id='Page_57'>57</span>seem marriage to me. I want my wife—if -I ever have one—to share all of my -life, the intellectual part of it as well as -the rest.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“That’s one thing I like about your -friend,” he continued, apparently unconscious -of the connection of ideas. There -was a great deal of the scholar’s <i><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">naïveté</span></i> -about the Lad. “She is so broad-minded. -She looks at things as fairly and impersonally -as a man does.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>I changed the subject abruptly, for I -perceived that the Lad was going to say -more than he meant to about Janet.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“How did you reach your present position?” -I asked, for lack of something better. -“You are an agnostic, I suppose?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“In religious matters, yes,” he answered. -“And the reason is, that after I had been -trained in methods of scientific thought, -dogmatic thought became impossible. All -the theology I know anything about is -founded on arbitrary dogma.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“To an outsider,” I said slowly, “science -seems at times dogmatic. Are not -<span class='pageno' id='Page_58'>58</span>its sceptical conclusions out of proportion -to its actual achievement? You scientists -deny beyond your power to prove. Kingsley -convicted you once for all in the argument -about the water-babies, and he did it -by your own methods. You have ‘no right -to say that God does not exist until you -have seen him not-existing.’”</p> - -<p class='c010'>But the Lad thought I was trifling.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You are mistaken,” he maintained. -“Genuine science neither asserts nor denies -where it cannot prove. It is silent -about the ideas of God and of immortality, -because it cannot find any basis for scientific -reasoning. It is magnificent,—that -reverence that keeps it from making great -unprovable statements about things in general. -Oh, think of the patience with which -scientists study the least things, and the -self-control that keeps them from drawing -conclusions before they have reached them, -and the splendid faith with which they go -on working!”</p> - -<p class='c010'>The Lad’s eyes glowed with enthusiasm.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Of course, my present position is not -<span class='pageno' id='Page_59'>59</span>final,” he added. “I expect to go on. I -have tremendous faith in doubt.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You are creative even in your doubting,” -I reflected.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Of course,” said the Lad. “Otherwise -there would not be the least use in -doubting.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>I told him that I had never known disbelief -so eager and enthusiastic. Agnosticism, -as I had watched it, had weakened -the whole moral fibre. With Janet, for instance, -loss of faith in God had meant loss -of faith in herself and in everything else.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I can’t understand that,” said the Lad. -“The feeling that the old ground is slipping -from under me makes me want to -gird up my loins and start to find new.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“But there is a terrible amount of suffering -in the mental growth of the race,” -he continued, after a pause. “I can stand -the loss of the hope and comfort in the -old ideas, but I can’t stand the pain that -my changed belief gives my poor old -father. I could have kept still, but that -seemed hardly honest. So I tried to make -<span class='pageno' id='Page_60'>60</span>him understand, and he was very badly -cut up.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And your mother?” I asked.</p> - -<p class='c010'>He had never talked about his mother. -He was silent for a minute. We were on -one of the great bridges over the river, -and we stopped to watch the spires, the -gray roofs, and the one gilded dome of -the city across the shining water.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“My mother,” he said at last, taking off -his hat and standing bare-headed in the -cold November air, “my mother is where -she understands. She died when I was a -little fellow.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Where she understands! I smiled, but -the smile brought tears to my eyes. They -all went back, these wise young people -who had outgrown the faith of their -fathers and mothers,—they all went back -to it in moments of supreme emotion, and -rested in it, like little children.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Naturally, I did not point out to the -Lad his lack of logic. I knew that he -was going to speak again of Janet, and I -waited. Presently the remark came.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_61'>61</span>“Such splendid power, and all wasted! -That girl could do anything that she -wished to do. There is a kind of impotent -idealism in her that keeps her from -acting. She refuses to see the difference -between the absolute and the relative. -She can not, or she will not, see that if she -is to have the ideal in this world she must -work it out in the actual.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Wait,” I said. “She is young. Now -she is only a question mark. But this -uncertainty is a phase of her development. -Something positive will grow out of the -mood of denial.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“If something could only rouse her,” -said the Lad; he had forgotten that I was -there,—“could sting her into life. If -something could only make her <em>care</em>!”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_62'>62</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XIII</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>“If they only had a little common sense,” -the Doctor grumbled, “there wouldn’t be -any dilemma.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Which?” I asked. “Your poor family -or the charities?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Both,” was the answer. “If the Ebsteins -had any common sense, they would -not be in this plight; and if the charities -had any, the family would have been helped -long ago. The rarest thing in the world -is common sense.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“How did you find them?” I asked; I -always liked to ask this. The Doctor was -continually taking care of people in trouble, -and as continually trying to conceal the -fact. “It is simply for practice,” she always -said. “My visits among the poor -are only a kind of clinic. If it weren’t -for the interests of science, I’d never set -foot in the slums again.”</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_63'>63</span>“Did you ever find among them any of -the valuable abnormal cases you are looking -for?” I asked once.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No,” she answered, “but I might. I -am always expecting to.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“How did you discover the Ebsteins?” -I asked. It was a new charity “case,” and -I took a professional interest in it.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I had a patient in Snow Street, in a -basement,—an old woman with rheumatism.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“What interesting scientific discoveries -you must be making there,” I murmured. -“Chronic rheumatism is no doubt very -instructive.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>The Doctor looked severe.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“A woman came down from the second -floor, and said that there were some people -on the fifth that needed help. She asked -me if I came from the Charity Building,” -said the Doctor, in disgust. “I can stand -a great deal, but I cannot stand being -mistaken for a philanthropist.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You ought to be more on your guard,” -I suggested. “You really put yourself into -<span class='pageno' id='Page_64'>64</span>positions where it is difficult to discriminate.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I climbed the stairs to the very top of -the house, and knocked at the only door I -saw. ‘Herein!’ called somebody. Then -I found myself in a room full of children. -No, they are not Mrs. Ebstein’s. She -rents a little hole in the wall from the -woman, a German, who lives in this room. -The only passage to the inner apartment -is through the outer one.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“They opened Mrs. Ebstein’s door, and -there sat two children—”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“How old,” I asked.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“About twenty. Oh, they are grown -up and married. They looked like Babes -in the Wood, but they are man and wife. -The woman is a little thing with her hair in -two braids down her back. The man was -sitting with his arms on the table. He had -been resting his head on his hands; he -looked up when I entered, and was dazed at -first, then embarrassed. He is a nice, honest -German boy who ought to be at home -in the <i><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Vaterland</span></i> with his grandmother.”</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_65'>65</span>“What did they come here for?” I interrupted.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“To starve,” said the Doctor. “America -is like a great almshouse with no endowment. -She opens her arms to the poor -of all nations, and says: ‘Come here and -die.’ Luckily we have room enough to -bury them all in.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“How did you begin to talk with them?” -I asked. “What is the best way of beginning? -Do you suppose these people resent -being intruded upon as we should?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I simply held out my hand,” answered -the Doctor, and said: ‘Is this Mrs. Ebstein?’ -I spoke in German. The little -woman burst out crying. She had been -crying before. Then I said: ‘Somebody -told me that you are in trouble. What -can I do for you?’ She only pulled her -husband’s sleeve and said: ‘<span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Heinrich, -Heinrich! Komm mal, sprich!</span>’</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I found out that they are German -Jews, ‘aus Berlin.’ They came here more -than a year ago, just after their marriage. -The man is a brass-finisher. He had a job -<span class='pageno' id='Page_66'>66</span>when he first came, and worked for six -months, I believe. Then the work shut -down. Since then they have lived on little -or nothing.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“They have really almost starved. I -glanced at a roll lying on the table, and -one of them told me that for weeks they -have lived on bread. Their landlady is -too poor to help them. They have both -tried to get work of any kind, and have -failed.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“‘They said we could make gran’ fortune -in America,’ said Mrs. Ebstein. ‘Look! -this is my fortune!’ and she took two pennies -out of her apron-pocket and shook -them. ‘We eat these! After that we -starve!’</p> - -<p class='c010'>“She is a vivacious little thing. When -she talked she was inimitable. Her eyes—she -has bright brown eyes—twinkled, -and she forgot that she was hungry. She -was telling me about her experiences in -trying to get work.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Give me their address,” I said, “and I -will report them to the Good Samaritans.”</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_67'>67</span>“No,” said the Doctor, quietly, “I want -to take care of them myself. Will you -help?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Certainly,” I answered. “They are -very interesting. Only you should have -found them in a garret. Something is -lacking in your background. It isn’t -artistic.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“There was altogether too much background,” -said the Doctor. “Nearly all -the inhabitants of the tenement-house -swarmed up while I was there, and all -of the landlady’s children came as far -into that tiny room as was possible. No, -the lonely garret exists only in story-books. -Its seclusion is too good to be true. The -worst feature in the lives of the poor is -that they have to be born and to die in -public.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Now that I think of it,” added the -Doctor, rising and looking at her list of calls, -“do you think that you could get a baby’s -wardrobe together for Mrs. Ebstein?”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_68'>68</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XIV</h2> -</div> -<p class='c011'>“Into our hands hath it been given to settle the course -of the world.”—<em>Shah Nameh</em>, <span class='sc'>Firdausi</span>.</p> - -<p class='c009'>We were a committee—the Doctor, -Janet, the Altruist, and I—to consider -what could be done for the women and -girls in Brand Street. The Altruist wished -us to undertake some work in connection -with Barnet House.</p> - -<p class='c010'>We sat round the table in the parlour of -my boarding-house. The cloth had been -removed. A block of paper and a pencil -lay in front of each of us, ready for taking -notes.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I like the way we have,” said Janet, -who looked the incarnation of the spirit -of mischief, “of trying to teach other -people how to live because we do not -know how ourselves.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You and I have not erred very deeply -<span class='pageno' id='Page_69'>69</span>in that way, Janet,” said the Doctor, drily. -“You must not accuse yourself where you -do not deserve it.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>The Altruist looked impatient. “We -want to consider,” he said, “how we can -help our friends in Brand Street. We -must begin at once. I have an appointment -at four.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Another lecture?” asked Janet.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes,” answered the Altruist, wearily. -“I get invitations almost every day to -lecture on life in the slums.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Paul,” said Janet, solemnly, though her -eyes were dancing, “you will be talking in -the park next on Sunday afternoons, and -we will all come and stand with the crowd -to listen to you.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Perhaps I shall,” said the Altruist. “If -it is necessary to convince the working-man -of my sympathy, I shall be glad to do it. I -should like to see my up-town friends standing -side by side with my neighbours from -the slums. Only,” he added thoughtfully, -“I doubt if my voice could carry. I have -said definitely that I will not speak to more -<span class='pageno' id='Page_70'>70</span>than three thousand people. And in the -open air—”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Then we opened the discussion. Janet -suggested that we begin with private theatricals -for the poor.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“They need to have their minds taken -off their troubles,” she said. “We cannot -really better their condition. Perhaps we -can divert their attention.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>The Altruist withheld his opinion of this -idea. He did not wish to discourage Janet. -It was partly in order to give her a practical -interest that he had started the work. -But an expression came into his face that -made Janet whisper,—</p> - -<p class='c010'>“It really is not polite, Paul, to look -bored when other people are talking.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“We want to accomplish something that -will be of permanent service,” he began. -“Mere temporary distraction will not do. -I thought that you three women would -know how to bring them something of -the graciousness and sweetness of your -own lives.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“How can we effect anything whatever,” -<span class='pageno' id='Page_71'>71</span>asked the Doctor, “while those women live -under the conditions in which they must -live? They cannot even keep clean. It -is absolutely impossible. Cleanliness is -the most expensive luxury in the world. -What beauty and graciousness can be -brought into their lives so long as they -cannot take baths?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“We cannot correct at once,” the Altruist -answered, “all the evil consequences -of our present system. But we can bring -these people into touch with higher spiritual -ideals—”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“We can form clubs,” I hastened to say, -wishing to appease the Doctor by means -of a practical suggestion. “We can teach -the women to sew, or we can have a literary -club and teach them how to read.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>The Altruist’s face brightened.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes,” he said, “these cruder methods -open the way. When our neighbours understand -that we want to meet them on the -common ground of human brotherhood, -that we ignore all class distinctions—”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Don’t you think,” asked the Doctor, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_72'>72</span>eyeing the Altruist sharply, “that you -create class distinctions in order to wipe -them out? I thought that the idea of any -class distinction ran counter to the principles -of American democracy.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“It is impossible to ignore the fact that -the distinctions do exist,” answered the -Altruist. “The lines of caste are just as -exclusive here as in Europe.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And are you willing to forget them, -and to tell those people that you meet them -on terms of absolute equality? I think -that you will do it,” smiled the Doctor, -“just as long as you are not taken at -your word.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>There was something about the Altruist -that made him superior to petty annoyance -of this kind. He was not angry.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“We can convince them of our sympathy, -we can share with them our faith -and our aspiration,” he said gently.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“My faith and aspiration would be a -great support to them,” murmured Janet, -her lip curling in self-scorn. “No, cousin -Paul, just at present the relations between -<span class='pageno' id='Page_73'>73</span>Providence and me are a little strained, and -the greatest service I can do the world is -to hold my peace. There is no command -to go into all the world and preach the -interrogation point.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>After beating the air for this length of -time we began to work, and in ten minutes -had formed a plan for a woman’s club. It -was to meet every week at Barnet House. -It was to be a literary club, carried on by -reading and by lectures. Once a week -there was to be a social evening.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“We must have a party at least as often -as that,” pleaded the Altruist. “Our parties -are a great success. The neighbours -do so delight in lemonade.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“In short,” said Janet, “we will elevate -the masses by Swinburne and <em>frappee</em>!”</p> - -<p class='c010'>We reproved her for her flippancy, and -proceeded to work out the details of our -plan.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_74'>74</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XV</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>I told the Man of the World the story -of a business failure in the East End. -The sufferers were two very tiny Italian -boys, joint proprietors of a fruit-stand. -An unexpected season of warm weather -had proved bad for bananas, and the firm -was insolvent.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I was right in thinking that the Man of -the World would be interested in hearing -of this, and I described the situation to -him in much detail.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The Man of the World and I had become -great friends, and he had taken me into -his confidence. I knew all about the -money that he made at cards. A set -of his brother’s friends had taught him to -play poker, and were in the habit of amusing -themselves by letting him win. I -knew too about the horse that he had -<span class='pageno' id='Page_75'>75</span>bought without his father’s knowledge. -He kept it in a stable near the park, and -rode it every afternoon.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I have to work a bluff game to get -there,” he said one day, “but I get there -just the same.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>He told me about his young lady acquaintances. -Evidently he had several -who admired him much. Two embroidered -pillows and an elaborate photograph case -were proudly displayed by him as trophies -of conquest. One day, however, he had a -bitter quarrel with his prettiest girl friend. -It was, I believe, about a bag of popcorn. -After that he was very satirical in regard -to the entire sex, and had no communications -with any member of it except myself. -“There are no women in it for me any -longer,” he said darkly.</p> - -<p class='c010'>When I asked him if he would like to -hear the story of my latest “case,” he -responded that it would give him great -pleasure.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Then he regarded me for a minute with -a judicial air.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_76'>76</span>“What is it you do with people, anyway?” -he asked. “I don’t understand.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Oh, a great many things—” I began.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I wonder if you’re like my Sunday-school -teacher. She’s awful good, she is -really. She goes down to the Traffic Street -wharves and picks up drunken men and -converts ’em. Do you do that?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No,” I answered.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Well, could you?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No,” I admitted, “I do not think that -I could.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>But in spite of the confession of inferiority -on my part, he paid close attention to -my tale.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“How old did you say those kids are?” -he asked when I had finished.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Seven and nine,” I replied.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“They’re game ones, aren’t they?” -commented the Man of the World.</p> - -<p class='c010'>He went over to the window and stood -there, thinking, for a few minutes.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“If they had any money, do you think -they could start up the business again?” -he asked.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_77'>77</span>“Probably.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>The Man of the World thrust his hand -into his pocket and drew out a roll of bills, -which he offered me, sheepishly.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“We had a game of poker last night,” -he said, “and I scooped in—I mean, I -won. Take it, will you, for the little beggars? -I don’t need it. I’m flush, and can -ante just as well as not.”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_78'>78</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XVI</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>Our second committee-meeting left us -spent and weary. In making our programme -we began to question the wisdom -of presenting to working-women the scepticism -and doubt and denial of modern English -literature. We wandered off into a -wilderness of abstract questions, and, as -usual, lost our way.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Suddenly the door opened, and the Lad -strode in.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I beg your pardon,” he said, retreating.</p> - -<p class='c010'>We urged him to enter, saying that our -work was done.</p> - -<p class='c010'>He brought with him the freshness of -the open air. A wave of cheerfulness -swept over us, and we remembered that -the sun was shining out of doors.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“It is a glorious day,” observed the Lad. -“I have just come in.”</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_79'>79</span>“I must go out for a walk,” said the -Doctor, rising.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The Altruist followed, and Janet would -have gone, but the Lad looked at her -entreatingly.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Oh, don’t go!” he begged, with no -perception of the fact that his remark was -embarrassing. “I have so many things to -say to you.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>To my great surprise the girl smiled -and lingered. When Janet chose to be -gracious, she was very gracious indeed.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I kindly took up my notes to make out -the minutes of the meeting, and my young -friends seated themselves by the window.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You all looked rather blue when I -came in,” remarked the Lad.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“We were,” said Janet. “We had been -talking of the future of the human soul -as argued by Tennyson, and assumed by -Browning, and ignored by Swinburne. You -see, we can’t decide whether to teach the -lower classes doubt or conviction.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>The Lad was too much in earnest to -notice the irony.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_80'>80</span>“I don’t see why you are all so troubled -about a life beyond this,” he said. “Immortality -isn’t the question, is it, while we -have this world on our hands?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“It is at least very human,” the girl -answered, “as we cannot conduct this life -properly, to ask for another and a larger -one to spoil.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“But this one is so satisfactory!” cried -the Lad. “The mere delight in breathing -is enough, if we cannot have anything -else. I don’t feel the need of metaphysical -certainties so long as I can feel the -pulses beat, as they do beat in my wrists.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“What if your physical joy in living -should change into physical pain?” asked -Janet, gravely.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Suppose we talk of something else,” -suggested the Lad. “We never get anywhere -in discussing questions like this.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Except into corners in the argument,” -retorted Janet, smiling maliciously. “You -are in one now.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Well, I’m very happy there,” laughed -the Lad.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_81'>81</span>That was only too evident.</p> - -<p class='c010'>They stayed, talking eagerly of Heaven -knows what, until the sun went down. It -made a golden background for the profiles -outlined against the window-pane. Stray -locks of Janet’s hair were touched into -sombre brightness, and the colour in her -cheeks grew warm and red.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The Lad was gazing at her with softly -shining eyes.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_82'>82</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XVII</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>One Sunday afternoon I went to hear -the Altruist lecture on the book of Job.</p> - -<p class='c010'>He had converted a Brand Street dance-hall -into an auditorium, and the popular -lectures he gave there drew many followers -to his feet. He spoke with equal -power on social, on religious, and on literary -themes. Young working-men flocked -round him to hear him set forth the wrongs -of our present system of government, and -the better things to be. Night after night -the hall was crowded by men and women -of all ranks and all occupations, who -watched with untiring interest his treatment -of positivism, agnosticism, atheism, -Schopenhauerism, and his triumphant exposition -of a belief that they are all recognized -and transcended in the creed of -the Anglican church.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_83'>83</span>I can see him now, if I shut my eyes,—a -nervous little figure behind the low desk. -There was a curious glint in his eyes, -which were always looking over and beyond -the heads of his audience. I can see, too, -the eager, stricken faces of his hearers. -They drank in his teachings with consuming -thirst.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I have heard him speak many times, but -I have rarely seen the eyes of one of his -listeners removed an instant from his face. -A kind of mesmeric power held them. -There were questionings and rebellious -objections before his arrival, or after his -departure, but never in his presence.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I remember the comments made by two -young granite-cutters one night before his -lecture, Lecture X., in the “Exposition of -Contemporary Thought.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I can’t for the life of me see,” said one -of them, “how he can believe all this ’ere -science and evolution and believe in Genesis -too. ’Spose he’ll answer if I ask him?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Try,” said the other. “If he can’t -answer your question, he’ll turn it into -<span class='pageno' id='Page_84'>84</span>something he can answer. He’ll talk, anyway. -And I’ll bet a dollar you won’t know -but what he’s talking about the thing you -asked him.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>But that very night the two young sceptics -were smitten down. The Altruist -pronounced their questions ignorant and -crude, and explained the apparent contradiction -in his beliefs as a part of the eternal -paradox at the heart of all things.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I invited Janet to go with me on this -particular Sunday, but she refused.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I think that I would rather not hear -Paul expound Job,” she said.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“He will do it brilliantly,” I suggested.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Too brilliantly,” she laughed. “He -talks so wisely of all human experience -that you suspect him of never having had -any of his own. He stands condemned -by the amount of wisdom that he can -utter concerning life which he has not -shared. You feel that it all came from -books.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“But perhaps he will not deal with Job’s -emotional experiences. The lecture may be -<span class='pageno' id='Page_85'>85</span>purely abstract. Don’t you like to hear -your cousin philosophize?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No,” said the girl, “I don’t. Paul -finds the universe easy to explain, but I -mistrust his logic. To quote, I have forgotten -whom: ‘Corner him in an argument, -and he escapes out of the window -into the Infinite.’”</p> - -<p class='c010'>So I went alone. Before the Altruist -had been speaking five minutes I regretted -that Janet had not come. He was -alluding to other great rebels of literature,—Dante, -Prometheus, and our own -Carlyle,—souls stung by hurt into war -with God, and afterward fighting their -way through to a bitter peace.</p> - -<p class='c010'>There was a hush. Then we heard Job -talking with God. His upbraiding of the -Creator thundered through the room.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The impression given cannot be translated -into words. The audience was swayed -by the Altruist as grass is swayed by the -wind.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Who had not known moments like that, -when one arraigned God for hiding his -<span class='pageno' id='Page_86'>86</span>meanings from the eyes of men? That -time of negation was necessary, leading, -as it must, to affirmation. It was only a -season of darkness, breaking into clearest -light. Soon insight followed blindness; -conviction followed doubt. Uncertainty -could be only temporary with noble souls. -For them the fog cleared, and a universe -of order rose from chaos. They would -suffer no longer the clouding of the intellect, -or know the rebellion of the heart. -Their cry was answered, and reason grasped -the scheme of things.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Of this sure knowledge, universal expression -had been given in the formulas -of Anglican belief.</p> - -<p class='c010'>As the Altruist expounded the final relations -of Job to the Creator, and explained -God’s thought for man, the sudden illumination -was blinding. For a moment -the ultimate meaning of life and of death -seemed ours.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The audience crowded round the Altruist -to utter words of gratitude. One or -two women wiped their eyes, and working-men -<span class='pageno' id='Page_87'>87</span>of known sceptical tendencies came -forward, with a certain shame-facedness, -to grasp the Altruist’s hand.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I walked home alone in the early winter -twilight.</p> - -<p class='c010'>There was no one in the parlour except -the Butterfly Hunter, who was sitting by a -western window, with a sheet of sketches -from his specimens lying on his knee.</p> - -<p class='c010'>It was too dark to see clearly any longer. -The old scientist had forgotten his drawings, -and was watching one great star in -an orange patch of sky between two dark -lines of cloud.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“It is strange,” he said, half to himself, -half to me, as I seated myself in an easy -chair, “that truth, the least truth, is so -hard to find. We buy it dearly, and with -long effort, and then we do not understand -the whole of it.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>He rose and brought his pictures to me.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I have been studying that little creature,” -he said, “for forty years, and yet I -know nothing of the beginning or of the -end of its life. It begins in mystery; it -ends in mystery.”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_88'>88</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XVIII</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>I collected for Mrs. Ebstein a wardrobe -of tiny garments. Some of them -were Jean’s outgrown clothing. Some of -them I made myself, sitting alone in my -study in the early winter evenings.</p> - -<p class='c010'>It was almost Christmas time when I -took them down to Snow Street. I too -climbed the long flights of stairs, and -passed through the noisy room where the -seven children lived.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I found Mrs. Ebstein in her room alone. -When I opened my bag and gave her its -contents, her face shone. She grasped -both my hands and gave me a great kiss.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You are so good toward me!” she -said in broken English. “You make so -much trouble for me!”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Then she stroked the little socks. “Wie -niedlich! Wie reizend!”</p> - -<p class='c010'>We talked for some time in bad English -<span class='pageno' id='Page_89'>89</span>and worse German. When at last I rose -to go, Mrs. Ebstein took both my hands -again.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I did not know,” she said, “but you -are so good,—and I am ganz allein! No -sister, keine Mutter. Will you come mit -the doctor-lady when she comes?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>And smiling to see into what strange -paths my endeavour to serve humanity was -leading me, I promised. She was so -young; she was so far away from home.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Her child was born on the night of the -twenty-sixth of December. I went down -in the afternoon with the Doctor; and all -night long I waited and watched, in the -outer room, from which the seven children -had been banished.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The Doctor and the district nurse cared -for the patient.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Sitting out by the fire, I hung the little -flannel robes again and again in the warmest -place, saying over and over the lines -of the folk-song:—</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c012'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Mine ear is full of the murmur of rocking cradles.</div> - <div class='line'>‘For a single cradle,’ saith Nature, ‘I would give every one of my graves.’”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_90'>90</span>All night long I was hushed into awe -by the coming of new life, and hurt by a -pain that the presence of death does not -give.</p> - -<p class='c010'>When it was almost morning, I heard a -cry, and the words of the folk-song changed -into the words of the Bible: “And so she -brought forth her first-born child.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>We were high over the city. It was -just before dawn. In the east I caught -the first hint of the morning light, and -down below me I saw the roofs of the -city dimly outlined in the fading darkness.</p> - -<p class='c010'>As I watched, the Doctor came out and -joined me, weary, but with a look upon -her face that I had never seen before.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I never perform this service,” she said -slowly, “without feeling that I have been -doing a sacrificial act.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>I did not speak.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No wonder,” said the Doctor, “that -the symbol of the world’s salvation has -been so long a mother with her baby in -her arms. It pictures the greatest glory -of all our human life.”</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_91'>91</span>The light grew stronger in the east. -The Doctor’s eyes were strained toward it, -and her face was very beautiful.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I suppose it is because it is so near -Christmas time that I think of this,” she -continued. “I wonder why we have always -tried to read a supernatural meaning into -the story of the Christ-child. ‘The Holy -Ghost shall come upon thee,—the power -of the Highest shall overshadow thee; -therefore the holy thing that shall be born -of thee’—I tell you,” said the Doctor, -interrupting herself energetically, “that -means only that the birth of human life -is always sacred. We might well say at -every birth: ‘Go and search—for the -young child—and bring me word—that -I may come and worship him.’”</p> - -<p class='c010'>We watched the light grow strong and -clear over the quiet city. The grimy tenement -houses and the polluted streets became -more and more distinct. Then the -noise of rattling wheels and of hurrying -feet came faintly to our ears. The toil of -another day had begun.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_92'>92</span>After a time the nurse came out of the -inner room, holding in her arms the newborn -child. It was wriggling in the garments -in which it had been wrapped. The -Doctor looked down at the little purple -face and screwed-up nose, and her expression -changed to one of professional disgust.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I haven’t a doubt,” she muttered, “that -it is a poor, miserable, rickety little vagabond. -Why must there be this terrible -increase of population among paupers?”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_93'>93</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XIX</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>My colleagues did not share my discouragement -in regard to the East End. There -was much to hope for, they maintained, -from the spread of information concerning -it, from the awakening interest of the -upper classes in its condition, and from all -our new and intelligent methods of doing -good.</p> - -<p class='c010'>This was true. Each board-meeting, -conference, committee-meeting to which I -went as guest or member, gave me fresh -proof of the growth of knowledge about -the destitute, while the practical activity of -individuals and of societies seemed full of -promise for the poor.</p> - -<p class='c010'>There was one great Bureau of Inquiry -which existed solely for the purpose of -investigating new “cases.” Its agents, visiting -the needy, gleaned innumerable facts -<span class='pageno' id='Page_94'>94</span>that were entered in the books under heads -like these: “Work, How Many? Bad -Habits, What? Ill? Rent? Pay? Can -Read? Can Write?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>This vast body was constantly torn in -twain between a desire to find out genuine -suffering, and a fear of being deceived.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Closely connected with this Bureau was -the Society of Good Samaritans, who represented, -not only the new knowledge -concerning the poor, but also improved -methods of relief. The Samaritans always -sat in lengthy conference on Friday night, -discussing in friendly fashion (not without -gossip) the domestic affairs of the family -in hand, and voting: “No Aid”; or, “Aid, -$2.00 in groceries, visitor please follow up”; -or, “Give Citizen’s Emergency Ticket for -snow-shovelling”; and again, “No Aid.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Another relief-giving society, the Almoners, -differed from the Good Samaritans -only in the greater carefulness of its -proceedings. All its action was well -considered and most deliberate. Its committee-meetings -were full of anxious discussion -<span class='pageno' id='Page_95'>95</span>of the question, “What do we do -with such cases in District A?” and its -most innocent reports were headed “Confidential!”</p> - -<p class='c010'>For instance:</p> - -<p class='c009'>“The Almoners request that the facts -given below be used, especially if unfavourable, -with great care.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>In the case of</div> - <div class='line in4'>Abruzzi, Federigo,</div> - <div class='line in8'>No. 10 Mulberry Street.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c010'>“Barber. Six children. No work. Gave -shoes and stockings.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>These organizations were alike in the -business-like quality of their work, in the -wary kindliness with which they treated -the poor, and in their thirst for accurate -information. It occasionally happened that -representatives of all three societies met -by chance in the one room of a new -“case,” and gravely carried on their investigations -together.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Perhaps some of the questions that these -agents of organized philanthropy were -<span class='pageno' id='Page_96'>96</span>authorized to ask passed the line where -friendly interest becomes impertinence. -However, they but voiced the popular -opinion, that “people of that sort” do not -mind intrusion. Of many this was doubtless -true, and a great corporation can -hardly be expected to engage in character-study.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The intellectual curiosity evinced by -these bodies in matters of practical detail -was visible also in their theories of work. -New charity methods, English, German, -and Australian, were carefully discussed. -On our boards were men who were familiar -with all known schemes of in-door and outdoor -relief, and women who were masters -of statistics. We knew not only the best -ways of carrying on investigation, but also -the best ways of co-operating with the -Church, with the State, and with one -another.</p> - -<p class='c010'>But here theorizing stopped. These -students of social disease did not seem to -doubt the essential soundness of the social -constitution. Criticism of the present industrial -<span class='pageno' id='Page_97'>97</span>system and of the relation between -classes did not, apparently, occur to them. -The Altruist’s economic ideas would have -filled them with surprise.</p> - -<p class='c010'>My misgivings concerning all this work -did not come from the usual objections to -it, that the proceedings of huge bodies are -often too slow to be of use, because of the -time wasted in adjusting formalities, and -that the energy meant for action is dissipated -in argument. I was impressed only -by the hopelessness of finding out what to -do. After patient inquiry the gulf between -misery and the wish to help was nearly as -wide as before. Facts may be facts without -telling the truth, and with all our -knowledge we did not understand.</p> - -<p class='c010'>This was not true of every member -of the associations. There were certain -women who possessed a gift of practical -kindness, and were philanthropists by divine -right. And surely the effectiveness -of an organized body means the effectiveness -of the individuals composing it.</p> - -<p class='c010'>But different attitudes were represented. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_98'>98</span>Side by side with these women who were -quick to help and slow to condemn, were -others who allowed their respect for the -ten commandments of the Old Testament -to keep them from obeying the one command -of the New. They pronounced judgment -on the unfortunate with the most -impressive finality, as if wrong-doing were -doubly wrong in the East End. As I -listened to them I sometimes thought that -the ethical standard which the rich try to -preserve for the poor is very high.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I liked to watch these charitable women, -and to wonder why they were doing this -work. Some, whose faces had been made -sweet by sorrow, were striving only to find -expression for sympathy with human pain. -Some, who looked eager, restless, dissatisfied, -were trying, I thought, to find in -the lives of others the absorbing interest -they had missed in their own. A few, I -feared, had espoused the cause of the -needy for the sake of social distinction. -An interest in the poor was one of -the really important things, like the cut -<span class='pageno' id='Page_99'>99</span>of one’s sleeves, or one’s knowledge of -Buddha.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I discovered a new species of benevolent -woman, unlike the old-fashioned Saint Elizabeth -who encouraged pauperism by indiscriminate -distribution of loaves. A call -that I made on a fellow-Almoner (for in -an interval when my Cause did not keep -me busy I had rashly joined this body) -made me hope that the old Lady Bountiful -armed with pity will never quite give -place to this new Lady Bountiful armed -with views.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I had given my friend this name because -she looked so sympathetic. She -was a blithe little woman, very wealthy -and very charitable. On this occasion I -found her just going out. As she came -smiling to meet me, in her light cloth -gown with gloves and gaiters of the exact -shade, I thought how charming she was.</p> - -<p class='c010'>My Lady Bountiful had principles. She -always performed her full social duty, and -she told me, before I introduced the subject -I had come to discuss, how tired she -<span class='pageno' id='Page_100'>100</span>was. Dinners and receptions and the -theatre had tired her out. Yet she had -given up none of her charity work. Her -maid did all the necessary visiting for -her.</p> - -<p class='c010'>When I set forth the object of my visit -she looked disapproving. I wanted to -change the policy of our Board, of which -she was a director, to meet the distress -caused by a sudden financial crisis. But -My Lady interrupted my description of -the misery of the unemployed in the East -End.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I do not believe in voting special relief -for these people,” she said. “Their suffering -will be a lesson to them. When -they have work they are improvident; -when it stops they starve. They must -learn thrift and economy, even if it has -to be taught them in this severe way.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>It was a strange situation,—Dives in -his purple and Lazarus in his rags again. -But Dives played a new rôle, no longer -standing aloof, but coming near enough -the gate to study Lazarus, and then intimating -<span class='pageno' id='Page_101'>101</span>that his character was not all it -should be.</p> - -<p class='c010'>My Lady went on to speak of work, -of how noble it is, and how little common -people appreciate its sacredness. I -watched with a certain feeling of curiosity -the dainty figure against the rich background -of the beautiful house. The -fingers that were emphasizing the panegyric -of work had never been guilty of -a half-hour’s honest toil.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No,” said my hostess, when I rose to -go, “this crisis means discipline for the -poor, and we must not interfere. I think -as you investigate further you will find -that poverty is always the result of idleness, -intemperance, or crime.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Then this distress is retributive?” I -murmured. “It testifies to the negligence -of the poor, and indirectly to our own -industry, temperance, virtue?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes,” said My Lady, firmly. She was -always firm. “Don’t look so unhappy,” -she added, as she took my hand at parting. -“It isn’t such a bad world, after -<span class='pageno' id='Page_102'>102</span>all. I never can see why people insist -on crying out all sorts of unpleasant -things about it. I am a thorough optimist, -you see.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>I reflected, after the cool air of the -street had soothed my irritation, that we -were all like that. Each one of us had -pronounced opinions, right or wrong. I -wondered if it would not be better for -the poor if we knew less about them and -cared more.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_103'>103</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XX</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>Through all my study of human misery, -the thought of my little romance flashed -like swift sunshine. Some of the sadness -faded out of Janet’s face, and every day, I -thought, the Lad’s lips were more firmly set -in his effort to win. I wondered what the -outcome would be. If his chin had not -been so square and so determined, I should -have doubted his victory.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Janet joined us in our expeditions. -Then, as the weeks went on, the two -young Bohemians took long walks by -themselves, while I stayed at home or in -my office,—for my Cause had a downtown -office,—following them only with -my blessing.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I had grown very fond of both. It was -well for them to be together. Janet was -waking up, as in a keen electric shock, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_104'>104</span>under the influence of the Lad’s resistless -energy. “There is something contagious -in his vitality,” she said one day. “When -you are with him, you feel that you are -face to face with immortal youth, and can -never grow old.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>In their long conversations they passed, -as was natural, from the abstract to the -personal. It was amusing to hear their -encounters of words. Every bitter remark -that the girl made was met and worsted by -the strong logic and the strong hopefulness -of her opponent.</p> - -<p class='c010'>She heard from him the history of his -book. It was controversial. He was -waging a scientific battle with his dearest -friend, the author of an article that the -Lad said was “all off.” It had served as -the flinging of a gauntlet, and the Lad had -picked it up. The book was to be, he -said, not only a criticism of Rainforth, but -the first setting forth of his own theory, -and the Lad felt that his future welfare -depended on his triumph.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Not that I can come anywhere near -<span class='pageno' id='Page_105'>105</span>Rainforth generally,” he said. “He’s a -genius. Yes, he’s the only genius I have -ever known. I am simply a pigmy by the -side of him. But just here I know he is -wrong, and I intend to prove it. If I succeed, -nobody will congratulate me so -heartily as he.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>As to me, he had talked of Janet and the -book, to her he talked of the book and -Rainforth. They had been like David and -Jonathan in college and ever since. In -argument they had fought many a glorious -field. Now Rainforth was winning honour -in the West, and the Lad was watching -every step of his career with intense pride.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You ought to see him,” cried the Lad. -“He fairly towers above all the people -near him.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>There was a touch of novelty in the situation. -That a hero-worshipper should invite -his hero to step down from the pedestal -and do battle with him seemed a dangerous -proceeding. Yet I knew that if the hero -came out second-best, the worship would -be no whit abated.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_106'>106</span>I fancied that Janet grew weary of hearing -so much of Rainforth, but I was not -sure. She spoke less and less often of the -Lad. In place of the specific frankness -with which he talked of her, she generalized; -and because her “humorous melancholy” -was so little appreciated by him, -she spent it all on me.</p> - -<p class='c010'>She was talking one day of the elusiveness -of life. We were always seeming to -catch a meaning in it, she said, first in one -place, then in another. In will-o’-the-wisp -fashion it danced through religion, through -philosophy, through aspiration of every -kind. We went from illusion to illusion, -from dream to dream. The gods (thus -Janet named the hostile powers whom she -sometimes imagined behind the scenes), in -order to amuse themselves, had made this -world as a great playground, where their -creatures, cobweb-blinded, played an endless -game of blindman’s buff. The last -and most cruel illusion of all was love.</p> - -<p class='c010'>It was then that I knew that she had -begun to care for the Lad.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_107'>107</span>In the early winter my work developed -so as to demand all my time. In consequence -of the business depression, the -suffering in the city had increased tenfold. -My experiences of the daytime -haunted me at night. In my dreams I -climbed the dark stairways of the poor, -and door after door opened in my sleep -upon scenes of misery that I could not -help.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I had no time now to talk with my young -friends, but the sight of them comforted -me. I found myself looking at Janet -with the Lad’s eyes. I, too, in watching -her face, saw “a glory upon it, as upon -the face of one who feels a light round -his hair.”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_108'>108</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XXI</h2> -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“The more I muse there inne the mistier it semeth,</div> - <div class='line'>And the depper I devyne the derker me it thinketh.”</div> - <div class='line in30'><span class='sc'>William Langland.</span></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>As I look back I am amazed at the -amount of talking that we all did. The -memory of the winter is a mist of “words, -words, words.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Long discussions of spiritual questions -were new to me. I had come from a -world where one took God and one’s duty -for granted, and endeavoured to act. Here -we wavered so long over uncertainties in -belief that we had little energy left for -work, and we talked of conflicting causes -until the world was turned into a snarl of -tangled theories.</p> - -<p class='c010'>In my bewilderment I found myself -asking if it were worth while to try to -understand.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_109'>109</span>My pretty Janet was wasting her days -in attempting to find a satisfactory way of -thinking about life; while the Altruist, -who alone among us was content with his -knowledge of things seen and unseen, had -succeeded only, I sometimes thought, in -thrusting between himself and his fellow-man -a theory of how to treat him, and -between himself and God the shadow of -an explanation of Him.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Could one, after all, take life as simply -as the Lad took it, waiving abstract inquiry -while one attended to the matter in -hand? It seemed as if he, a denier of all -knowledge of God, had come very near -to Him in that ceaseless, unquestioning -activity.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I began to doubt even the value of our -ideas about the poor.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Their deep satisfaction in existing contrasted -strongly with our restless questioning -of the uses of existence. Perhaps we, -who were so filled with pity for the victims -of life, had been better for a share in its -suffering; for it might be that the wisdom -<span class='pageno' id='Page_110'>110</span>denied to thought lay written only in -experience.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Thus I decided that an intellectual grasp -of things in general is impossible, then, -woman-like, turned and did a little reasoning -of my own.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Were there not enough strong young -souls like the Lad’s to break through the -woven spells of theory and wake the world -from sleep?</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_111'>111</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XXII</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>“—just to stir up stagnation, you -know, and rouse interest by telling people -how things really are; for it’s ignorance -that’s the matter, sheer ignorance, -and I’m convinced that if the rich can be -made to understand the condition of the -poor, they’ll take measures to better it, so -I’m trying to raise the standard of general -intelligence and bring the classes -together—”</p> - -<p class='c010'>The sentence went on and on. I could -hardly remember when it had begun. The -Young Reformer, who was calling on me, -had asked me to co-operate, and I had -innocently asked in what.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“—public opinion is what we want,” -he was saying, “and we are safe if we -can get the press on our side; for it’s the -press that really rules the country, and not -<span class='pageno' id='Page_112'>112</span>the pulpit, and I say the thing is to get -the great popular organs on our side and -let them work with us instead of against -us, and they will if we only use tact; for -I’ve found that if you only use tact the -thing is done.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“What special work are you attempting?” -I asked.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Oh, everything,” said the Young -Reformer, cheerfully. “It doesn’t make -any difference. When I see an evil I -begin to call attention to it. You have -got to be busy if you are going to accomplish -anything.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And what would you like to have me -do?” I inquired, gazing at my guest with -undisguised curiosity.</p> - -<p class='c010'>There was an indescribable air of aimless -activity about him. He sat, in a -somewhat vague and tentative way, on -the edge of his chair, holding on his knee -a bundle of newspapers and manuscript -that he had been too busy to put down.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Well, what’s your strong point?” he -demanded.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_113'>113</span>I was staggered, but it made no difference.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Now mine is the platform,” he continued -confidentially. “Yes, I’m at my -best on the platform. It took me a long -time to find it out. I tried business and -I tried the law, but I was always restless -and felt that I wasn’t in the right place. -Then I got interested in social questions, -and thought I’d give myself up to public -effort.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>I wondered if this young man were one -of those who, finding the duties of citizen -difficult to perform, condemn society.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I repeated my question.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Oh, do anything you are interested -in. Just begin where you choose, and -I’ll try to help you. It doesn’t make -much difference.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Here he smiled encouragingly.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“May I ask in what way you learned -my name?” I inquired.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The slight reproof for his intrusion -passed unnoticed.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Oh, I’ve heard everywhere in the city -<span class='pageno' id='Page_114'>114</span>about what you’re doing. I’m trying to -get acquainted with everybody who is -working for the general good, and I -thought that if you would co-operate with -me in some way it would be better than -for us to work alone.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>I was conscious of a momentary wish to -write a manual of etiquette for reformers, -but my guest looked so innocent that I -forgave him.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“My opportunities for influencing public -opinion are limited,” I said. “I doubt -if I can assist you.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“But I am sure you can,” he answered, -cordially. “I want to undertake something -new here. I try to adapt my programme -to the needs of each city. In -Chicago I gave a course of lectures on -‘The Crying Evils of the Day.’ The -press co-operated, and we made an organized -attack on wrong of all kinds. I -couldn’t follow it up because I had to go -on to another place. That’s the trouble. -But as I said, the great thing is to rouse -interest. I know that here there’s a great -<span class='pageno' id='Page_115'>115</span>deal of study of social questions, and I -want to do something to encourage that. -I like to be in the crest of each wave of -progress. Just what are you doing now?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>I described for him some of the minor -workings of my Cause. The details were -dry.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Now that kind of practical thing -doesn’t appeal to me,” he said. “I know -it’s necessary, but there isn’t any emotion -in it. You can’t get hold of the popular -heart that way. There’s nothing like the -platform, not even the pulpit. Well, I’ll -tell you. I’m going to begin a series of -banquets at St. Mark’s Hotel to bring the -classes together. I’ll have one next week, -and I want you to come. I’ll invite some -up-town people and the leaders of various -movements to meet some of the lower -classes, the real People, you know, and -we’ll see what can be done.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“There’s nothing like beginning and -just letting a thing get under way, and -then when it’s started you know better -what to do. Start a movement and you -<span class='pageno' id='Page_116'>116</span>can turn it into almost anything you want -to. All you need is to get your forces -going.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>I accepted, I fear from curiosity, the -invitation to meet the People, and my -caller took his departure. He stood irresolute -on the steps for a moment, as if -wondering in which of all possible directions -he would better go. I reflected that -in the battle with human nature to which -he stepped out so airily, he would at least -have the satisfaction of never knowing his -defeat.</p> - -<p class='c010'>And I wondered who would deliver society -from its deliverers.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_117'>117</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XXIII</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>“<span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Ich selber bin Volk.</span>”—<span class='sc'>Heinrich Heine.</span></p> - -<p class='c009'>The socialistic banquet was a success. -Various members of the upper classes were -present, and several representatives of the -People. The Young Reformer presided -with great ease.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The repast was not formal. Neither -were the speeches afterward. We hastened -over the material part of the feast, -and our host dismissed the waiters abruptly -when the coffee had been served.</p> - -<p class='c010'>As I looked around the table in the -centre of the great hotel dining-room, I -realized that we were a distinctly curious -collection of human beings. Each one of -us stood for a cause. Representatives of -Church and University were sitting side by -side with Socialist and Anarchist. Two -<span class='pageno' id='Page_118'>118</span>residents from Barnet House and the -head of the Woman’s Settlement were -there. Opposite me sat a Single Tax -agitator. At my left was a Knight of -Labour. There were present also four -prominent Trades Unionists, a Temperance -woman, a White Ribbon woman, -and a Populist.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Our eyes were all fixed upon the Young -Reformer as he rapped upon the table and -called upon my friend, the Resident at Barnet -House, to speak in behalf of Socialism.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The Resident spoke with dignity.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“It is,” he said, “an economic fact that -Socialism is inevitable. Whether we will -or no, it is coming as surely as the days -are moving on. It is equally true that it, -as a system, offers to the individual a justice -that no other form of government can -offer. Under the centralizing system of -Socialism, with land and the forces of production -in the collective ownership of the -People, and monopolies done away, will -come at last that granting of equal rights -to all that democracy has failed to realize.”</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_119'>119</span>The speaker was enthusiastically applauded.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Then the Altruist was called upon in -behalf of the Brotherhood of Man.</p> - -<p class='c010'>An abstract of his remarks can give no -idea of their power. The Altruist alluded -to our new recognition in this century of -the close relationship between high and -low. He described certain attempts, both -secular and religious, that have been made -to recognize this relationship. Then he -set forth his hope for the future, when -government shall be spiritualized, and the -principles of the Christian religion shall -be worked into our laws.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The address was eloquent, and the audience -was strongly moved.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The Altruist ended with an appeal. -The cultured must return to the People, -and the People must realize that in doing -this the upper classes have no sense of -superiority, and are actuated by motives -of purest Christian love.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Our host was leaning back in his chair, -and his face wore a happy smile.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_120'>120</span>A Trades Unionist, in responding to the -two preceding orators, said that it did him -good all over to hear remarks like theirs. -They expressed his sentiments exactly. -If more folks felt that way, there wouldn’t -be all this trouble between labour and capital. -The working-people were going to -have their rights, and if these were not -given, they would fight for them. But -the working-man was quite willing to meet -the capitalist half way and settle things -peacefully if it could be done.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The young Socialist smiled at this militant -formulation of the principle of brotherly -love, but the Altruist did not hear. -He rarely listened to what other people -said.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I fell into a fit of abstraction and caught -only fragments of the two next speeches. -I knew, in a dim fashion, that the Populist -had the floor, and was insisting that the -one way to achieve universal good was -by adopting the platform of his political -party. I knew that the Temperance -woman, who was sweet-faced and young, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_121'>121</span>rose to say sternly that we were all wrong. -Only by wakening the moral forces could -the race be saved. For a world given -over to passion there was no economic -salvation.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Watching these burdened, anxious faces -in the brilliant electric light, I wondered -how I could have lived nine and thirty -years without knowing that this old earth, -which I loved, was so very bad. Three -months ago I had seen only here and -there a thistle or a bramble bush in its -fair fields. Now it looked to me all weeds -and tares, weeds and tares.</p> - -<p class='c010'>But the Professor was responding to -the toast: “The University and the -People.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“There is no gulf between the University -and the People,” he said in a -quick, emphatic voice. He had a perplexed -air, as if wondering why he had -come.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“The University was founded by the -People, for the People. Its interests are -the interests of the People. In its hands -<span class='pageno' id='Page_122'>122</span>lies one of the highest powers in a nation’s -life. Economic conditions, moral -forces, are naught without the intellectual -guidance that comes through the trained -minds of a country’s devoted servants, -her scholars.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>These remarks were sufficiently noncommittal, -yet the Professor was troubled, -fearing that he had not said the right -thing.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The word People ran like a refrain -through all these remarks, and it puzzled -me. The People, it would seem, had been -injured, and their wrongs were to be set -right. But who were the People, and who -had harmed them?</p> - -<p class='c010'>We pronounced ourselves ready to waive -all differences between ourselves and the -People. Who had suggested the differences? -Surely not the People. Even -now the voice of a clergyman was in -my ears, adjuring us all, indiscriminately, -to get nearer the People. I, who was -conscious that I belonged to the People -and had never gone away, was puzzled, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_123'>123</span>feeling a certain lack of programme in -the suggestion.</p> - -<p class='c010'>At last the Anarchist arose. I had -heard of him before, but had not seen -him. His quoted opinions had made my -blood run cold. Now I gazed at him in -surprise, for he did not at all resemble -the picture of him that my fancy had -made. Standing with his large old hands -folded, and his long gray beard rippling -over his bosom, he looked like an -aged apostle who was near the beatific -vision.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Friends,” he said, and his voice was -like the sound of a benediction, “I’ve -heerd all you’ve said about injestice and -wrong. You hain’t said half enough. -Nobody could say half enough about how -bad things be. But you ain’t got the right -remedy. Talkin’ won’t do it. We’ve got -to act. Friends, we’re workin’ towards -peace, but we may hev to walk to it -through blood.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>There was a look of benevolence in his -large, mild eyes as he said this.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_124'>124</span>“None of you goes down far enough,” -he continued. “It’s gover’ment that is -the root of all evil, and gover’ment has -got to be wiped out.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>We sat motionless around our broad -table, as if held to our chairs by a -spell, forgetting even to drink our coffee, -which grew cold as we listened. There -was an awful fascination about the Anarchist -as he went on to describe the millennium -of anarchy, where there should -be no government, but where each man, -standing as a law to himself, should seek -his own good in the good of his neighbour. -The oration was long and full of rambling -eloquence, whose mixed metaphors suggested -confusion of thought.</p> - -<p class='c010'>But the Anarchist stopped. “I hev -spoke the truth,” he said solemnly, “but -’twont hev no effect. ’Twill be like the -morning dew, in at one ear and out at -other.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>There was a pause. Then we all drank -cold water to the success of our respective -causes, and shortly after came away.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_125'>125</span>All the way home my thoughts and my -feet kept pace with those lines concerning -two reformers who strolled one day by the -sea:—</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c012'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“The Walrus and the Carpenter</div> - <div class='line in2'>Were walking close at hand;</div> - <div class='line'>They wept like anything to see</div> - <div class='line in2'>Such quantities of sand.</div> - <div class='line'>‘If this were only swept away,’</div> - <div class='line in2'>They said, ‘it would be grand.’”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_126'>126</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XXIV</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>That was one of the days when everybody -was unhappy, everybody except the -Altruist. But it was against the Altruist’s -principles to let the world know his -changes in mood, and he may have been -sad underneath his smile.</p> - -<p class='c010'>It began with the Man of the World. -He came down to breakfast with a dragging -step, and took his seat wearily. His -face looked faded, and his eyes were dull.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I wish somebody would give me something -to make me sleep,” he said. “I lie -awake every night until almost morning.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>A laugh went round the table. The -habits of the Man of the World were -notoriously conducive to sleeplessness. -Late suppers too often robbed him of -the slumber due his years.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The laughter offended him. He rose -<span class='pageno' id='Page_127'>127</span>with dignity and went away. When I -followed him a few minutes later I found -him sulking in the hall. The look of age -in his blue eyes moved me to pity, and -I drew the Man of the World toward me, -as if he were a child.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I do not know what I said to him. It -was something about changing all this, -and beginning over again, without the -smoking and the cards and the horses. -He did not mind. In fact, he seemed to -like having me touch him, and laid his -cheek against my hand, very much as -Jean liked to do. But he straightened -up again.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No,” he said firmly, “you are barking -up the wrong tree. I mean,—I beg your -pardon,—it doesn’t do any good. I might -have done it once, but I can’t now.” And -saying “Good morning” very courteously, -he went up to his room.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I had promised the Doctor to visit with -her a patient on Traffic Street, near Edgerley -Bend. For once even the Doctor had -lost courage. As we threaded our way -<span class='pageno' id='Page_128'>128</span>along the crowded sidewalks of the East -End she bewailed her unfitness for her -work. Evidently she was disheartened -because she could not cure the incurable.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I walked on in silence, too miserable -to speak. The air was stifling, for there -seemed to be but little space between the -sky and the mud in the street. Gazing at -the faces that drifted past us, some bad, -some apathetic, some despairing, I wondered -which were the more pitiful, those -that had lost hope, or those that had -never known it.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The Doctor’s mood changed when she -reached her patient and found something -to do; but I, who had not that means of -relief, came home as wretched as before.</p> - -<p class='c010'>In the afternoon I went to Janet for -comfort. As I crossed the street, the -quaint stucco houses looked more than -ever like the scenery of a stage. Through -the half-drawn curtains I caught a glimpse -of the Lad, and smiled. The play had -really begun.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_129'>129</span>I had come for consolation, but I was -disappointed. The Lad was alone with -baby Jean. He looked up when I entered, -and I saw that his eyes were clouded.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Isn’t it cold?” he said, with an absentminded -air.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I asked where everybody was. Jean’s -father and mother were away. Yes. Miss -Janet was at home, and had been here, but -was now upstairs. He did not know if -she was coming back.</p> - -<p class='c010'>We relapsed into silence. The Lad -took Jean upon his knee. Something -made the child feel neglected; neither by -holding up her new bronze shoes nor by -winking both her eyes could she win the -Lad’s attention. He had forgotten us -both. Suddenly he lifted the child to -his face and kissed her passionately, murmuring, -“Janet! Janet!”</p> - -<p class='c010'>I escaped to Janet’s room. The girl -was pretending to read. Her lips were -tight-set, and her eyes unnaturally bright.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Do you know that you have a guest -downstairs?” I asked.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_130'>130</span>“It is time that my guest went away,” -was her answer.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You haven’t a very polite way of -inducing him to do it,” I said. “Child, -what are you doing? Do you know -what you are doing?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>She came and put her arms around -my neck.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I am finding out what happens when -an insurmountable obstacle is met by an -irresistible force. I cannot consent to be -the Lad’s wife. I am not happy enough.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Don’t you care for him?” I asked.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Perhaps I care too much to do that,” -she answered slowly.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I was silent for very pity. I knew that -all the obstinacy and incredulity of the -girl’s nature had risen in battle against -this new emotion. Love had come to -her, but had come like a great sorrow.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_131'>131</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XXV</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>Of all our protégés among the “People,” -none interested us more than the -Tailoress. The discovery of interesting -characters among the poor was one of -the rewards that we hoped for from our -work.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The Tailoress was a tall, gaunt, strong-featured -woman of forty, who lived alone -on the fifth floor of a Brand Street lodging-house. -She worked ten hours a day; at -night she read. From the city library she -had obtained stray volumes of Browning -and Ruskin and Carlyle. Her comments -on these books had marked individuality.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The Tailoress had been an ambitious -country girl, and had come to the city to -work her way through sewing into an art-education. -Once she had succeeded in -taking a six-weeks course in elementary -<span class='pageno' id='Page_132'>132</span>drawing. The work had been interrupted, -but the Tailoress had not yet given up her -hope. That was the reason why, although -she commanded comparatively good wages, -she lived up so many flights of stairs, and -fared on porridge and tea.</p> - -<p class='c010'>She had a peculiar face, with a long -nose, and strong under-jaw. Her skin -was brown, despite her years of confinement -in a shop, so brown that her blue -eyes looked paler than they really were. -I liked to see her pupils dilate when an -idea came to her. They expanded, and -her whole face glowed with enthusiasm.</p> - -<p class='c010'>For the Tailoress had the soul of a -poet. Through all her starved life she -had carefully saved up every semblance -of beauty that had fallen to her lot. In -her room hung a Carlo Dolce Madonna, -in a narrow black-walnut frame, and an -unmounted photograph of two Corregio -cherubs was pinned to the wall-paper. She -owned a few books: a volume of Longfellow, -selections from Ruskin, and an -Emerson Birthday Book. The heavy underlining -<span class='pageno' id='Page_133'>133</span>in these few volumes revealed -an admiration deep and uncritical.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“It looks,” said Janet, with mock gravity, -when I told her about the Tailoress, “as -if a sphere of usefulness were going to be -given me. May I lead the Tailoress up -from Carlo Dolce to a love for French -impressionism? I will take her to see the -pictures of M. Puvis de Chavannes.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“If you choose,” I answered, “but leave -her her books.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Nay,” said Janet, “I will take away -her Longfellow and give her Amiel. Shall -the poor be shut off from the sources of -our inspiration?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>The Tailoress was different from the -other working-people that I knew. Most -of them were weighed down by a constant -sense of wrong, but the Tailoress -never rebelled against the hardships of -her lot. They seemed to have no power -over her. Perhaps she forgot them in -her hunger and thirst for beauty and -knowledge.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I remember some of her remarks. Once, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_134'>134</span>when some one was denouncing the useless -luxury of the lives of the rich, the Tailoress -looked up quickly.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I don’t feel like that,” she said, in her -deep, masculine voice. “Why should we -grudge them the beauty of their lives? -God knows what is best. I am glad that -there are people in the world who can -have the things they want.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>We took her to the Art Museum, and -she was as one possessed. I found her -in a room devoted to Greek sculpture, sitting -alone and silent. She rose, with the -face of one greatly moved, and grasped -my arm.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“What does it matter,” she said, “all -the suffering and the lack, in a world that -has in it things like this?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>It was hard to induce her to come away. -“It makes me so happy to stay here,” -she said. “It is full of beauty and of -peace.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Doubtless it was her longing for something -else that kept her from rising in her -trade. After twenty-two years of work -<span class='pageno' id='Page_135'>135</span>she was still a vest-maker, never having -shown sufficient ambition to try her skill -as a maker of coats.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Now a crisis came in her life. She went -to hear the Altruist lecture, and became -his most ardent disciple. I think that he -unlocked the gates of Heaven to her. -Through the glamour of his eloquence -she caught sight of the pinnacles and -towers of the city of her dreams. Unconsciously -she adopted his opinions and -his tastes. Cardinal Newman’s “Dream -of Gerontius” appeared among the books -on her table, and the Correggio cherubs -gave way to a thin Giotto saint.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Her devotion was so extreme that the -Altruist at last learned to distinguish her -from his many other followers. He saw -her strength, and confided to me the way -in which he thought it should be used. -The Tailoress had personal ambition, aspiration, -he said, but it seemed to him hardly -worth while to encourage that. She was -too old. In our attempts to serve Humanity, -we must utilize our forces in the most -<span class='pageno' id='Page_136'>136</span>economical way, and must work with the -young. It was too late for her to fulfil -her own life; she must learn to help fulfil -the lives of others.</p> - -<p class='c010'>She needed, first of all, to be led up -to a higher spiritual plane. There was -something pagan in her thirst for pure -beauty. Under his forming touch she -might grow into more impersonal and -holier ambition.</p> - -<p class='c010'>And there was no nobler mission for -her than the liberation of her sex. The -Tailoress was employed in an ill-paid -industry, which was almost entirely in -the hands of women. Already in her -own shop she was looked upon as an -oracle. Could she not learn that, in -helping secure better conditions of life -for her fellow-workers, she would be doing -higher service than she could ever do -in search for knowledge, or in devotion -to art?</p> - -<p class='c010'>I, who was still at the mercy of indiscriminate -enthusiasm, and had not yet -learned to let other people’s causes alone, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_137'>137</span>promised to go with the Tailoress to the -Anarchist, that she might learn from him -the social wrong from which she was suffering, -and the social mission to which she -was called.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_138'>138</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XXVI</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>Our passion for comprehending invaded -even our friendships. A friend was no -longer simply a friend, but a riddle to be -read, a proposition to be understood and -expounded. Everybody talked of everybody -else, and we analyzed and dissected -one another with great calmness. The -temperaments of our <i><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">confrères</span></i>, their -growth and change in ideas,—all these -matters we tossed back and forth over -many a cup of afternoon tea.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The Lad did not shine in this work of -analysis. We all decided that he was no -judge of character: he had so little insight -into people’s faults. The opinions -that he formed were most astounding. -To him the Man of the World was a promising -child, and he regarded me as a person -of firmest conviction, not seeing how I -was swayed this way and that by any new -<span class='pageno' id='Page_139'>139</span>idea. In those days everything that I -heard impressed me greatly.</p> - -<p class='c010'>When we were all together, we talked -of our remoter acquaintances. The Man -of the World afforded us much amusement, -and the Butterfly Hunter interested -us greatly. But when the little coterie -was not complete, the absent members -often became the subject of conversation.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Our best epigrams, I noticed, were -made about the Altruist. It was easy to -be clever at his expense.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“What I admire most about him,” said -the Doctor, “is his brilliant lack of logic. -He is never so convincing as when he contradicts -himself.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Paul has that exclusive belief in his -immediate notion which is so effective in -this world,” said Janet. “The difference -between him and me is this: I can never -believe in anything that I am doing, and -he can never believe in anything that he -is not doing.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>I defended the Altruist. His burning -zeal for good, I maintained, consumed all -<span class='pageno' id='Page_140'>140</span>minor faults. One could forgive him -much for the greatness of his endeavour.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Yet I could not help admitting that the -Altruist’s passionate devotion to his idea -kept him remote, apart from the world he -was trying to uplift.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“He is rather an ingenious theory of -living than a part of life itself,” said Janet -one day. “I sometimes think that he is -like a beautiful religion that never saved a -soul.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes,” answered the Doctor, impiously, -“he ought to commit some sin that would -humble him thoroughly. Then he would -understand better the common experience -of mankind.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I haven’t a doubt that he would do it,” -laughed Janet, “if he thought it necessary -to bring him ‘in touch with the masses.’”</p> - -<p class='c010'>It was on this occasion that the Doctor -made her famous inquiry as to whether, in -becoming too literally an Altruist, one ceased -to be an individual.</p> - -<p class='c010'>When the Altruist was with us, we talked -often of the Lad. We rarely discussed the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_141'>141</span>Doctor, because in doing so the Altruist -and I quarrelled.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“There is something lacking in the -Lad,” the Altruist said. “He has the old -Greek joyousness in mere living, but one -misses the touch of the spiritual, the mystical. -It is a nature that is limited to delight -in sensuous and intellectual life. It -has no hold on the Infinite.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“That is what the Altruist says about -everybody who doesn’t agree with him,” -the Doctor remarked afterward. “I wish -that he did not confuse lack of appreciation -of himself with lack of appreciation -of the good.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>I feared that the Altruist might withhold -his approval from the Lad. The two -men stood very far apart in aim and in -ways of thinking. It was true that the Lad -did not entirely understand the Altruist -and his gallant efforts to come to the rescue -of the fainting powers of Heaven; and -the Doctor’s suggestion that the Altruist -regarded criticism of himself as a mark of -mental limitation in the critic, was not -<span class='pageno' id='Page_142'>142</span>wholly unjust. Yet knowing that the -younger man was not numbered among -his disciples, the Altruist treated him with -great cordiality.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I did not scruple to criticise the Lad -myself. It seemed to me that he had -parted too easily with his old faith, and -that he was not sufficiently interested in -my Cause.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“He stands for nothing,” I said one day -to Janet and the Doctor.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“O yes he does,” laughed Janet. “He -stands for the forgotten art of living unconsciously. -He has rediscovered a lost -point of view.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Janet usually refused to talk of the Lad, -but to-day she took up the cudgels in his -defence.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I like that radiant scepticism. There -is nothing negative about it. I sometimes -think that the Lad has more than his -share of the primal creative impulse that -is at the heart of all things. His energy -always urges him forward. The rest of -us are working backward, by an analysis -<span class='pageno' id='Page_143'>143</span>that is death, as if the meaning of life lay -behind us and not before.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Janet,” said the Doctor, “did you think -of that just now, or did you make it up -before?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I thought of it a long time ago,” -answered Janet, raising her chin saucily, -but flushing, “and I wrote it down in my -note-book.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Janet herself was one of our most interesting -subjects at these afternoon séances. -I was constantly tempted into a bit of -analysis at her expense: she was so complex, -so puzzling.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I have regretted since our free discussions -of one another. We considered -them impersonal, artistic, critical. One’s -friends, I have come to think, should -serve other ends than those of amateur -psychology.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_144'>144</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XXVII</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>While we wrestled with our problems, -baby Jean wrestled with a great many -that were all her own. The difference -between her and the rest of us was that -she said nothing.</p> - -<p class='c010'>But as day after day she watched with -shining eyes the life in the street below, -I fancy that the question of the Sphinx -presented itself to her in many forms. -Why articles that she threw from the -window re-appeared in the nursery; why -some people passed and did not come back, -while others came back so often; why the -big dog ran when the little dog chased him,—all -these things were to her parts of an -encompassing mystery.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Her vague wonder grew into childish -thought. I watched—with a guilty feeling -that I was neglecting the great things -<span class='pageno' id='Page_145'>145</span>I had been set to do—her quick development.</p> - -<p class='c010'>She found that putting her fingers in her -ears kept out unpleasant sound, and once -when her mother reproved her she held -them there, triumphant and unhearing. -She found that she could agitate the entire -family by hiding small possessions. And -she did this often, looking inscrutable and -dignified through the search for the lost -articles, then always bringing them back -when the fun was over. She never forgot.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The ways of life were hard for her -tiny feet. She was quick-tempered, easily -angered, and easily hurt. But always, after -running away in wrath and tears, she would -be back again in a minute with a solemn -little face uplifted to be kissed.</p> - -<p class='c010'>She was born in an age of denial, and -her first spoken word was “no.” With a -sweet perversity she stoutly repudiated all -her most ardent wishes. Even while her -arms were stretched out to reach the desire -of her heart, she always protested that she -did not want it.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_146'>146</span>I think that I remember every one of -her pretty attitudes, the turn of her head, -the curves of her lithe little body.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I remember her as she looked one morning, -tiptoe in her bed. It was very early; -all the world was asleep. She had crawled -up outside the curtain, and stood against -the window, with her two hands outspread -upon the pane, white as a little flower.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I remember her as she clung one day -to the Lad as he was leaving the house.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You do like me a little, don’t you, -Jean?” said the Lad.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, no, no,” said the child, clasping -her arms tightly about his neck.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Ah, this is the baby,” said a caller -who was entering. “Isn’t she like her -aunt!”</p> - -<p class='c010'>The Lad’s eyes twinkled, and he answered -the question, which had been -addressed to me.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Very much indeed,” he said gravely.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_147'>147</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XXVIII</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>Our literary club, whether successful or -not, was interesting. It embraced hardworking -women who were comparatively -well read in modern English literature, -and girls who could hardly spell their -own names. The effects of our teaching -were varied, ranging all the way from keen -stimulus to mental paralysis.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The activity of its committee-meetings -never waned. Here we continued to debate -on Life and Humanity and other abstract -themes. Here the Doctor and the Altruist -disputed with great plainness of speech, -but with underlying good-humour.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I remember one meeting at which the -Doctor began with knitted brows:—</p> - -<p class='c010'>“What troubles me in all this work with -the poor is, that it is external. We turn -and set them an example, and demand that -<span class='pageno' id='Page_148'>148</span>they shall conform. We impose something -on them from without—”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“But they certainly need uplifting,” said -the Altruist, puzzled.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No,” asserted the Doctor, “they need -simply a chance to live their own lives decently -and to develop themselves. Their -only hope lies in their natural human -instincts. We cannot bring round the -kingdom of Heaven for them either by -preaching or by making laws. If they -could have plenty of hot water and soap, -and could be let alone, they would be -better off than if we try to teach them -our ideas.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I do not agree with you,” said the -Altruist. “They will instinctively gain -more delicate shades of feeling by coming -in contact with us—”</p> - -<p class='c010'>I think that the Doctor was really -angry.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“For true delicacy of feeling,” she -said, “commend me to the very poor. -We ought to go down on our knees to -learn of them. The kindness, forbearance, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_149'>149</span>patience, and the quiet heroism of -the poor are almost beyond our grasp. -Look at it! We haven’t their opportunity -for cultivating the virtues,—unselfishness, -for instance. They have none of the modern -methods for doing their duty to their -neighbours without letting it cost anything. -They know nothing about ‘organizations.’ -They actually think that the -only way to help is by kindness. As for -us, humanity has been civilized out of -us.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“The poor ought to be informed of -this at once,” said Janet, “and ought to -be urged to start a society for the cultivation -of humane instincts among the -well-to-do.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You do find,” admitted the Altruist, -“a certain primitive generosity among -the lower classes. But when you say -that they do not need the refining influences -of culture, I do not understand -you.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I mean,” said the Doctor, “that we -are absurd when we talk of teaching the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_150'>150</span>lower classes rightness of feeling, for by -good rights they ought to teach us. So -far as I know, the moral forces are not -the result of culture. They work up from -below. There has never been a great -reform that did not originate with the -so-called ‘People.’ All that culture can -do is occasionally to supply directing -power, cold brain force, to the impulse -of the masses. Something deeper than -thought, in the primary instincts of the -masses, keeps the race sane, healthy, right -at heart.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“It is strange to hear that,” mused the -Altruist, “in the face of the awful degradation -and the crying sin of the slums -of this city. Nothing short of miraculous -regeneration, physical, mental, and -spiritual, can save them.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“What is it that Whitman says?” -asked Janet. Then she quoted softly:</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c012'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“‘In this broad earth of ours,</div> - <div class='line'>Amid the measureless grossness and the slag,</div> - <div class='line'>Enclosed and safe within its central heart,</div> - <div class='line'>Nestles the seed perfection.’”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_151'>151</span>“That crass optimism,” said the Altruist, -sternly, “is materialistic and superficial. -It simply ignores the vileness of -a sin-stricken world.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>This question, as to whether the People -are more sane at heart than the not-People -we never settled, for the committee-meeting -drew to its close.</p> - -<p class='c010'>When we separated, I went into the -corridor with the Altruist for a parting -word.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I am very sanguine in regard to our -club,” he said, stroking his smooth-shaven -chin. “Janet will do fine work if her -power can be set free. I find it hard to -be patient with her unreasonable pessimism.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“It isn’t quite fair to call it unreasonable, -is it,” I murmured, “until one knows -the reason for it? We have not yet discovered -that.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“As for the Doctor,”—he continued, -not noticing my remark, “she is a forceful -woman, but crude. I actually feel -that she does not understand me half -<span class='pageno' id='Page_152'>152</span>the time when I am talking. Of course -she springs too directly from the People -to be thoroughly fine. And our difference -in belief would always make full spiritual -communion impossible.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Then he looked at me, and his eyes -lighted up.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I have an idea that you comprehend -me better than any of the others,” he -said, graciously.</p> - -<p class='c010'>When I went back to the parlour, I -found the Doctor preparing to go.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“There is one thing that can be said -about the Altruist,” she remarked, fastening -her gloves with a snap. “He may -know a great deal about God, but he -knows precious little about men and -women.”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_153'>153</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XXIX</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>We found the Anarchist at his own fireside, -playing with a kitten. Two children -stood at his knee, and he was telling them -stories, while the kitten made dashes at his -long gray beard.</p> - -<p class='c010'>He lived in one of the workmen’s houses -that have lately sprung up on the outskirts -of the city. They are two-story houses, -made of brick, with narrow windows and -narrow stone doorsteps. Standing, row -after row in uniform regularity, they look -like blocks made for some queer game -which nobody ever plays.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The Anarchist reached out both hands -to me with a cordial smile. He was doubly -cordial when I introduced the Tailoress -and told him why I had come.</p> - -<p class='c010'>That was right, he said, as he seated us -in great wooden rocking-chairs. We were -<span class='pageno' id='Page_154'>154</span>starting a movement in the right direction. -Organization alone could protect women -against atrociously low wages and against -long hours of work. They were now absolutely -at the mercy of their employers.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“There ain’t no animal,” said the Anarchist, -raising his arm in a sweeping gesture, -“that gets so little wage in proportion -to its work as half the women in this city. -And that’s because they don’t organize. -They ain’t got the fraternity spirit. They’re -comin’ on, but in one respect the men’s -ahead. The Brotherhood of Man is fur -outstrippin’ the Sisterhood of Women!</p> - -<p class='c010'>“But draw up by the fire and warm ye,” -he added, dropping the tone of a demagogue -for a natural voice. “It’s a right -cold day out-doors.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>The Anarchist’s large, patriarchal figure -looked out of place in this tiny sitting-room. -His gray age emphasized the newness -of his surroundings. He should have -for a background, I thought, the great -elms and weather-beaten porches of an -ancestral farmhouse, instead of the gaudy -<span class='pageno' id='Page_155'>155</span>wall-paper and cheap, stained wood-work -of this roughly finished room.</p> - -<p class='c010'>My companion did not look at the apartment. -Her gaze was fastened on the -Anarchist, and a look, now of terror, now -of kindling enthusiasm, dilated her eyes.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The difficulty, the Anarchist repeated, -was with the women themselves. They -would not band together to demand their -rights, because they were afraid. They -did not want to do anything “unladylike.” -It seemed to me that under the flowery -and confused style, there was much sound -sense in his remarks.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Now if you,” he said, rising and striding -up and down the room, with his long -cretonne dressing-gown flapping about his -slippered heels, “if you could influence -any shop of ill-paid girls to form a union -for mutual protection of each other, and to -go out on a strike, for their lawful rights, -which are theirs, you would be opening the -eyes of the captive and letting the maimed -and halt and blind go free!”</p> - -<p class='c010'>I do not know whether the Tailoress -<span class='pageno' id='Page_156'>156</span>liked the rhetoric, but the idea had taken -possession of her. Her face was illumined -by a new inspiration. She looked, with -her high cheek bones and her deep-set -eyes, like an ancient Sybil about to deliver -a solemn message.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The Anarchist seated himself again in -his great rocking-chair, and one of the -children—a curly-headed boy of four—crept -to his knee, and cuddled down on -his shoulder.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“More,” coaxed the boy, “more Jack -and the Bean-stalk.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>The Anarchist looked up at us with -smiling pride.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Is this a grandchild?” I asked.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, no; he belongs to one of my neighbours. -The two of ’em come over to play -with me since I give up work. I had to -do it. What with organizin’ and the conferences -and the committee-meetings, I -couldn’t get time for no work.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>I did not mean to look inquiringly at my -host, but perhaps I did, for he continued:—</p> - -<p class='c010'>“The organization helps us considerable, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_157'>157</span>and my wife, she sews. We manage to get -along.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>I fancied that the Anarchist’s wife had -laid aside her sewing and was getting supper, -for she was moving up and down in -the kitchen. I wondered if she were tired.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The Tailoress was rapt and silent, with a -Jeanne D’Arc look upon her face. She -was too much absorbed to hear the friendly -remarks that the Anarchist was making.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I’m glad you come to me,” he said. -“I’ll do all I can to help on your enterprise. -There’s nothin’ in the world I -wouldn’t do for a woman.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>To check the thoughts that the busy -footsteps in the kitchen suggested, I asked -the Anarchist a question.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Isn’t the idea of combining for any -purpose contrary to your principles? I -thought that the first article in your political -creed was that each man should stand -alone.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“E-ventually,” answered the Anarchist, -with deliberation. “That’s the eyedeal. -This is only a perliminary step. We’ve -<span class='pageno' id='Page_158'>158</span>got to combine first to break the bands -of unlawful power. It’s jest the same -thing I said the other night at the banquet. -I reckon I scairt ye a little then?” -he queried, with a broad smile. “I don’t -know but what I ought to have said less, -and yet I don’t know as I had. Those -are only my temporary sentiments.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes?” I said, suggestively.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I’m a man of peace,” said the Anarchist, -slowly. “A man of peace. I want to see -the day when we all stand side by side, -free and equal, and no man the minion of -any other. That’s anarchy, that is. There -won’t be no injestice then, for there won’t -be no gover’ment to meddle and mess -things up. We’ll all work separate and -harmonious, and every man will know that -his interests and the interests of his neighbour -are eyedentical.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“But I tell you,” he cried, starting up -suddenly, and then subsiding for the sake -of the child nestled on his arm, “we’ve got -to fight to bring about this peace! The -gover’ment’s on our shoulders, and it’s got -<span class='pageno' id='Page_159'>159</span>to be got off. That’s somethin’ we can’t -do without co-operation, and we’ll hev to -fight together.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And it’s comin’,” he added solemnly. -“The crisis is comin’. It won’t be long -before the worm will turn. Soon you’ll -see the poor worms of the dust ridin’ -triumphant on the whirlwinds of war!”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_160'>160</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XXX</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>We had a bit of good news to discuss -over our tea.</p> - -<p class='c010'>A lectureship had been offered to the -Lad by a great Canadian university. The -opportunity was unusual for a man so -young, and we were all jubilant. A very -human interest in his success had survived -our exhaustive analysis of his temperament. -We talked much of his future.</p> - -<p class='c010'>A week went by. Then the Lad read -me a letter that gave me bitter disappointment. -The honour was lost, and -that through the Lad’s own action.</p> - -<p class='c010'>He had written, before accepting, that -he was not an orthodox churchman. The -authorities had replied that he could not -then instruct their youth.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“That boy has a great deal more religion -than he thinks he has,” the Doctor -<span class='pageno' id='Page_161'>161</span>grumbled. “I should like to know where -the university will get a stronger influence -for good.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>But the Altruist shook his head. “His -character has a certain nobility,” he said, -“but he lacks the supreme touch of definite -belief. The loftiest souls are sure. -But I think the university wrong in confusing -spiritual instinct with intellectual -power.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>The Altruist was curiously radical in -some of his views.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Even I gave the Lad only half-hearted -approval. He had but his brains and his -forth-coming book to win his way for him, -and I could not help wondering if the -confession had been necessary.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Janet was the only one of us who -thoroughly liked the action.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“He could not have done anything -else, being the man he is,” she said -proudly. “He is the most delicately -honest human being I have ever known.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Gradually, as we went on talking, we -decided that the step was worthy of our -<span class='pageno' id='Page_162'>162</span>admiration. It was characteristic of a -nature, we said, whose chief charm was -a peculiar directness, mental and moral. -In this lay the Lad’s great strength.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The Lad lost much in this transaction, -but he gained more. It was a bold stroke -in the battle of love. Janet was warm in -her praise, and the Lad’s face began to -wear a half-triumphant smile, most unbecoming -in one whose hope of advancement -had been lost.</p> - -<p class='c010'>It was then that the Altruist and I -broke down another wall of reserve, and -grew confidential over the unfinished love-story. -The confession of this shames me. -Hitherto we had kept it sacred from discussion. -I was surprised to find that the -Altruist was as eager as I for its happy -completion. In our spare moments we -made many plans for “the children,” as -we called them. The Altruist and I -were beginning to feel old.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Often the Altruist, in a musing vein, -interpreted to me the spiritual significance -of the simple romance.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_163'>163</span>“It is said that we walk blindly in this -world, and cannot tell what the events of -life mean. But see the way in which -Janet’s nature changes under this influence! -Can we doubt that her past unhappiness -was sent to make her future -happiness deeper? Ah, we do see and -share the thoughts of God!”</p> - -<p class='c010'>I looked at the Altruist dubiously. -Sometimes I thought he understood -God’s plans too well. Then I reflected, -and decided that he was right. In the -shaping of Janet’s life I was confident -that I too could read the design of the -Almighty.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_164'>164</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XXXI</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c011'>“At parting—Andres—said to Don Quixote, ‘For -the love of God, Signor Knight-errant, if ever you meet -me again, though you see me beaten to pieces, do not -come with your help, but leave me to my fate, which -cannot be so bad but that it will be made worse by your -worship.’”—<span class='sc'>Cervantes.</span></p> - -<p class='c009'>The Tailoress learned her lesson well. -She listened to the Anarchist until she -was convinced that the hard conditions of -her class were due, not as she had always -thought, to the will of God, but to the selfishness -of man, and that it was her duty to -lead her fellow-workers in rebellion.</p> - -<p class='c010'>She was shrinking, timid, sensitive, but -she nerved herself to her task.</p> - -<p class='c010'>She began by forming a union in her -own shop. It spread rapidly, soon including -most of the vest-makers in the city. -The few who had good wages joined for -the sake of the many who had not.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_165'>165</span>The Tailoress did the work of organization -admirably, and developed powers of -generalship of which no one had suspected -her. Only a little while after the formation -of the union the time for action came. -The monetary depression, which had been -causing unusual distress among the poor, -affected trade so seriously that the wages -of garment-makers were cut down everywhere -throughout the city. The vest-makers -suffered with the rest.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The Tailoress acted as spokeswoman -in the committee appointed by her union -to wait on the contractors for this kind -of work. To each she stated her case of -grievances admirably, but no one of them -gave her assurance of redress.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Then she led the vest-makers triumphantly -out on a strike.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I have not the heart to give the details -of the fight that followed. It was a case -where the employers won a speedy victory, -because of the ease with which this work -can be secured. In a few days many of -the contractors had filled their shops with -<span class='pageno' id='Page_166'>166</span>new employés, and the work was going on -as usual, while the Tailoress and her followers -were adrift. Nothing had been ripe -for the revolt except the enthusiasm of the -rebels.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I had been sorely puzzled by the problem. -The cause I felt was just, but I -found it difficult to face the idea of the -misery that failure would bring. I was -hardly heroic enough to agree with the Altruist -and the Anarchist that the defeated -strikers would be sufficiently rewarded by -the martyr’s consolation of suffering gloriously -for their faith. Possibly this was -because I was acquainted with some of -them.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The battle was lost, and the Tailoress -was broken-hearted. Her Jeanne D’Arc -courage left her. In her consciousness of -the wretchedness she had caused, she forgot -that her impulse had been noble. She -shrank from the prophetess into a nervous, -hysterical woman.</p> - -<p class='c010'>We tried every method of consolation. -The practical came first, and we laboured -<span class='pageno' id='Page_167'>167</span>incessantly, seeking employment for the -vest-makers thrown out of work. Two -shops, after slight intercession, took back -their employés, in spite of the prejudice -roused by the union. Many of the women -were successful in securing new work of -a lower grade.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The Altruist, I discovered in an indirect -way, sacrificed a large part of his private -income in providing for the many who -could find no employment. The excitement -of the occasion afforded him a kind -of painful happiness. The war of liberation -had begun. He gave a lecture in -his auditorium on “The Defeat that is -Success.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I am really beginning to sway these -young working-men,” he confided to me -exultantly afterward. “The labour-movement -will lose its chief danger if men who -occupy neutral ground between the two -parties in the struggle can act as mediators. -It is full of noble impulse that -often acts irrationally, and needs judicious -guidance. The labourer fails in presenting -<span class='pageno' id='Page_168'>168</span>his claims in the right way because -he cannot think logically or speak efficiently. -I am coming to think that my -mission is to interpret the mind of the -working-man.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>The Doctor, though she breathed out -many imprecations against the strike, -helped a score of its stranded victims.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Do you think that this kind of protest -against injustice is always wrong?” I asked, -rather deprecatingly, one day.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes, when it is stirred up by outsiders,” -she answered with emphasis. “With -the labour-movement itself, in spite of its -terrible mistakes, I feel deep sympathy. -In any demand so persistent, so universal, -there must be a certain justice, a certain -right.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>But her next remarks were not so -agreeable.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I cannot understand how employers -fail to see the trend of all this agitation, -and to realize that great concessions must -be made to the working-men. The peace -of the country is menaced, yet the question -<span class='pageno' id='Page_169'>169</span>at issue is left, in times of outbreak to the -military, in times of quiet to professional -agitators, a class of vagrants who represent -neither labour nor capital, and understand -the position of neither employer nor -employé. The burden of responsibility -which the business men of the country -refuse to shoulder is taken up by men like -our friends the Anarchist and the Young -Reformer. The greatest danger lies there.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>I smiled, thinking that possibly many of -the agitators were, like the Anarchist, not -so dangerous as they tried to be.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The news of the relief for her companions -in revolt affected the Tailoress -but slightly. She shut herself up in her -garret room with her remorse. We visited -her, and attempted consolation, but to no -effect.</p> - -<p class='c010'>At last she softened a little. One day -the Altruist came to me with a grieved -look.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Will you ask the Doctor to go and talk -with the Tailoress?” he said gently. “I -think the Doctor might reach her as none -<span class='pageno' id='Page_170'>170</span>of the rest can. I seem to have lost all -influence over her.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>I promised to fulfil the request.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I do not understand,” said the Altruist -wistfully, “why I cannot touch people -at times like this. Before this grief came, -the Tailoress hung on every word I said. -I sometimes feel a sense of lack, as if -I cannot get near simple human moods. -It is much easier for me to cope with -intellectual difficulties.”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_171'>171</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XXXII</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>“Our elaborate schemes for helping -people are making us forget,” said the -Doctor one day, “that the one thing human -beings want is human sympathy.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>To this I assented readily.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“In the first place,” she continued, with -a thoughtful air, “through all this machinery -of leagues and clubs and organizations -we are beginning to lose our sense of -individual responsibility. As soon as we -find an act of charity that ought to be done, -we start a society to do it for us.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“But when,” I protested, “has a sense -of individual responsibility in regard to the -poor been so strong? Social problems -have never been so closely studied as they -are to-day. Look at the seriousness of our -young men and women! Think of Barnet -House, and the College Settlement!”</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_172'>172</span>“Yes, think of them,” said the Doctor. -“The only trouble with the residents at -Barnet House is that they have too great -a sense of responsibility about other people’s -lives, and too little about their own. Society -has, I presume, as just a claim to a -man’s best work as the poor have to his -interest. Those young men do not belong -to society at all, because they do not share -its burdens. ‘Two men I honour, and no -third,’—the man who works with his hands, -and the man who works at a necessary profession. -But the man who gives up all -regular occupation just out of sheer benevolence -I do not understand.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And I hope,” the Doctor added grimly, -“that these young socialists may be spared -to share the labour of the era they are trying -to usher in. There will be no more -of the <i><span lang="it" xml:lang="it">dolce-far-niente</span></i> of doing good then, -only pick-axes and spades all round, with -maybe an hour off at noon! If socialism -means work by all for all, I fail to see why -those who advocate it should devote themselves -to an existence made of a little -<span class='pageno' id='Page_173'>173</span>study, a little lecturing, and much visiting, -for scientific purposes, of popular -amusements.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Do you consider that just?” I demanded. -“I do not know any men who -work harder than some of those residents -at Barnet House. Whether their effort -is mistaken is not for us to decide.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, I was not fair,” said the Doctor, -penitently, “but I have been meditating -a long time on the relation of the man -with a mission to the public at large. It -seems to me that no one ought to throw -the burden of his support on benevolent -societies. You can’t take doing good as -a profession: you have got to do good -work. We have no right to palm off an -interest in the lives of others as a substitute -for living ourselves.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You have given much criticism, and -very telling criticism of our methods of -work,” I remarked in a tone that anger -made only the more polite. “Now won’t -you suggest some way in which things -ought to be done?”</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_174'>174</span>“I haven’t finished my criticism yet,” -said the Doctor, undaunted. “I am finding -fault with myself too. In a way we -all fail, and to go back to what I said -first, it is largely because of a lack of -sympathy. We forget that this is all-important, -and keep thrusting our ideals -between us and human beings. Each one -of us has an abstract standard to which -mankind must conform. It is equally -fatal when the idea is cleanliness and -when it is godliness. I suppose that it -will take a thousand years for us to learn -that we are responsible to humanity and -not to notions.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>My silence did not indicate that I had -nothing to say.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“The trouble with the world is,” the -Doctor went on, “that it has suffered -from too much lofty thought. If there -had been less of that, there might have -been more lofty action, and closer sympathy -between man and man. We -shouldn’t be allowed to try to impress on -our fellow-beings pure, cold abstract -<span class='pageno' id='Page_175'>175</span>notions. The only legitimate way of -presenting our theories to the world is -by working them out in our own lives. -We haven’t any right to ideals for other -people. I am more and more convinced -that we ought to keep our thoughts to -ourselves, and give the world simply the -benefit of our actions.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“That is the first constructive suggestion -that you have given,” I muttered. -“It is good. I like it.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“We are making our problem too hard.” -The Doctor was very much in earnest as -she said this. “It is perfectly simple, -after all. We must take care of people -ourselves. No organization should be -allowed to relieve us of our share of -responsibility. The distress of those -who suffer must remain with every man -a standing personal problem. So long -as the poor are with us, and any one of -them needs a cup of cold water, it is -for us to give it, and with our own -hands.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“That idea is very beautiful,” I commented, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_176'>176</span>with hypocritical sweetness. -“Human sympathy is the one thing we -all want. If one cultivate it long enough, -it may become so far-reaching as to extend -to one’s fellow-philanthropists, and even to -one’s friends!”</p> - -<p class='c010'>This was unkind, but the Doctor deserved -it.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_177'>177</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XXXIII</h2> -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Hope evermore and believe, O man; for e’en as thy thought</div> - <div class='line'>So are the things that thou see’st; e’en as thy hope and belief.”</div> - <div class='line in26'>—<span class='sc'>Arthur Hugh Clough.</span></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>Janet worked out a new theory of life. -For a time she had ceased to form opinions, -and I had rejoiced in seeing her ideas -driven like dead leaves before the first -healthy emotion of her life. Now she -drew herself together and deluded herself -into the belief that she had a new philosophy.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“The trouble with us all is,” she remarked -sententiously to me one day, “that -we are always trying to convince God of -our perfect intellectual clearness in matters -religious, while all the time God, ‘if -there be a God,’ knows perfectly well that -we haven’t the means of getting it. He -<span class='pageno' id='Page_178'>178</span>wants the kind of answer that we can give, -not the kind that we cannot give.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And what is that?” I asked.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Action,” she answered, “determination -toward good, even when we cannot -understand the whole scheme of things.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>I watched the girl’s quickly changing -face with much admiration and with some -amusement. Once she had mistaken her -peculiar moods for speculative thought; -now she was mistaking her thought of -the Lad for a system of philosophy. She -had translated her lover’s personality into -ethics.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“We keep asking questions,” she went -on, “and thinking that there will be an -answer. I suppose that God wishes us -to answer our own questions in deeds -and not in words.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>I liked her new ideas because they made -her happy. Intrinsically they were better -than the old ones. But I fear that I -should have liked any thought of hers that -made her face look like that. There was -a light in it that I had never seen before.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_179'>179</span>“I think,” she said, looking up at me -wistfully, “that all the sickening sense I -had of defeat—defeat before the battle—was -because I stood waiting for a voice -from heaven to tell me what the outcome -was to be. I forgot that the voice must -speak through my own lips.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Isn’t your new gospel of action very -much like the Lad’s?” I insinuated.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I suppose it is,” said Janet, slowly; -“and yet, and yet the Lad is a positivist. -He insists that the present world is the -limit of all our knowledge, perhaps of all -our action.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“And you do not?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I don’t know,” said the girl. “I -sometimes wonder if the will to be and -to be good cannot rule in another world -as well as in this. Perhaps the will needs -another world to realize the hope of this.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Won’t you explain?” I begged meekly. -I sometimes find it difficult to understand -the wisdom of the young.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I mean,” she said, “that we speak of -God and love and immortality, and ask if -<span class='pageno' id='Page_180'>180</span>our ideas can be true. But God and love -and immortality are not to be had for the -asking. They are true in so far as we -make them true.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“So you have solved the problem of the -Sphinx?” I said. “It is a good solution; -that is, as good as any mere thought about -life can be.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I suppose,” continued Janet, “that we -are bound to answer back in act to every -question we can ask. We must rise to -the level of our loftiest inquiry. The first -suspicion we get of immortality makes us -responsible for it. Henceforth we must -win it for ourselves.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“O Socrates!” I interrupted, “how did -you learn so much in so short a time?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Don’t stop me,” laughed the girl. -“You may never have another chance to -listen to words of optimism from my lips. -Listen: if we can even wonder whether -love works back of all the hurt of life, -aren’t we bound to act as if it were true?”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You must found a school,” I said. -“Let me be your first disciple.”</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_181'>181</span>“No,” said Janet. “It has all been -said a great many times, but I never -understood it before. The only thing that -puzzles me is the Lad.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“That is simply fair. You puzzle him -as well,” I murmured.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“His renouncement of belief in another -world to work in makes him more eager -to do well the work of this one. His -denial of a life to be gives him an added -interest in this.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>I assented, and in doing so felt that I -was making a generous admission. I was -usually impatient with the pseudo-scientific -thought of my agnostic friends.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“But remember that positivism would -have a different effect on a nature less -rare,” I added by way of caution.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“There is something very beautiful in -it, something fine and self-controlled, yet -very sad,” said Janet, with a look of tenderness -creeping into her eyes. “He so -longs to find the most exquisite adjustment -of this life to its ends, to make it -a perfect artistic whole. And I cannot -<span class='pageno' id='Page_182'>182</span>make him say, with my pet philosopher,” -said the girl, looking up with one of her -sweet, sudden smiles, “‘God, love, and -immortality shall be, for I am!’”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_183'>183</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XXXIV</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>I hesitate to tell the story of Polly. -She is not fit to enter the presence of these -friends of mine. Moreover, I do not know -her, for I never saw her after her disgrace. -I remember her as a chubby, -curly-headed child; I remember her as a -girl of twelve.</p> - -<p class='c010'>But her fate came to me as an awful -confirmation of some facts that the Anarchist -had told me about conditions of work -in our large city shops. I had refused to -believe them: they were too sensational. -I have learned since that they are sensational -enough to be true.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The day before Easter I was in the -office alone, examining reports. The door -opened. Looking up, I saw a feeble old -man, who walked unsteadily as he entered -the room.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_184'>184</span>“I come to see,” he said solemnly, “if -you knowed anything about Polly.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Polly?” I said inquiringly. Then I -recognized the wrinkled face before me, -with its fringe of beard, and I stretched -out my hand to my guest. He had been -my host for two summers, long ago, on his -farm in Vermont.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Polly’s gone wrong,” said the old man.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I saw that grief had settled in every line -and wrinkle of his weather-beaten face.</p> - -<p class='c010'>He told me the story very simply. Polly -had been restless. They had grown poorer -every year upon their rocky farm, and Polly -rebelled against her narrow life. She had -come to the city to work in a shop, and -after three years had given up the struggle -and had gone away with a man who did -not marry her.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I ain’t never been able to understand -it,” said her father, looking at me pleadingly -with his pale blue eyes. “It ain’t -in the family. I don’t know how she come -by it. I’ve always thought there must be -something to account for it.”</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_185'>185</span>“There are many things that might account -for it,” I answered. “She may have -been deceived, or perhaps she was actually -starving, and saw no other way of escape.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>But her father shook his head.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, ’twan’t that. She had good pay, a -dollar and seventy-five cents a week at -Hempin and Morton’s. She sent considerable -money home.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>I groaned. Less than two dollars a -week; a dollar to pay for a room; poverty -crying out in the old home; slow starvation, -and the inevitable end.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“She could not live on that in the city!” -I cried. “She could not keep body and -soul together. Hempin and Morton’s is a -great cheap, gaudy shop. Hempin and -Morton’s women clerks are kept on starvation -wages, and are told, yes, are told by -members of the firm, when they rebel, -that pretty girls are not expected to live -upon their pay.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>I was quoting the Anarchist.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You must forgive her,” I went on. “I -am sure she suffered more than we can -<span class='pageno' id='Page_186'>186</span>tell. I am sure she fought bravely before -she gave up.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I ain’t never blamed her much,” he -whispered, his cold blue eyes gleaming -with tears. “Her mother was for lettin’ -her go. But every year since it happened -I’ve come up to the city for a spell to -look for her. I heard of your place here, -and su’mised you might know something -about her.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>I took the old man to my home. He -was too feeble to come with me in my -search. Then I went to the only woman -in the city who could find Polly for me.</p> - -<p class='c010'>That was Miss Hobbs, the little missionary. -She lives in a wretched court, -in the wickedest part of the city, down -where the great Jewish thoroughfare of -the East End runs across the Italian -and the Portuguese quarters, on its way -to Traffic Street.</p> - -<p class='c010'>She is alone except for one girl whom -she has taken from the streets. Together -they do what the city charities call ‘rescue -work.’ Night after night they search -<span class='pageno' id='Page_187'>187</span>through the dives and dens and opium-joints -of the city for the women who are -stranded there. For every one saved from -that life, twenty drift back to it. Yet the -rescue work never stops.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Polly?” said Miss Hobbs, her homely -face lighting up under her Salvation Army -bonnet, “Polly Nemor? That is the name -of a beautiful girl I have been hunting for -for weeks. We will look for her everywhere -to-night. You must go with us, for -perhaps you can induce her to come away.”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_188'>188</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XXXV</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>The search for Polly was like going -down through the open gates of Hell.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Miss Hobbs left her fire burning, and -her door half-opened. Then we went out -through the gloomy court into the street.</p> - -<p class='c010'>In the gleam of flickering electric lights, -my old feeling of the unreality of all I -saw came back to me. We were in a broad -thoroughfare, where night after night is -played the tragedy of a great city’s sin. -The actors passed and re-passed. The -scene shifted. We saw the leering faces -of men, and heard the evil laughter of -women. The sights and sounds faded, -then came again, but the curtain never -fell. Even closed eyelids could not shut -the horror out.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I shrank back and would have given up -the search, but the old man’s face was -<span class='pageno' id='Page_189'>189</span>always before my eyes, begging me to -go on; and the woman at my side knew -no fear. She walked with charmed feet. -Ruffians on the street kicked each other -out of the way to let her pass; the carousers -in every dance hall and saloon fell back -that she might enter; drunken women -rose when she touched them, and followed -her home to the fresh beds that she had -made ready for all who would come.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Polly was nowhere here. She must have -drifted still lower. We went from the glaring -lights down where, under the tracks of -an elevated road, the streets narrowed and -darkened and closed in upon us. We were -near the wharves and the bridges.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Here is cast up a whole city’s refuse. -Tides of foul life, subsiding, leave here on -the street, or in dive and den, the sodden-faced -women who have shared the flood -of passion in its fury, and must suffer its -ebb. There is nothing lower. There is -nothing beyond, except the river, which -runs foul and slimy here along the dirty -wharves.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_190'>190</span>We found a girl waiting on a street -corner, alone. Under the little shawl tied -over her head I saw tears on her cheeks. -I held out my hand to her, and she came -with us. In one saloon a pink-eyed, foolish -woman clung to us, and followed of her -own will when we came away.</p> - -<p class='c010'>But we could not find Polly. There -was no one on any street, or in any drinking-den -who looked like the woman that -my old friend had called his “little girl.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>At last, with hope almost given up, we -turned toward the Chinese quarter.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The odour of incense floating from -joss-houses, the fumes from opium-joints, -made us faint and sick. But we went -on, searching through thin-walled, whitewashed -houses, and climbing narrow ladders -to rooms that Miss Hobbs, in her -work of mercy, had earned the right to -enter.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Again and again, outside closed doors, -Miss Hobbs stood calling “Polly! Polly!” -No answer came. We heard the pattering -feet of Chinamen, who swarmed around -<span class='pageno' id='Page_191'>191</span>us like rats; we saw their sneering faces, -and heard their chuckling laughter....</p> - -<p class='c010'>At last we came away, discouraged.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Nearly all night our weary pilgrimage -lasted. When, in the early morning, my -companion said that we must give up the -search, we found ourselves down close by -the water. It was dark and sullen: the -great bridges overhead looked black and unholy. -Even the moonlight seemed stained -with sin. I reflected with bitterness that -it was Easter Eve,—Easter Eve in a world -that was only one great, hideous carousal.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Then, glancing up, I saw the look on -Miss Hobbs’s face, and my ears rang with -triumphant music:—</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c012'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">“Christ ist erstanden!</span></div> - <div class='line in2'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Freude dem sterblichen,</span></div> - <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Den die verderblichen</span></div> - <div class='line in2'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Schleichenden, erblichen</span></div> - <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Mängel umwanden”....</span></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c010'>We came home in the glimmering dawn, -through a city white with Easter lilies.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_192'>192</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XXXVI</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c011'>“Of Paradys ne can not I speken propurly; for I was -not there.”—<span class='sc'>Sir John Maundeville.</span></p> - -<p class='c009'>There came a day that was different -from all other days. Its light, I think, -will go shining down through all the days -of my life, to the very end.</p> - -<p class='c010'>It was early spring. We were walking, -Janet and the Lad and I, along the river, -where it winds and curves among meadows, -inland from the sea. The first spring -green had rippled over the country, and -along the water-ways, tiny leaves shivered -on the silver beeches and the tall young -poplar trees.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Janet chattered and laughed like a child. -“Isn’t it hard to believe,” she said, shading -her radiant face with her hands, “that one -can be so much alive, and that—”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“That what?” I questioned.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_193'>193</span>“That the very air can be made to shine -around us in this way,” she answered -softly.</p> - -<p class='c010'>We were to walk to Sunset Hill, and to -climb to its very top. But we loitered, and -the river loitered too. It ran so lazily between -its banks that we could hardly tell -which way the current set.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I do not remember that we talked much. -We toiled along in the warm air, with our -wraps growing warm at every step, and we -picked the violets and the wind-flowers near -our path. At the foot of the hill my courage -failed. I seated myself on a great flat rock, -and announced my intention to stay there.</p> - -<p class='c010'>My two young friends remonstrated. -They would wait until I was rested, and -would help me all the way. But I could not -and would not go, for I wished to be alone.</p> - -<p class='c010'>So I sent them off together, up the hill. -They had taken off their hats, and were -walking bare-headed. The wind was blowing -the Lad’s dark hair away from his forehead, -and was fluttering in the folds of -Janet’s gown.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_194'>194</span>Looking across the rolling country I -rested as I had not rested for months. -There were hints of blossom among the -cool, pale greens of grass and trees. I forgot -my winter and my suffering poor, as -the earth had forgotten its past in the -glory of another spring.</p> - -<p class='c010'>All the knowledge of sin and of unholiness -that the winter had brought me was -annulled by the picture before me, of -Janet and the Lad climbing bravely up -the hill. How young and strong, how -happy they were! What promise and hope -lay in love like that!</p> - -<p class='c010'>For I knew, I know not how, that the -crisis had come. I was sure that at last -the unsurmountable obstacle had given way. -I shut my eyes to let the wind blow on -my eyelids. I was content. I wondered -almost that the lovers did not envy me, -for I shared the lives of both; both sides -of the story were mine.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Just once I opened my eyes and looked. -The pilgrims were standing at the end of -the long green slope, against the pale blue -<span class='pageno' id='Page_195'>195</span>sky. I saw the Lad take both the girl’s -hands in his own, and then I turned my -head. I had no right to watch them, even -from outside the gates, beyond the drawn -sword.</p> - -<p class='c010'>As I waited, I thought of the fitness of -the scene. The passion and the purity of -that love were one with the encompassing -life of spring.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I was alone quite a long time, I think. -The air grew cooler and more cool. The -low, sweet piping of frogs came to me -from the near river and the far-off pools. -I was alone, dreaming my dreams.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The sunshine grew fainter as the afternoon -wore on. It was full of a spring haze -that was woven, half of light, and half of -green, caught from new leaves. Presently -I saw that only the tops of the willows -and the young elms were in the sunlight. -The day was almost done.</p> - -<p class='c010'>When the lovers came down from the -hill-top, their faces were shining. We -went home silently along the foot-path -in the grass on the river bank.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_196'>196</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XXXVII</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>It was almost summer.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The sound of much talking had grown -fainter in my ears. Between our long -discussions I had found time to stretch -out my hands, and to help, in definite -ways, a few of my fellow-beings. The -touch of need brought strength to me, and -clearer sight.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The city no longer looked like a visionary -background for a fantastic play. Janet -and the Lad and my poor people had made -it real to me. It was sacred now with -human interest.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I had learned to take refuge from -abstract questions in the details of my -work. It was impossible to speculate -while entering the record of one day’s -proceedings, or making memoranda for -the next.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_197'>197</span>But I shrank from the greatness of my -task. Each day the cry for help was -louder; each day I knew more fully my -powerlessness. Sometimes I covered my -face with my hands and prayed for any -one of the old family ties to shield me -from this mass of collective misery. If -I could have again any slightest duty that -was all my own! But no; I had gone out -to take care of all the world, and the way -was closed behind me.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I found that I depended more and more -upon my friends, caring less, as time went -on, about our differences in opinion. As -the Doctor once remarked, we were all -much better than our ideas. Even the -Altruist, though it seemed to me that his -zeal expressed itself largely in mistakes, -gave me a kind of inspiration. It was -better to blunder than to do nothing at -all.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The Doctor was a constant stimulus. -She walked unswervingly in the path that -she had chosen, gradually softening a -little under the influence of a physician’s -<span class='pageno' id='Page_198'>198</span>life. Her reputation in surgery, I discovered, -was making her name known -beyond our city. I was proud of her.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I never knew all the kindly deeds that -she did among the poor. The record of -every one of them is written in her face, -behind the professional mask that refuses -to stay on.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Yes, the Doctor’s friendship was an -abiding help to me. And sometimes in -my work a single incident would make me -feel that for this alone I would willingly -have spent all my effort.</p> - -<p class='c010'>As, for instance, when Miss Hobbs -appeared one day in the office, her face -red from hurrying, her eyes shining with -delight.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I’ve got Polly,” she said. “Shall I -take her to her father?”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_199'>199</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XXXVIII</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>The Lad’s book was out. After a season -of anxious waiting we knew of its success. -The best reviews spoke highly of -its creative thought, and praised the mental -keenness and the logic of its author.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Rainforth wrote a letter warm with -enthusiasm. He pronounced himself and -his arguments annihilated, and declared -that nothing in his life had given him -more pleasure than the process of being -ground to powder by his friend.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Last of all came a few lines from a -famous English scientist. The Lad read -them and flushed hot with delight.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I declare! This makes me feel like -a great man,” he said.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Then he announced that he was going -home.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I haven’t set eyes on my old father -<span class='pageno' id='Page_200'>200</span>for over a year. And nobody in the world -will be so pleased as he to know that this -thing has gone through successfully.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>He went away a few days later. The -Butterfly Hunter waited with me in the -parlour to say good-bye to the Lad; he -was making a parting call on Janet.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I must be away in a few days too,” -said the Butterfly Hunter.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Is it a new trip?” I asked.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes,” he answered cheerfully. “My -last butterfly died yesterday. The experiment -was a failure. I am going to -the East for a new collection.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Through the window I could see the -Man of the World, who was standing -on the street corner, watching the passers-by. -His new suit looked very fresh. -The trousers were carefully creased, and -turned up twice at the bottom. The Man -of the World was probably waiting, though -he would not have admitted it, for a last -word with the Lad. The air of the summer -afternoon made him more languid than -ever. It was a pathetic little figure.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_201'>201</span>“He will never do any genuine living,” -I thought, “but will always be a spectator, -bored and sad.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>The Lad came back with his quick, -running step. He was excited. The hair -above his broad, white forehead was in -disorder as he said good-bye; his eyes -were radiant with pure joy.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I shall be here again in a week,” he -said, as he grasped his bag, “and ready -for the fray once more.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>I watched him as he went down the -street. Once he looked back, lifted his -hat, then disappeared.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The keenness of my pride in the Lad -almost hurt me. If his mother could only -know him now!</p> - -<p class='c010'>Through the growing dimness of my -eyes I saw him in fancy after he was -gone. In his eager movement he resembled -the figures on Greek reliefs of youths -speeding for a prize, and always after in -my thought I likened him to those immortal -runners and winners of the race.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_202'>202</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XXXIX</h2> -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-b c014'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“All that was death</div> - <div class='line'>Grows life, grows love,</div> - <div class='line'>Grows love!”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>Janet and I came in the next evening -out of the warm twilight, and found baby -Jean waiting for us with her father and -mother in the library.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Janet had spoken again of the Lad’s -love for her. We had been walking in -the deep green shadows of the trees in -the park.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I cannot understand it,” she said, with -a little gasp that was half a sob. “The -very air seems warm with the breath of -the people who love me. The Lad has -made the whole world care. Even the -beggars and the children on the street -are fond of me.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>We sat in the library for a few minutes, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_203'>203</span>talking of old things and new. As I rose -to go, a boy came to the house, bringing a -telegram. It said that the Lad had been -killed in an accident.</p> - -<p class='c010'>A silence like the hush of eternity fell -upon the room. No one dared look at -Janet’s face.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Presently Jean pattered across the room -and picked up the telegram, which had -fallen from hands powerless to hold it. -She looked at it soberly for a minute. -Then with a ripple of laughter she crumpled -it up in her hands. She was very -fond of all things yellow.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_204'>204</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XL</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>I went home, and in the quiet of my -own room I said that I would not let this -thing be true.</p> - -<p class='c010'>I, who had been walking with the Altruist -on heights where the hidden meanings -of the world lay clear to view, fell into a -horror of great darkness. One utterly inexplicable -event made all life incoherent.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The Lad was dead. He had perished -in an accident that was the result of his -own reckless daring. For the mere physical -delight of battling with danger he had -rushed to his destruction. A life guided -steadily toward great issues had ended in -a swift caprice.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Now for the first time I knew what Janet -had meant when she said that there is no -God, but only a mocking will that makes -sport of our hope and our endeavour.</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_205'>205</span>Infinite irony could find no expression -more cruel, I thought, as I walked up and -down my long floor, than in making us -the instruments of our own undoing, in -causing us to tear down ourselves the -work of our own hands.</p> - -<p class='c010'>All that the Lad had thought of life -was contradicted by his death. It could be -perfect in itself, he had said so often. Its -completeness lay in finished work. And -now—</p> - -<p class='c010'>I turned, sick at heart, from this place -so full of tragedy and of baffling puzzles, -and resolved to go back to the lanes and -garden-plots of my native village. There -in peace and loneliness I would try to -forget all that I had known here, even -this little story.</p> - -<p class='c010'>But oh, the pity of it! The Lad had -walked with so firm a tread. I had thought -of him as one real, moving among the shows -of things, where we groped our way, uncertain -of the path.</p> - -<p class='c010'>All through the winter, against the dark -background of my new knowledge of evil, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_206'>206</span>I had seen him, strong in body and alert -in mind, with a heart like the heart of -a little child. Often, in thinking of him, -I had said: “God now and then sends a -man into the world who stands as a -promise to the race.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>I thought of Janet, and I cried out to -know the meaning of the world’s great -waste of human pain.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The Altruist explained it all to me the -next day.</p> - -<p class='c010'>He came to ask me to visit Janet. I -had not dared to go. He was surprised -and grieved by my mood.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“The meaning of this sorrow is very -clear,” he said gently, with the old ecstatic -gleam in his eyes.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“You explained everything very differently -a few weeks ago,” I said rebelliously, -when he had finished. “You told me then, -and I believed you, that God was leading -that girl out of her mental tangles into -simple human happiness.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Did I?” said the Altruist, dreamily. -“It all looks different to me now.”</p> - -<p class='c010'><span class='pageno' id='Page_207'>207</span>“I can see that it does,” I retorted in -anger.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“The shock will carry Janet out of her -old, cheap pessimism into conviction and -into action of some kind. She will merge -her individual experience in the general -life. She will lose herself in great ideas. -Now, at the crisis of so many great questions, -she will find her work. I can see a -career for her infinitely more lofty than -she could have had if this sad event had -not occurred.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Here the Doctor entered, interrupting -the words of prophecy.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_208'>208</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XLI</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>I was sorry that the Doctor had arrived -in time to catch the Altruist’s last remarks. -She waited until he was gone, -then sank wearily into a chair.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“How the angels in heaven must smile -at that man’s assurance,” she exclaimed. -“I wish, I wish he could tell the difference -between his voice and the voice of -God!”</p> - -<p class='c010'>I was in no mood to defend the Altruist, -and so said nothing.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“If the Altruist knows what all this -trouble means, he knows a great deal -more than I do,” she went on grimly. “I -cannot see, I cannot see how the Lad -could so forget all the people who cared -for him.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>The sentence ended in a half sob that -almost frightened me. It had never -<span class='pageno' id='Page_209'>209</span>occurred to me that the Doctor could -shed tears.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Have you seen Janet?” I asked, -attempting to change the subject. I -succeeded only in turning the Doctor’s -wrath back upon the Altruist.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Yes,” she said, “I have seen Janet, -and I wish the Altruist were in Timbuctoo! -He has been at the house and has -utterly unnerved her.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“How?” I asked.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“It is hard to believe, even of the Altruist. -How do you suppose he greeted that -hurt child? ‘Janet,’ he said, ‘I have -always had an intuition that you were -not meant for mere happiness.’”</p> - -<p class='c010'>I groaned. “He doesn’t mean to be -cruel,” I said, “but he has not the simple -instinct—”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“A few of the simpler human instincts -are really necessary,” interrupted the Doctor, -“in any attempt to help human beings. -If the Altruist had more feeling and less -transcendentalism, it would be better.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“It isn’t a week,” I responded, “since -<span class='pageno' id='Page_210'>210</span>he had an intuition of a directly opposite -kind. And then I was trying to help -him,” I confessed, for a sudden sense of -guilt overcame me as I met the Doctor’s -clear eyes, “in his attempt to explain to -God what He means.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>The fierce expression in her face was -changing into a look of tenderness.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Go to see the child,” she said huskily, -“to-morrow, not to-day. She will be -quieter then.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>But I waited two long days. The hours -were tedious and dull and heavy, full of -cloud and rain. No birds were singing in -the sunless air, and the grass had forgotten -to grow. It seemed to me that in -the ending of a life dear to me, all life -had paused.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_211'>211</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XLII</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c011'>“For the agony of the world’s struggle is the very -life of God. Were He mere spectator, perhaps He too -would call life cruel. But in the unity of our lives with -His, our joy is His joy; our pain is His.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>I do not know what incoherent words I -was saying. Janet stopped me.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“No, don’t,” she said. “I do not feel -like that. You need not be sorry for me.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Her voice was very quiet, and her face -was firm with the exalted, unnatural self-control -of extreme grief.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Do you know?” she said, “the sorrow -almost rests me. I have had so much of -the bitter and meaningless pain. Perhaps -my quarrel with life is over.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“But this is so inexplicable,” I cried, -taking the girl’s hands in mine and forgetting -that I was there to comfort her.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“It doesn’t need to be explained, because -<span class='pageno' id='Page_212'>212</span>it hurts, and the hurt is life, and -life is good. Oh, I tell you,” she added -proudly, drawing her hands away and -going over to seat herself by the window; -“it is only when you are standing outside, -looking at life, talking about it and -thinking about it, that you can say it is -cruel. When you are really living, the -very hurt is glorious.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>I sat and watched the tearless face. -The girl had been carried beyond me, -out into the deeps of life where my words -of help could not reach her.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I have always been trying to reason -out the meaning of things,” she said, turning -quickly toward me, “and nobody even -told me that it is only what cannot be said -that makes life worth while.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“People have tried to, Janet,” I said -softly, “but that is one of the things -that cannot be told.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“There isn’t any kind of pain,” she said -slowly, “that can equal the joy of simple -human love.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>I forgot my rebellion of the night before. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_213'>213</span>I bowed my head in the presence of this -power for whose better apprehending we -covet the very agony and pain of life. -We follow swiftly to let even its shadow -fall upon us, for if ‘in its face is light, -in its shadow there is healing too.’</p> - -<p class='c010'>The sunshine falling through the window -turned Janet’s hair into a halo of -waving strands.</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Child,” I whispered, “it is true. It is -good just to live. But remember also that -the old faith may be true. God may be, -and may be love.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“I don’t know,” said the girl, looking -up. “I haven’t any opinions.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>Then a mist came over her eyes, for -even her new comfort was swept away by -the waves of her sorrow; and she bowed -her head upon her hands with the cry that -has ever been the one irrefutable witness -to His presence: “O my God!”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_214'>214</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XLIII</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>We are all busy still, and yet the world -is not saved.</p> - -<p class='c010'>The Anarchist is perfecting the process -that shall bring his millennium to be, and -the young Socialists in Barnet House are -working out the details of their new economic -order. The Altruist still translates -the infinite into finite terms; the Young -Reformer is on the platform; I toil daily -in the self-same Cause, but the world is -not saved.</p> - -<p class='c010'>Many times since we closed ranks and -marched onward over the Lad’s grave I -have paused, disheartened. Full assurance -has not been granted me, and it is -my lot in doing battle to strike often in -the dark. Yet I have moments when I -know that the strife is not in vain. In -these I wonder why we are so troubled -<span class='pageno' id='Page_215'>215</span>about our duty to our fellow-man, and -about our knowledge of God. The one -command in regard to our neighbour is -not obscure. And our foreboding lest our -faith in God shall escape us seems futile, -inasmuch as we cannot escape from our -faith.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c003'> - <div>THE END</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c004' /> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c001'> - <div>THE IRIS SERIES</div> - <div class='c004'>OF ILLUSTRATED COPYRIGHT NOVELS.</div> - <div class='c004'><span class='xlarge'>TRYPHENA IN LOVE.</span></div> - <div class='c004'>BY</div> - <div class='c004'><span class='large'>WALTER RAYMOND,</span></div> - <div class='c004'><span class='sc'>Author of</span> “<span class='sc'>Love and Quiet Life</span>,” Etc.</div> - <div class='c004'>ILLUSTRATED BY</div> - <div class='c004'>J. WALTER WEST.</div> - <div class='c004'>16mo. Artistic Cloth Binding. 75 cents.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>“Fresh and quaint and wholesome as the scent of the homely flowers.”—<cite>London -Daily News.</cite></p> - -<p class='c010'>“Full of freshness and life, of vivid touches of local color and picturesque -details, while written with tenderness, sympathy, and artistic discernment.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“Nothing more daintily charming in style, more tenderly pathetic in -matter, or more exquisitely balanced as a story, has come to our table for a -long time than ‘Tryphena in Love.’ It is a simple tale of humble life in -the Somerset district of England.”—<cite>Boston Traveler.</cite></p> - -<p class='c010'>“A sweet little English tale, idyllic in subject and manner. It is simply -the story of an invalid boy who lies in the old manor house, in ‘the room -where the king hid,’ and lives in a world of romance, and of the buxom -little cousin who loves and serves him. The picture is delicately painted, -yet firmly and clearly, and with a poetic atmosphere that is very charming.”—<cite>Philadelphia -Times.</cite></p> - -<p class='c010'>“No gentler or sweeter tale has appeared in years than Walter Raymond’s -‘Tryphena in Love.’”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“A delicious, dreamy love story, told for the love of telling.”—<cite>Chicago -Times-Herald.</cite></p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c004' /> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c003'> - <div>FURTHER ISSUES IN THE IRIS SERIES</div> - <div class='c004'>WILL BE</div> - <div class='c003'><span class='large'>A LOST ENDEAVOUR.</span></div> - <div class='c004'>BY</div> - <div class='c004'>GUY BOOTHBY,</div> - <div class='c004'><span class='sc'>Author of “A Bid for Fortune.”</span></div> - <div class='c004'>ILLUSTRATED BY</div> - <div class='c004'>STANLEY L. WOOD.</div> - <div class='c004'>16mo. Linen. 75 cents.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<hr class='c015' /> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c003'> - <div><span class='large'>MAUREEN’S FAIRING.</span></div> - <div class='c004'>BY</div> - <div class='c004'>JANE BARLOW,</div> - <div class='c004'><span class='sc'>Author of</span> “<span class='sc'>Irish Idylls</span>,” “<span class='sc'>The End of Elfintown</span>,” Etc.</div> - <div class='c004'>Illustrated. 16mo. Linen. 75 cents.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c004' /> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c001'> - <div><span class='xlarge'>THE WINGS OF ICARUS.</span></div> - <div class='c004'><span class='sc'>Being the Life of one Emilia Fletcher, as revealed by herself in</span></div> - </div> -</div> - - <dl class='dl_1'> - <dt>I.</dt> - <dd>Thirty-live Letters written to Constance Norris between July 16, 188–, and March 26 of - the following year. - </dd> - <dt>II.</dt> - <dd>A Fragmentary Journal. - </dd> - <dt>III.</dt> - <dd>A Postscript. - </dd> - </dl> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>BY</div> - <div class='c004'><span class='large'>LAURENCE ALMA TADEMA.</span></div> - <div class='c004'>18mo. Buckram, gilt top. $1.25.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>“It is a study of the inner workings of the human heart, and if the -motives of a soul were ever laid bare, it has been done in ‘The Wings of -Icarus.’... A good story, told in an intensely natural and interesting -manner.”—<cite>Providence News.</cite></p> - -<p class='c010'>“In ‘The Wings of Icarus,’ Laurence Alma Tadema has given us a -book which, for its literary excellence and for its exquisite pen coloring and -finish in every detail, is as artistic a piece of work as ever her distinguished -father has produced with his brush.”—<cite>Boston Home Journal.</cite></p> - -<p class='c010'>“It is at once delicate and forcible, and holds in its story a depth of -passion whose expression is yet kept within the limits of a true refinement.”—<cite>Philadelphia -Evening Bulletin.</cite></p> - -<p class='c010'>“It is exquisite in style, spontaneous and well-sustained in movement.”</p> - -<p class='c010'>“It is a story of Italian coloring delicately suggestive, artistic rather than -strong, dreamy rather than aggressive.”—<cite>Chicago Evening Post.</cite></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c003'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_216'>216</span>UNIFORM WITH “THE WINGS OF ICARUS.”</div> - <div class='c003'><span class='large'>MAD SIR UCHTRED OF THE HILLS.</span></div> - <div class='c004'>BY</div> - <div class='c004'>S. R. CROCKETT,</div> - <div class='c004'><span class='sc'>Author of “The Raiders,” “The Stickit Minister,” Etc., Etc.</span></div> - <div class='c004'>16mo. Buckram. $1.25.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c010'>“Mr. Crockett is surely the poet-laureate of Galloway. The scene of his -latest tale (‘Mad Sir Uchtred’) is laid among the hills with which we became -familiar in ‘The Raiders.’ It is a brief tale, not a novel, and it can -be read through in an hour; indeed, if one begins it, one must read it through, -so compelling is the charm of it. The Lady of Garthland makes a gracious -and pathetic figure, and the wild and terrible Uchtred, the wrong done him, -the vengeance which he did not take,—all these things are narrated in a -style of exquisite clearness and beauty. Mr. Crockett need not fear comparison -with any of the young Scotsmen who are giving to English literature, -just now, so much that is fresh, and wholesome, and powerful.”—<cite>Boston -Courier.</cite></p> -<div class='lg-container-b c003'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='large'>THE SILVER CHRIST,</span></div> - <div class='line in16'>AND</div> - <div class='line in16'><span class='large'>A LEMON TREE.</span></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>BY OUIDA,</div> - <div class='c004'><span class='sc'>Author of “Under Two Flags,” “Two Little Wooden Shoes,” Etc., Etc.</span></div> - <div class='c004'>16mo. Buckram. $1.25.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c010'>“Two charming stories by ‘Ouida’ are included in a dainty little volume -(‘The Silver Christ’; ‘A Lemon Tree’). Comparatively few persons—so at -least it seems to us—appreciate this writer at her true value. We have not -the highest opinion of much of her work; it is meretricious and even vulgar. -But at her best she is capable of truly exquisite writing, and it is in shorter -tales, dealing with an episode—brief studies of character—that she is at -her best.”—<cite>Boston Courier.</cite></p> - -<p class='c010'>“Is pathetic, simple, and beautifully told, and those who have classed -Ouida among the forbidden fruits of literature, should read it to understand -what an artist with the pen she is.”—<cite>Boston Times.</cite></p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='large'>MACMILLAN & CO.,</span></div> - <div>66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c004' /> -</div> -<div class='tnotes x-ebookmaker'> - -<div class='chapter ph2'> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c001'> - <div>TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES</div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - - <ol class='ol_1 c003'> - <li>Silently corrected obvious typographical errors and variations in spelling. - - </li> - <li>Retained archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings as printed. - </li> - </ol> - -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AN EXPERIMENT IN ALTRUISM ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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