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 L161— O-1096
 
 All Sorts and Conditions of Men 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 LONDON : PRINTED BY 
 
 SPGTTISV.'OODE AND CO., NEW-STKEET SOUARE 
 
 AND TAKLIARiENT STREET
 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^l^M^ 
 
 
 ,3 
 
 " ' There, sir, I have read them.
 
 ALL SORTS AND CONDITIONS 
 OF MEN 
 
 BV 
 
 WALTER BESANT 
 
 JVIT// ILLUSTRATIONS BY FRED. BARNARD 
 
 IN THREE VOLUMES— VOL. L 
 
 CHATTO & WINDUS, PICCADILLY 
 
 1882 
 
 [All rights reserved}
 
 3 
 
 ^ 
 
 TO THE 
 
 MEMORY 
 
 OF 
 
 JAMES RICE
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 The ten years' partnership of myself and my 
 late friend Mr. James Eice lias been termi- 
 nated by deatL I am persuaded that nothing 
 short of death would have put an end to a 
 partnership which was conducted throughout 
 with perfect accord, and without the least 
 difference of opinion. The long illness which 
 terminated fatally on April 25th of this year 
 began in January of last year. There were 
 intervals during which he seemed to be 
 recovering and gaining strength ; he was, 
 indeed, well enough in the autumn to try 
 change of air by a visit to Holland ; but he 
 broke down again very shortly after his return : 
 though he did not liimself suspect it, he was 
 under sentence of death, and for tlie last six
 
 viii PREFACE, 
 
 months of liis life his downward course was 
 steady and continuous. 
 
 Ahxiost the last act of his in our partnership 
 was the arrangement, with certain country- 
 papers and elsewhere, for the serial publication 
 of this novel, the subject and writing of which 
 were necessarily left entirely to myself. 
 
 The many wanderings, therefore, which I 
 undertook last summer in Stepney, White- 
 chapel, Poplar, St. George's-in-the-East, Lime- 
 house. Bow, Stratford, Shadwell, and all that 
 great and marvellous unknown country which 
 we call East London, were undertaken, for the 
 first time for ten years, alone. They w^ould 
 have been undertaken in great sadness had one 
 foreseen the end. In one of these wanderings 
 I had the happiness to discover Eotherhithe, 
 which I afterwards explored with carefulness ; 
 in another, I lit upon a certain Haven of Eest for 
 aged sea captains, among whom I found Captain 
 Sorensen ; in others I found many wonderful 
 things, and conversed with many wonderful 
 people. The ' single-handedness,' so to speak,
 
 PREFACE. ix 
 
 of this book would have been a mere episode 
 in the history of the Firm, a matter of no con- 
 cern or interest to the general pubUc, had my 
 friend recovered. But he is dead ; and it 
 therefore devolves upon me to assume the sole 
 responsibihty of the work, for good or bad. 
 The same responsibihty is, of course, assumed 
 for the two short stories ' The Captain's Eoom,' 
 pubhshed at Christmas last, and 'They were 
 Married,' published as the summer number of 
 the ' Illustrated London News.' The last story 
 was, in fact, written after the death of my part- 
 ner ; but as it had already been announced, it 
 was thoudit best, under the circumstances, to 
 make no change in the title, 
 
 I have been told by certain friendly ad- 
 visers that this story is impossible. I have, 
 therefore, stated the fact on the title-page, so 
 that no one may complain of being taken in or 
 deceived. But I have never been able to 
 understand why it is impossible. 
 
 Walter Besa^'t. 
 
 United Universities' Club : 
 Av-rjnd 19, 1882.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 THE FIRST VOLUME. 
 
 CHAPIER 
 
 Pkologue— IN Two Parts 
 
 
 
 
 PACK 
 1 
 
 I. 
 
 News for his Lordship . 
 
 
 
 
 37 
 
 II. 
 
 A VERY Complete Case . 
 
 
 
 
 66 
 
 III. 
 
 Only a Dressmae:er 
 
 
 
 
 78 
 
 IV. 
 
 UxcLE Bunker 
 
 
 
 
 08 
 
 V. 
 
 The Cares of Wealth . 
 
 
 
 
 120 
 
 VI. 
 
 A First Step . 
 
 
 
 
 140 
 
 VII. 
 
 'J'he Trinity Almshouse 
 
 
 
 
 1G3 
 
 VIII. 
 
 What he got by it 
 
 
 
 
 . 187 
 
 IX. 
 
 The Day before the First 
 
 
 
 
 205 
 
 X. 
 
 The Great Davenant Case 
 
 
 
 
 222 
 
 XI. 
 
 The First Day 
 
 
 
 
 . 238 
 
 XII. 
 
 Sunday at the East End 
 
 
 
 
 . 256 
 
 XIII. 
 
 Angela's Experiment , 
 
 
 
 
 . 276 
 
 XIV. 
 
 The Tender Passion 
 
 
 
 
 . 298
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS TO VOL. I 
 
 '"TflEEE, Sir, 1 have read them'" , , Frontispiece 
 
 *'• Vert GOOD. That's practical " * . . Tofacep.lOQ 
 
 '"It reminded me of Canaan City in 
 
 July"' ,, „ 230
 
 ALL SORTS AND CONDITIONS 
 OF MEN. 
 
 PROLOGUE. 
 
 Part I. 
 
 It was the evening of a day in early June, 
 The time was last year, and the place was 
 Cambridge. The sun had been visible in the 
 heavens, a gracious presence, actually a whole 
 week — in itself a thing remarkable ; the hearts 
 of the most soured, even of landlords and 
 farmers, were coming to believe again in the 
 possibility of fine weather ; the clergy were 
 beginning to think that they might this year 
 hold a real Harvest Thanksgiving instead of a 
 sham ; the trees at the Backs were in full foli- 
 age ; the avenues of Trinity and Clare were 
 splendid ; beside them the trim lawns sloped to 
 the margin of the Cam, here most glorious and 
 
 VOL. I. B'
 
 2 ALL SORTS a?id CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 proudest of English rivers, seeing that he laves 
 the meadows of those ancient and venerable 
 foundations, King's, Trinity, and St. John's, to 
 say nothing of Queen's and Clare and Magda- 
 len ; men were lazily floating in canoes, or lean- 
 ing over the bridges, or strolhng about the 
 walks, or lying on the grass ; and among them 
 — but not — oh ! not with them — walked or 
 rested many of the damsels of learned Newn- 
 ham, chiefly in pairs, holding sweet converse 
 
 On mind and art, 
 And labour and the clianging mart, 
 And all the framework of the land ; 
 
 not neglecting the foundations of the Christian 
 faith and other fashionable topics, which ladies 
 nowadays handle with so much learning, origin- 
 ality, dexterity, and power. 
 
 We have, however, to do with only one 
 pair, who were sitting together on the banks 
 opposite Trinity. These two were talking 
 about a subject far more interesting than any 
 concerning mind, or art, or philosoj^hy, or the 
 chances of the Senate House, or the future of 
 Newnham : for they were talking about them-
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 3 
 
 selves and their own lives, and what they were 
 to do each with that one life which happened, 
 by the mere accident of birtli, to belong to 
 herself. It must be a curious subject for reflec- 
 tion in extreme old age, w^hen everything has 
 happened that is going to happen, including 
 rheumatisnij that, but for this accident, one's 
 hfe might have been so very different. 
 
 ' Because, Angela,' said tlie one w^ho wore 
 spectacles and looked older than she was, by 
 reason of much pondering over books and 
 perhaps too little exercise, ' because, my dear, 
 we have but this one life before us, and if we 
 make mistakes with it, or throw it away, or 
 waste it, or lose our chances, it is such a dread- 
 ful pity. Oh, to think of the girls who drift 
 and let every chance go by, and get nothing 
 out of their lives at all — except babies ' (she 
 spoke of babies with great contempt). * Oh ! 
 it seems as if every moment were precious : oh ! 
 it is a sin to waste an hour of it.' 
 
 She gasped and clasped her hands together 
 
 with a sigh She was not acting, not at all ; 
 
 this girl was that hitherto rare thing, a girl of 
 
 study and of books ; she was wholly possessed, 
 
 ■B 2
 
 4 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 like the great scholars of old, with the passion 
 for learning. 
 
 ' Oh ! greedy person ! ' replied the other 
 with a laugh. ' if you read all the books in the 
 University library, and lose the enjoyment of 
 sunshine, what shall it profit you, in the long 
 run ? ' 
 
 This one was a young woman of much finer 
 physique tlian her friend. She was not short- 
 sighted ; but possessed, in fact, a pair of orbs 
 of very remarkable clearness, steadiness, and 
 brightness. They were not soft eyes, nor lan- 
 guishing eyes, nor sleepy eyes, nor downcast, 
 shrinking eyes ; they were wideawake, brown, 
 honest eyes, which looked fearlessly upon all 
 things, fair or foul. A girl does not live at 
 Newnham two 5'ears for nothing, mind you ; 
 when she leaves that seat of learning, she has 
 changed her mind about the model, the perfect, 
 the ideal woman. More than that, she will 
 change the minds of her sisters and her cousins : 
 and there are going to be a great many Newn- 
 hams ; and the spread of this revolution will 
 be rapid ; and the shrinking, obedient, docile, 
 man-reverencing, curate-worshipping maiden
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 5 
 
 of our youth will shortly vanish and be no 
 more seen. And what Avill tlie curate do then, 
 poor thing? Wherefore let the bishop look to 
 certain necessary changes in the Marriage 
 Service ; and let the young men see that their 
 own ideas change with tlie times, else there 
 will be no sweethearts for them. More could 
 1 prophesy, but refrain. 
 
 This young lady owned, besides those men- 
 tioned above, many other points which will 
 always be considered desirable at her age, what 
 ever be the growth of feminine education 
 (wherefore, courage, brothers !). In all these 
 points she contrasted favourably with her com- 
 panion. For her face was sunny, and fair to 
 look upon ; one of the younger clerical dons — 
 now a scanty band, almost a Eemnant — was 
 reported to have said, after gazing upon thai 
 face, that he now understood, wliich he had 
 never understood before, what Solomon meant 
 when he compared his love's temples to a piece 
 of a pomegranate within her locks. Xo one 
 asked him what lie meant, but he was a mathe- 
 matical man, and so he must have meant some- 
 thing, if it was only trigonometry. As to her
 
 6 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 figure, it was what a healthy, naturally dressed, 
 and strong young woman's figure ought to be, 
 and not more slender in the waist than was the 
 figure of Venus or Mother Eve ; and her limbs 
 were elastic, so tliat she seemed when she 
 walked as if she would like to' run, jump, and 
 dance, which, indeed, she would have greatly 
 preferred, only at Newnham they ' take it out ' 
 in lawn- tennis. And whatever might be the 
 course of life marked out by herself, it was 
 quite certain to the intelligent observer that 
 before long Love the invincible — Love that 
 laughs at plots, plans, conspiracies, and designs 
 — would upset them all, and trace out quite 
 another line of life for her, and most probably 
 the most commonplace fine of all. 
 
 'Your life, Constance,' she went on, 'seems 
 to me the most happy and the most fortunate. 
 How nobly you have vindicated the intellect of 
 women by your degree ! ' 
 
 ' No, my dear : ' Constance shook her head 
 sadly. ' No ; only partly vindicated our intel- 
 lect ; remember I was but fifth Wrangler, and 
 there were four men — men, Angela — above me. 
 I wanted to be senior.'
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN, 7 
 
 ' Everybody knows that the fifth is always 
 as good as the first.' Constance, however, 
 shook her head at this daring attempt at conso- 
 lation. ' At all events, Constance, you will go 
 on to prove it by your original papers when 
 you pubhsh your researches. You will lecture 
 like Hypatia ; you will have the undergraduates 
 leaving the men and crowding to your theatre. 
 You will become the greatest mathematician 
 in Cambridge ; you will be famous for ever. 
 You will do better than man himself, even 
 on man's most exalted level of intellectual 
 strength.' 
 
 The pale cheek of the student flushed. 
 
 ' I do not expect to do better than men,' 
 she replied humbly. ' It will be enough if I do 
 as well. Yes, m}^ dear, all my life, short or 
 long, shall be given to science. I will have no 
 love in it, or marriage, or — or — anything of 
 that kind at all.' 
 
 ' Nor will I,' said the other stoutly, yet 
 with apparent effort. 'Marriage spoils a 
 woman's career ; we must live our life to its 
 utmost, Constance.' 
 
 ' We must, Angela. It is the only thing in
 
 8 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 this world of doubt that is a clear duty. I 
 
 owe mine to science. You, my dear, to ' 
 
 She would have sard to •" Pohtical Economy,' 
 but a thought checked her. For a singular 
 thing had happened only the day before. This 
 friend of hers, this Angela Messenger, who had 
 recently illustrated the strength of woman's 
 intellect by passing a really brilhant examina- 
 tion in that particular science, astonished her 
 friends at a little informal meeting in the 
 library by an oration. In this speech she went 
 out of her way to pour contempt upon Political 
 Economy. It was a so-called science, she said, 
 not a science at all: a collection of theories 
 impossible of proof. It treated of men and 
 women as skittles, it ignored the principal 
 motives of action, it had been put together for 
 the most part by doctrinaires who lived apart, 
 and knew nothing about men and less about 
 ^vomen, and it was the favourite study, she 
 cruelly declared, of her own sex, because it 
 was the most easily crammed and made the 
 most show. As for herself, she declared that 
 for all the good it had done her, she might 
 iust as well have 2^one throu2fli a course of
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 9 
 
 jBsthetics or studied the symbols of advanced 
 Eitualism. 
 
 Therefore, remembering the oration, Con- 
 stance Woodcote hesitated. To what Cause 
 (witli a ca])ital C) slioidd Angela Messenger 
 devote lier life ? 
 
 ' I will tell you presently,' said Angela, 
 ' how I shall begin my life. Where the begin- 
 ning will lead me, I cannot tell.' 
 
 Then there was silence for a while. The 
 sun sank lower and the setting rays fell upon 
 the foliage, and every leaf showed like a leaf 
 of gold, and tlie river lay in shadow and be- 
 came ghostly, and the windows of Trinity 
 library opposite to them glowed, and the New 
 Court of St. John's at their left hand became 
 like unto the palace of Kubla Khan. 
 
 ' Oh ! ' sighed the young mathematician, 
 ' I shall never be satisfied till Newnham crosses 
 the river. We must have one of these coheges 
 for ourselves. We must liave King's. Yes, 
 King's will be the best. And oh ! liow differently 
 we shall live from the so-called students who 
 are now smoking tobacco in each otlier's rooms, 
 or playing billiards, or even cards — the superior 
 sex ! '
 
 lo ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 ' As for US, we shall presently go back to 
 our rooms, have a cup of tea and a talk, my 
 clear. Then we shall go to bed. As regards 
 the men, those of your mental level, Constance, 
 do not, I suppose, play billiards ; nor do they 
 smoke tobacco. Undergraduates are not all 
 students, remember. Most of them are nothing 
 but mere Pass-men who will become curates.' 
 
 Two points in this speech seem to call for 
 remark. First, the singular iofnorance of man- 
 kind, common to all women, which led the girl 
 to believe that a great man of science is superior 
 to the pleasures of the weaker brethren ; for 
 they cannot understand the delights of foohng. 
 
 The second point is but it may be left to 
 
 those who read as they run. 
 
 Then they rose and walked slowly under 
 the grand old trees of Trinity Avenue, facing 
 the setting sun, so that when they came to the 
 end and turned to the left, it seemed as if they 
 pkmged into night. And presently they came 
 to the gates of Newnham, the newer Newnham, 
 with its trim garden, and Queen Anne mansion. 
 It grates upon one that tlie beginnings of a 
 noble and lasting reform should be housed in
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. ii 
 
 a palace built in tlie conceited fashion of the 
 day. What will they say of it in fifty years, 
 when the fashion has changed and new styles 
 reign? 
 
 ' Come,' said Angela. ' come into my room. 
 Let my last evening in the dear place be spent 
 with yon, Constance.' 
 
 Angela's own room was daintily furnished 
 and adorned with as many pictures, pretty 
 things, books, and hric-a-hrac as the narrow 
 dimensions of a Newnham cell will allow. In 
 a more advanced Newnham there will be two 
 rooms for each student, and these will be 
 larger. 
 
 The girls sat by the open window : the air 
 was soft and sweet. A bunch of cowslips from 
 the Coton meadows perfumed the room : there 
 was the jug-jug of a nightingale in some tree 
 not far off; opposite them w^ere the lights of 
 the other ISTewnham. 
 
 ' The last night ! ' said Angela. ' I can 
 hardly believe that I go down to-morrow.' 
 
 Then she was silent again. 
 
 ' My life,' she went on, speaking softly in 
 the twilight, ' begins to-morrow. What am I
 
 13 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 to do with it? Your own solution seems so 
 easy because you are clever and you have no 
 money, while I, who am— w^ell, dear, not 
 devoured by thhst for learning— have got so 
 much. To begui with, there is the Brewery. 
 You cannot escape from a big Brewery if it 
 belongs to you. You cannot hide it away. 
 Messenger, Marsden, and Company's Stout, their 
 XXX, their Old and Mild, their Bitter, their 
 Family Ales (that particularly at eight-and-six 
 the nine-gallon cask, if paid for on delivery), 
 their drays, their huge horses, their strong men, 
 whose very appearance advertises the beer, and 
 makes the weak-kneed and the narrow-chested 
 rush to Whitechapel — my dear, these things 
 stare one in the face wherever you go. I am 
 that Brewery, as you know. I am Messenger, 
 Marsden, and Company, myself, the sole partner 
 in what my lawyer sweetly calls the Concern. 
 Nobody else is concerned in it. It is — alas ! — 
 my own Great Concern, a dreadful responsi- 
 bility.' 
 
 '"Why? Your people manage it for you.' 
 ' Yes — oh ! yes — they do. And whether 
 they manage it badly or well I do not know ;
 
 ALL SORTS a?td CONDITIONS of MEN. 13 
 
 whether they make wholesome beer or bad, 
 whether they treat their clerks and workmen 
 generously or meanly, whether the name of the 
 Company is beloved or hated, I do not know. 
 Perhaps the very making of beer at all is a 
 wickedness.' 
 
 'But — Angela,' the other interrupted; 'it 
 is no business of yours. Naturally, wages are 
 regulated by supply and ' 
 
 ' No, my dear. That is poHtical economy. 
 I prefer the good old English plan. If I em- 
 ploy a man, and he works faithfidly, I should 
 like that man to feel that he grows every day 
 worth to me more than his marketable value.' 
 
 Constance was silenced. 
 
 ' Then, l)eside the Brewery,' Angela went 
 on, ' there is an unconscionable sum of money 
 in the Funds.' 
 
 ' There, at least,' said her friend, ' you need 
 feel no scruple of conscience.' 
 
 ' But indeed I do ; for how do I know that 
 it is right to keep all this money idle? A 
 hundred pounds saved and put into the Funds 
 means three pounds a year. It is like a peren- 
 nial stream flowing from a hidden reservoir
 
 14 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 ill a hillside. But this stream, in my case, 
 does no good at all. It neither fertilises the 
 soil nor is it drunk by man or beast, nor does 
 it turn mills, nor is it a beautiful thing to look 
 upon, nor does its silver current flow by banks 
 of flowers or fall in cascades. It all runs away, 
 and makes another reservoir in another hillside. 
 My dear, it is a stream of compound interest, 
 which is constantly getting deeper and broader 
 and stronger, and yet is never of the least use, 
 and turns no wheels. Now, what am I to do 
 with this money ? ' 
 
 ' Endow Ne^vnham ; there, at least, is some- 
 thing practical.' 
 
 ' I will found some scholarships, if you 
 please, later on, when you have made your own 
 work felt. Again, there are my houses in the 
 East End.' 
 
 ' Sell them.' 
 
 'That is only to shift the responsibility. 
 My dear, I have streets of houses. They all lie 
 about Whitechapel way. My grandfather, 
 John Messenger, bought houses, I believe, just 
 as other people buy apples, by the peck, or 
 some larger measure, a reduction being made
 
 ALL SORTS mid CONDITIONS of MEN. 15 
 
 on taking a quantity. There they are, and 
 mostly inhabited.' 
 
 ' You have agents, I suppose P ' said Con- 
 stance unsympathisingly. ' It is their duty to 
 see that tlie houses are well kept.' 
 
 ' Yes, I have agents. But they cannot 
 absolve me from responsibility.' 
 
 ' Then,' asked Constance, ' what do you 
 mean to do ? ' 
 
 ' I am a native almost of Whitechapel. My 
 grandfather, who succeeded to the Brewery, 
 was born there — his father was also a Brewer : 
 his grandfather is, I believe, prehistoric : he 
 lived there long after his son, my father, was 
 born. When he moved to Bloomsbury Square 
 he thought he was getting into quite a fashion- 
 able quarter ; and he only went to Portman 
 Square because he desired me to go into society. 
 I am so rich that I shall quite certainly be wel- 
 comed in society. But, my dear, Whitechapel 
 and its neighbourhood are my proper sphere. 
 Why, my very name ! I reek of beer ; I am all 
 beer ; my blood is beer. Angela Marsden 
 Messenger ! Wliat could more plainly declare 
 my connection with Messenger, Marsden, and
 
 i6 ALL SORTS a?id CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 Company ? I only wonder that he did not call 
 nie Marsden-and' Company Messenger.' 
 
 <- But — Angela . . . ' 
 
 ' He would, Constance, if he had thought 
 of it. For, you see, I was the heiress from the 
 very beginning, because my father died before 
 my birth. And my grandfather intended me 
 to become the perfect Brewer, if a w^oman can 
 attain to so hig-h an ideal. Therefore I was 
 educated in the necessary and fitting lines. 
 They taught me the industries of England, the 
 arts and manufactures, mathematics, accounts, 
 the great outlets of trade, book-keeping, 
 mechanics — all those things that are practical. 
 How it happened that I was allowed to learn 
 music I do not know. Then, when I grew up, 
 I was sent here by him, because the very air of 
 Cambridge, he thought, makes people exact ; 
 and women are so prone to be inexact. I was 
 to read while I w^as here all the books about 
 Political and Social Economy. I have also 
 learned for business purposes two or three 
 languages. I am now finished. I know all 
 the theories about people, and I don't believe 
 any of them will work. Therefore, my dear,
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 17 
 
 I shall get to know the people before I apply 
 them.' 
 
 ' Was your grandfather a student of Politi- 
 cal Economy ? ' 
 
 ' Not at all. But he had a respect for 
 justice, and he wanted me to be just. It is so 
 difficult, he used to say, for a woman to be just. 
 For either she flies into a rage and punishes 
 with excess, or she takes pity and forgives. 
 As for himself, he was as hard as nails, and the 
 people knew it.' 
 
 ' And your project ? ' 
 
 ' It is very simple. I efface myself. I vanish. 
 I disappear.' 
 
 ' What ? ' 
 
 ' If anybody asks wliere I am, no one will 
 know, except you, my dear ; and you will not 
 tell.' 
 
 ' You w^ill be in ' 
 
 ' In Whitechapel, or thereabouts. Your 
 Angela will be a dressmaker, and she will live 
 by herself, and become — what her great-grand- 
 mother was — one of the people.' 
 
 ' You will not like it at all.' 
 
 ' Perhaps not ; but I am w^eary of theories, 
 VOL. I. c
 
 1 8 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN 
 
 facts, statistics. I want liesli and blood. 1 
 want to feel myself a part of this striving, eager, 
 anxious humanity, on whose labours I live in 
 comfort, by whom I have been educated, to 
 whom I owe all, and for whom I have done 
 nothing — no, nothing at all, selfish wretch that 
 I am ! ' 
 
 She clasped her hands with a fine gesture of 
 remorse. 
 
 ' Oh ! woman of science,' she cried ; ' you 
 sit upon the heights, and you can disregard — 
 because it is your right — the sorrows and the 
 joys of the world. But I cannot. I belong to the 
 People — with a great, big P, my dear — I cannot 
 bear to go on living by their toil and giving 
 nothing in return. What a dreadful thing is a 
 She-Dives ! ' 
 
 ' I confess,' said Constance, coldly, ' that I 
 have always regarded wealth as a means for 
 leading the higher life — the life of study and 
 research — unencumbered by the sordid aims 
 and mean joys of the vulgar herd.' 
 
 ' It is possible and right for you to live 
 apart, my dear. It is impossible, because it 
 would be wrong, for me.'
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 19 
 
 ' But— alone ? You will venture into the 
 dreadful region alone ? ' 
 
 ' Quite alone, Constance.' 
 
 ' And — and — your reputation, Angela ? ' 
 
 Angela lauglied merrily. 
 
 ' As for my reputation, my dear, it may take 
 care of itself. Those of my friends who think 
 I am not to be trusted may transfer their affec- 
 tion to more worthy objects. The first thing 
 in the emancipation of the sex, Constance, is 
 equal education. The next is ' 
 
 ' What ? ' for Angela paused. 
 
 She drew forth from her pocket a small 
 bright instrument of steel, which glittered in 
 the twilight. Not a revolver, dear readers. 
 
 'The next,' she said, brandishing the 
 weapon before Constance's eyes, ' is — the 
 
 latch-key;
 
 20 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 PEOLOGUE. 
 
 Part II. 
 
 The time was eleven in the forenoon; the 
 season was the month of roses ; the place was 
 a room on the first floor at the Park-end of 
 Piccadilly — a noisy room, because the windows 
 were open, and there was a great thunder and 
 rattle of cabs, omnibuses, and all kinds of 
 vehicles. When this noise became, as it some- 
 times did, intolerable, the occupant of the 
 room shut his double windows, and immediately 
 there was a great calm, with a melodious roll 
 of distant wheels, like the buzzing of bees about 
 the marigolds on a summer afternoon. With 
 the double window a man may calmly sit down 
 amid even the roar of Cheapside, or the never- 
 ending cascade of noise at Charing Cross. 
 
 The room was furnished with taste; the 
 books on the shelves were well bound, as if the
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 21 
 
 owner took a proper pride in them, as indeed 
 was the case. There were two or three good 
 pictures ; there was a girl's head in marble ; 
 there were cards and invitations lying on the 
 mantelshelf and in a rack beside the clock. 
 Everybody could tell at the first look of the 
 room that it was a bachelor's den. Also be- 
 cause nothing was new, and because there were 
 none of the peacockeries, whims and fancies, 
 absurdities, fads and fashions, gimcrackeries — 
 the presence of which does always and infal- 
 libly proclaim the chamber of a young man — 
 this room manifestly belonged to a bachelor 
 who was old in the profession. In fact, the 
 owner of the chambers, of which this was the 
 breakfast, morning, and dinner room, whenever 
 he dined at home, was seated in an arm- 
 chair beside a breakfast table, lookmg straight 
 before him, with a face filled with anxiety. 
 An honest, ugly, pleasing, rugged, attractive 
 face, whose features were carved one day when 
 Dame Nature was benevolently disposed, but 
 liad a blunt chisel. 
 
 ' I always told him,' he nnittered, ' that he 
 should learn the whole of his family history as
 
 22 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN 
 
 soon as he was three-and- twenty years of age. 
 One must keep such promises. Yet it would 
 have been better that he should never know. 
 But then it might have been found out, and 
 that would have been far Avorse. Yet, how 
 could it have been found out ? No ; . that is 
 ridiculous.' 
 
 He mused in silence. In his fingers he held 
 a cigar which he had lit, but allowed to go 
 out again. The morning paper was lying on 
 the table, unopened. 
 
 ' How will the boy take it .^ ' he asked ; 
 ' will he take it crying ? Or will he take it 
 laughing ? ' 
 
 He smiled, picturing to himself the ' boy's ' 
 astonishment. 
 
 Looking at the man more closely, one be- 
 came aware that he was really a very pleasant- 
 looking person. He was about five-and-forty 
 years of age, and he wore a full beard and 
 moustache, after the manner of his contempo- 
 raries, with Avhom a beard is still considered a 
 manly ornament to the face. The beard was 
 brown, but it had begun to show, as wine mer- 
 chants say of port, the 'appearance of age.'
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 23 
 
 In some light , there was more grey than brown. 
 His dark-brown hair, however, retained its 
 original thickness of thatch, and was as yet 
 untouched by any streak of grey. Seeing that 
 he belonged to one of the oldest and best of 
 English families, one might have expected 
 something of that delicacy of feature which 
 some of us associate with birth. But, as has 
 already been said, his face was rudely chiselled, 
 his complexion was ruddy, and he looked as 
 robust as a ploughboy ; yet he had the air of 
 an English gentleman, and that ought to satisfy 
 anybody. And he w^as the younger son of a 
 Duke, being by courtesy Lord Jocelyn Le 
 Breton. 
 
 While he vv^as thus meditating, there was a 
 quick step on the stair, and the subject of his 
 thoughts entered the room. 
 
 This interesting young man was a much 
 more aristocratic person to look upon tliau his 
 senior. He paraded, so to speak, at every 
 point, the thoroughbred air. His thin and 
 delicate nose, his clear eye, liis high though 
 narrow forehead, his well- cut lip, his firm chin, 
 his pale cheek, his oval face, the slim figure,
 
 24 ALL SORTS mid CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 the thin, long fingers, the spring of his wall^, 
 the poise of his head — what more could one 
 expect even from the descendant of All the 
 Howards? But this morning the pallor of his 
 cheek was flushed as if with some disquieting 
 news. 
 
 ' Good morning, Harry,' said Lord Jocelyn 
 quietly. 
 
 Harry returned the greeting. Then he 
 threw upon the table a small packet of papers. 
 
 ' There, sir, I have read them ; thank you 
 for letting me see them.' 
 
 ' Sit down, boy, and let us talk ; will you 
 have a cigar ? No ? A cigarette, then ? No ? 
 You are probably a little upset by this — new — 
 unexpected revelation ? ' 
 
 ' A little upset ! ' repeated the young man, 
 with a short laugh. 
 
 ' To be sure — to be sure — one could expect 
 nothhig else ; now sit down, and let us talk 
 over the matter calmly.' 
 
 The young man sat down, but he did not 
 present the appearance of one inclined to talk 
 over the matter calmly. 
 
 'In novels,' said Lord Jocelyn, 'it is always
 
 ALL SORTS afid CONDITIONS of MEN. 25 
 
 the good fortune of young gentlemen brought 
 up in ignorance of their parentage to turn out, 
 Avhen they do discover their origin, the heirs to 
 an iUustrious name ; I have always admired 
 that in novels. In your case, my poor Harry, 
 the reverse is the case ; the distinction ought 
 to console you.' 
 
 ' Why was I not told before ?' 
 
 ' Because the boyish brain is more open 
 to prejudice than that of the adult : because, 
 among your companions, you certainly would 
 liave felt at a disadvantage had you known 
 yourself to be the son of a ' 
 
 ' You always told me,' said Harry, ' that 
 my father was in the army ! ' 
 
 ' What do you call a Sergeant in a line 
 regiment, then? ' 
 
 ' Oh ! of course, but among gentlemen — I 
 mean — among the set with whom I was brouglit 
 up, to be in the army means to have a com- 
 mission.' 
 
 ' Yes ; that was my pardonable deception. 
 I thought? that you would respect yourself more 
 if you felt that your father, like the fathers of 
 your friends, belonged to the upper class.
 
 26 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 Now, my dear boy, you will respect yourself 
 just as much, although you know that he was 
 but a Sergeant, and a brave fellow who fell at 
 my side in the Indian Mutiny.' 
 
 ' And my mother ? ' 
 
 ' I did not know her ; she was dead before 
 I found you out, and took you from your Uncle 
 Bunker.' 
 
 ' Uncle Bunker ! ' Harry laughed, with a 
 little bitterness. ' Uncle Bunker ! Fancy ask- 
 ing one's Uncle Bunker to dine at the club! 
 What is he by trade ? ' 
 
 ' He is something near a big Brewery, a 
 Brewery Boom, as the Americans say. What 
 he actually is, I do not quite know. He lives, 
 if I remember rightly, at a place, an immense 
 distance from here, called Stepney.' 
 
 ' Do you know anything more about my 
 father's fomily ? ' 
 
 ' No I the Sergeant was a tall, handsome, 
 well set-up man ; but I know nothing about 
 Ins connections. His name, if that is any help 
 to you, was, was — in fact ' — here Lord Jocelyn 
 assumed an air of ingratiating sweetness — ' was 
 — Goslett — Goslett ; not a bad name, I think,
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN 27 
 
 pronounced with perhaps a leaning to an 
 accent on the last syllable. Don't 'you agree 
 with me, Harry ? ' 
 
 ' Oh ! yes, it will do. Better than Bunker, 
 and not so good as Le Breton. As for my 
 Christian name, now ? ' 
 
 ' There I ventured on one small variation.' 
 
 ' Am I not, then, even Harry ? ' 
 
 ' Yes, yes, yes, you are — now ; formerly 
 you w^ere Harry without the aitch. It is the 
 custom of the neighbourhood in wdiich you 
 w^ere born.' 
 
 ' I see ! If I go back among my own 
 people, I shall be, then, once more 'Arry P ' 
 
 ' Yes ; and shout on penny steamers, and 
 brandish pint bottles of stout, and sing along 
 the streets, in simple abandonment to Arcadian 
 joy ; and trample on flowers ; and break pretty 
 things for wantonness ; and exercise a rude but 
 effective wit, known among the ancients as 
 Fescennine, upon passing ladies ; and get drunk 
 o' nights ; and walk the streets with a pipe in 
 your mouth. That is what you would be, if 
 you w^ent back, my dear child/ 
 
 Harry laughed.
 
 28 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 ' After all,' he said, ' this is a very difficult 
 position. I can no longer go about pretending 
 anything ; I must tell people.' 
 
 ' Is that absolutely necessary ? ' 
 
 ' Quite necessary. It will be a deuce of a 
 business, explahiing.' 
 
 ' Shall we tell it to one person, and let him 
 be the town crier ? ' 
 
 ' That, I suppose, would be the best plan ; 
 meantime, I could retire, while I made some 
 plans for the future.' 
 
 ' Perlmps, if you really must tell the truth, 
 it would be w^ell to go out of town for a bit.' 
 
 ' As for myself,' Harry continued, ' I sup- 
 pose I shall get over the wrench after a bit. 
 Just for the moment I feel knocked out of 
 time.' 
 
 ' Keep the secret, then ; let it be one be- 
 tween you and me only, Harry ; let no one 
 know.' 
 
 But he shook his head. 
 
 ' Everybody must know. Those who re- 
 fuse to keep up the acquaintance of a private 
 soldier's son — w^ell, then, a non-commissioned 
 officer's son — will probably let me know their
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 29 
 
 decision, some way or other. Those who do 
 not ' he paused. 
 
 ' Nonsense, boy ; who cares nowadays what 
 a man is by birth ? Is not this great city full 
 of people who go anywhere, and are nobody's 
 sons ? Look here, and here ' — he tossed half- 
 a-dozen cards of invitation across the table — 
 ' can you tell me who these people were twenty 
 years ago — or these — or these ? ' 
 
 ' No : I do not care in the least who they 
 were. I care only that they shall know who I 
 am ; I will not, for my part, pretend to be 
 what I am not.' 
 
 'I believe you are right, boy. Let the 
 world laugh if they please, and have done 
 with it.' 
 
 Harry began to walk up and down the 
 room ; he certainly did not look the kind of 
 man to give in ; to try hiding things away. 
 Quite the contrary. And he laughed — he took 
 it laughing. 
 
 ' I suppose it will sound comic at first,' he 
 said, ' until people get used to it. Do you 
 know what he turns out to be .^ That kind of 
 thing : after all, we think too much about what
 
 30 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 people say — what does it matter what they say 
 or how they say it? If they hke to laugh, 
 they can. Who shall be the town crier ? ' 
 
 ' I was thinking,' said Lord Jocelyn slowly, 
 ' of calling to-day upon Lady Wimbledon.' 
 
 The young man laughed, with a little 
 heightening of his colour. 
 
 ' Of course — a very good person, an excel- 
 lent person, and to-morrow it will be all over 
 London — there are one or two things,' he went 
 on after a moment, ' that I do not understand 
 from the papers which you put into my hands 
 last night.' 
 
 ' What are those things ? ' Lord Jocelyn 
 for a moment looked uneasy. 
 
 <• Well — perhaps it is impertinent to ask. 
 But — when Mr. Bunker, the respectable Uncle 
 Bunker, traded me away, what did he get for 
 me ? ' 
 
 ' Every bargain has two sides,' said Lord 
 Jocelyn. ' You know what I got, you want to 
 know what the honourable Bunker got. Harry, 
 on that point I must refer you to the gentleman 
 himself.' 
 
 'Very good. Then I come to the next
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN 31 
 
 difficulty — a staggerer. What did you do it 
 for? One moment, sir — ' for Lord Jocelyn 
 seemed about to reply. ' One moment. You 
 were rich, you were well born, you were young. 
 What on earth made you pick a boy out of the 
 gutter and bring him up like a gentleman ? ' 
 
 ' You are twenty-three, Harry, and yet you 
 ask for motives. My dear boy, have you not 
 learned the golden rule ? In all human actions 
 look for the basest motive, and attribute that. 
 If you see any reason for stopping short of 
 quite the lowest spurs to action, such as revenge, 
 hatred, malice, and envy, suppose the next 
 lowest, and you will be quite safe. That next 
 lowest is — son altesse, ma vanite' 
 
 ' Oh ! ' rephed Harry, ' yet I fail to seo 
 how a child of the lowest classes could supply 
 any satisfaction for even the next lowest of 
 human motives.' 
 
 ' It was partly in this way. Mind, I do not 
 for one moment pretend to answer the whole 
 of your question. Men's motives, thank heaven, 
 are so mixed up, that no one can be quite 
 a saint, while no one is altogether a sinner. 
 Nature is a leveller, which is a comfort to us
 
 32 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 who are born in levelling times. In those days 
 I was by Avay of being a kind of Eadical. Not 
 a Eadical sncli as those who delight mankind 
 in these happier days. But I had Liberal lean- 
 ings, and thought I had ideas. When I was a 
 boy of twelve or so, there were the '48 theories 
 floating about the air ; some of them got into 
 my brain and stuck there. Men used to be- 
 lieve that a great time was coming — perhaps I 
 heard a whisper of it ; perhaps I was endowed 
 with a greater faculty for credulity than my 
 neighbours, and believed in humanity. How- 
 ever, I do not seek to explain. It may have 
 occurred to me — I do not say it did — but I 
 have a kind of recollection as if it did — one 
 day after I had seen you, then in the custody 
 of the respectable Bunker, that it would be an 
 instructive and a humorous thing to take a boy 
 of the multitude and bring him up in all the 
 culture, the tastes, the ideas of ourselves — you 
 and me, for instance, Harry. This idea may 
 have seized upon me, so that tlie more I 
 thought of it, the better pleased I was with it. 
 I may have pictured such a boy so taught, so 
 brought up, with such tastes, returning to his
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. ^t, 
 
 own people. Disgust, I may have said, will 
 make liim a prophet ; and such a ])rophet as 
 the world has never yet seen. He would be 
 like a follower of the Old Man of the Moun- 
 tain. He would never cease to dream of the 
 paradise he had seen : he would never cease to 
 tell of it ; he would be always leading liis 
 friends upward to the same levels on which he 
 had once stood.' 
 
 ' Humph ! ' said Harry. 
 
 ' Yes, I know,' Lord Jocelyn went on. 'I 
 ouglit to have foretold that the education I pre- 
 pared for you would have unfitted you for the 
 role of prophet. I am not disappointed in you, 
 Harry — quite the reverse. I now see that 
 what has happened has been only what I should 
 have expected. By some remarkable accident, 
 you possess an appearance such as is generally 
 believed to belong to persons of long-continued 
 gentle descent. By a still more remarkable 
 accident, all your tastes prove to be those of 
 the cultured classes ; the blood of the Goslett's 
 and the Bunkers has, in yourself, assumed the 
 most azure hue.' 
 
 ' That is very odd,' said Harry. 
 
 VOL. I. D
 
 34 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN 
 
 ' It is a very remarkable thing, indeed,' 
 continued Lord Jocelyn gravely. ' I have 
 never ceased to wonder at this phenomenon. 
 However, I was imable to send you to a public 
 school on account of the necessity, as I thought, 
 of concealing your parentage. But I gave you 
 instruction of the best, and found for you com- 
 panions — as you know, among the ' 
 
 ' Yes,' said Harry. ' My companions were 
 gentlemen, I suppose ; I learned from them.' 
 
 ' Perhaps. Still, the earthenware pot can- 
 not become a brass pot, whatever he may 
 pretend. You were good metal from the 
 beginning.' 
 
 ' You are now, Harry,' he went on, ' three- 
 and-twenty. You are master of three foreign 
 languages ; you have travelled on the Continent 
 and in America ; you are a good rider, a good 
 shot, a good fencer, a good dancer. You can 
 paint a little, fiddle a little, dance a great deal, 
 act pretty well, speak pretty well ; you can, I 
 dare say, make love as becomes a gentleman ; 
 you can w^rite very fair verses ; you are good- 
 looking ; you have the a?'r noble ; 3^ou are not 
 a prig ; you are not an assthete ; you possess 
 your share of common sense.'
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 35 
 
 ' One thing you have omitted which, at the 
 present jimcture, may be more useful than any 
 of these things.' 
 
 ' What is that ? ' 
 
 ' You were good enough to give me a lathe, 
 and to have me instructed in the mysteries of 
 turning. I am a practical cabinet-maker, if 
 need be.' 
 
 ' But why should this be of use to you ? ' 
 
 'Because, Lord Jocelyn ' — Harry ran and 
 leaned over the table with a sweet smile of 
 determination on his face — 'because I am 
 going back to my own people for a while, and 
 it may be that the trade of cabinet-making 
 may prove a very backbone of strength to me 
 among them ■' 
 
 ' Harry — you would not — indeed, you could 
 not go back to Bunker ? ' Lord Jocelyn asked 
 this question with every outward appearance of 
 genuine alarm. 
 
 ' I certainly would. My very kind guardian 
 and patron, would you stand in my way ? I 
 want to see those people from where I am 
 sprung : I want to learn liow they differ from 
 you and your kin. I must compare myself 
 
 D 2
 
 36 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 with them — I must prove tlie brotherhood of 
 humanity.' 
 
 ' You will go ? Yes — I see you will — it is 
 in your eyes. Go then, Harry. But return to 
 me soon. The slender fortune of a younger 
 son shall be shared with you so long as I live, 
 and given to you when I die. Do not stay 
 among them. There are, indeed — at least, I 
 suppose so, — all sorts and conditions of men. 
 But to me, and to men brought up like you 
 and me, I do not understand how there can be 
 any but one sort and one condition. Come 
 back soon, boy. Believe me — no — do not 
 believe me — prove it yourself ; in the social 
 pyramid, the greatest happiness, Harry, lies 
 near the top.'
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 37 
 
 CHAPTEE I. 
 
 NEWS FOR HIS LORDSHIP. 
 
 'I HAVE news for your lordship,' said Mrs. 
 Bormalack, at tlie breakfast table, ' something 
 that will cheer you up a bit. We are to have 
 an addition to our family.' 
 
 His lordship nodded his head, meaning that 
 he would receive her news without more delay 
 than was necessary, but that at present his 
 mind was wholly occupied with a contest be- 
 tween one of his teeth and a crust. The tooth 
 was an outlying one, all its lovely companions 
 having withered and gone, and it w^as un- 
 defended ; the crust was unyielding. For the 
 moment no one could tell wdiat might be the 
 result. 
 
 Her ladyship replied for him. 
 
 Lady Davenant was a small woman, if you 
 go by inches ; her exalted rank gave her, how-
 
 38 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 ever, a dignity designed for very mucli larger 
 persons ; yet she carried it with ease. She was 
 by no means young, and her hair was thin as 
 well as grey ; her face, which was oval and 
 delicately curved, might formerly have been 
 beautiful ; the eyes were bright and eager, and 
 constantly in motion, as is often the case with 
 restless and nervous persons ; her lips were 
 thin and as full of independent action as her 
 eyes ; she had thin hands, so small that they 
 might have belonged to a child of eight ; and 
 she might boast, when inclined for vaunting, 
 the narrowest and most sloping shoulders tlaat 
 ever were seen, so sloping that people unaccus- 
 tomed to her were wont to tremble lest the 
 whole of her dress should suddenly slide 
 straight down those shoulders, as down a slope 
 of ice ; and strange ladies, impelled by this 
 apprehension, had been known to ask her in a 
 friendly whisper if she could thoroughly de^ 
 pend upon the pins at her throat. As Mrs. 
 Bormalack often said, speaking of her noble 
 boarders among her friends, those shoulders of 
 her ladyship were Quite a Feature. Next to 
 the pride of having at her table such guests —
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 39 
 
 who, however, did not give in to the good old 
 Enghsh custom of paying double prices for 
 having a title — was the distinction of pointing 
 to those unique shoulders and of talking about 
 them. 
 
 Her ladyship had a shrill, reedy voice, and 
 spoke loudly. It w^as remarked by the most 
 superficial observer, moreover, that she pos- 
 sessed a very strong American accent. 
 
 'At our first boarding-house,' she said, 
 replying indirectly to the landlady's remark, 
 ' at our first boarding-house, which was in 
 Wellclo^e Square, next to the Board Schools, 
 there was a man who once actually slapped his 
 lordship on tlie back. And then he laughed ! 
 To be sure, he was only a Dane, but the dis- 
 respect was just the same.' 
 
 'My dear,' said his lordship, who now 
 spoke, having compromised matters with the 
 crust, ' the ignominy of being slapped on the 
 back by a powerful sea captain is hardly to be 
 weighed in comparison with the physical pain 
 it causes.' 
 
 ' We are quite sure, however, Mrs. Borma- 
 lack,' the lady went on, ' that you will admit
 
 40 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN, 
 
 none under your roof but those prepared to 
 respect rank ; we want no levellers or mis- 
 chievous Eadicals for our companions.' 
 
 ' It is to be a young lady,' said Mrs. Bor- 
 ra alack. 
 
 ' Young ladies, at all events, do not slap 
 gentlemen on the back, wli ether they are 
 noblemen or not,' said his lordship kindly. 
 ' We shall be happy to welcome her, ma'am.' 
 
 This ornament of the Upper House was a 
 big, fat man, with a face like a full moon. His 
 features were not distinctly aristocratic ; his 
 cheeks were iiabby and his nose broad ; also 
 he had a double chin. His long hair was a 
 soft, creamy white, the kind of white which in 
 old age follows a manhood of red hair. He sat 
 in an arm-chair at the end of the table, with his 
 elbows on the arms, as if he desired to get as 
 much rest out of the chair as possible. His 
 eyes were very soft and dreamy ; his expression 
 was that of a man who has been accustomed 
 to live in the quieter parts of the world. He, 
 too, spoke with a marked American accent and 
 with slowness, as if measuring his words and 
 appreciating himself their importance. The.
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 41 
 
 dignity of his manner was not wholly due to 
 his position, but in great measure to his former 
 profession. For his lordship had not always 
 rejoiced in his present dignity, nor, in fact, had 
 he been brought up to it. Persons intending 
 to become peers of Great Britain do not, as a 
 rule, flrst spend more tlian forty years as 
 schoolmasters in their native town. And just 
 as clergymen, and especially young clergymen, 
 love to talk loud, because it makes people 
 remember that they are in the presence of 
 those whose wisdom demands attention, so old 
 schoolmasters speak slowly because their words 
 — even the lightest, which are usually pretty 
 heavy — have got to be listened to, under 
 penalties. 
 
 As soon, however, as he began to ' enjoy 
 tlie title,' the ex-schoolmaster addressed himself 
 with some care to the cultivation of a manner 
 which he tliought due to his position. It was 
 certainly pompous ; it was intended to be 
 affable ; it was naturally, because he was a man 
 of a most kind disposition and an excellent 
 heart, courteous and considerate. 
 
 'I am rejoiced, Mrs. Bormalack,' he went
 
 42 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN, 
 
 on grandly, and with a bow, ' that we are to be 
 cheered m our domestic circle by the addition 
 of a young lady. It is an additional proof, if 
 any were needed, of the care with which you 
 consider the happiness of your guests.' The 
 Professor, who owed for five weeks, murmured 
 that no one felt it more than himself. ' Some- 
 times, ma'am, I own that even with tlie de- 
 lightful society of yourself ('oh, my lord, 
 your lordship is too kind,' said Mrs. Bormalack) 
 ' and of the accomphshed Professor,' — here he 
 bowed to the Professor, who nodded and spread 
 out his hands professionally, 'and of the learned 
 Mr. Daniel Fagg,' — here he bow©d to Mr. Fagg, 
 who took no notice at all, because he was 
 thinking of his triangles and was gazing straight 
 before him — ' and of Mr. Josephus Coppin,' — 
 here he bowed to Josephus Coppin, who 
 humbly inclined his head without a smile, ' and 
 of Mr. Maliphant,' — here he bowed to Mr. 
 Mahphant, who with a breakfast-knife was 
 trying to make a knobly crust assume the shape 
 of a human head, in fact, the head of Mr. 
 Gladstone, ' and of Mr. Harry Goslett, who is 
 not with us so much as we could desire of so
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 43 
 
 sprightly a young man ; and surrounded as we 
 are by all tlie gaiety and dissipation and splen- 
 dour of London, I sometimes suspect that we 
 are not always so cheerful as we might be.' 
 
 ' Give me,' said his wife, folding her little 
 hands and lookino^ round her with a warlike 
 expression, as if inviting contradiction, 'give 
 me Canaan City, New Hampshire, for gaiety.' 
 
 Nobody combated this position, nor did 
 anybody reply at all, unless the pantomime of 
 the Professor was intended for a reply by 
 gesture, like the learned Thaumast. For, with 
 precision and abstracted air, he rolled up a little 
 ball of bread, about as big as a marble, placed 
 it in the palm of his left hand, closed his fingers 
 upon it, and then opened them, showing that 
 the ball had vanished. Then he executed the 
 slightest possible shrug of his shoulders, spread 
 out his hands, and nodded to his lordship, say- 
 ing, with a sweet smile, — 
 ' Pretty thing, isn't it ? ' 
 ' I hope, sir, that she will be pretty,' said 
 his lordship, thinking of the young lady. ' To 
 look at a pretty face is as good as a day of 
 sunshine.'
 
 44 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN, 
 
 ' She is a beautiful girl,' Mrs. Bormalack 
 replied witli entliusiasm, ' and I am sure she 
 must be as good as she is pretty ; because she 
 paid three mouths in advance. With a piano, 
 too, which she will play herself. She is a 
 dressmaker by trade, and she wants to set her- 
 self up in a genteel way. And she's got a little 
 money, she says ; ' a sweet smile crossed her face 
 as she thought that most of this little money 
 would probably come into her own pocket. 
 
 ' A dressmaker ! ' cried her ladyship. ' Do 
 tell ! I was in that line myself before I married. 
 That was long before we began to enjoy the 
 title. You don't know, ma'am ' — here she 
 dropped her voice — ' you don't know how 
 remarkably fond his lordship is of a pretty face ; 
 choice with them, too. Not every face pleases 
 him. Oh ! you wouldn't believe how par- 
 ticular. Which shows his aristocratic descent ; 
 because we all know what his ancestors were.' 
 
 ' To be sure,' said the landlady, nodding 
 significantly. ' We all know what they were. 
 Eovers to a man — I mean a lord. And as for 
 the young lady, she will be here this evening, 
 in time for tea. Shrimps and Sally Lunn,
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN 45 
 
 my lord. And her name is Miss Kennedy. 
 Eespectable, if poor ; and illnstrious ancestors 
 is more than we can all of us have, nor yet 
 deserve.' 
 
 Here the Professor rose, liaving finished his 
 breakfast. One might have noticed tliat he 
 had extremely long and delicate fingers, and 
 that they seemed always in m.ovemcDt ; also 
 that he had a Avay of looking at yon as if he 
 meant yon to look straight and steady into his 
 eyes, and not to go rolling yonr eyes abont in 
 the frivolous, irresponsible way affected by 
 some people. He walked slowly to the win- 
 dow ; then, as if seized with an irresistible 
 impulse to express his feelings in pantomime, 
 or else, it may be, to try an experiment, re- 
 turned to the table, and asked for the loan of 
 his lordship's pocket-handkerchief, which was a 
 large red silk one, well fitted for the purpose. 
 How he conveyed a saucer unseen from the 
 table into that handkerchief, and how that 
 saucer got into the nobleman's coat-tail pocket, 
 were things known only to himself. Yet 
 familiarity breeds contempt, and though e\ery- 
 body looked on, nobody expressed delight or
 
 46 ALL SORTS mid CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 astonislimeiit, for this exhibition of magic and 
 spells went on every day, and whenever the 
 Professor was among them. He moved about 
 accompanied, so to speak, by a legion of in- 
 visible attendants and servants, who conveyed, 
 hid, brought back, uncovered, discovered, re- 
 covered, lost, found, rapped, groaned, cried, 
 whistled, sang, moved chairs and tables, and, 
 in fact, behaved as only a troop of well-drilled 
 elves can behave. He was a young man of 
 twenty-five, and he had a great gift of silence. 
 By trade he was a Professor of legerdemain. 
 Other Professors there are who hold up the 
 light of this science, and hand it down to pos- 
 terity undimmed ; but none with such an 
 ardent love for their work as Professor Climo. 
 For he practised all day long, except when he 
 w^as reading the feats of the illustrious conjurers, 
 sorcerers, necromancers, and w^izards of old 
 time, or inventing new combinations, traps for 
 the credulous, and contrivances to make that 
 which was not seen like unto tliat which was. 
 The East End of London is not the richest 
 field for such performers ; but he was young, 
 and he lived in hope — very often, when there
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 47 
 
 were no engagements — upon it. At such times 
 he became a simple lodger, instead of a boarder, 
 at Mrs. Bormalack's, and went without any 
 meals. 
 
 The situation of this boarding-house, poeti- 
 cally described by his lordship as in the midst 
 of the gaiety of London, was in the far East, 
 in that region of London which is less known 
 to Englishmen than if it were situated in the 
 wildest part of Colorado, or among the pine 
 forests of British Columbia. It stood, in fact, 
 upon Stepney Green, a small strip of Eden 
 which has been visited by few, indeed, of those 
 who do not live in its immediate vicinity. Yet, 
 it is a romantic spot. 
 
 Two millions of people, or thereabouts, live 
 in the East End of London. That seems a 
 good-sized population for an utterly unknown 
 town. They have no institutions of their own 
 to speak of, no public buildings of any import- 
 ance, no municipality, no gentry, no carriages, 
 no soldiers, no picture-galleries, no theatres, no 
 opera — they have nothing. It is the fashion to 
 believe that they are all paupers, which is a 
 foolish and mischievous belief, as we shall pre-
 
 48 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 seiitly see. Probably there is no such spectacle 
 in the whole world as that of this immense, 
 neglected, forgotten great city of East London. 
 It is even neglected by its own citizens, who 
 have never yet perceived their abandoned con- 
 dition. They are Londoners, it is true, but 
 they have no part or share of London ; its 
 wealth, its splendours, its honours exist not for 
 them. They see nothing of any splendours ; 
 even the Lord Mayor's show goeth westward : 
 the city lies between them and the greatness of 
 England. Tliey are beyond the wards, and 
 cannot become aldermen ; the rich T^ondon 
 merchants go north and south and west ; but 
 they go not east. Nobody goes east ; no one 
 wants to see the place ; no one is curious about 
 the way of life in the east. Books on London 
 pass it over ; it has little or no history ; great 
 men are not buried in its churchyards, which 
 are not even ancient, and crowded by citizens 
 as obscure as those who now breathe the 
 upper airs about them. If anything happens 
 in the east, people at the other end have 
 to stop and think before they can remember 
 where the place may be.
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 49 
 
 The house was old, built of red bricks with 
 a ' shell ' decoration over the door. It con- 
 tained room for about' eight boarders, who had 
 one sitting-room in common. This w^as the 
 breakfast-room, a meal at which all were pre- 
 sent ; the dining-room — but nobody except his 
 lordship and his wife dined at liome ; the tea- 
 room — but tea w^as too early for most of the 
 boarders ; and the supper-room. After supper 
 tobacco was tolerated. The boarders were 
 generally men, and mostly elderly men of staid 
 and quiet manners, with whom the evening 
 pipe w^as the conclusion and solace of the day. 
 It was not like the perpetual incense of a tap- 
 room, and yet the smell of tobacco was never 
 absent from the room, lingering about the folds 
 of the dingy curtain, which served for botli 
 summer and winter, clinging to the horsehair 
 sofa, to the leather of the chairs, and to the 
 rusty table-cloth. 
 
 The furniture w^as old and mean. The 
 wall-paper had once been crimson, but was 
 now only dark ; the ceiling had for many years 
 w^anted white-washing badly ; the door and 
 windows wanted painting ; the windows always 
 
 VOL. I. E
 
 50 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 wanted cleaning ; the rope of one of the bhnds 
 was broken ; and the bUnd itself, not nearly so 
 white as it might have been, was pinned half- 
 way up. Everything was shabby ; everything 
 wanted polishing, washing, brightening up. 
 
 A couple of arm-chairs stood, when meals 
 were not going on, one on either side of the 
 hreplace — one being reserved for his lordship, 
 and the other for his wife ; they were, like the 
 sofa, of horsehair, and slippery. There was a 
 long table covered by a faded red cloth ; the 
 carpet was a Brussels once of a warm crimson, 
 now worn threadbare ; the hearthrug was worn 
 into holes ; one or two of the chairs had 
 broken out and showed glimpses of stuffing. 
 The sideboard was of old-fashioned build, and 
 a shiny black by reason of its age ; there were 
 two or three hanging shelves filled with books, 
 the property of his lordship, who loved read- 
 ing ; the mantel-shelf was decorated by a small 
 collection of pipes ; and above it hung a por- 
 trait of the late Samuel Bormalack, formerly a 
 Collector in the great Brewing House of Mes- 
 senger, Marsden and Company. 
 
 His widow, who carried on the house, was
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 51 
 
 a comfortable — a serenely comfortable woman, 
 who regarded the world from the optimist's 
 point of view. Perfect health and a tolerably 
 prosperous business, where the returns are 
 regular though the profits are small, make the 
 possessor agree with Pope and Candide that 
 everything is for the best in this best of all 
 possible worlds. Impossible not to be con- 
 tented, happy, and religious, when your wishes 
 are narrowed to a tidy dinner, a comfortable 
 supper with a little something hot, boarders 
 who pay up regular, do not grumble, and go 
 to bed sober ; and a steady hope that you will 
 not ' get something,' by which of course is 
 meant that you may not fall ill of any disagree- 
 able or painful disease. To ' get something' is 
 one of the pretty euphemisms of our daily 
 speech. 
 
 She had had one or two unlucky accidents, 
 such as the case of Captain Saffrey, who stayed 
 two months, and drank enough beer to float a 
 three-decker, and then sailed away, promising 
 to pay, and would have done so — for he was 
 an honest man — but had the misfortune to fall 
 overboard while in liquor. But her present 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
 
 52 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 boarders seemed most respectable, and she was 
 at ease. 
 
 Of course, the persons of greatest con- 
 sideration among them were the noble pair 
 who enjoyed the title. Eank is respected, if 
 you please, even at the East End of London, 
 and perhaps more there than in fashionable 
 quarters, because it is so rare. King John, it 
 is true, had once a palace at Stepney ; but that 
 is a long thne to look back upon, and even the 
 oldest inhabitant can now not remember to 
 have been kicked by the choleric monarch. 
 Then the Marquis of Worcester had once a 
 great house here, what time the sainted Charles 
 was ripening things for a row Eoyal. That 
 house is gone too, and I do not know where it 
 used to stand. From the time of this East 
 End Marquis to the arrival of Lord and Lady 
 Davenant, last year, there have been no resident 
 members of the English aristocracy, and no 
 member of the foreign nobihty, with the ex- 
 ception of a certain dusky Marquis of Chou- 
 fleur, from Hayti, who is reported on good 
 authority to have once lived in these parts for 
 six months, thinking he w^as in the politest and
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 53 
 
 most fashionable suburb of London. He is 
 further said to have carried on with Satanic 
 wildness in Limehouse and the West India 
 Dock Eoad of an evening. A Japanese, too, cer- 
 tainly once went to an hotel in America Square, 
 which is not quite the East End, and said he 
 was a Prince in his own country. He stayed a 
 week, and drank champagne all day long. 
 Then he decamped without paying the bill ; 
 and when the landlord went to the Embassy to 
 complain, he thought it was tlie Ambassador 
 himself, until he discovered that all Japanese 
 are exactly alike. Wherefore he desisted from 
 any further attempt to identify the missing 
 Prince for want of the missing link, namely, 
 some distinctive feature. 
 
 The illustrious pair had now been in the 
 House for six weeks. Previously they had 
 spent some time in Wellclose Square, which is 
 no doubt well known to fashionable readers, 
 and lies contiguous to St. George's Street. 
 Here happened that accident of tlie back-slap- 
 ping so feelingly alluded to by her ladyship. 
 They were come from America to take up an 
 old family title which had been in abeyance
 
 54 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 for two or three generations. They appeared 
 to be poor, but able to find the modest weekly 
 sum asked by Mrs. Bormalack ; and in order 
 to secure her confidence and goodwill, they 
 paid every week in advance. They drank 
 nothing but water, but, to make up, his lord- 
 ship ate a great deal, especially at breakfast, 
 and they asked for strange things, unknown to 
 English households. In other respects they 
 •gave no kind of trouble, were easily satisfied, 
 never grumbled, and were affable. For their 
 rank they certainly dressed shabbily, but high 
 social station is sometimes found coupled with 
 eccentricity. Doubtless Lord Davenant had 
 his reasons for going about in a coat white at 
 the seams and shiny at the back, which, being 
 made of sympathetic stuff, and from long habit, 
 had assumed the exact shape of his noble back 
 and shoulders, with a beautiful model of his 
 illustrious elbows. For similarly good and 
 sufficient reasons Lady Davenant wore that old 
 
 black gown and those mended gloves and ; 
 
 but it is cruel to enumerate the shortcomings of 
 her attire. 
 
 Perhaps on account of his public character.
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 55 
 
 the Professor would rank in tlie House after 
 his lordship. Nothing confers greatness more 
 quickly than an unabashed appearance upon a 
 platform. Mr. Mahphant, however, who liad 
 travelled and could relate tales of adventure, 
 might dispute precedence with him. He was 
 now a carver of figure-heads for ships. It is 
 an old and honourable trade, but in these latter 
 days it has decayed. He had a small yard at 
 Limehouse, where he worked all by himself, 
 turning out heads in the rough, so that they 
 might be transformed into the beauteous 
 goddess Venus, or a Saucy Poll, or a bearded 
 Neptune, as the owners might prefer. He was 
 now an old man, with a crumpled and million- 
 hned face, but active still and talkative. His 
 memory played him tricks, and he took little 
 interest in new things. He had a habit, too, 
 wliich disconcerted people unaccustomed to 
 him, of thinking one part of a reminiscence to 
 himself and saying the rest aloud, so that one 
 got only the torso or mangled trunk of the 
 story, or the head, or the feet, with or without 
 the tail, wliich is the point. 
 
 The learned Daniel Fagg, rapt always in
 
 56 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN, " 
 
 contemplation, was among them but not of 
 tliem. He was lately arrived from Anstralia, 
 bringing with him a Discovery which took 
 away tlie breath of those who heard it, and 
 filled all the scholars and learned men of 
 Europe with envy and hatred, so that they 
 combined and formed a general conspiracy to 
 keep him down, and to prevent the publication 
 of his great book, lest the world should point 
 the finger of scorn at them, and laugli at the 
 blindness of its great ones. Daniel liimself 
 said so, and an oppressed man generally knows 
 his oppressor. He went away every morning 
 after breakfast, and returned for tea. He was 
 behoved to occupy the day in spreading a 
 knowledge of his Discovery, the nature of 
 which was unknown at the boarding-house, 
 among clergymen and other scliolars. In the 
 evening he sat over a Hebrew Bible and a dic- 
 tionary, and spoke to no one. A harmless 
 man, but soured and disappointed with the 
 cold reception of his Great Discovery. 
 
 Anotlier boarder was the unfortunate Jose- 
 phus Coppin, who was a cleik in the great 
 brewing-house of Messenger, Marsden and
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 57 
 
 Company. He had been there for forty years, 
 being now fifty-five years of age, grey, and sad 
 of face, because, for a certain well known 
 reason, he was not advanced, but remained 
 for ever among the juniors at a salary of thirty 
 shillings a week. Other men of his own stand- 
 ing were Chief Brewers, Collectors, and Chief 
 Accountants. He was almost where he had 
 started. The young men came and mounted 
 the ladder of promotion, passing him one after 
 the other ; he alone remained upon the rung 
 which he had reached one day, now thirty 
 years bygone, when a certain thing happened, 
 the consequences of which were to keep him 
 down, to ruin his prospects, to humiliate and 
 degrade him, to sadden and embitter his whole 
 life. Lastly, there was a young man, the only 
 young man among them, one Harry Goslctt by 
 name, who had quite recently joined the board- 
 ing-house. He was a ne]:)hew of Mr. Coppin, 
 and was supposed to be looking for a place of 
 business. 
 
 But he was an uncertain boarder. He paid 
 for his dinner, but never dined at liome ; lie 
 had brought with him a lathe, which he set up
 
 58 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 in a little garden-house, and here he worked 
 by himself, but in a fitful, lazy way, as if it 
 mattered nothing whether he worked or not. 
 He seemed to prefer strolling about the 
 place, looking around him as if he had 
 never seen tilings before, and he w^as wont to 
 speak of familiar objects as if they were 
 strange and rare. These eccentricities were 
 regarded as due to his having been to America . 
 A handsome young man and cheerful, wliich 
 made it a greater pity that he was so 
 idle. 
 
 On this morning the first to start for the 
 day's business was Daniel Fagg. He put his 
 Hebrew Bible on the bookshelf, took out a 
 memorandum-book and the stump of a pencil, 
 made an entry, and then counted out his 
 money, which amounted to eight-and-sixpence, 
 with a sigh. He was a little man, about sixty 
 years of age, and liis thin hair was sandy in 
 colour. His face was thin, and he looked 
 hungry and under-fed. I believe, in fact, that he 
 seldom had money enough for dinner, and so 
 went without. Nothing Avas remarkable in his 
 face, except a pair of very large and thick
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 59 
 
 eyebrows, also of sandy hue, wliicli is unusual, 
 and produces a very curious effect. With these 
 he was wont to frown tremendously as he went 
 along, frightening the little children into fits ; 
 when he w^as not frowning, he looked dejected. 
 It must have been an unhappy condition of 
 things which made the poor man thus alternate 
 between wrath and depression. There were, 
 however, moments — those when he got hold of 
 a new listener — in which he would light up 
 with enthusiasm as he detailed the history of 
 his Discovery. Then the thin, drawn cheek 
 would fill out, and his quivering lips would 
 become firm, and his dejected eyes would 
 brighten with the old pride of discovery, and 
 he would laugh once more, and rub his hands 
 ■with pride, when he described the honest sym- 
 pathy of the people in the Austrahan township, 
 where he first announced the great Eevelation 
 he was to make to the world, and received 
 their enthusiastic cheers and shouts of encour- 
 agement. 
 
 Harry Goslett was his last listener, and, as 
 the enthusiast thought, his latest convert. 
 
 As Daniel passed out of the dining-room,
 
 6o ALL SORTS and CONDITLONS of MEN. 
 
 and was looking for his hat among a collection 
 of hats as bad as was ever seen out of Cana- 
 dian backwoods, Harry Goslett himself came 
 downstairs, his hands in his pockets, as slowly 
 and lazily as if there was no such thing as 
 work to do or time to keep. He laughed and 
 nodded to the discoverer. 
 
 ' Oho ! Dan'l,' he said ; ' how are the tri- 
 angles ? and are you really going back to the 
 Lion's Den ? ' 
 
 ' Yes, Mr. Goslett, I am going back there ! 
 I am not afraid of them ; I am going to see 
 the Head of the Egyptian Department. He 
 says he will give me a hearing ; they all said 
 they would, and they have. But they won't 
 listen ; it's no use to hear unless you listen. 
 What a dreadful thing is jealousy among the 
 learned, Mr. Goslett ! ' 
 
 ' It is indeed, my Prophet ; have they sub- 
 scribed to the book ? ' 
 
 ' JSTo ! they won't subscribe. Is it likely 
 that they will help to bring out a work which 
 proves them all wrong? Come, sir, even at 
 your age you can't think so well of poor 
 hmnanity.'
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 6i 
 
 ' Daniel — ' the young man laid his hands 
 impressively upon the little man's shoulders — 
 ' you showed me yesterday a hst of forty-five 
 subscribers to your book, at twelve shiUings and 
 sixpence apiece. Where is that subscription- 
 money ? ' 
 
 The poor man blushed, and hung his head. 
 
 ' A man must hve,' he said at length, trying 
 to frown fiercely. 
 
 ' Yes, but unpleasant notice is sometimes 
 taken of the way in which people live, my 
 dear friend. This is not a free country ; not 
 by any means free. If I were you, I would 
 take the triangles back to Australia, and print 
 the book there, among your friends.' 
 
 ' No ! ' The little man stamped on the 
 ground, and rammed his head into his hat 
 with determination. ' No, Mr. Goslett, and no 
 again. It shall be printed here. I will hurl 
 it at the head of the so-called scholars here, in 
 London — in their stronghold, close to the 
 British Museum. Besides ' — here he relaxed, 
 and turned a pitiful face of sorrow and shame 
 upon his adviser — ' besides, can I forget the 
 day when I left Australia ? They all came
 
 62 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN 
 
 aboard to say good-bye. The papers had para- 
 graphs about it. Tliey shouted one after the 
 other., and nobblers went around surprising, 
 and tliey slapped me on the back and said, 
 '^Go, Dan'l," or "Go, Eagg," or ''Go, Mr. 
 Fagg," according to their intimacy and the 
 depth of their friendship — " Go where honour 
 and glory and a great fortune, with a pension 
 on the Queen's Civil List, are waiting for you." 
 On the voyage I even dreamed of a title ; I 
 thought Sir Daniel Fagg, Knight or Baronet, 
 or the Eight Eeverend Lord Fagg, w^ould sound 
 well to go back to Australia with. Honour ? 
 Glory ? Fortune ? where are they ? Eight-and- 
 sixpence in my pocket ; and the Head of the 
 Greek Department calls me a fool, because I 
 won't acknowledge that truth— yes, TEUTH 
 — is error. Laughs at the triangles, Mr. 
 Goslett ! ' 
 
 He laughed bitterly and went out, slamming 
 the door behind him. 
 
 Then Harry entered the breakfast-room, 
 nodding pleasantly to everybody ; and without 
 any apology for lateness, as if breakfast could 
 be kept about all the morning to suit his con-
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 63 
 
 venience, sat down and began to eat. Jona- 
 than Coppin got up, sighed and went away to 
 his brewery. The Professor looked at the last 
 comer with a meditative air, as if he would 
 like to make him disappear, and could do it 
 too, but was uncertain how Harry would take 
 it. Mrs. Bormalack hurried away on domestic 
 business. Mr. Maliphant laughed and rubbed 
 his liands together, and then laughed again as 
 if he were thinking of something really comic, 
 and said, ' Yes, I knew the Sergeant very well, 
 a well set-up man he was, and Caroline Coppin 
 was a pretty girl.' At this point his face 
 clouded and his eyes expressed doubt. ' There 
 was,' he added, ' something I wanted to ask 
 you, young man, something ' — here he tapped 
 his forehead — ' something about your father or 
 your mother, or both ; but I have forgotten — 
 never mind. Another time — another time.' 
 
 He ran away with boyish activity and a 
 schoolboy's laugh, being arrived at that time 
 of life when one becomes hsjht of heart once 
 more, knowing by experience that nothing 
 matters very much. There were none left in 
 the room but the couple who enjoyed tlie title.
 
 64 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 His lordship sat in his arm-chair, apparently 
 enjoying it, in meditation and repose ; this, one 
 perceives, is qnite the best way of enjoying an 
 hereditary title, if you come to it late in hfe. 
 
 His wife had, meanwhile, got out a little 
 shabby portfolio in black leather, and was 
 turning over the papers with impatience ; now 
 and then she looked up to see whether this late 
 young man had finished his breakfast. She 
 fidgeted, arranged, and worried with her papers, 
 so that anyone, whose skull was not six inches 
 thick, might have seen that she wanted to be 
 alone with her husband. It was also quite 
 clear to those who thought about things, and 
 watched this little lady, that there may be 
 meaning in certain proverbial expressions 
 touching grey mares. 
 
 Presently Harry Goslett finished his coffee, 
 and, paying no attention to her little ladyship's 
 signals of distress, began to open up conversa- 
 tion on general subjects Avith the noble lord. 
 
 She could bear it no longer. Here Avere 
 the precious moments wasted and thrown away, 
 every one of which should be bringing them 
 nearer to the recognition of their rights.
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN, 65 
 
 ' Young man,' she cried, jumping up in her 
 chair ; ' if you've got nothing to do but to loll 
 and lop around, all forenoon, I guess we hev, 
 and this is the room in which we do our 
 work.' 
 
 ' I beg your pardon. Lady Davenant ' 
 
 ' Young man — Git ' 
 
 She pointed to the door. 
 
 VOL. I, P
 
 66 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 CHAPTEE II. 
 
 A VERY COMPLETE CASE. 
 
 His lordship, left alone with his wife, mani- 
 fested certain signs of uneasiness. She laid the 
 portfolio on the table, turned over the papers, 
 sorted some of them, picked out some for refe- 
 rence, fetched the ink, and placed the penholder 
 in position. 
 
 ' ISTow, my dear,' she said, ' no time to lose. 
 Let us set to work in earnest.' 
 
 His lordship sighed. He was sitting with 
 his fat hands upon his knees, contented with 
 the repose of the moment. 
 
 'Clara Martha,' he grumbled, 'cannot I 
 have one hour of rest ? ' 
 
 'Not one, till you get your rights.' She 
 hovered over him like a little falcon, fierce and 
 persistent. ' Kot one. What ? You a British 
 peer ? You, who ought to be sitting with a
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 67 
 
 coronet on your head — you to shrink from the 
 trouble of writing out your Case ? And such 
 a Case ! ' 
 
 He only moaned. Certainly he was a very 
 lethargic person. 
 
 ' You are not the Carpenter, your father. 
 Nor even the Wheelwright, your grandfather, 
 who came down of his own accord. You 
 would rise, you would soar — you have the 
 spirit of your ancestors.' 
 
 He feebly flapped with his elbows, as if he 
 really would hke to take a turn in the air, but 
 made no verbal response. 
 
 ' Cousin Nathaniel,' she went on, ' gave us 
 six months at six dollars a week. That's none 
 too generous of Nathaniel, seeing we have no 
 children, and he will be the heir to the title. 
 I guess Aureha Tucker set him against the 
 thing. Six months, and three of them gone 
 already, and nothing done. What v>^ould 
 Aurelia say if we went home again, beaten ? ' 
 
 The httle woman gasped, and would have 
 shrugged her slioulders, but they were such a 
 long way down — shoulders so sloping could 
 not be sln-ugged. 
 
 r2
 
 68 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 Her remonstrances moved the heavy man, 
 v^ho drew his chair to the table with great 
 dehberation. 
 
 ' We are here,' she continued — always the 
 exhorter and the strengthener of faith — ' not to 
 claim a title but to assume it. We shall pre- 
 sent our Case to Parliament, or the Queen, or 
 the House of Lords, or the Court of Chancery, 
 or whosoever is the right person, and we shall 
 say, " I am Lord Davenant." That is all/ 
 
 ' Clara Martha,' said her husband, ' I wish 
 that were all we had to do. And, on the 
 Avhole, I would as soon be back in Canaan 
 City, New Hampshire, and the trouble over. 
 The memoranda are all here,' he said. ' Can't 
 we get someone else to draw up the Case ? ' 
 
 ' Certainly not. You must do it. Why, 
 you used to think nothing of writing out a 
 Fourth of July speech.' 
 
 He shook his head. 
 
 ' And you know that you have often said, 
 yourself, that there wasn't a book written that 
 could teach you anything up to Quadratic 
 Equations. And self-raised, too ! ' 
 
 ' It isn't that, Clara Martha. It isn't that.
 
 ALL SORTS ajid CONDITIONS of MEN. 69 
 
 Listen ! ' he sank his voice to a whisper. "-It's 
 the doubt. That's the point. Every time I 
 face that doubt it's hke a bucket of cokl water 
 down my back.' 
 
 She shivered. Yes : there was always the 
 doubt. 
 
 ' Come, my dear,' she said presently ; ' we 
 must get the Case drawn up, so that anyone 
 may read it. That is the first thing — never 
 think of any doubt.' 
 
 He took up one of the loose papers, which 
 was covered with writing. 
 
 ' Timothy Clitheroe Davenant,' he read 
 with a Aveary sigh, ' died at Canaan City, New 
 Hampshire, in the year of our Lord one thou- 
 sand seven hundred and ninety-four. By trade 
 he was a Wheelwriglit. His marriage is re- 
 corded in the church register of July 1, 1773. 
 His headstone still stands in the old church- 
 yard, and says that he was born in England in 
 the year one thousand seven hundred and 
 thirty- two — it does not say where he was born — 
 and that he was sixty-two years of age at the 
 day of his death. Also, that long time he 
 bore '
 
 70 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 ' Yes, yes, but you needn't put that in. 
 Go on with your Case. The next point is your 
 own father. Courage, my dear ; it is a very 
 strong Case.' 
 
 ' The Case is very strong.' His lordship 
 plucked up courage, and took up another 
 paper. ' This is my father's record. All is 
 clear : Born in Canaan City on October 10, 
 1774, the year of Independence, the eldest son 
 of the aforesaid Timothy Clitheroe Davenant, 
 Wheelwright, and Dinah his wife — here is a 
 copy of the register. Married on May 13, 
 1810, which was late in life, because he didn't 
 somehow get on so fast as some, to Susanna 
 Pegiey, of the same parish. Described as a 
 Carpenter — but a poor workman, Clara Martha, 
 and fond of chopping yarns, in which he was 
 equalled by none. He died in the year 1830, 
 his tombstone still standing, like his father's 
 before him. It says that his end was peace. 
 Wal — he always wanted it. Give him peace, 
 with a chair in the verandah, and a penknife 
 and a little bit of pine, and he asked for no 
 more. Only that, and his wife wouldn't let 
 him have it. His end was peace.'
 
 ALL- SORTS and CONDITLONS of MEN. 71 
 
 ' You all want peace,' said his wife. ' The 
 Davenants always did thmk that they only had 
 to sit still and the plums would drop in their 
 mouths. As for you, I believe you'd be con- 
 tent to sit and sit in Canaan City till Queen 
 Victoria found you out and sent you the coronet 
 herself. But you've got a wife as well as your 
 father.' 
 
 ' I hev,' he said, with another sigh. ^ Per- 
 haps we were wrong to come over — I think I 
 Avas happier in the schoolroom, when the boys 
 were gone hum. It was very quiet, there, for 
 a sleep in the afternoon by the stove. And in 
 summer the trees looked harnsome in the sun- 
 light.' 
 
 She shook her head impatiently. 
 
 ' Come,' she cried. ' Where are the " Eecol- 
 lections " of your grandfather ? ' 
 
 He found another paper, and read it slowly, 
 
 ' My grandfather died before I was born. 
 My father, however, said that he used to throAv 
 out hints about his illustrious fomily, and that 
 if he chose to go back to England some people 
 would be very much surprised. But he never 
 explained himself. Also he would sometimes
 
 72 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN 
 
 speak of a great Englisli estate, and once lie 
 said that the freedom of a Wheelwright was 
 better than the gilded chains of a British aris- 
 tocrat — that was at a rom"th of July Meetin'.' 
 
 ' Men talk wild at meetins'/ said his wife. 
 ' Still, there may have been a meanin' behind 
 it. Go on Timothy — I mean, my lord.' 
 
 ' As for my father, it pleased him, when he 
 could put up his feet and crack with his friends, 
 to brag of his great connections in England. 
 But he never knew rightly who they were, and 
 he was too peaceful and restful a creature to 
 take steps to find out.' 
 
 'Waitin' for King George,' observed his 
 wife. ' Just Avhat you would be doin', but for 
 me.' 
 
 ' That's all the " Eecollections." ' Here 
 comes my own declaration : 
 
 ' " I, Timothy Clitheroe Davenant, make 
 affidavit on oath, if necessary — but 1 am not 
 quite clear as to the righteousness of swearing — 
 that I am the son of the late Timothy Chtheroe 
 Davenant, sometime carpenter of the City of 
 Canaan, New Hampshire, U.S.A., and Susanna 
 his wife, both now deceased ; that I was born
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN 73 
 
 in the year of grace one thousand eight hun- 
 dred and fifteen, and that I have been for forty 
 years a teacher in my native town." That is 
 all clean and above-board, Clara Martha; no 
 weak point so far, father to son, marriage cer- 
 tificates regularly found, and baptism registers. 
 Ko one can ask more. " Further, I, the above- 
 named Timothy, do claim to be the lawful and 
 legitimate heir to the ancient barony of Dave- 
 nant, supposed to be extinct in the year 1783 
 by the death of the last lord, without male 
 issue." Legally worded, I think,' he added 
 with a little proud smile. 
 
 ' Yes : it reads right. Now for the connec- 
 tion.' 
 
 ' Oh ! the connection.' His lordship's face 
 clouded over. His consort, however, awaited 
 the explanation, for the thousandth time, in 
 confidence. Where the masculine mind found 
 doubt and uncertainty, the quick woman's 
 intellect, ready to believe and tenacious of faith, 
 had jumped to certainty. 
 
 'The connection is this.' He took up 
 another paper, and read : 
 
 ' " The last Lord Davenant had one son
 
 74 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 only, a boy named Timotliy Clitlieroe. All the 
 eldest sons of the House were named Timothy 
 Clitlieroe, just as all the Ashleys are named 
 Anthony. When the boy arrived at years of 
 maturity he was sent on the Grand Tour, which 
 he made with a tutor. On returning to Eng- 
 land, it is believed that he had some difference 
 with liis father, the nature of Avhich has never 
 been ascertained. He then embarked upon a 
 ship sailing for the American Colonies. No- 
 thing more was ever heard about him, no news 
 came to his father or his friends, and he was 
 supposed to be dead." ' 
 
 ' Even the ship was never heard of,' added 
 ]ier ladyship, as if this was a fact which would 
 greatly help in lengthening the life of the young 
 man. 
 
 ' That, too, was never heard of again. If 
 she had not been thrown away, we might iiave 
 learned what became of the Honourable 
 Timothy Clitheroe Davenant.' There was 
 some confusion of ideas here, which the ex- 
 schoolmaster was not slow to perceive. 
 
 ' I mean,' he tried to explain, ' that if she 
 got safe to Boston, the young man would have
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITLONS of MEX, 75 
 
 landed there, and all would be comparatively 
 clear. Whereas, if she was cast away, we 
 must now suppose that he was saved and got 
 ashore somehow.' 
 
 ' Like Saint Paul,' she cried triumphantly, 
 ' on a piece of wreck — what St. Paul did, he 
 could do, I should hope.' 
 
 ' Because,' her husband continued, ' there 
 is one fact which proves that he did get ashore, 
 that he concluded to stay there, that he de- 
 scended so far into the social scale as to become 
 a wheelwright ; and that he lived and died in 
 the town of Canaan, New Hampshire.' 
 
 ' Go on, my dear. Make it clear. Put it 
 strong. This is the most interesting point 
 of all ' 
 
 • And this young man, who was supposed 
 to be cast away in the year one thousand seven 
 hundred and fifty-four, aged twenty-two, was 
 exactly the same age as my grandfather, 
 Timothy Clitheroe Davenant, who bore the 
 same name^ which is proved by tlie headstone 
 and the church books.' 
 
 ' Could there,' asked liis wife, springing to
 
 76 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN, 
 
 her feet, ' could there have been two English- 
 men ? ' 
 
 ' Of the same illustrious and historic sur- 
 name, both in America ? ' replied her husband, 
 roused into a flabby enthusiasm. 
 
 ' Of the same beautiful Christian name ? — 
 two Timothys ? ' 
 
 ' Born both in the same year ? ' 
 
 The little woman with the bright eyes and 
 the sloping shoulders threw her arms about her 
 husband's neck. 
 
 ' You shall have your rights, my dear,' she 
 said; 'I will hve to see you sitting in the 
 House of Lords with the hereditary statesmen 
 of England. If there is justice in the land of 
 England, you shall have your rights. There is 
 justice, I am sure, and equal law for poor and 
 rich, and encouragements for the virtuous. 
 Yes, my dear, the virtuous. Whatever your 
 faults may be, your virtues are many, and it 
 can't but do the House of Lords good to see a 
 little virtue among them. Not that I hold 
 with Aurelia Tucker that the English House of 
 Lords are wallowers in sin ; whereas, Irene 
 Pascoe once met a Knight on a missionary plat-
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. yj 
 
 form and found he'd got religion. But virtue 
 you can never liave too much of. Courage, my 
 lord ; forget the Carpenter, and think only of 
 the Nobleman, your grandfather, who con- 
 descended to become a Wheelwright.' 
 
 He obediently took up the pen and began. 
 When he seemed fairly absorbed in the task of 
 copying out and stating the Case, she left him. 
 As soon as the door was closed, he heaved a 
 gentle sigh, pushed back his chair, put up his 
 feet upon another chair, covered his head with 
 his red silk pocket-handkerchief — for there were 
 flies in the room — and dropped into a gentle 
 slumber. The Carpenter was, for the moment, 
 above the condescending Wheelwright.
 
 78 ALL SORTS and CONDITLONS of MEN. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 ONLY A DRESSMAKER. 
 
 Harry Goslett returned to the boarding-liouse 
 that evening, in a mood of profound dejection ; 
 he had spent a few hours with certain cousins, 
 whose acquaintance he was endeavouring to 
 make. ' Hitherto,' he said, writing to Lord 
 Jocelyn, ' the soil seems liardly worth cultivat- 
 ing.' In this he spoke hastily, because every 
 man's mind is worth cultivating as soon as you 
 fmd out the things best fitted to grow in it. 
 But some minds will only grow turnips, while 
 others produce the finest strawberries. 
 
 The cousins, for their part, did not, as yet, 
 take to the new arrival, whom they found 
 difficult to understand — his speech was strange, 
 his manner stranger : these peculiarities, they 
 thought in their ignorance, were due to resi- 
 dence in the United States, where Harry had
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 79 
 
 found it expedient to place most of liis previous 
 years. Conversation was difficult between two 
 rather jealous workmen and a brother artisan, 
 who greatly resembled the typical Swell — an 
 object of profound dislike and suspicion to the 
 working classes. 
 
 He had now spent some three weeks among 
 his kinsfolk. He brought with him some 
 curiosity, but little enthusiasm. At first he 
 was interested and amused ; rapidly he became 
 bored and disgusted ; for as yet he saw only the 
 outside of things. There was an uncle, Mr. 
 Benjamin Bunker, the study of whom, regarded 
 as anybody else's uncle, would have been 
 pleasant. Considered as his own connection 
 by marriage — Benjamin and the late Serjeant 
 Goslett having married sisters — he was too 
 much inchned to be ashamed of him. The 
 two cousins seemed to him — as yet he knew 
 them very little — a pair of sulky, ill-bred young 
 men, who had taken two opposite fines, neither 
 of which was good for social intercourse. The 
 people of the boarding-house continued to 
 amuse him, partly because they were in a way 
 afraid of him. As for the place — he looked
 
 8o ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN, 
 
 about him, standing at the north entrance of 
 Stepney Green — on the left hand, the White- 
 chapel Eoad ; behind him, Stepney, Limehouse, 
 St. George's-in-the-East, Poplar, and Shad well ; 
 on the right, the Mile End Eoad, leading to 
 Bow and Stratford ; before him. Ford, Hack- 
 ney, Bethnal Green. Mile upon mile of streets 
 with houses — small, mean, and monotonous 
 houses ; the people living the same mean and 
 monotonous lives, all after the same model. In 
 his ignorance he pitied and despised those 
 people, not knowing how rich and full any life 
 may be made, whatever the surroundings, and 
 even without the gracious influences of Art. 
 Under the influence of this pity and contempt, 
 when he returned in the evening at half-past 
 nine, he felt himself for the first time in his life 
 run very low down indeed. 
 
 The aspect of the room was not calculated 
 to cheer him up. It was ht with a mean two- 
 jet gas burner ; the dingy curtain wanted 
 looping up, the furniture looked more common 
 and mean than usual. Yet, as he stood in the 
 doorway, he became conscious of a change. 
 
 The boarders were all sitting there, just as
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 8i 
 
 usual, and the supper cloth was removed ; Mr. 
 Maliphant had his long pipe fixed in the corner 
 of his moutii, but he held it there with an 
 appearance of constraint, and he had let it go 
 out. Mr. Josephus Coppin sat in the corner in 
 which he always put himself, so as to be out of 
 everybody's way ; also with a pipe in his hand, 
 unlighted. Daniel Fagg had his Hebrew Bible 
 spread out before him, and his Dictionary, and 
 his coj^y of the Authorised Version — which he 
 used, as he would carefully explain, not for 
 what schoolboys call a crib, but for purpose of 
 comparison. This was very grand ! A man 
 who can read Hebrew at all inspires one witli 
 confidence ; but the fact is the more important 
 when it is connected with a discovery ; and to 
 compare Versions — one's own with the collected 
 wisdom of a Eoyal Commission — is a very 
 grand thing indeed. But to-night he sat with 
 his head in his hands, and his sandy hair pushed 
 back, looking straight before him; and Mrs. 
 Bormalack was graced in her best black silk 
 dress, and ' the decanters ' were proudly placed 
 upon the table with rum, gin, and brandy in 
 them, and beside them stood the tumblers, hot 
 
 VOL. I. G
 
 82 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 water, cold water, lemons, and spoons, in the 
 most genteel way. The representative of the 
 Upper House, who did not take spirits and 
 Avater, sat calmly dignified in his arm-chair by 
 the fireplace, and in front of him, on the other 
 side, sat his wife, with black thread mittens 
 drawn tightly over her little hands and thin 
 arms, bolt upright, and conscious of her rank. 
 All appeared to be silent, but that was their 
 custom, and all, which was not their custom, 
 wore an unaccustomed air of company manners 
 which was very beautiful to see. 
 
 Harry, looking about liim, perplexed at 
 these phenomena, presently observed that the 
 eyes of ah, except those of Daniel Fagg, were 
 fixed in one direction ; and that the reason why 
 Mr. Mahphant held an unlighted pipe in his 
 mouth, and Josephus one in his hand, and tliat 
 Daniel was not reading, and that his lordship 
 looked so full of dignity, and that ardent spirits 
 were abroad, was nothing less than the presence 
 of a young lady. 
 
 In such a house, and, in fact, all round 
 Stepney Green, the word ' lady ' is generally 
 used in a broad and catholic spirit ; but in this
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 83 
 
 case Harry unconsciously used it in the narrow, 
 prejudiced, one-sided sense peculiar to Western 
 longitudes. And it was so surprising to think 
 of a young lady in connection wdth Borma- 
 lack's, that he gasped and caught his breath. 
 And then Mrs. Bormalack presented him to 
 the new arrival in her best manner. ' Our 
 youngest ! ' she said, as if he had been a son 
 of the house — ' our youngest and last — the 
 sprightly Mr. Goslett. This is Miss Kennedy, 
 and I hope — I'm sure — that you two will get 
 to be friendly with one another, not to speak 
 of keeping company, which is early days yet 
 for prophecies.' 
 
 Harry bowed in his most superior style. 
 What on earth, he thought again, did a young 
 lady want at Stepney Green .^ 
 
 She had the carriage and the manner of a 
 lady ; she was quite simply dressed in a black 
 Cashmere ; she Avore a red ribbon round her 
 white throat, and had white cuffs. A lady — 
 unmistakably a lady ; also young and beautiful, 
 with great brown eyes, which met his own 
 frankly, and with a certain look of surprise 
 which seemed an answer to his own.
 
 84 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 ' Our handsome young cabinet-maker. Miss 
 Kennedy,' went on the landlady — Harry won- 
 dered whether it was worse to be described as 
 sprightly than as handsome, and which adjec- 
 tive was likely to produce the more unfavour- 
 able impression on a young lady — ' is wishful 
 to establish himself in a genteel way of business, 
 hke yourself.' 
 
 ' When I was in the dressmaking line,' 
 observed her ladyship, ' I stayed at home with 
 mother and Aunt Keziah. It was not tliought 
 right in Canaan City for young women to go 
 about setting up shops by themselves. Not 
 that I say you are wrong. Miss Kennedy, but 
 London ways are not New Hampshire ways.' 
 
 Miss Kennedy murmured something softly, 
 and looked again at the handsome cabinet- 
 maker, who was still blushing with indignation 
 and shame at Mrs. Bormalack's adjectives, and 
 ready to blush again on recovery to think that 
 he was so absurd as to feel any shame about so 
 trifling a matter. Still, every young man likes 
 to appear in a good light in the presence of 
 beauty. 
 
 The young lady, then, was only a dress-
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 85 
 
 maker. For tlie moment she dropped a little 
 in his esteem, which comes of our artificial and 
 conventional education ; because — Why not a 
 dressmaker? Then she rose again, because 
 — WHAT a dressmaker ! Could there be many 
 such in Stepney ? If so, how was it that poets, 
 novehsts, painters, and idle young men did not 
 flock to so richly endowed a district ? In this 
 unexpected manner does nature offer compensa- 
 tions. Harry also observed with satisfaction 
 the novel presence of a newly arrived piano, 
 which could belong to no other than the new- 
 comer ; and finding that the conversation 
 showed no signs of brightening, he ventured 
 to ask Miss Kennedy if she would play to 
 them. 
 
 Now, when she began to play, a certain 
 magic of the music fell upon them all, affecting 
 everyone differently. Such is the power of 
 music, and thus diverse is it in its operation. 
 As for his lordship, he sat nodding his head 
 and twinkling his eyes and smiling sweetly, 
 because he was in imagination sitting among 
 his Peers in the Upper House with a crown of 
 gold and a robe of fur, and all his friends of
 
 86 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN, 
 
 Canaan City, brought across the Atlantic at his 
 own expense for this very purpose, were watch- 
 ing him with envy and admiration from the 
 gallery. Among them was Aurelia Tucker, 
 the scoffer and thrower of cold water. And 
 her ladyship sat beating time with head and 
 hand, thinking how the family estates would 
 probably be restored, with the title, by the 
 Queen. She had great ideas on the Eoyal 
 Prerogative, and liad indeed been accustomed 
 to think in the old days that Englishmen go 
 about in continual terror lest her Majesty, in 
 the exercise of this Prerogative, should order 
 their heads to be removed. This gracious 
 vision, due entirely to the music, showed her 
 in a stately garden entertaining Aurelia Tucker 
 and other friends whom she, like her husband, 
 had imported from Canaan City for the purpose 
 of exhibiting the new greatness. And Aurelia 
 was green with envy, though she wore her best 
 black silk dress. 
 
 The other boarders were differently affected. 
 The melancholy Josephus leant his head upon 
 his hand, and saw himself in imagination the 
 Head Brewer, as he might have been, but for
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 87 
 
 the misfortune of his early youth. Head 
 Brewer to the Firm of Messenger, Marsden, 
 and Company ! What a position ! 
 
 Daniel Fagg, for his part, was dreaming of 
 the day when his Discovery was to be received 
 by all and adequately rewarded. He antici- 
 pated the congratulations of his friends in 
 Austraha, and stood on deck in port surrounded 
 by the crowd, who shook his hand and cheered 
 him, in good Australian fashion, as Daniel the 
 Great, Daniel the Scourge of Scholars, Daniel 
 the Prophet — a second Daniel. The Professor 
 took advantage of this general rapture or ab- 
 straction from earthly things to lay the plans 
 for a grand coup in legerdemain, a new experi- 
 ment, which should astonish everybody. This 
 he afterwards carried through with success. 
 
 Mrs. Bormalack, for her part, filled and 
 slowly drank a large tumbler of hot brandy 
 and water. When she had finished it she 
 wiped away a tear. Probably, stimulated by 
 the brandy, which is a sentimental spirit, she 
 was thinking of her late husband. Collector for 
 the Brewery, who was himself romantically 
 fond of brandy and water, and came to an
 
 88 ALL SORTS and CONDLTIONS of MEN, 
 
 early end in consequence of over-rating his 
 powers of consumption. 
 
 Mr. Maliphant winked his eyes, rolled his 
 head, rubbed his hands, and laughed joyously, 
 but in silence. Why, one knows not. When 
 the music finished, he whispered to Daniel 
 Fagg. ' No,' he said, ' this is the third time in 
 the year that you have asked leave to bury 
 your mother. Make it your grandmother, 
 young man.' Then he laughed again, and said 
 that he liad been with Walker in Nicaragua. 
 Harry heard this communication, and the 
 attempt to fill up tlie story from these two 
 fragments afterwards gave him nightmare. 
 
 Miss Kennedy played a gavotte, and then 
 anotlier, and then a sonata. Perhaps it is the 
 character of this kind of music to call up 
 pleasant and joyous thoughts ; certainly there 
 is much music, loved greatly by some people, 
 which makes us sad, notably the strains 
 sung at places of popular resort. They pro- 
 bably become favourites because they sadden 
 so much. Who would not shed tears on hear- 
 ing ' Tommy Dodd ? ' 
 
 She played without music, gracefully, easily,
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDLTLONS of MEN. 89 
 
 and with expression. While she played Harry 
 sat beside the piano, still wondering on the 
 same theme. She, a Stepney dressmaker ! 
 Who, in this region, could have taught her that 
 touch .^ She ' wishful to establish herself in a 
 genteel way of business ' ? Was art, then, 
 permeating downwards so rapidly ? Were the 
 people just above the masses, the second or 
 third stratum of the social pyramid, taught 
 music, and in such a style ? Then he left off 
 wondering, and fell to the bhssful contempla- 
 tion of a beautiful woman playing beautiful 
 music. This is an occupation always delightful 
 to young Englishmen, and it does equal credit 
 to their heads and to their hearts that they 
 never tire of so harmless an amusement. 
 When she finished playing, everybody de- 
 scended to earth, so to speak. 
 
 The noble pair remembered that their Avork 
 was still before them — all to do : one of them 
 thought, with a pang, about the drawing of the 
 Case, and wished he had not gone to sleep in 
 the morning. 
 
 The clerk in the Brewery awoke to the 
 recollection of his thirty shillings a week, and
 
 90 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 reflected that the weather was such as to neces- 
 sitate a pair of boots which had soles. 
 
 The learned Daniel Fagg bethought him 
 once more of his poverty and the increasing 
 difficulty of getting subscribers, and the undis- 
 guised contempt with which the head of the 
 Egyptian Department had that morning re- 
 ceived him. 
 
 Mr. Maliphant left off laughing, and shook 
 his puckered old face with a little astonishment 
 that he hfid been so moved. 
 
 Said the Professor, breaking the silence : 
 
 '1 like the music to go on, so long as no 
 patter is wanted. They listen to music if it's 
 lively, and it prevents 'em from loooking round 
 and getting suspicious. You haven't got an 
 Q.gg upon you, MVs. Bormalack, have you? 
 Dear me, one in your lap ! Actually in a 
 lady's lap I A common egg, one of our 
 " selected," at tenpence the dozen. Ah ! In 
 your lap, too ! How very injudicious ! You 
 might have dropped it, and broken it. Per- 
 haps, Miss, you wouldn't mind obliging once 
 more with "Tommy, make room for your 
 uncle " or " Over the garden wall," if you 
 please.'
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 91 
 
 Miss Kennedy did not know either of these 
 airs, but slie lauglied and said she would play- 
 something lively, while the Professor went on 
 with his trick. First, he drew all eyes to meet 
 his own like a faschiatiiig constrictor,. and then 
 he began to ' palm ' the <^gg in the most sur- 
 prising manner. After many adventures it was 
 ultimately found in Daniel Fagg's coat pocket. 
 Then the Professor smiled, bowed, and spread 
 out his hands as if to show the purity and 
 honesty of his conjuring. 
 
 ' You play very well,' said Harry, to Miss 
 Kennedy, when tlie conjuring was over and the 
 Professor had returned to his cliair and his 
 nightly occupation with a pencil, a piece of 
 paper, and a book. 
 
 ' Can you play ? ' 
 
 ' I fiddle a little. If you will allow me, we 
 will try some evening a duet together.' 
 
 ' I did not know ' she began, but 
 
 checked herself. ' I did not expect to find a 
 violinist here.' 
 
 ' A good many people of my class play,' 
 said Harry, mendaciously, because the English 
 workman is the least musical of men.
 
 92 ALL SORTS and CONDITLONS of MEN. 
 
 ' Few of mine,' she returned, rising, and 
 closing the piano, ' have the chance of learning. 
 -But I have had opportunities.' 
 
 She looked at her watch, and remarked 
 that it was nearly ten o'clock, and that she was 
 going to bed. 
 
 ' I have spoken to Mr. Bunker about what 
 you want, Miss Kennedy,' said the landlady. 
 ' He will be here to-morrow morning about 
 ten on his rounds.' 
 
 ' Who is Mr. Bunker P ' asked Angela. 
 
 They all seemed surprised. Had she never, 
 in whatever part of the world she had lived, 
 heard of Mr. Bunker — Bunker the Great ? 
 
 ' He used to be a sort of a factotum to old 
 Mr. Messenger,' said Mrs. Bormalack. ' His 
 death was a sad blow to Mr. Bunker. He's a 
 general agent by trade, and he deals in coal, 
 and he's a house agent, and he knows every- 
 body round Stepney and up the Mile End Eoad 
 as far as Bow. He's saved money, too, Miss 
 Kennedy, and is greatly respected.' 
 
 ' He ought to be,' said Harry ; ' not only 
 because he was so much with Mr. Messenger, 
 whose name is revered for the kindred associa-
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITLONS of MEN. 93 
 
 tioiis of beer and property, but also because he 
 is my uncle — he ought to be respected.' 
 
 ' Your uncle ? ' 
 
 ' My own — so near, and yet so dear — my 
 uncle Bunker. To be connected with Messen- 
 ger, Marsden, and Company, even indirectly, 
 through such an uncle, is in itself a distinction. 
 You will learn to know him, and you will 
 learn to esteem him. Miss Kennedy. You will 
 esteem him all the more if you are interested 
 in beer.' 
 
 Miss Kennedy blushed. 
 
 ' Bunker is great in the Company. I be- 
 lieve he used to consider himself a kind of 
 partner while the old man lived. He knows 
 all about the big Brewery. As for that, every- 
 body does round Stepney Green.' 
 
 ' The Company,' said Josephus gloomily, 
 'is nothing but a chit of a girl.' He sighed, 
 thinking how much went to her, and how little 
 came to himself. 
 
 ' We are steeped in beer,' Harry went on. 
 ' Our conversation turns for ever on beer ; we 
 live for beer ; the houses round us are filled 
 with the Company's servants ; we live by beer.
 
 94 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 For example, Mrs. Bormalack's late liiis- 
 band -' 
 
 ' He was a Collector for the Company,' said 
 the landlady, with natural pride. 
 
 ' You see, Miss Kennedy, what a responsible 
 and exalted position was held by Mr. Bor- 
 malack.' (The widow thought that sometimes 
 it was hard to know whethei' this sprightly 
 young man was laughing at people or not, but 
 it certainly was a very liigh position, and most 
 respectable.) 'He went round the Houses,' 
 Harry went on. ' Houses, here, mean public- 
 houses ; the Company owns half the public- 
 houses in the East End. Then here is my 
 cousin, the genial Josephus. Hold up your 
 head, Josephus. He, for his part, is a clerk in 
 the House.' 
 
 Josephus groaned. ' A junior clerk,' he 
 murmured. 
 
 ' The Professor is not allowed in the 
 Brewery. He might conjure among the vats, 
 and vats have never been able to take a prac- 
 tical joke ; but he amuses the Brewery people. 
 As for Mr. Maliphant, he carves figure-heads 
 for the ships which carry away the Brewery
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 95 
 
 beer ; and perhaps wlien the Brewery wants 
 cabinets made they will come to me.' 
 
 ' It is the biggest Brewery in all England,' 
 said the landlady. ' I can never remember — 
 — because my memory is like a sieve — how 
 much beer they brew every year ; but some- 
 body once made a calculation about it, com- 
 pared Avith Niagara Falls, which even Mr. 
 Bunker said was surprising.' 
 
 ' Think Miss Kennedy,' said Harry, ' of an 
 Entire Niagara of Messenger's Entire.' 
 
 ' But how can this Mr. Bunker be of use to 
 me P ' asked the young lady. 
 
 ' Why ! ' said Mrs. Bormalack. ' There is 
 not a shop nor a street nor any kind of place 
 within miles Mr. Bunker doesn't know, Avho 
 they are that live there, how they make their 
 living, what the rent is, and everything. 
 That's what made him so useful to old Mr. 
 Messenger.' 
 
 Miss Kennedy, for some reason, changed 
 colour. Then she said that she thousjht she 
 would like to see Mr. Bunker. 
 
 When she was gone Harry sat down beside
 
 96 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 his lordship and proceeded to smoke tobacco 
 in silence, refusing the proffered decanters. 
 
 Said the Professor, softly : 
 
 ' She'd be a fortune — a gem of the first 
 water — upon the boards. As pianoforte player 
 between the feats of magic, marvel, and mystery, 
 or a medium under the magnetic influence of 
 the operator, or a clairvoyante, or a thought- 
 reader — or ' Here he relapsed into silence 
 
 with a sigh. 
 
 ' She looks intelhgent,' said Daniel Fagg. 
 ' When she liears about my Discovery she 
 
 will ' Here he caught the eye of Harry 
 
 Goslett, who was shaking a finger of warning, 
 which he rightly interpreted to mean that 
 dressmakers must not be asked to subscribe to 
 learned works. This abashed him. 
 
 ' ' Considered as a figurehead,' began Mr. 
 Mahphant, ' I remember- ' 
 
 ' As a dressmaker, now — ' interrupted 
 Harry. 'Do Stepney dressmakers often play 
 
 the piano like well, like Miss Kennedy? 
 
 Do they wear gold watches ? Do they talk and 
 move and act so much like real ladies, that no
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 97 
 
 one could tell the clifFerence ? Answer me that, 
 Mrs. Bormalack.' 
 
 ' Well, Mr. Goslett, all I can say is, that 
 she seems a very proper young lady to have in 
 the house.' 
 
 'Proper, ma'am? If you were to search 
 tlie whole of Stepney, I don't believe you 
 could find such another. What does your lady- 
 ship say ? ' 
 
 ' I say, Mr. Goslett, that in Canaan City the 
 ladies who are dressmakers set the fashions to 
 the ladies who are not ; I was myself a dress- 
 maker. And Aurelia Tucker, though she turns 
 up her nose at our elevation, is, I must say, a 
 lady who would do credit to any circle, even 
 yours, Mrs. Bormalack. And such remarks 
 about real ladies and dressmakers I do not 
 understand, and I expected better manners, I 
 must say. Look at his lordship's manners, Mr. 
 Goslett, and his father was a carpenter, like 
 you.' 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 CHAPTEE IV. 
 
 UNCLE BUNKER. 
 
 ' My uncle ! ' 
 
 It was the sprightly young cabinet-maker 
 who sprang to his feet, and grasped the hand of 
 the new-comer with an effusion not returned. 
 
 ' Allow me, Miss Kennedy, to present to 
 you my uncle, my uncle Bunker, whose praise 
 you heard us sing with one consent last night. 
 We did, indeed, revered one ! Whatever you 
 want brought. Miss Kennedy, from a piano to 
 a learned pig, this is the man who will do it for 
 you. A percentage on the cost, with a trifling 
 charge for time, is all he seeks in return. He 
 is generally known as the Benevolent Bunker ; 
 he is everybody's friend ; especially he is be- 
 loved by persons behindhand with their rents, 
 he is ' 
 
 Here Mr. Bunker drew out his watch, and
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDLTIONS of MEN. 99 
 
 observed with severity that his time Avas vaki- 
 able, and that he came about business. 
 
 Angela observed that the salhes of his 
 nephew were received with disfavour. 
 
 ' Can we not,' pursued Harr}^, regardless of 
 the cloud upon his uncle's brow — ' can we not 
 escape from affairs of urgency for one moment? 
 Show us your lighter side, my uncle. Let Miss 
 Kennedy admire the gifts and graces which j^ou 
 hide, as well as the sterner qualities which you 
 exhibit.' 
 
 ' Business, young lady,' the agent repeated, 
 with a snort and a scowl. He took off his hat 
 and rubbed his bald head with a silk pocket- 
 handkerchief until it shone like polished marble. 
 He was short in stature and of round figure. 
 His face was red and puffy, as if he was fond 
 of hot brandy-and- water, and he panted, being 
 a little short of breath. His eyes were small 
 and close together, which gave him a cunning- 
 look ; his whiskers were large and • grey ; his 
 lips were thick and firm, and his upper lip was 
 long : his nose was broad, but not humorous ; 
 his head w^as set on firmly, and he had a square 
 chin. Evidently he was a man of deterrnina- 
 h2
 
 loo ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 tion, and he was probably determined to look 
 after his own interests first. 
 
 'I want,' said Angela, ' to establish myself 
 in this neighbourhood as a dressmaker.' 
 
 'Very good,' said Mr. Bunker. 'That's 
 practical. It is my business to do with practical 
 people, not sniggerers and idle gigglers.' He 
 looked at his nephew. 
 
 ' I shall want a convenient house, and a 
 staff of workwomen, and — and someone ac- 
 quainted with business details and manage- 
 ment,' 
 
 ' Go on,' said Mr. Bunker. ' A forewoman 
 you will want, of course.' 
 
 ' Then, as I do not ask you to give me your 
 advice for nothing, how are you generally paid 
 for such services ? ' 
 
 ' I charge,' he said, ' as arranged for before- 
 hand. Time for talking, arranging, and house- 
 hunting, half-a-crown an hour. That won't 
 break you. And you won't talk took much, 
 knowing you have to pay for it. Percentage 
 on the rent, ten per cent, for the first year, 
 nothing afterwards ; if you want furniture, I 
 will furnish your house from top -to bottom on
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDLTIONS of MEN. loi 
 
 the same terms, and find you work-girJs at five 
 shillings a head.' 
 
 ' Yes,' said Angela. ' I suppose I must 
 engage a staff. And I suppose — ' here she 
 looked at Harry, as if for advice. ' I sup- 
 pose that you are the best person to go to 
 for assistance.' 
 
 ' There is no one else,' said Mr. Bunker. 
 ' That is why my terms are so low.' 
 
 His nephew whistled softly. 
 
 Mr. Bunker, after an angry growl at people 
 who keep their hands in their pockets, pro- 
 ceeded to develop his views. Miss Kennedy 
 listened languidly, appearing to care very little 
 about details, and agreeing to most expensive 
 things in a perfectly reckless manner. She was 
 afraid, for her part, that her own ignorance would 
 be exposed if she talked. The agent, however, 
 quickly perceived how ignorant she was, from 
 this very silence, and resolved to make the 
 best of so promising a subject. She could not 
 possibly have much money — who ever heard of 
 a Stepney dressmaker with any? — and she 
 evidently had no experience. He would get as 
 much of the money as he could, and she would
 
 I02 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 be the gainer in experience ! A most equit- 
 able arrangement, he thought, being one of 
 those — too few, alas ! — who keep before their 
 eyes a lofty ideal, and love to act up to it. 
 
 When he had quite finished and fairly 
 embarked his victim on a vast ocean of expen- 
 diture, comparatively, and with reference to 
 Stepney and Mile End customs, he put up his 
 pocket-book and remarked, with a smile, that 
 he should want references of respectabihty. 
 
 ' That's usual,' he said : ' I could not work 
 without.' 
 
 Angela changed colour. To be asked for 
 references was awkward. 
 
 'You can refer to me, my uncle,' said 
 Harry. 
 
 Mr. Bunker took no notice of this proposi- 
 tion. 
 
 ' You see. Miss,' he said, ' we don't know 
 you, nor where you come from, nor w^hat 
 money you've got, nor how you got it. No 
 doubt it is all right, and I'm sure you look 
 honest. Perhaps you've got nothing to hide, 
 and very likely there's good reasons for wanting 
 to settle here.'
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 103 
 
 ' My gi^indfather was a Whitechapel man 
 by birth,' she rephed. ' He left me some 
 money. If you must have references, of course 
 I could refer you to the lawyers who managed 
 my little affairs. But I would rather, to save 
 trouble, pay for everything on the spot, and 
 the rent in advance.' 
 
 Mr. Bunker consented to waive his objec- 
 tion on payment of a sum of ten pounds down, 
 it being understood and concluded that every- 
 thing bought should be paid for on the spot, 
 and a year's rent when the house was fixed 
 upon, paid in advance ; in consideration for 
 which he said the young lady might, in subse- 
 quent transactions with strangers, refer to him- 
 self, a privilege which Avas nothing less than 
 the certain passport to fortune. 
 
 'As for me,' he added, 'my motto is? 
 " Think first of your client." Don't spare 
 yourself for him ; toil for him, think for him, 
 rise up early and lie down late for him, and 
 you reap your reward from grateful hearts. 
 Lord ! the fortunes I have made ! ' 
 
 ' Virtuous Uncle Bunker ! ' cried Harry 
 with enthusiasm. ' Noble, indeed ! '
 
 I04 ALL SORTS a?id CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 The good man for the moment forgot the 
 existence of his frivolous nephew, who had 
 retired up the stage, so to speak. He opened 
 his mouth as if to say something in anger, but 
 refrained, and snorted. 
 
 ' Now that we have settled that matter, Mr. 
 Bunker,' the girl said without noticing the 
 interruption, ' let us talk about other matters.' 
 
 ' Are they busuiess matters ? ' 
 
 ' Not exactly ; but still ' 
 
 ' Time is money; an hour is half- a-crown.' 
 He drew out his watch, and made a note of the 
 time in his pocket-book. 'A quarter to eleven. 
 Miss. If I didn't charge for time, what would 
 become of my clients ? Neglected ; their 
 interests ruined ; the favourable moment gone. 
 If I could tell you of a lady I established two 
 years ago in one of the Brewery Houses, and 
 what she's made of it, and what she says of me, 
 you would be astonished. A grateful heart! 
 and no better brandy-and-water, hot, with a 
 slice of lemon, in the Whitechapel Eoad. But 
 you were about to say. Miss ' 
 
 ' She was going to begin with a hymn of 
 praise. Uncle Bunker ; paid in advance, like
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 105 
 
 the rest. Gratitude for favours to come. But 
 if you like to tell about tlie lady, do. Miss 
 Kennedy will only charge you half-a-crown an 
 hour. I'll mark time.' 
 
 ' I think, young man,' said Mr. Bunker, 
 * that it is time you should go to your work. 
 Stepney is not the place for sniggerin' pea- 
 cocks ; they'd better have stayed in the United 
 States.' 
 
 ' I am waiting till you have found me a 
 place, too,' the young man replied. ' I too would 
 Avish to experience the grateful heart. It is 
 pecuhar to Whitechapel.' 
 
 ' I was going to say,' Angela went on, ' that 
 I hear you were connected wath old Mr. Mes- 
 senger for many years.' 
 
 ' I was,' Mr. Bunker replied, and straight- 
 ened his back with pride. ' I was — everybody 
 know^s that I was his confidential factotum and 
 his familiar friend, as David was unto Jona- 
 than.' 
 
 ' Indeed I I used to — to — hear about him, 
 formerly, a great deal.' 
 
 ' Which made his final behaviour the more 
 revolting,' Mr. Bunker continued, completing 
 his sentence.
 
 io6 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 ' Eeally ! How did he finally behave ? ' 
 ' It was always — all ! for twenty years, 
 between iis, "Bunker, my friend," or "Bunker, 
 my trusted friend," tell me this, go there, find 
 out that. I bought his houses ; I let his 
 houses ; I told him who were responsible 
 tenants ; I warned him when shooting of moons 
 seemed likely ; I found out their antecedents 
 and told him their stories. He had hundreds 
 of houses, and he knew everybody that lived 
 in them, and what their fathers were and their 
 mothers were, and even their grandmothers. 
 For he was a Whitechapel man by birth, and 
 was proud of it.' 
 
 ' But — the shameful behaviour ! ' 
 ' All the time ' — he shook his head and 
 looked positively terrible in his wrath — ' all the 
 time I was piling up his property for him, 
 houses here, streets there, he would encourage 
 me in his way. " Go on, Bunker," he would 
 say, " go on. A man who works for duty, like 
 yourself, and to please his employers, and not 
 out of consideration for the pay, is one of a 
 milhon ; " as I certainly was. Miss Kennedy. 
 " One of a million," he said ; " and you will
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 107 
 
 have your reward after I am gone." Over and 
 over again he said this, and of course I reckoned 
 on it, and only wondered how much it would 
 tot up to. Something, I thought, in four 
 figures ; it couldn't be less than four figures.' 
 Here he stopped and rubbed his bald head 
 again. 
 
 Angela caught the eyes of his nephew, who 
 in his seat behind was silently laugliing. He 
 had caught the situation which she herself now 
 readily comprehended. She pictured to her- 
 self this blatant Professor of Disinterestedness 
 and Zeal buzzing and fluttering about her 
 grandfather, and the quiet old man egging him 
 on to more protestations. 
 
 ' Four figures, for certain, it would be. 
 Once I asked his advice as to how I should 
 invest that reward when it did come. He 
 laughed. Miss. Yes, for once he laughed, 
 which I never saw him do before or after. I 
 often think he must be sorry now to think of 
 that time he laughed. Yah ! I'm glad of it.' 
 
 So far as Angela could make it, his joy 
 grew out of a persuasion that this particular fit 
 of laughter was somehow interfering with her
 
 io8 ALL SORTS a?td CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 grandfather's present comforts, but perhaps she 
 was wrong. 
 
 ' He laughed,' continued Mr. Bunker, ' and 
 he said that house property, in a rising neigh- 
 bourhood, and if it could be ])roperly looked 
 after, was the best investment for money. 
 House property, he said, as far as the money 
 would go.' 
 
 ' A.nd when he died ? ' asked the listener, 
 with another glance at Harry, the unsympa- 
 thetic, whose ftice expressed the keenest enjoy- 
 ment. 
 
 ' Nothing, if you please ; not one brass 
 farthing. Hunks ! Hunks ! ' He grew per- 
 fectly purple, and clutched his list as if he 
 would fain be punching of heads. ' Not one 
 word of me in his will. All for the girl : 
 millions — millions — for her ; and for me who 
 done his work — nothing.' 
 
 ' You have the glow of virtue,' said his 
 nephew. 
 
 ' It seems hard,' said Angela quickly, for the 
 man looked dangerous, and seemed capable of 
 transferring his wrath to his nephew ; ' it seems 
 hard to get nothing, if anything was pro- 
 mised.'
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITLONS of MEN. 109 
 
 ' It seems a pity/ Harry chimed in, ' that 
 so much protesting was in vain. Perhaps Mr. 
 Messenger took him at his Avord. What a 
 dreadful thing to be beheved ! ' 
 
 ' A Hunks,' repHed Mr. Bunker ; ' a miserly 
 Hunks.' 
 
 ' Let me write a letter for you,' said Harry, 
 ' to the heiress ; we might forw^ard it with a 
 deputation of grateful hearts from Stepney.' 
 
 ' Mind your own business,' growled his 
 uncle. ' Well, Miss, you wanted to hear about 
 Mr. Messenger, and you have heard. What 
 next?' 
 
 ' I should very much like, if it were pos- 
 sible,' Angela replied, ' to see this Great 
 Brewery, of which one hears so much. Could 
 you, for instance, take me over, Mr. Bunker ? ' 
 
 ' At a percentage,' whispered his nephew, 
 loud enough for both to hear. 
 
 'Messenger's Brewery,' he rephed, 'is as 
 familiar to me as my own fireside. I've grown 
 up beside it. I know all the people in it. 
 They all know me. Perhaps they respect me. 
 For it was well known that a handsome legacy 
 Avas promised, and expected. And nothing, 
 after all. As for taking you over, of course I
 
 no ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 can. We will go at once. It will take time : 
 and time is money.' 
 
 ' May I go, too ? ' asked Harry. 
 
 ' No, sir ; you may not. It shall not be 
 said in the Mile End Eoad that an industrious 
 man like myself, a Worker for Clients, was 
 seen in working time with an Idler.' 
 
 The walk from Stepney Green to Messenger 
 and Marsden's Brewery is not far. You turn 
 to the left if your house is on one side, and to 
 the right if it is on the other ; then you pass a 
 little way down one street, and a little way, 
 turning again to the left, up another — a direc- 
 tion which Avill guide you quite clearly. You 
 then find yourself before a great gateway, the 
 portals of which are closed ; beside it is a 
 smaller door, at which, in a little lodge, sits 
 one who guards the entrance. 
 
 Mr. Bunker nodded to the porter, and 
 entered unchallenged. He led the way across 
 a court to a sort of outer office. 
 
 ' Here,' he said, 'is the book for the visitors' 
 names. We have them from all countries : 
 great lords and ladies ; foreign princes ; and all 
 the brewers from Germany and America, who
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN, in 
 
 come to get a wriukle. Write your own name 
 in it, too. Something, let me tell you, to have 
 your name in such noble company.' 
 
 She took a pen and wrote hurriedly. 
 
 Mr. Bunker looked over her shoulder. 
 
 ' Ho ! ho ! ' he said, ' that is a good one ! 
 See what you've written.' 
 
 In fact, she had written her own name — 
 Angela Marsden Messenger. 
 
 She blushed violently. 
 
 ' How stupid of me ! I was thinking of the 
 heiress — they said it was her name.' 
 
 She carefully effaced the name, and wrote 
 under it, ' A. M. Kennedy.' 
 
 ' That's better. And now come along. A 
 good joke, too! Fancy their astonishment if 
 they had come to read it ! ' 
 
 ' Does she often come — the heiress ? ' 
 
 ' Never once been anigh the place ; never 
 seen it; never asks after it; never makes an 
 inquiry about it. Draws the money and de- 
 spises it.' 
 
 ' I wonder she has not got more curiosity.' 
 
 ' Ah ! It's a shame for such a Property to 
 come to a girl — a girl of twenty-one. Thirteen
 
 112 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 acres it covers — think of that ! Seven hundred 
 people it employs, most of them married. 
 Why, if it was only to see her own vats, you'd 
 think she'd get off of her luxurious pillows for 
 once, and come here.' 
 
 They entered a great Hall remarkable, at 
 first, for a curious smell, not offensive, but 
 strong and rather pungent. In it stood half-a- 
 dozen enormous vats, closed by wooden slides, 
 like shutters, fitting tightly. A man standing 
 by opened one of these, and presently Angela 
 was able to make out, through the volumes of 
 steam, something bright going round, and a 
 brown mess going with it. 
 
 ' That is hops. Hops for the biggest 
 Brewery, the richest, in all England. And all 
 belonging to a girl who, hkely enough, doesn't 
 drink more than a pint and a half a day.' 
 
 ' I dare say not,' said Angela ; ' it must be 
 a dreadful thing indeed to have so much beer, 
 and to be able to drink so little.' 
 
 He led the way upstairs into another great 
 Hall, where there was the grinding of machinery 
 and another smell, sweet and heavy. 
 
 ' This is where we crush the malt,' said
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 113 
 
 Mr. Bunker — ' see ! ' He stooped, and picked 
 out of a great box a handful of the newly 
 crushed malt. ' I suppose you thought it was 
 roasted. Eoasting, young lady,' he added 
 with severity, ' is for Stout, not for Ale ! ' 
 
 Then he took her to another place, iind 
 showed her where the liquor stood to ferment ; 
 how it was cooled, how it was passed from one 
 vat to another, how it was stored and kept in 
 vats, dwelling perpetually on the magnitude of 
 the business, and the irony of fortune in con- 
 ferring this great gift upon a girl. 
 
 ' I know now,' she interrupted, * what the 
 place smells like. It is fusel oil.' They were 
 standing on a floor of open iron bars, above a 
 row of long covered vats, within which the 
 liquor was working and fermenting. Every 
 now and then there would be a heaving of the 
 surface, and a quantity of malt w^oiild then 
 move suddenly over. 
 
 ' We are famous/ said Mr. Bunker ; ' I say 
 lue^ having been the confidential friend and 
 adviser of the late Mr. Messenger, deceased ; 
 we are famous for our Stout ; also for our Mikl ; 
 and we are now reviving our Bitter, which w^e 
 
 VOL. I. I
 
 114 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 had partially neglected. We use tlie Artesian 
 Well, wliich is four hundred feet deep, for our 
 Stout, but the Company's water for our Ales ; 
 and our water rate is two thousand pounds a 
 year. The Artesian Well gives the ale a grey 
 colour, which people- don't like. Come into 
 this room, now' — it was another great Hall 
 covered with sacks. ' Hops again, Miss Ken- 
 nedy ; now, that httle lot is worth ten thousand 
 pounds — ten — thousand — think of that ; and it 
 is all spoiled by the rain, and has to be thrown 
 away. We think nothing of losing ten thou- 
 sand pounds here, nothing at all ! ' — he snapped 
 his fingers — ' it is a mere trifle to the girl who 
 sits at home and takes the profits ! ' 
 
 He spoke as if he felt a personal animosity 
 to the girl. Angela told him so. 
 
 ' No wonder,' he said ; 'she took all the 
 'legacy that ought to have been mine : no man 
 can forgive that. You are young. Miss Ken- 
 nedy, and are only beginning business ; mark 
 my Avords, one of these days you will feel how 
 hard it is to put a little by — work as hard as 
 you may — ^while here is this one having it put 
 by for her, thousands a day, and doing nothing 
 for it — nothing at all.'
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 115 
 
 Then they went into more great Halls, and 
 up more stairs, and on to the roof, and saw 
 more piles of sacks, more malt, and more hops. 
 When they smelt the hops, it seemed as if 
 their throats were tightened ; when they smelt 
 the fermentation, it seemed as if they were 
 smelling fusel oil ; when they smelt tlie plain 
 crushed malt, it seemed as if they were getting 
 swiftly, but sleepily, drunk. Everywhere and 
 always the steam rolled backwards and for- 
 wards, and the grinding of the machinery went 
 on, and the roaring of the furnaces ; and the 
 men went about to and fro at their woi-k. 
 They did not seem hard worked, nor were they 
 pressed ; their movements were leisurely, as if 
 beer was not a thing to hurry ; they were all 
 rather pale of cheek, but fat and jolly, as if the 
 beer was good and agreed with them. Some 
 wore brown paper caps, for it was a pretty 
 draughty place ; some went bare-headed, some 
 wore the little round hat in fashion. And they 
 went to another part, where men were rolling 
 barrels about, as if they had been skittles, and 
 here they saw vats holdiEg three thousand 
 barrels ; and one thought of giant armies — say 
 
 I 2
 
 ii6 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 two hundred and fifty thousand thirsty Germans 
 — beginning the Loot of London with one of 
 these royal vats. And they went through 
 stables, where hundreds of horses were stalled 
 at night, each as big as an elephant, and much 
 more useful. 
 
 In one great room, where there was the 
 biggest vat of all, a man brought them beer to 
 taste ; it was Messenger's Stout. Angela took 
 her glass and put it to her hps with a strange 
 emotion — she felt as if she should hke a 
 quiet place to sit down in and cry. The great 
 place ^vas hers — all hers — and this was the 
 Beer with which her mighty fortune had been 
 made. 
 
 ' Is it,' she asked, looking at the heavy 
 foam of the frotliing stout ; ' is this Messenger's 
 Entire ? ' 
 
 Bunker sat down and drank off his glass 
 before replying. Then he laid his hands upon 
 his stick and made answer, slowly, remember- 
 ing that he was engaged at half-a-crown an 
 hour, which is one halfpenny a minute. 
 
 ' This is not Entire,' he said. ' You see, 
 Miss Kennedy, there's fashions in beer, same as
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 117 
 
 in clothes ; once it was all Cooper, now you 
 never hear of Cooper. Then it w^as all Half- 
 an-arf — you never hear of anyone ordering 
 Half -an-arf now. Then it was Stout. Nothing 
 would go down but Stout, which I recommend 
 myself, and find it nourishing. Next, Bitter 
 came in, and honest Stout was despised ; now, 
 we're all for Mild. As for Entire, why — bless 
 my soul! — Entire went out before I was born. 
 Why, it was Entire which made the fortune of the 
 first Messenger that was — a poor little brewery 
 he had, more than a hundred years ago, in this 
 very place, because it was cheap for rent. In 
 those days they used to brew Strong Ale, Old 
 and Strong ; Stout, same as now ; and Two- 
 penny, whicli was small beer. And because 
 the Old Ale was too strong, and the Stout too 
 dear, and the Twopenny too weak, the people 
 used to mix them all three together, and they 
 called them " Three Threads ; " and you may 
 fancy the trouble it was for the pot-boys to go 
 to one cask after another, all day long, because 
 they had no beer engines tlien. Well, what 
 did Mr. Messenger do ? He brewed a beer as 
 strong as the Three Threads, and he called it
 
 ii8 ALL SORTS and CONDITLONS of MEN, 
 
 Messenger's Entire Three Threads, meaning 
 that here you had 'em all in one, and that's 
 what made his fortune ; and now, young lady, 
 you've seen all I've got to show you, and we 
 \vill go.' 
 
 ' I make bold, young woman,' he said, as 
 they went away, ' to give you a warning about 
 my nephew. He's a good-looking chap, for all 
 he's worthless, though it's a touch-and-go style 
 that's not my idea of good looks. Still, no 
 doubt some would think him handsome. Well, 
 I warn you.' 
 
 ' That is very good of you, Mr. Bunker. 
 Why do you warn me .^ ' 
 
 ' Why, anybody can see already that he's 
 taken with your good looks. Don't encourage 
 him. Don't keep company with him. He's 
 been away a good many years — in America — 
 and I fear he's been in bad company.' 
 
 ' I am sorry to hear that.' 
 
 ' You saw his sniggerin', sneerin' way with 
 me, his uncle. That doesn't look the right sort 
 of man to take up with, I think. And as for 
 work, he seems not to want any. Says he can 
 afford to wait a bit. Talks about opening a
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 119 
 
 cabinet-makin' shop. Well, he will have none 
 of my money. I tell hmi that beforehand. A 
 young jackanapes ! A painted peacock ! I 
 believe, Miss Kennedy, that he drinks. Don't 
 have nothing to say to him. As for what he 
 did in the States, and why he left the country, 
 I don't know ; ajid if I were you, I wouldn't 
 ask.' 
 
 With this warning he left her, and Angela 
 went home tryhig to realise her own great pos- 
 sessions. Hundreds of houses ; rows of streets ; 
 this enormous brewery, working day after day 
 for her profit and advantage ; and these invested 
 moneys, these rows of figures which represented 
 her personal property. All hers ! All her 
 own ! All the property of a girl ! Surely, 
 she thought, this was a heavy burden to be 
 laid upon one frail back.
 
 I2Q ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 CHAPTEE V. 
 
 THE CARES OF WEALTH. 
 
 It is, perhaps, a survival of feudal customs 
 tliat in English minds a kind of proprietorship 
 is assumed over one's dependents, those who 
 labour for a man and are paid by him. It was 
 this feeling of responsibility wdiich had entered 
 into the mind of Angela, and was now firmly 
 fixed there. All these men, this army of seven 
 hundred brewers, drivers, clerks, accountants, 
 and the rest, seemed to belong to her. Not 
 only did she pay them the wages and salaries 
 which gave them their daily bread, but they 
 lived in her own houses among the streets 
 which lie to the right and to the left of the 
 Mile End Eoad. The very chapels where they 
 worshipped, being mostly of some Noncon- 
 formist sect, stood on her own ground — every- 
 thing was hers.
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 121 
 
 The richest heiress in England ! She re- 
 peated this to herself over and over again, in 
 order to accustom herself to the responsibilities 
 of her position, not to the pride of it. If she 
 dwelt too long upon the subject, her brain 
 reeled. What was she to do with all her 
 money ? A man — like her grandfather — often 
 feels joy in the mere amassing of wealth ; to 
 see it grow is enough pleasure ; other men in 
 their old age sigh over bygone years, which 
 seem to have failed in labour or effort. Then 
 men sigh over by-gone days in which more 
 might have been saved. But girls cannot be 
 expected to reach these heights. Angela only 
 weakly thought what an immense sum of money 
 she had, and asked herself what she could do, 
 and how she should spend her wealth to the 
 best advantage. 
 
 The most pitiable circumstance attending 
 the possession of wealth is that no one sympa- 
 thises with the possessor. Yet his or her suf- 
 ferings are sometimes very great. They begin 
 at school where a boy or a girl, who is going 
 to be very rich, feels already set apart. He 
 loses the greatest spur to action. It is when
 
 122 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN, 
 
 they grow up, however, that the real trouble 
 begins. For a girl with large possessions is 
 always suspicious lest a man should pretend to 
 love her for the sake of her money ; she has 
 to suspect all kinds of people who want her to 
 give, lend, advance, or promise them money ; 
 she is the mere butt of every society, hospital, 
 and institution ; her table is crowxled every 
 morning with letters from decayed gentle- 
 women and necessitous clergymen and recom- 
 menders of ' cases ; ' she longs to do good in 
 her generation, but does not know how ; she is 
 expected to buy quantities of things which she 
 does not want, and to pay exorbitant prices 
 for everything ; she has to be a patron of Art : 
 she is invited to supply every woman through- 
 out the country who wants a mangle, with that 
 useful article ; she is told that it is her duty to 
 build new churches over the length and breadth 
 of the land ; she is earnestly urged to endow 
 new Colonial bishoprics over all the surface of 
 the habitable globe. Then she has to live in a 
 great house and have troops of idle servants. 
 And, whether she hkes it or not, she has to go 
 a great deal into society.
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITLONS of MEN. 123 
 
 All this, without the least sympathy or pity 
 from those who ought to feel for her, who are 
 in the happy position of having no money. 
 Nobody pities an heiress ; to express pity would 
 seem like an exaggerated affectation of virtue, 
 the merest pedantry of superiority ; it would 
 not be believed. Therefore, while all the world 
 is agreed in envying her, she is bemoaning her 
 sad fate. Fortunately, she is rare. 
 
 As yet, Angela was only just at the com- 
 mencement of her troubles. The girls at Newn- 
 ham had not spoiled her by flattery or envy ; 
 some of them even pitied her sad burden 
 of money ; she had as yet only realised part of 
 the terrible isolation of wealth ; she had not 
 groAvn jealous, or suspicious, or arrogant, as in 
 advancing years often happens with the very 
 rich ; she had not yet learned to regard the 
 whole world as composed entirely of money- 
 grabbers. All she had felt hitherto was that 
 she went in constant danger from interested 
 wooers, and that youth, combined with money- 
 bags, is an irresistible attraction to men of all 
 ages. Now, however, for the first time she 
 understood the magnitude of her possessions,
 
 124 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN, 
 
 and felt the real weight of her responsibilities. 
 She saw, for the first time, the hundreds of 
 men working for her ; she saw the houses 
 whose tenants paid rent to her ; she visited her 
 great Brewery ; and she asked herself the 
 question, which Dives no doubt frequently 
 asked — What she had done to be specially set 
 apart and selected from humanity as an excep- 
 tion to the rule of labour? Even Bunker's 
 complaint about the difficulty of putting by a 
 little, and his indignation because she herself 
 could put by so much, seemed pathetic. 
 
 She walked about the sad and monotonous 
 streets of East London, reflecting upon these 
 subjects. She did not know where she was, 
 nor the name of any street ; in a general way 
 she knew that most of the street probably be- 
 longed to herself, and that it was an inexpres- 
 sibly dreary street. When she was tired she 
 asked her way back again. No one insulted 
 her ; no one troubled her ; no one turned aside 
 to look at her. When she went home, she sat, 
 silent for the most part, in the; common sitting 
 room. The boarding-house Avas inexpressibly 
 stupid except when the sprightly young me-
 
 ALL SORTS a?id CONDITIONS of MEN. 125 
 
 clianic was present, and she was even angry 
 with herself for finding his society pleasant. 
 What could there be, she asked, in common 
 between herself and this workman ? Then she 
 wondered, remembering that so far she had 
 found nothing in her own mind that was not 
 also in his. Could it be that two years of 
 Newnham had elevated her mentally no higher 
 than the level of a cabinet-maker ? 
 
 Her meditation brought her, in the course 
 of a few days, to the point of action. She 
 would do something. She therefore wrote a 
 letter instructing her solicitors to get her, im- 
 mediately, two reports, carefully drawn up. 
 
 First, she would have a report on the 
 Brewery, its average profits for the last ten 
 years, with a hst of all the employes^ the 
 number of years' service, the pay they received, 
 and, as regards the juniors, the characters they 
 bore. 
 
 Next, she wanted a report on her property 
 at the East End, with a list of her tenants, their 
 occupations and trades, and a map showing the 
 position of her houses. 
 
 When she had got these reports she would
 
 126 ALL SORTS and CONDITLONS of MEN. 
 
 be, she felt, in a position to work upon 
 them. 
 
 Meantime, Mr. Bunker not having yet suc- 
 ceeded in iindino; a house suitable for her dress- 
 making business, she had nothing to do but 
 to go on walking about and to make herself 
 acquainted with the place. Once or twice she 
 was joined by the Idle Apprentice, who, to do 
 him justice, was always ready to devote his 
 unprofitable time to these excursions, which his 
 sprightliness enlivened. 
 
 There is a good deal to see in and about 
 Stepney, though it can hardly be called a 
 beautiful suburb. Formerly it was a very big 
 place, so big that, though Bethnal Green was 
 once chopped off at one end and Limehouse at 
 the other, not to speak of Shadwell, Wapping, 
 Stratford, and other great cantles, there still 
 remains a parish as big as St. Pancras. Yet, 
 though it is big, it is not proud. Great men 
 have not been born there or lived there : there 
 are no associations. Stepney Green has not 
 even got its Polly, like Paddington Green 
 and Wapping Old Stairs ; the streets are all 
 mean, and the people for the most part stand.
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 127 
 
 upon that level where respectability — beautiful 
 quahty ! — begins. 
 
 ' Do you know the West End ? ' Angela 
 asked her companion when they were gazing 
 together upon an. unlovely avenue of small 
 houses wliich formed a street. She was think- 
 ing how monotonous must be the daily life in 
 these dreary streets. 
 
 ' Yes, I know the West End. What is it 
 you regret in your comparison ? ' 
 
 Angela hesitated. 
 
 'There are no carriages here/ said the 
 workman ; ' no footmen in powder or coachmen 
 in wigs ; there are no ladies on horseback, no 
 great squares with big houses, no clubs, no 
 opera-house, no picture-galleries. All the rest 
 of life is here.' 
 
 ' But these things make life,' said the heiress. 
 ' Without society and art, wdiat is life ? ' 
 
 ' Perhaps these people find other pleasures ; 
 perhaps the monotony gets relieved by hope, 
 and anxiety, and love, and death, and such 
 things.' The young man forgot how the weight 
 of this monotony liad fallen upon his own 
 brain : he remembered, now, that his com-
 
 128 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN 
 
 panion would probably have to face this dreari- 
 ness all her life, and he tried in a kindly spirit 
 to divert her mind from the thought of it. 
 ' You forget that each life is individual, and has 
 its own separate interests ; and these are apart 
 from the conditions which surround it. Do you 
 know my cousin, Tom Coppin ? ' 
 
 ' No ; what is he ? ' 
 
 'He is a printer by trade. Of late years 
 he has been engaged in setting up atheistic 
 publications. Of course, this occupation has had 
 the effect of making him an earnest Christian. 
 Now he is a Captain of the Salvation Army.' 
 
 ' But I thought ' 
 
 ' Don't think. Miss Kennedy ; look about 
 and see for yourself. He lives on five-and- 
 twenty shilhngs a week, in one room, in just 
 such a street as this. I laughed at him at first; 
 now I laugh no longer. You can't laugh at a 
 man who spends his whole life preaching and 
 singing hymns among the Whitechapel roughs, 
 taking as part of the day's work all the rotten 
 eggs, brickbats, and kicks that come in his way. 
 Do you think his life w^ould be less monotonous 
 if he lived in Belgrave Square ? '
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 129 
 
 ' But all are not j^reacliers and captains in 
 the Salvation Army.' 
 
 'No; there is my cousin Dick. We are, 
 very properly, Tom, Dick, and Harry. Dick is, 
 like myself, a cabinet-maker. He is also a 
 politician, and you may hear him at his Club 
 denouncing the House of Lords, and the Church, 
 and Monarchical Institutions, and hereditary 
 everything, till you wonder the people do not 
 rise and tear all down. They don't, you see, 
 because they are quite accustomed to big talk, 
 and it never means anything, and they are not 
 really touched by the dreadful wickedness of 
 the Peers. 
 
 ' I should like to know your cousins.' 
 
 ' You shall They don't like me, because I 
 have been brought up in a somewhat different 
 school. But that does not greatly matter.' 
 
 ' Will they like me ? ' It was a very inno- 
 cent question, put in perfect innocence, and yet 
 the young man blushed. 
 
 ' Everybody,' he said, ' is bound to like 
 you.' 
 
 She changed colour and became silent, for 
 a while. 
 
 VOL* I. ^ K
 
 I30 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN, 
 
 He went on presently : 
 
 ' We are all as happy as we deserve to be, 
 I suppose. If these people knew what to do 
 in order to make themselves happier, tliey 
 would go and do that thing. Meantime, there 
 is always love for everybody, and success, 
 and presently the end — is not life everywhere 
 monotonous.^ ' 
 
 ' No,' she replied stoutly ; ' mine is not.' 
 
 He was thinking at the moment that of all 
 lives a dressmaker's must be one of the most 
 monotonous. She remembered that she was a 
 dressmaker, and explained. 
 
 ' There are the changes of fashion, you see.' 
 
 * Yes, but you are young,' he replied, from 
 his vantage-ground of twenty-three years, being 
 two years her superior. ' Mine is monotonous 
 when I come to think of it. Only, you see, 
 one does not think of it oftener than one can 
 help. Besides, as far as I have got, I like the 
 monotony.' 
 
 ' Do you like work ? ' 
 
 ' Not much, I own. Do you ? ' 
 
 'No.' 
 
 'Yet you are going to settle down at 
 Stepney.'
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 131 
 
 ' And you, too ? ' 
 
 ' As for me, I don't know.' The young 
 man coloured slightly. ' I may go away again, 
 soon, and find work elsewhere.' 
 
 ' I was walking yesterday,' she went on, ' in 
 the great, great churchyard of Stepney Church. 
 Do you know it ? ' 
 
 ' Yes — that is, I have not been inside the 
 walls. I am not fond of churchyards.' 
 
 ' There they lie — acres of graves. Thousands 
 upon thousands of dead people, and not one of 
 the whole host remembered. All have lived, 
 worked, hoped much, got a little, I sup 
 pose, and died. And the world none the 
 better.' 
 
 ' Nay, that you cannot tell.' 
 
 ' Not one of all remembered,' she repeated. 
 ' There is an epitaph in the churchyard which 
 might do for everyone : — 
 
 Here lies the body of Daniel Saul, 
 Spitalfields weaver ; and that is all. 
 
 That is all' 
 
 ' What more did the fellow deserve .^ ' asked 
 her companion. ' No doubt he was a very good
 
 132 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN, 
 
 weaver. Why, lie has got a great posthumous 
 reputation. You have quoted hhn.' 
 
 He did not quite follow her line of thought. 
 She was thinking in some vague way of the 
 waste of material. 
 
 ' They had very little power of raising the 
 world, to be sure. They were quite poor, ill- 
 educated, and without resource.' 
 
 'It seems to me,' replied her companion, 
 ' that nobody has any power of raising the 
 world. Look at the preachers and the writers 
 and the teachers. By their united efforts they 
 contrive to shore up the world and keep it 
 from falling lower. Every now and then down 
 we go, flop — a foot or two of civilisation lost. 
 Then we lose a hundred years or so until we 
 can get shoved up again.' 
 
 ' Should not rich men try to shove up, as 
 you call it ? ' 
 
 ' Some of them do try, I believe,' he replied ; 
 ' I don't know how they succeed.' 
 
 ' Suppose, for instance, this young lady, this 
 Miss Messenger, who owns all this property, 
 were to use it for the benefit of the people, 
 how would she begin, do you suppose ? '
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 133 
 
 ' Most likely she would bestow a quantity 
 of money to a hospital, which would pauperise 
 the doctors, or she would give away quantities 
 of blankets, bread, and beef in the winter, which 
 would pauperise the people.' 
 
 Angela sighed. 
 
 * That is not very encouraging.' 
 
 'What you could do, by yourself, if you 
 pleased, among the working girls of the place, 
 would be, I suppose, worth ten times what she 
 could do with all her giving. I'm not much 
 in the Charity line myself. Miss Kennedy, but 
 I should say, from three weeks' observation of 
 the place and conversation with the respectable 
 Bunker, that ]\iiss Messenger's money is best 
 kept out of the parish, which gets on very well 
 w^ithout it.' 
 
 'Her money! Yes, I see. Yet she her- 
 self ' She paused. 
 
 ' We working men and women ' 
 
 ' You are not a working man, Mr. Goslett.' 
 She faced him with her steady, honest eyes, 
 as if she would read the truth in his. ' What- 
 ever else you are, you are not a working 
 man.'
 
 134 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS oj MEA. 
 
 He replied without the least change of 
 colour — 
 
 ' Indeed, I am the son of Serjeant Goslett 
 of the — th Eegiment, wlio fell in the Indian 
 Mutiny. I am the nephew of good old Benja- 
 min Bunker, the virtuous and the disinterested. 
 I was educated in rather a better way than most 
 of my class, that is all.' 
 
 ' Is it true that you have lived in America ? ' 
 
 ' Quite true.' He did not say how long he 
 had lived there. 
 
 Angela, with her own guilty secret, was 
 suspicious that perhaps this young man might 
 also have his. 
 
 ' Men of your class,' she said, ' do not as a 
 rule talk like you.' 
 
 ' Matter of education — that is all.' 
 
 ' And you are really a cabinet-maker ? ' 
 
 ' If you will look into my room and see my 
 lathe, I will show you specimens of my work, 
 thou unbeliever ! Did you think that I might 
 have " done something," and so be fain to hide 
 my head ? ' 
 
 It was a cruel thing to suspect him in this 
 way, yet the thought had crossed her mind
 
 ALL SORTS ajid CONDITIONS of MEN, 135 
 
 tliat he migiit be a fugitive from the Law and 
 society, protected for some reason by Bunker. 
 
 Harry returned to the subject of the place. 
 
 ' What we want here/ he said, ' as it seems 
 to me, is a httle more of the pleasures and 
 graces of Hfe. To begin with, we are not poor 
 and in misery, but for the most part fairly well 
 off. We have great works here — half-a-dozen 
 Breweries, though none so big as Messen- 
 ger's ; chemical works, sugar refineries, though 
 these are a little depressed at present, I be- 
 lieve ; liere are all the docks ; then we have 
 silk- weavers, rope-makers, sail-makers, match- 
 makers, cigar-makers ; we build ships ; we 
 tackle jute, though what jute is, and what we 
 do with it, I know not ; we cut corks ; we 
 make soap, and we make fireworks ; we build 
 boats. When all our works are in full blast, 
 we make quantities of uioney. See us on Sun- 
 days, we are not a bad-lookiug lot ; healthy, 
 well-dressed, and tolerably rosy. But we have 
 no pleasures.' 
 
 ' There must be some.' 
 
 ' A theatre and a music-hall in Whitechapel 
 Eoad. That has to serve for two millions of
 
 136 ALL SORTS ami CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 people. Now, if this young heiress wanted to 
 do any good, she should build a Palace of 
 Pleasure here.' 
 
 ' A Palace of Pleasure ! ' she repeated. ' It 
 sounds well. Should it be a kind of Crystal 
 Palace ? ' 
 
 ' Well ! ' It was quite a new idea, but 
 he replied as if he had been considering the 
 subject for years. ' Not quite — with modifica- 
 tions.' 
 
 ' Let us talk over your Palace of Pleasure,' 
 she said, ' at another time. It sounds well. 
 What else should she do ? ' 
 
 ' That is such a gigantic thing, that it seems 
 enough for one person to attempt. However, 
 w^e can find something else for her — why, take 
 schools. There is not a public school for the 
 whole two millions of East London. Not one 
 place in which boys — to say nothing of girls — 
 can be brought up in generous ideas. She must 
 establish at least half-a-dozen public schools for 
 boys and as many for girls.' 
 
 ' That is a very good idea. Will you write 
 and tell her so ? ' 
 
 ' Then there are libraries, reading-rooms,
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 137 
 
 clubs, but all these would form part of the 
 Palace of Pleasure.' 
 
 ' Of course. I would rather call it a Palace 
 of Delight. Pleasure seems to touch a lower 
 note. We should have music-rooms for concerts 
 as well.' 
 
 ' And a school for music' The young man 
 became animated as the scheme unfolded itself. 
 
 'And a school for dancing.' 
 
 'Miss Kennedy,' he said with enthusiasm, 
 • you oucjlit to have the spending of all this 
 money ! And — why, you would hardly believe 
 it — but there is not in the whole of this parish 
 of Stepney a single dance given in the year. 
 
 Think of that ! But perhaps ' he stopped 
 
 again. 
 
 ' You mean that dressmakers do not, as a 
 rule, dance ? However, I do, and so there 
 must be a school for dancing. There must be 
 a great college to teach all these accomplish- 
 ments.' 
 
 'Happy Stepney!' cried the young man, 
 carried out of himself. ' Thrice happy Stepney ! 
 Glorified Whitechapel ! Beatified Bow ! What 
 things await ye in the fortunate future ! '
 
 138 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 He left her at the door of Bormalack's, and 
 went off on some voyage of discovery of his 
 own. 
 
 The girl retreated to her own room. She 
 had now hired a sitting-room all to herself, and 
 paid three months in advance, and sat down to 
 think. Then she took paper and pen and began 
 to write. 
 
 She was writing down, while it was hot in 
 her head, the threefold scheme which this re- 
 markable young workman had put into her 
 head. 
 
 * We women are weak creatures,' she said 
 with a sigh. ' We long to be up and doing, 
 but we cannot carve out our work for ourselves. 
 A man must be with us to suggest or direct it. 
 The College of Art — yes, we will call it the 
 College of Art ; the Palace of Dehght ; the 
 public schools. I should think that between 
 the three a good deal of money might be got 
 through. And oh ! to think of converting this 
 dismal suburb into a home for refined and 
 cultivated people ! ' 
 
 In blissful reverie she saw already the mean 
 houses turned into red brick Queen Anne
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN, 139 
 
 terraces and villas ; the clingy streets were 
 planted with avenues of trees ; art flourished in 
 the house as well as out of it; life was ren- 
 dered gracious sweet, and lovely. 
 
 And to think that this result was due to 
 the sucfo'estion of a common workine: man ! 
 
 But then, he had lived in the States. Doubt- 
 less in the States all the workiucr men . 
 
 But was that possible ?
 
 I40 ALL SORTS and CONDITLONS of MEN, 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 A FIRST STEP. 
 
 Wjtii tills great programme before her, the 
 responsibilities of wealth were no longer so 
 oppressive. When power can be used for bene- 
 ficent purposes, who would not be powerful? 
 And beside the mighty shadow of this scheme, 
 the smaller project for which Bunker was find- 
 ing a house looked small indeed. Yet, was it 
 not small, but great, and destined continually 
 to grow greater ? 
 
 Bunker came to see her from day to day, 
 reporting progress. He heard of a house here 
 or a house there, and went to see it. But it 
 was too large ; and of another, but it was too 
 small ; and of a third, but it was not con- 
 venient for her purpose; and so on. Each 
 house took up a whole day in examination,
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN, 141 
 
 and Bunker's bill was getting on with great 
 freedom. 
 
 The delay, however, gave Angela time to 
 work out her new ideas on paper. She invoked 
 the assistance of her friend, the cabinet-maker, 
 with ideas ; and, under the guise of amusing 
 themselves, they drew up a long and business- 
 like prospectus of the proposed new institutions. 
 
 First, there were the High Schools, of which 
 she would found six — three for boys and three 
 for girls. The great feature of these schools 
 was to be that they should give a liberal educa- 
 tion for a very small fee, and that in their 
 playgrounds, their discipline, and, as f;ir as 
 possible, their hours, they were to resemble the 
 great public schools. 
 
 ' They must be endowed for the masters' 
 and mistresses' salaries, and with scholarships ; 
 and — and — I think the boys and girls ought to 
 have dinner in the school, so as not to go home 
 all day ; and — and — there will be many things 
 to provide for each school.' 
 
 She looked as earnest over this amusement, 
 Harry said, as if she were herself in possession 
 of the fortune which they were thus administer-
 
 142 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN 
 
 ing. They agreed that when the schools were 
 built, an endowment of 70,000/. each, which 
 would yield 2,000/. a year, ought to be enough, 
 with the scliool fees, to provide for the educa- 
 tion of five hundred in each school. Then they 
 proceeded with the splendid plan of the new 
 College. It was agreed that learning, properly 
 so called, should be entirely kept out of the 
 programme. No Political Economy, said the 
 IS'ewnham student, should be taught there. Nor 
 any of the usual things — Latin, Greek, mathe- 
 matics, and so forth — said the young man from 
 the United States. What, then, remained ? 
 
 Everything. The difficulty in making such 
 a selection of studies is to know what to omit. 
 
 ' We are to have,' said Harry, now almost 
 as enthusiastic as Angela herself, ' a thing never 
 before attempted. We are to have a College 
 of Art. What a grand idea ! It was yours. 
 Miss Kennedy.' 
 
 ' No,' she rephed, ' it was yours. If it 
 comes to anything, we shall always remember 
 that it was yours.' 
 
 An amiable contest was finished by their 
 recollecting that it was only a play, and they
 
 ALL SORTS ajid CONDITIONS of MEN. 143 
 
 laughed and went on, half ashamed, and yet 
 both full of enthusiasm. 
 
 ' The College of Art ! ' he repeated ; ' why, 
 there are a hundred kinds of art ; let us 
 include accomplishments.' 
 
 They would ; they did. 
 
 They finally resolved that there should ])e 
 professors, lecturers, or teachers, with conve- 
 nient class rooms, theatres and lecture halls in 
 the following accomplishments and graces : — 
 Dancing, but there must be the old as well as 
 the new kinds of dancing. The waltz was not 
 to exclude the minuet, the reel, the country 
 dance, or the old square dances ; the pupils 
 would also have such dances as the bolero^ 
 the tarantella^ and other national jumperies. 
 Singing, which was to bo a great feature, as 
 anybody could sing, said Angela, if they were 
 taught. ' Except my Uncle Bunker ! ' said 
 Harry. Then there were to be musical instru- 
 ments of all kinds. Skating, bicycling, lawn 
 tennis, racquets, fives, and all kinds of games ; 
 rowing, billiards, archery, rifle shooting. Then 
 there was to be acting, with reading and recita- 
 tion; there were to be 'classes on gardening, on
 
 144 ^LL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 cookery, and on the laws of beauty in costume. 
 'The East End shall be mdependent of the 
 rest of the world in fashion,' said Angela ; ' we 
 will dress according to the rules of Art ! ' 'You 
 shall,' cried Harry, 'and your own girls shall be 
 the new dressmakers to the whole of glorified 
 Stepney.' Then there were to be lectures, not 
 in literature, but in letter-writmg, especially 
 love-letter writing, versifying, novel-writing, 
 and essay- writing ; that is to say, on the more 
 delightful forms of literature — so that poets 
 and novelists should arise, and the East End, 
 hitherto a barren desert, should blossom with 
 flowers. Then there was to be a Professor of 
 Grace, because a graceful carriage of the body 
 is so generally neglected ; and Harry, who had 
 a slim figure and long legs, began to indicate 
 how the Professor would probably carry him- 
 self. Next there were to be Professors of 
 Painting, Drawing, Sculpture and Design ; and 
 lectures on Furniture, Colour, and Arcliitecture. 
 The arts of photography, china painting, and 
 so forth were to be cultivated ; and there were 
 to be classes for the encouragement of leather 
 work, crewel work, fret-work, brass-work, wood 
 and ivory carving, and so forth.
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 14s 
 
 * There shall be no house in the East End,' 
 cried the girl, ' that shall not have its panels 
 painted by one member of the family ; its wood- 
 work carved by another, its furniture designed 
 by a third, its windows planted with flowers by 
 another.' 
 
 Her eyes glowed, her lips trembled. 
 
 * You ought to have had the millions,' said 
 Harry* 
 
 ' Nay, you, for you devised it all ! ' she 
 replied. She was so glowing, so rosy red, so 
 soft and sweet to look upon ; her eyes were so 
 full of possible love — though of love she was 
 not thinking — that almost the young man fell 
 upon his knees to worship this Venus. 
 
 'And all these beautiful things,' she went 
 on, breathless, ' are only designed for the sake 
 of the Palace of Delight.' 
 
 ' It shall stand somewhere near the central 
 place, this Stepney Green, so that all the East 
 can get to it. 
 
 *It shall have many halls,' she went on. 
 ' One of them shall be for concerts, and there 
 shall be an organ : one of them shall be for a 
 theatre, and there will be a stage and every- 
 
 VOL. I. L
 
 146 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 thing : one shall be a dancing hall, one a 
 skating rink, one a hall for lectnres, readings 
 and recitations : one a picture gallery, one a 
 permanent exhibition of our small Arts. We will 
 have our concerts performed from our School 
 of Music : our plays shall be played by our 
 amateurs taug^ht at our School of Actincf ; our 
 exhibitions shall be supplied by our own people ; 
 the things will be sold, and they w^ill soon be 
 sold off and replaced, because they will be 
 cheap. Oh ! oh ! oh ! ' She clasped her hands, 
 and fell back in her chair, overpowered with 
 the thought. 
 
 *It will cost much money,' said Harry, 
 weakly, as if money was any object — in dreams. 
 
 ' The College must be endowed with 30,000^. 
 a year, which is a million of money,' Angela 
 replied, making a little calculation. ' That 
 money must be foimd. As for the Palace, it 
 will require no tiling but the building, and a 
 small annual income to pay for repairs and 
 servants. It will be governed by a Board of 
 Directors, elected by the people themselves, to 
 whom the Palace wall belong. And no one 
 shall pay or be paid for any performance. And
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 147 
 
 the only condition of admission will be good 
 beliaviour, with exclusion as a penalty.' 
 
 The thing which she contemplated was a 
 deed the like of whicli makes to tingle the ears 
 of those who hear it. To few, indeed, is it 
 given to communicate to a whole nation this 
 strange and not unpleasant sensation. 
 
 One need not disguise the fact that the 
 possession of this power, and the knowledge of 
 her own benevolent intentions, gave Angela a 
 better opinion of herself than she had ever 
 known before. Herein, my friends, lies, if you 
 will rightly regard it, the true reason of the 
 feminine love for power illustrated by Chaucer. 
 For the few who have from time to time 
 wielded authority have ever been persuaded 
 that they wielded it wisely, benevolently, re- 
 hgiously, and have of course congratulated 
 themselves on the possession of so much virtue. 
 What mischiefs, thought Elizabeth of England, 
 Catharine of Eussia, Semiramis of Babylon, and 
 Angela of Whitechapel, miglit have followed 
 had a less wise and virtuous person been on 
 the throne ! 
 
 It was not unnatural, considering how much 
 L 2
 
 148 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 she was with Harry at this time, and how long 
 were their talks with each other, that she should 
 have him a great deal in her mind. For these 
 ideas were certainly his, not hers. Newnham, 
 she reflected humbly, had not taught her to 
 originate. She knew that he was but a cabinet- 
 maker by trade. Yet, when she involuntarily 
 compared him, his talk, his manners, his bear- 
 insT, with the men whom she had met, the 
 young Dons and the undergraduates of Cam- 
 bridge, the clever young fellows in society who 
 were reported to write for the ' Saturday,' and 
 the Berties and Algies of daily life, she owned 
 to herself that in no single point did this 
 cabinet-maker fellow compare unfavourably 
 with any of them. He seemed as well taught 
 as the last made Fellow of Trinity who came 
 to lecture on Literature and Poetry at Newn- 
 ham ; as cultivated as the mediasval Fellow 
 who took Philosophy and Psychology, and was 
 supposed to entertain ideas on religion so ori- 
 ginal as to amount to a Fifth Gospel : as quick 
 as the most thorough -going Society man who 
 has access to studios, literary circles, musical 
 people and esthetes ; and as careless as any
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 149 
 
 Bertie or Algie of the whole set. This it was 
 which made her blush, because, if he had been 
 a common man, a mere Bunker, he might, with 
 his knowledge of his class, have proved so 
 useful a servant to her, so admirable a vizier. 
 Now, unfortunately, she felt that she could 
 only make him useful in this way after she had 
 confided in him ; and that to confide in him 
 might raise dangerous thoughts in the young 
 man's head. Ko ; she must not confide in 
 him. 
 
 It shows what a thoughtful young person 
 Angela was that she would blush all by herself 
 only to think of this danger to Harry Goslett. 
 
 She passed all that night and the whole of 
 the next day and night in a dream over the 
 Palace of Delight and the College for educat- 
 ing people in sweet and pleasant things — the 
 College of Art. 
 
 On the next morning a cold chill fell upon 
 her, caused I know not how ; not by the 
 weather, which was the bright and hot weather 
 of last July ; not by any ailment of her own, 
 because Angela owned the most perfect me- 
 chanism ever constructed by Nature ; nor by
 
 ISO ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 any unpleasantness in tlie House, because, now 
 that she had lier own room, she generally 
 breakfasted alone ; nor by anything in the 
 daily papers — which frequently, by their evil 
 telegrams and terrifying forebodings, do poison 
 the spring and fountain-head of the day ; nor 
 by any letter, because the only one she had 
 was from Constance Woodcote at Newnham, 
 and it told the welcome news that she was 
 appointed Mathematical Lecturer with so much 
 a head for fees, and imploring Angela to re- 
 member her promise that she would endow 
 Newnham with a scholarship. Endow Newn- 
 ham ! Why, she was going to have a brand- 
 new college of her own, to say nothing of the 
 High Schools for boys and girls. Perhaps the 
 cause of her depression was the appearance of 
 Bunker, who came to tell her that he had at 
 last found the house which would suit her. No 
 other house in the neighbourhood was in any 
 way to compare with it ; the house stood close 
 by, at the south-west corner of Stepney Green. 
 It was ready for occupation, the situation was 
 as desirable as that of Tirzah the Beautiful ; 
 the rent was extremely low, considering the
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 151 
 
 many advantages ; all the nobility and gentry 
 of the place, he declared, would flock round a 
 dressmaker situated in Stepney Green itself; 
 there were rooms for show-rooms, Avith plenty 
 of other rooms and everything which Avould be 
 required ; finally, as if this were an additional 
 recommendation, the house belonged to himself. 
 
 ' I am ready,' he said with a winning smile, 
 ' to make a sacrifice of my own interests in 
 order to oblige a young lady, and I will take a 
 lower rent from you tlian I would from any- 
 body else.' 
 
 She went with him to ' view ' the house. 
 One looks at a picture, a horse, an estate, a 
 book, but one ' views ' a house. Subtle and 
 beautiful distinction, which shows the poetry 
 latent in the heart of every house agent ! It 
 was Bunker's own. Surely that was not the 
 reason wdiy it was let at double the rent of the 
 next house, which belonged to Angela herself, 
 nor why the tenant had to undertake all the 
 repairs, paper, and painting, external and in- 
 ternal, nor why the rent began from that very 
 day, instead of the half-quarter or the next 
 quarter-day. Bunker himself assured Miss Ken-
 
 152 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN 
 
 uedy that he had searched the whole neighbour- 
 hood for a suitable place, but could find none 
 so good as his own house. As for the houses 
 of the Messenger property, they were hable, he 
 said, to the demands of a lawyer's firm, which 
 had no mercy on a tenant, while as for himself, 
 he was full of compassion, and always ready to 
 listen to reason. He wanted no other recom- 
 mendation than a year's rent paid in advance, 
 and would undertake to execute, at the tenant's 
 cost, the whole of the painting, papering, white- 
 washing, roofing, pipes, chimneys, and general 
 work himself ; ' whereas, young lady,' he added, 
 ^ if you had taken one of those Messenger 
 houses, you cannot tell in what hands you 
 would have found yourself, nor what charges 
 you would have had to pay.' 
 
 He shook his fat head, and rattled his keys 
 in his pocket. So strong is the tendency of 
 the human mind to believe what is said, in spite 
 of all experience to the contrary, that his victim 
 smiled and thanked him, knowing very well 
 that the next minute she would be angry with 
 herself for so easily becoming a dupe to a 
 clumsy rogue.
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 153 
 
 She thanked him for his consideration, she 
 said, yet she was uneasily conscious that lie 
 was overreaching her in some way, and she 
 hesitated. 
 
 ' On the Green,' he said. ' What a position ! 
 Looking out on the garden ! With such rooms ! 
 And so cheap ! ' 
 
 ' I don't know,' she replied, ' I must consult 
 some one.' 
 
 ' As to that,' he said, ' there may be another 
 tenant ; I can't keep offers open. Take it. Miss, 
 or leave it. There ! ' 
 
 While she still hesitated, he added one more 
 recommendation . 
 
 'An old house it is, but solid, and will 
 stand for ever. Why, old Mr. Messenger was 
 born here.' 
 
 ' Was he ? ' she cried, ' was my — was Mr. 
 Messenger actually born here ? ' 
 
 She hesitated no longer. She took the 
 house at his own price ; she accepted his terms, 
 extortionate and grasping as they were. 
 
 When the bargain was completed — when 
 she had promised to sign the agreement for a 
 twelvemonth, pay a year in advance, and
 
 154 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN 
 
 appoint the disinterested one lier executor of 
 repairs, slie returned to Bormalack's. In the 
 doorway, a cigarette in his mouth, lounged the 
 Idle Apprentice. 
 
 ' I saw you,' he said, ' with the benevolent 
 Bunker. You have fallen a prey to my uncle ? ' 
 
 ' I have taken a house from him.' 
 
 'The two phrases are convertible. Those 
 who take his houses are his victims. I hope 
 no great mischief is done.' ' 
 
 « Not much, I think.' 
 
 The young man threw away his cigarette. 
 
 ' Seriously, Miss Kennedy,' he said, ' my 
 good uncle will possess himself of all the money 
 he can get out of you. Have a care.' 
 
 ' He can do me no harm, thank you all the 
 same. I wanted a house soon, and he has found 
 me one. What does it matter if I pay a little 
 more than I ought ? ' 
 
 ' What does it matter ? ' Harry was not 
 versed in details of trade, but he knew enough 
 to feel that this kind of talk was unpractical. 
 ' What does it matter ? My dear young lady, 
 if you go into business, you must look after the 
 sixpences.'
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 155 
 
 Miss Kennedy looked embarrassed. She 
 had betrayed herself, she thought. ' I know — 
 I know. But he talked me over.' 
 
 ' I have heard,' said the practical man, look- 
 ing profoundly wise, ' that he who would save 
 money must even consider that there is a differ- 
 ence between a guinea and a sovereign ; and that 
 he shouldn't pay a cabman more than twice his 
 fare, and that it is wrong to pay half-a-guinea 
 for Heidsieck Monopole when he can get Pom- 
 mery and Greno at seven-and-sixpence.' 
 
 Then he, too, paused abruptly, because he 
 felt as if he had betrayed himself. What have 
 cabinet-makers to do with Pommery and Greno? 
 Fortunately, Angela did not hear the latter part 
 of the speech. She was reflecting on the ease 
 with which a crafty man — say Bunker — may 
 compass his ends with the simple — say herself. 
 
 ' I do not pretend,' he said, ' to know all 
 the ropes, but I should not have allowed you to 
 be taken in quite so readily by this good uncle. 
 Do you know — ' his eyes, when they were 
 serious, which was not often, were really good. 
 Angela perceived they were serious now — ' Do 
 you know that the name of the Uncle who was
 
 156 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 indirectly, so to speak, connected with the 
 Eobin Kedbreasts, was originally Bunker? He 
 changed it after the children were dead, and he 
 came into the property.' 
 
 ' I wish you had been with me,' she said 
 simply. ' But I suppose I must take my chance 
 as other girls do.' 
 
 ' Most other girls have got men to advise 
 them. Have you no one ? ' 
 
 ' I might have ' — she was thinking of her 
 lawyers — who were paid to advise her if re- 
 quired. ' But I will find out things for my- 
 self.' 
 
 ' And at what a price ! Are your pockets 
 lined with gold, Miss Kennedy ? ' They certainly 
 were, but he did not know it. 
 
 ' I will try to be careful. Thank you.' 
 
 ' As regards going with you, I am always at 
 your command. I will be your servant, if you 
 will accej^t me as such.' 
 
 This was going a step farther than seemed 
 altogether safe. Angela was hardly prepared 
 to receive a cabinet-maker, however polite and 
 refined he might seem, as a lover. 
 
 ' I believe,' she said, ' that in our class of
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 157 
 
 life it is customary for young people to " keep 
 company," is it not ? ' 
 
 ' It is not uncommon,' lie replied, with much 
 earnestness. * The custom has even been imi- 
 tated by the higher chisses.' 
 
 ' What I mean is this, that I am not going 
 to keep company with any one ; but, if you 
 please to help me, if I ask your advice, I shall 
 be grateful.' 
 
 'Your gratitude,' he said with a smile, 
 ' ought to make any man happy ! ' 
 
 'Your compliments,' she retorted, 'will 
 certainly kill my gratitude ; and now, Mr. 
 Goslett, don't you really think that you should 
 try to do some work? Is it right to lounge 
 away the days among the streets? Are your 
 pockets, I may ask, lined with gold ? ' 
 
 ' I am looking for work. I am hunting 
 everywhere for work. My uncle is going to 
 find me a workshop. Then I shall request the 
 patronage of the nobility and gentry of Stepney, 
 Whitechapel, and the Mile End Eoad. H. G. 
 respectfully solicits a trial.' He laughed as if 
 there could be no doubt at all about the future, 
 and as if a few years of looking around were of
 
 158 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN, 
 
 no importance. Then lie bowed to Angela in 
 the character of the Complete Cabinet-maker. 
 ' Orders, madam, orders executed with neatness 
 and despatch. The highest price given for 
 second-hand fmiiiture. ' 
 
 She had got her house, however, though 
 she was going to pay far too much for it. That 
 was a great thing, and, as the more important 
 schemes could not be all commenced at a 
 moment's notice, she would begin, with the lesser 
 — her dressmaker's shop. 
 
 Here Mr. Goslett could not help her. She 
 apphed, therefore, again to Mr. Bunker, who 
 had a Eegistry office for situations wanted. 
 ' My terms,' he said, ' are five shillings on ap- 
 plication and five shillings for each person 
 engaged.' 
 
 He did not say that he took half-a-crown 
 from each person who wanted a place and five 
 shilhngs on her getting the place. His ways 
 were ways of pleasantness, and on principle he 
 never spoke of things which might cause un- 
 pleasant remarks. Besides, no one knew the 
 trouble he had to take in suiting people.
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 159 
 
 ' I knew,' lie said, ' that you would come 
 back to me. People will only find out my 
 worth wdien I am gone.' 
 
 ' I ho]3e you will be worth a great deal, Mr. 
 Bunker,' said Angela. 
 
 ' Pretty well, young lady. Pretty well. 
 Ah ! my nephews will be the gainers. Bat not 
 what I might have been if it had not been for 
 the meanness, the — the — Hunxiness of that 
 wicked old man.' 
 
 'Do you think you can find me what I 
 want, ]\ir. Bunker ? ' 
 
 ' Can I ? ' He turned over the leaves of a 
 great book. ^Look at this long list ; all ready 
 to better themselves. Apprentices anxious to 
 get through their articles, and improvers to be 
 dressmakers, and dressmakers to be forewomen, 
 and forewomen to be mistresses. That is the 
 way of the world, young lady. Sweet content- 
 ment, where art thou P ' Tlie pastoral simplicity 
 of his words and attitude were inexpressibly 
 comic. 
 
 'And how are you going to begin, Miss 
 Kennedy ? ' 
 
 ' Quietly, at first.'
 
 i6o ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN, 
 
 ' Then you'll want a matter of one or two 
 dressmakers, and half-a-dozen improvers. The 
 apprentices will come later.' 
 
 ' What are the general w^ages in this part of 
 London ? ' 
 
 ' The dressmakers get sixteen shillings a 
 week ; the improvers six. They bring their 
 own dinners, and you give them their tea. But, 
 of course, you know all that.' 
 
 ' Of course,' said Angela, making a note of 
 the fact, notwithstanding. 
 
 'As for one of your dressmakers, I can 
 recommend you Eebekah Hermitage, daughter 
 of the Eev. Percival Hermitage. She cannot 
 get a situation, because of her father's rehgious 
 opinions.' 
 
 ' That seems strange. What are they '^ ' 
 
 'Why, he's Minister of the Seventh Day 
 Independents. They've got a chapel in Eed- 
 man's Eow ; they have their services on Saturday 
 because, they say— and it seems true — that the 
 Fourth Commandment has never been abolished 
 any more than the rest of them. I wonder the 
 Bishops don't take it up. Well, there it is. On 
 Saturdays she won't work, and on Sundays
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. i6i 
 
 she don't like to, because the other people 
 don't.' 
 
 ' Has she any religious objection,' asked 
 Angela, ' to working on Monday or Tuesday? ' 
 
 ' No ; and I'll send her over. Miss Kennedy, 
 this evening, if you will see her. You'll get 
 her cheap because no one else will have her. 
 Very good. Then there is Nelly Sorensen. I 
 know she would like to go out, but her father 
 is particular. Not that he's any right to be, 
 being a Pauper. If a man like me or the late 
 Mr. Messenger, my friend, chooses to be par- 
 ticular, it's nothing but right. As for Captain 
 Sorensen — why, it's Pride after the fall, in- 
 stead of before it. Which makes it, to a sub- 
 stantial man, sickenin'.' 
 
 ' Who is Captain Sorensen ? ' 
 
 ' He lives in the Asylum along the White- 
 chapel Eoad, only ten minutes or so from here. 
 Nelly Sorensen is as clever a workwoman as 
 you will get. If I were you, Miss Kennedy, I 
 would go and find her at home. Then you 
 can see her work and talk to her. As for her 
 father, keep him in his right place. Pride in 
 an Almshouse ! Why, you'd hardly believe it ; 
 
 VOL. L M
 
 i62 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 but I wanted to put liis girl in a sliop where 
 they employ fifty hands, and he wouldn't have 
 it, because he didn't like the character of the 
 proprietor. Said he was a grinder and an 
 oppressor. My answer to such is, and always 
 will be, " Take it or leave it." If they won't 
 take it, there's heaps that must. As old Mr. 
 Messenger used to say, " Bunker, my friend," 
 or " Bunker, my old friend," sometimes, " Your 
 remarks is true wisdom." Yes, Miss Kennedy, 
 I Avill go with you, to show you the way.' He 
 looked at his watch. ' Half-past four. I dare 
 say it will take half an hour there and back — 
 which with the last quarter of an hour's talk, 
 we shall charge as an hour's time, which is 
 half-a-crown. Thank you. An hour,' he added, 
 with great feeling, ' an hour, like a pint of beer, , 
 canuot be divided. And on these easy terms, 
 Miss Kennedy, you will find me always ready 
 to work for you from sunrise to sunset, thinking 
 of your interests even at meals, so as not to 
 split an hour or waste time, and to save trouble 
 in reckoning up.'
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 163 
 
 CHAPTER YII. 
 
 THE TRINITY ALMSHOUSE. 
 
 From Stepney Green to the Trinity Almshouse 
 is not a long way ; you have, in fact, little more 
 than to pass through a short street and to cross 
 the road. But the road itself is noteworthy : 
 for, of all the roads which lead into London or 
 out of it, this of Whitechapel is the broadest 
 and the noblest by nature. Man, it is true, has 
 done little to embellish it. There are no 
 avenues of green and spreading lime and plane 
 trees, as, one day, there shall be : there are no 
 stately buildings, towers, spires, miracles of 
 architecture ; but only houses and shops which, 
 whether small or big, are all alike mean, un- 
 lovely, and depressing. Yet, in spite of all, a 
 noble road. 
 
 This road, which is the promenade, breathing- 
 place, place of resort, place of gossip, place of 
 
 M 2
 
 i64 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN, 
 
 amusement, and place of business for the greater . 
 part of East London, stretches all the way from 
 Aldgate to Stratford, being called first the 
 Whitechapel Eoad, and then the Mile End 
 Eoad ; then the Bow Eoad, and then the Strat- 
 ford Eoad. Under the first name the road has 
 acquired a reputation of the class called, by 
 moralists, unenviable. The history of police- 
 court records, under the general heading of 
 Whitechapel Eoad, so many free fights, brave 
 r(3bbeiies, gallant murders, dauntless kickings, 
 cudgellmgs, pummellings, pocket-pickings, shop- 
 liftings, watch- snatchings, and assaults on con- 
 stables, with such a brave display of disorderly 
 drunks, that the road has come to be regarded 
 with admiration as one of those Alsatian re- 
 treats, growing every day rarer, which are 
 beyond and above the law. It is thought to 
 be a place where manhood and personal bravery 
 reign supreme. Yet the road is not worthy of 
 this reputation : it has of late years become 
 orderly; its present condition is dull and law- 
 abiding, brilliant as tlie past has been, and 
 whatever greatness may be in store for the 
 future. Once out of Whitechapel, and within
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 165 
 
 the respectable region of Mile End, tlie road 
 has always been eminently respectable ; and as 
 regards dangers quite safe, ever since they built 
 the bridge over the Eiver Lea, which used now 
 and again to have freshets, and, at such times, 
 tried to drown harmless people in its ford. 
 Since that bridsfe was built in the time of 
 Edward I., it matters not for the fresliets. 
 There is not much in the Bow Eoad when the 
 stranger gets there, in his journey along this 
 great thoroughfare, for him to visit, except its 
 almshouses, which are many ; and the beautiful 
 old church of Bow, standn:ig in the middle of 
 the road, crumbling slowly away in the East 
 End fog, with its narrow strip of crowded 
 churchyard. One hopes that before it has 
 quite crumbled away some one will go and 
 make a picture of it — an etching would be best. 
 At Stratford the road divides, so that you may 
 turn to the right and get to Barking, or to the 
 left and get to Epping Forest. And all the 
 way, for four miles, a broad and noble road, 
 which must have been carved originally out of 
 No Man's Land, in so generous a spirit is it laid 
 out. Angela is now planting it with trees ;
 
 i66 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 beneath the trees she will set seats for those who 
 wish to rest. Here and there she will erect 
 drinking-fountains. Whitechapel Eoad, since 
 her improvements begun, has been transformed ; 
 even the bacon shops are beginning to look a 
 little less rusty ; and the grocers are trying to 
 live up to the green avenues. 
 
 Angela's imagination Avas fired by this road 
 from the very first, when the Idle Apprentice 
 took her into it as into a new and strange 
 country. Here, for the first time, she realised 
 the meaning of the universal curse, from which 
 only herself and a few others are unnaturally 
 exempted ; and this only under heavy penalties 
 and the necessity of finding out their own work 
 for themselves, or it will be the worse for them. 
 People think it better to choose their own 
 work. That is a great mistake. You might 
 just as well want to clioose your own disease. 
 In the West End, a good many folk do work — - 
 and work pretty hard some of them — who need 
 not, unless they please ; and a good many 
 others work who must, whether they please or 
 no ; but somehow the forced labour is pushed 
 into the background. We do not perceive its
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITLONS of MEN. 167 
 
 presence : people drive about in carriages, as if 
 there were nothing to do ; people lounge ; 
 people have leisure ; people do not look pressed, 
 or in a hurry, or task-mastered, or told to make 
 bricks without straw. 
 
 Here, in the East End, on the other hand, 
 there are no strollers. All day long the place 
 is full of passengers hasting to and fro, pushing 
 each other aside, with set and anxious faces, 
 each driven by the invisible scourge of necessity 
 w^hich makes slaves of all mankind. Do you 
 know that famous picture of the Israelites in 
 Egypt ? Upon the great block of stone, which 
 the poor wretches are painfully dragging, wdiile 
 the cruel lash goads the weak and terrifies the 
 strong, there sits one in authority. He regards 
 the herd of slaves with eyes terrible from their 
 stony gaze. What is it to him whether the 
 feeble sufier and perish, so that the Pharaoh's 
 will be done? The people of the East re- 
 minded Angela, who was an on-looker and had 
 no work to do, of these builders of pyramids : 
 they worked under a taskmaster as relentless as 
 that stony-hearted captain or foreman of works. 
 If the Israelites desisted, they were flogged back
 
 1 68 ALL SORTS and CONDITLONS of MEN. 
 
 to work with cats of many tails : if our work- 
 men desist, tliey are flogged back by starvation. 
 
 ' Let us hope,' said Harry, to whom Angela 
 imparted a portion of the above reflection and 
 comparison, — 'let us hope that the Pharaoh 
 himself means well and is pitiful.' He spoke 
 without his usual flippancy, so that perhaps his 
 remark had some meaning, for himself. 
 
 All day long and all the year round there 
 is a constant Fair going on in Whitechapel 
 Eoad. It is held upon the broad pavement, 
 which was benevolently intended, no doubt, for 
 this purpose. Here are displayed all kinds of 
 things ; bits of second-hand furniture, such as 
 the head of a wooden bed, whose griminess is 
 perhaps exaggerated, in order that a purchaser 
 may expect something extraordinarily cheap. 
 Here are lids of pots and saucepans laid out, to 
 show that in the warehouse, of which these 
 things are specimens, will be found the 
 principal parts of the utensils for sale ; here are 
 unexpected things, such as rows of skates, sold 
 cheap in summer; light clothing in winter; 
 workmen's tools of every kind, including, per- 
 haps, the burglarious jemmy; second-hand
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 169 
 
 books — a miscellaneous collection, establishing 
 the fact that the readers of books in White- 
 chapel — a feeble and scanty folk — read nothing 
 at all except sermons and meditations among 
 the tombs ; second-hand boots and shoes ; cut- 
 lery ; hats and caps ; rat-traps and mouse-traps 
 and birdcages ; flowers and seeds ; skittles ; 
 and frames for photographs. Cheap-jacks have 
 their carts beside the pavement; and with 
 strident voice proclaim the goodness of their 
 wares, which include in this district bloaters and 
 dried haddocks, as well as crockery. And one 
 is amazed, seeing how the open-air Fair goes 
 on, why the shops are kept open at all. 
 
 And always the same. It saddens one, I 
 know not why, to sit beside a river and see the 
 water flowing down with never a pause. It sad- 
 dens one still more to watch the current of human 
 life in this great thoroughfare and feel that, as 
 it is now, so it was a generation ago, and so it 
 will be a generation hence. The bees in the 
 hive die, and are replaced by others exactly 
 like them, and the honey-making goes on 
 merrily still. So, in a great street, the waggons 
 always go up and down ; the passengers never
 
 I70 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN 
 
 cease ; the shopboy is always behind the 
 counter ; the workgirl is always sewing ; the 
 workman is always carrying his tools as he goes 
 to his work ; there are always those who stay 
 for half a pint, and always those who hurry on. 
 In this endless drama, which repeats itself like 
 a musical box, the jeime premier of to-day be- 
 comes to-morrow the lean and slippered panta- 
 loon. The day after to-morrow he will have 
 disappeared, gone to join the silent ones in the 
 grim, unlovely cemetery belonging to the 
 Tower Hamlets, which lies beyond Stepney, and 
 is the reason why on Sundays the 'frequent 
 funeral blackens all the road.' 
 
 ' One can moralise,' said Harry one day, 
 after they had been exchanging sentiments of 
 enjoyable sadness, ' at this rate for ever. But 
 it has all been done before.' 
 
 'Everything, I suppose,' replied Angela, 
 'has been done before. If it has not been done 
 by me, it is new — to me. It does not make it 
 any better for a m.an who has to work all the 
 days of his life, and gets no enjoyment out of it, 
 and lives ignobly and dies obscurely, that the 
 same thing happens to most people.'
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 171 
 
 ' We cannot help ourselves.' This time it 
 was the Cabinet-maker who spoke to the Dress- 
 maker. ' We belong to the crowd, and we 
 must live with the crowd. You can't make 
 much glory out of a mercenary lathe nor out of 
 a dressmaker's shop, can you, Miss Kennedy ? ' 
 
 It was by such reminders, one to the other, 
 that conversations of the most delightful kind, 
 full of speculations and comparisons, were 
 generally brought up short. When Angela 
 remembered that she was talking to an artisan, 
 she froze. When Harry reflected that it was a 
 dressmaker to whom he was communicating 
 bits of his inner soul, he checked himself. 
 When, which happened every day, they forgot 
 their disguises for a while, they talked quite 
 freely, and very prettily communicated all sorts 
 of thoughts, fancies, and opinions to each other ; 
 insomuch that once or twice a disagreeable 
 feeling would cross the girl's mind that they 
 were perhaps getting too near the line at which 
 ' keeping company ' begins ; but he was a 
 young workman of good taste, and he never 
 presumed. 
 
 She was walking beside her guide, Mr.
 
 172 ALL SORTS mid CONDITLONS of MEN. 
 
 Bunker, and pondering over these things as she 
 gazed down the broad road, and recollected the 
 talk she had held in it ; and now her lieart was 
 w^arm within her, because of the things she 
 thouglit and had tried to say. 
 
 ' Here w^e are, Miss,' said Mr. Bunker, stop- 
 ping. ' Here's the Trinity Almshouse.' 
 
 She awoke from her dream. It is very odd 
 to consider the strange thoughts which flash 
 upon one in waking. Angela suddenly dis- 
 covered that Mr. Bunker possessed a remarkable 
 resemblance to a bear. His walk was some- 
 thing like one, with a swing of the shoulders, 
 and his hands were big and his expression was 
 hungry. Yes, he was exactly like a bear. 
 
 She observed that she was standing at a 
 wicket-gate, and that over the gate was the 
 effigy of a ship in full sail done in stone. Mr. 
 Bunker opened the door, and led the way to the 
 court w^ithin. 
 
 Then a great stilhiess fell upon the girl's 
 spirit. Outside, the waggons, carts, and omni- 
 buses thundered and rolled. You could hear 
 them plainly enough ; you could hear the tramp 
 of a thousand feet. But the noise outside was
 
 ALL SORTS^nd CONDLTIONS of MEN. 173 
 
 only a contrast to the quiet within. A wall of 
 brick with iron raiUngs separated the tumult 
 from the calm. It seemed as if, within that 
 court, there was no noise at all, so sharp and 
 sudden was the contrast. 
 
 She stood in an oblong court, separated from 
 the road by the wall above-named. On either 
 hand was a row of small houses, containing, 
 apparently, four rooms each. They were built 
 of red brick, and were bright and clean. Every 
 house had an iron tank in front for water ; 
 there was a pavement of flags along this row, 
 and a grass lawn occupied the middle of the 
 court. Upon the grass stood the statue of a 
 benefactor, and at the end of the court was a 
 chapel. It was a very little chapel, but was 
 approached by a most enormous and dispropor- 
 tionate flight of stone steps, which might have 
 been originally cut for a portal of St. Paul's 
 Cathedral. The steps were surmounted by a 
 great doorway, which occupied the wliole west 
 front of the chapel. No one was moving about 
 the place except an old Jady, who was drawing 
 water from her tank. 
 
 ' Pretty place, ain't it ? ' asked Mr. Bunker.
 
 174 ALL SORTS a?td CONDITIONS of MEN 
 
 ' It seems peaceful and quiet,' said the girl. 
 
 ' Place where you'd expect Pride, ain't it ? ' 
 he went on scornfully. ' Oh ! yes. Paupers 
 and Pride go together, as is well known. Low- 
 liness is for them who've got a bank and money 
 in it. Oh, yes, of course. Gar ! The Pride 
 of an Inmate ! ' 
 
 He led the way, making a most impertinent 
 echo with the heels of his boots. Angela ob- 
 served, immediately, that there was another 
 court beyond the first. In fact, it was larger : 
 the houses were of stone, and of greater size ; 
 and it was if an}? thing more solemnly quiet. It 
 was possessed of silence. 
 
 Here there is another statue erected to the 
 memory of the Founder, who, it is stated on 
 the pedestal, died, being then ' Comander of a 
 Shipp ' in the East Indies, in the year 1 6 86. The 
 gallant captain is represented in the costume of 
 the period. He wears a coat with many buttons, 
 large cuffs, and full skirts ; the coat is buttoned 
 a good way below the waist, showing the fair 
 doublet within, also provided with many buttons. 
 He wears shoes with buckles, has a soft silk 
 wrapper round his neck, and a sash to carry his
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN, 175 
 
 sword. On his head there is an enormous wig, 
 well adapted to serve the purpose for which 
 Solar Topees were afterwards invented. In his 
 right hand he carries a sextant, many sizes bigger 
 than those in modern use, and at his feet dol- 
 phins sport. A grass lawn covers this court, as 
 well as the other, and no voice or sound ever 
 comes from any of the houses, whose occupants 
 might well be all dead. 
 
 Mr. Bunker turned to the right, and pre- 
 sently rapped with his knuckles at a door. 
 Then, without waiting for a reply, he turned 
 the handle, and with a nod invited his com- 
 panion to follow him. 
 
 It was a small but well-proportioned room 
 with low ceiling, furnished sufficiently. There 
 were clean white curtains with rose-coloured 
 ribbons. The window was open, and in it stood 
 a pot of mignonette, now at its best. At the 
 window sat, on one side, an old gentleman with 
 silvery white hair and spectacles, who was 
 reading, and on the other side a girl with work 
 on her lap, sewiug, 
 
 ' Now, Cap'n Sorensen,' said Mr. Bunker, 
 without the formality of greeting, ' I've got you
 
 176 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 another chance. Take it or leave it, since you 
 can afford to be particular. I can't ; I'm not 
 rich enough. Ha ! ' He snorted and looked 
 about him with the contempt which a man who 
 has a Banker naturally feels for one who hasn't, 
 and lives in an Almshouse. 
 
 ' What is the chance ? ' asked the Inmate 
 meekly, looking up. When he saw Angela in 
 the doorway he rose and bowed, offering her a 
 chair. Angela observed that he was a very tall 
 old man, and that he had blue eyes and a rosy 
 face — quite a young face it looked — and was 
 gentle of speech and courteous in demeanour. 
 ' Is the cliance connected with this young lady, 
 Mr. Bunker?' 
 
 ' It is,' said the great man. ' Miss Kennedy, 
 this is the young woman I told you of. This 
 young lady ' — he indicated Angela — ' is setting 
 herself up, in a genteel way, in the dressmaking 
 line. She's taken one of my houses on the 
 Green, and she wants hands to begin with. 
 She comes here, Cap'n Sorensen, on my recom- 
 mendation.' 
 
 ' We are obliged to you, Mr. Bunker.' 
 The girl was standing, her work in her
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 177 
 
 hands, looking at Angela, and a little terrified 
 by the sight of so grand a person. The dress- 
 makers of her experience were not young and 
 beautiful ; mostly they were pinched with years, 
 troubles, and anxieties. When Angela began 
 to notice her, she saw that the young work-girl, 
 who seemed about nineteen years of age, Avas 
 tall, rather too thin, and pretty. She did not 
 look strong, but her cheeks were flushed with 
 a delicate bloom ; her eyes, like her father's, 
 were blue ; her hair was light and feathery, 
 though she brushed it as straight as it w^ould 
 go. She was dressed, like most girls of her 
 class, in a frock of sober black. 
 
 Angela took her by the hand. ' I am sure,' 
 she said kindly, ' that we shall be friends.' 
 
 * Friends ! ' cried Mr. Bunker, aghast. ' Why, 
 she's to be one of your girls. You cant be 
 friends with your own girls.' 
 
 '• Perhaps,' said the girl, blushing and 
 abashed, ' you would like to see some of my 
 work.' She spread out her work on the table. 
 
 'Fine weather here, Cap'n,' Mr. Bunker 
 went on, striking an attitude of patronage, as if 
 the sun was good indeed to shine on an Alms- 
 
 VOL. I. N
 
 178 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 house. ' Fine weather should make grateful 
 hearts, especially in them as is provided for — 
 having been improvident in their youth — with 
 comfortable roofs to shelter them.' 
 
 ' Grateful hearts, indeed, Mr. Bunker,' said 
 the Captain quietly. 
 
 ' Mr. Bunker ' — Angela turned upon him 
 with an air of command, and pointed to the 
 door — ' you may go now. You have done all 
 I wanted.' 
 
 Mr. Bunker turned very red. ' He could 
 go ! ' Was he to be ordered about by every 
 little dressmaker .^ ' He could go ! ' 
 
 ' If the lady engages my daughter, Mr. 
 Bunker,' said Captain Sorensen, ' I will try to 
 find the five shillings next week.' 
 
 ' Five shillhigs ! ' cried Angela. ' Why, I 
 have just given him five shillings for his recom- 
 mendation.' 
 
 Mr. Bunker did not explain that his practice 
 was to get ^\^Q shillings from both sides, but 
 he retreated with as much dignity as could be 
 expected. 
 
 He asked, outside, with shame, how it was 
 that he allowed himself thus to be sat upon and
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN, 179 
 
 ordered out of the house by a mere girh Why 
 had he not stood upon his dignity ? To be told 
 he might go, and before an Inmate — a common 
 Pauper ! 
 
 There is one consolation always open, thank 
 Heaven, for the meanest amongst us poor worms 
 of earth. We are gifted with imaginations ; we 
 can make the impossible an actual fact, and can 
 with the eye of the mind make the unreal stand 
 before us in the flesh. Therefore, when we are 
 down-trodden, we may proceed, without the 
 trouble and danger of turning (which has been 
 known to bring total extinction upon a worm), 
 to take revenge upon our enemy in imagination. 
 Mr. Bunker, who was at this moment uncertain 
 whether he hated Miss Kennedy more than he 
 hated his nephew, went home glowing witli the 
 thought that but a few short months would 
 elapse before he should be able to set his foot 
 upon the former and crush her. Because, at 
 the rate she was going on, she would not last 
 more than that time. Then would he send in 
 his bills, sue her, sell her up, and diive her out 
 of the place stripped of the last farthing. ' He 
 might go ! ' He, Bunker, was told that he might 
 
 N 2
 
 i8o ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN 
 
 go ! And in the presence of an Inmate ! 
 Then he thought of his nephew, and while he 
 smote the pavement with the iron end of his 
 umbrella, a cold dew appeared upon his nose, 
 the place where inward agitation is frequently 
 betrayed in this way, and he sliivered, looking 
 about him suddenly as if lie was frightened. 
 Yet, what harm was Harry Goslett likely to do 
 him ? 
 
 ' What is your name, my dear ? ' asked 
 Angela softly, and without any inspection of 
 the work on the table. She was wondering 
 how this pretty, fragile flower should be found 
 in Whitechapel. Oh, ignorance of Newnham ! 
 For she might have reflected that the rarest and 
 most delightful plants are found in the most 
 savage places — there is beautiful botanising, one 
 is told, in the Ural Mountains ; and that the sun 
 shines everywhere, even, as Mr. Bunker re- 
 marked, in an Almshouse ; and that she herself 
 had gathered in the ugliest ditches round Cam- 
 bridge the sweetest flowering mosses, the 
 tenderest campion, the loveliest little herb- 
 robert. 
 
 ' My name is Ellen,' replied the girl.
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDLTIONS of MEN, i8i 
 
 ' I call her Nelly,' her father answered, ' and 
 she is a good girl. Will you sit down, Miss 
 Kennedy ? ' 
 
 Angela sat down and proceeded to business. 
 She said, addressing the old man, but looking 
 at the child, that she was setting up a dress- 
 maker's shop ; that she had hopes of support, 
 even from the West End, where she had 
 friends; that she was prepared to pay the 
 proper wages, with certain other advantages, of 
 which more would be said later on ; and that, 
 if Captain Sorensen approved, she would engage 
 his daughter from that day. 
 
 ' I have only been out as an improver as 
 yet,' said Nelly. ' But if you will really try me 
 as a dressmaker — oh, father, it is sixteen 
 shillings a week ! ' 
 
 Angela's heart smote her. A poor sixteen 
 shillinQ-s a week ! And this girl was delif^hted 
 at the chance of getting so mucli. 
 
 ' What do you say. Captain Sorensen ! Do 
 you want references, as Mr. Bunker did ? I 
 am the granddaughter of a man who was born 
 here and made — a little — money here, which 
 he left to me. Will you let her come to me ? '
 
 1 82 ALL SORTS and CONDITLONS of MEN. 
 
 'You are the first person,' said Captain 
 Sorensen, ' who ever, in this place, where work 
 is not so plentiful as hands, offered work as if 
 taking it was a favour to you.' 
 
 ' I want good girls — and nice girls,' said 
 Angela. ' I want a house where w^e shall all 
 be friends.' 
 
 The old sailor shook his head. 
 
 ' There is no sucli house here,' he said 
 sadly. 'It is " take it or leave it " — if you 
 won't take it, others will. Make the poor 
 girls your friends, Miss Kennedy? You look 
 and talk like a lady born and bred, and I fear 
 you will be put upon. Make friends of your 
 servants? Why, Mr. Bunlvcr will tell you 
 that Whitecliapel does not carry on business 
 that way. But it is good of you to try, and I 
 am sure you will not scold and drive like the 
 rest.' 
 
 ' You offended Mr. Bunker, I learn, by 
 refusing a place which he offered,' said Angela. 
 
 'Yes: God knows if I did ridit. We are 
 desperately poor, else we should not be here. 
 That you may see for yourself. Yet, my blood 
 boiled when I heard the character of the man
 
 ALL SORTS aftd CONDLTLONS of MEN, 183 
 
 whom my Nelly was to serve. I could not let 
 her go. She is all I have, Miss Kennedy' — 
 the old man drew the girl towards him and 
 held her, his arm round her waist. ' If you 
 will take her and treat her kindly, you will 
 have — it isn't worth anything, perhaps — the 
 gratitude of one old man in this world — soon 
 in the next.' 
 
 'Trust your daughter with me, Captain 
 Sorensen,' Angela rephed, with tears in her 
 eyes. 
 
 ' Everybody round here is poor,' he went 
 on. ' That makes people hard-hearted ; there 
 are too many people in trade, and that makes 
 them mean ; they are all trying to undersell 
 each other, and that makes them full of tricks 
 and cheating. They treat the workgirls worst 
 because they cannot stand up for themselves. 
 The long hours, and the bad food, and the 
 poisonous air — think a little of your girls, Miss 
 Kennedy. But you will — you will.' 
 
 ' I will, Captain Sorensen.' 
 
 ' It seems worse to us old sailors,' he went 
 on. ' We have had a hardish life, but it has 
 been in open air. Old sailors haven't had to
 
 1 84 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 cheat and lie for a living. And we haven't 
 been brought up to think of girls turning night 
 mto day, and working sixteen hours on end at 
 twopence an hour. It is hard to think of my 
 
 poor girl ^ ' he stopped and clenched his fist. 
 
 ' Better to starve than to work hi sucli a mill ! * 
 He was thinking of the place which he had 
 refused. 
 
 ' Let us try each other, Nelly,' she said, 
 kissinf]: her on the forehead. ^ - 
 
 The Captain took his hat to escort her as 
 far as the gate. 
 
 ' A quiet place,' he said, looking round the 
 little court, ' and a happy place for the last 
 days of improvident old men like me. Yet 
 some of us grumble. Forgive my plain speech 
 about the work.' 
 
 ' There is nothing to forgive, indeed. Cap- 
 tain Sorensen. Will you let me call upon you 
 sometimes ? ' 
 
 She gave him her hand. He bowed over 
 it with the courtesy of a captain on his own 
 quarter-deck. When she tiunied away she saw 
 that a tear was standing in his eyes.
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 185 
 
 ' Father ! ' cried Nelly, rushing into his 
 arms, ' did you ever see anybody like her ? 
 Oh ! oh ! do you think I really shall do for 
 her?' 
 
 ' You will do your best, my dear. It is a 
 long time, I think, since I have seen and 
 spoken with any one like that. In the old 
 days I've had passengers to Calcutta like 
 her ; but none more so, Nelly — no, never one 
 more so.' 
 
 ' You couldn't, father.' His daughter 
 w^anted no explanation of this mysterious 
 qualification. ' You couldn't. She is a lady, 
 father ; ' she looked up and laughed. 
 
 ' It's a funny thing for a real lady to open 
 a dressmaker's shop on Stepney Green, isn't 
 it?' 
 
 Eemark, if you please, that this girl had 
 never once before, in all her life, conversed with 
 a lady ; using the word in the prejudiced and 
 narrow sense peculiar to the West End. Yet, 
 she discovered instantly the truth. Whence 
 this instinct ? It is a world full of strange and 
 wonderful things ; the more questions we ask,
 
 1 86 ALL SORTS and CONDITLONS of MEN. 
 
 the more we may ; and the more things we 
 consider, the more incomprehensible does the 
 sum of things appear. Inquiring reader, I do 
 not know how Nelly divined that her visitor 
 was a lady.
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 187 
 
 CHAPTEK VIII. 
 
 WHAT HE GOT BY IT. 
 
 A dressmaker's shop, without a dressmaker 
 to manage it, would be, Angela considered, in 
 some perplexity, like a ship without a steers- 
 man. She therefore awaited with some impa- 
 tience the promised visit of Eel^ekah Her- 
 mitage, whom she was to ' get cheap,' according 
 to Bunker, on account of her Sabbatarian 
 views. 
 
 She came in the eveninsf, while Angela was 
 walking on the Green with the sprightly 
 Cabinet-maker. It was sunset, and Angela liad 
 been remarking to her companion, with a sort 
 of irrational surprise, that the phenomena 
 coincident with the close of the day are just as 
 brilHantly coloured and lavishly displayed for 
 the squalid East as for the luxurious West. 
 Perhaps, indeed, there are not many places in
 
 i88 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN, 
 
 London where sunset does produce sucli good 
 effects as at Stepney Green. The narrow strip, 
 so called, in shape resembles too nearly a closed 
 umbrella or a thickish walking-stick ; but there 
 are trees in it, and beds of flowers, and seats 
 for those who wish to sit, and walks for those 
 who wisli to walk. And the better houses of 
 the Green — Bormalack's was on the west, or 
 dingy side — are on the east, and face the setting 
 sun. They -are of a good age, at least a hun- 
 dred and lifty years old ; they are built of a 
 warm red brick, and some have doors orna- 
 mented with the old-fashioned shell, and all 
 have an ap]:)earance of solid respectability, 
 which makes the rest of Stepney proud of 
 them. Here, in former days, dwelt the aris- 
 tocracy of the parish ; and on this side was the 
 house taken by Angela for her dressmaking 
 institution, the house in which her grandfather 
 was born. The reason why the sunsets are 
 more splendid and the sunrises brighter at 
 Stepney tlian at the opposite end of London, 
 is, tliat the sun sets behind the great bank of 
 cloud which for ever lies over London town. 
 This lends his departure to the happy dwellers
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 189 
 
 of the East strange and wonderful eflects. 
 Now, when he rises, it is naturally in the East, 
 where there is no cloud of smoke to hide the 
 brightness of his face. 
 
 The Green this evening was crowded : it is 
 not so fashionable a promenade as Whitechapel 
 Eoad, but, on the other hand, it possesses the 
 charm of comparative quiet. There is no 
 noise of vehicles, but only the shouting of 
 children, the loud laughter of some gaillard 
 'prentice, the coy giggle of the young lady to 
 whom he has imparted his latest merry jape, 
 the loud whispers of ladies who are exchanging 
 confidences about their complaints and the com- 
 plaints of their friends, and the musical laugh 
 of girls. The old people had all crept home ; 
 the mothers were at home putting their 
 children to bed ; the fathers were mostly 
 engaged with the evening pipe, which demands 
 a chair within four walls and a glass of some- 
 thing ; the Green was given up to youth ; and 
 youth was principally given up to love-making. 
 
 ' In Arcadia,' said Harry, ' every nymph is 
 wooed, and every swain ' 
 
 He was interrupted by the arrival of his
 
 I90 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 uncle, who pushed his way through the crowd 
 with his usual important bustle, followed by a 
 'young person.' 
 
 ' I looked for you at Mrs. Bormalack's,' he 
 said to Angela reproachfully, 'and here you 
 are — with this young man, as usual. As if my 
 time was no object to you! ' 
 
 'Why not with this young man, Mr. 
 Bunker ? ' asked Angela. 
 
 He did not explain his reasons for objecting 
 to her companion, but proceeded to introduce 
 his companion. 
 
 ' Here she is, Miss Kennedy,' he said. 'This 
 is Eebekah Hermitage ; I've brought her with 
 me to prevent mistakes. You may take her on 
 my recommendation. Nobody, in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Stepney, wants a better recom- 
 mendation than mine. One of Bunker's, they 
 say, and they ask no more.' 
 
 ' What a beautiful, what an enviable repu- 
 tation ! ' murmured his nephew. ' Oh, that I 
 were one of Bunker's ! ' 
 
 Mr. Bunker glared at him, but answered 
 not ; never, within his present experience, had 
 he found himself at a loss to give indignation
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN 191 
 
 words. On occasion, he had been known to 
 swear ' into shudders ' the immortal gods who 
 heard him. To swear at this nephew, however, 
 this careless sniggering youth, who looked and 
 talked like a 'swell,' would, he felt, be more 
 than useless. The boy would only snigger more. 
 He would have liked knocking him down, but 
 there were obvious reasons way this was not to 
 be seriously contemplated. 
 
 He turned to the girl who had come with 
 him. 
 
 'Eebekah,' he said with condescension, 
 ' you may speak up ; I told your fother I would 
 stand by you, and I will.' 
 
 ' Do not, at least,' said Angela, in her state- 
 liest manner, ' begin by making Miss Hermitage 
 suppose she will want your support.' 
 
 She saw before her a o'irl about two- or 
 three-and- twenty years of age. She was short 
 of stature and sturdy. Her complexion was 
 dark, with black hair and dark eyes, and these 
 were bright. A firm mouth and square chin 
 gave her a pugnacious appearance. In fact, 
 she had been fighting all her life, more despe- 
 rately even than the other girls about her.
 
 192 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 because she was lieavily handicapped by the 
 awkwardness of her religion. 
 
 ' Mr. Bunker,' said this young person, wlio 
 certainly did not look as if she wanted any 
 backing up, ' tells me you want a forewoman.' 
 
 ' You want a forewoman,' echoed the agent, 
 as if interpreting for her. 
 
 ' Yes, I do,' Angela replied. ' I know, to 
 begin with, all about your religious opinions.' 
 
 ' She knows,' said the agent, standing be- 
 tween the two parties, as if retained for the 
 interests of both, — ' she knows, already, your 
 religious opinions.' 
 
 'Very well. Miss.' Eebekah looked dis- 
 appointed at losing a chance of expounding 
 them. ' Then, I can only say, I can never 
 give way in the matter of truth.' 
 
 ' In truth,' said the agent, ' she's as obstinate 
 as a pig.' 
 
 ' I do not expect it,' replied Angela, feeling 
 that the half-a-crown-an-hour man was really a 
 stupendous nuisance. 
 
 ' She does not expect it,' echoed Mr. 
 Bunker, turning to Eebekah. ' What did I
 
 ALL SORT.'^ and CONDITIONS of MEN. 193 
 
 tell you ? — now you see the effect of iny recom- 
 mendations.' 
 
 ' Take it off the wages,' said Eebekab, with 
 an obvious effort, which showed how vital was 
 the importance of the pay. ' Take it off the 
 wages, if you like ; and, of course, I can't 
 expect to labour for five days and be paid for 
 six ; but on the Saturday, which is the Sabbath 
 day, I do no work therein, neither I, nor my 
 manservant, nor my maidservant, nor my ox, 
 nor my ass.' 
 
 'Neither her manservant, nor her maid- 
 servant, nor her ox, nor her as?,' repeated the 
 agent solemnly. 
 
 'There is the Sunday, however,' said 
 Angela. 
 
 ' What have you got to say about Sunday, 
 now ? ' asked Mr. Bunker, with a change of 
 front. 
 
 ' Of all the days that's in the week,' interpo- 
 lated the sprightly one, ' I dearly love but one 
 day — and that's the day ' 
 
 Eebekah, impatient of this frivolity, stopped 
 it at once. 
 
 'I do as little as I can,' she said, 'on 
 VOL. I.
 
 194 ALL SORTS and C0.\D1TI0NS of MEN. 
 
 Sunday, because of the weaker brethren. The 
 Sunday we keep as a lioliday.' 
 
 ' Well ' Angela began rather to envy 
 
 this young woman, wdio w\as a clear gainer of a 
 whole day by her religion ; ' well, Miss Hermi- 
 tage, w^ill you come to me on trial ? Thank 
 you, we can settle about deductions afterwards, 
 if you please. And if you will come to-morrow 
 — that is riglit. Now, if you please to take a 
 turn with me, we will talk things over together ; 
 good-night, Mr. Bunker ! ' 
 
 She took the girl's arm and led her away, 
 being anxious to get Bunker out of sight. The 
 aspect of this agent annoyed and irritated her 
 almost beyond endurance ; so she left him with 
 his nephew. 
 
 ' One of Bunker's ! ' Harry repeated softly. 
 
 ' You here ! ' growled the uncle ; * dangling 
 after a girl when you ought to be at work I 
 How long, I should like to know, are we hard- 
 working Stepney folk to be troubled with an 
 idle, good-for-nothing vagabond? Eh, sir? 
 How long ? And don't suppose that I mean to 
 do anything for you wdien 3^our money is all 
 gone. Do you hear, sir ? do you hear ? '
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN \% 
 
 ' I hear, my uncle ! ' As usual, the young 
 man laughed ; he sat upon the arm of a garden 
 seat, with his hands in his pockets, and laughed 
 an insolent, exasperating laugh. Now, Mr. 
 Bunker in all his life had never seen the least 
 necessity or occasion for laughing at anything 
 at all, far less at himself. Nor, hitherto, had 
 any one dared to laugh at him. 
 
 ' Sniggerin' peacock ! ' added Mr. Bunker 
 fiercely, rattling a bunch of keys in his pocket. 
 
 Harry laughed again, with more abandon. 
 This uncle of his, who regarded him with so 
 much dishke, seemed a very humorous person. 
 
 ' Connection by marriage,' he said, — ' there 
 is one question I have very much wished to 
 put to you. When you traded me away, now 
 three-and-twenty years ago, or thereabouts — 
 you remember the circumstances, I dare say, 
 better than I can be expected to do — what did 
 you get for meV 
 
 Then Bunker's colour changed, his cheeks 
 became quite white., Harry thought it was tlie 
 effect of wrath, and went on. 
 
 ' Half-a-crown an hour, of course, during 
 the negotiations, which I dare say took a week 
 
 2
 
 196 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 — that we understand ; but what else P come, 
 my uncle, what else did you get ? ' 
 
 It was too dark for the young man to 
 perceive the full effect of this question — the 
 sudden change of colour escaped his notice ; 
 but he observed a strange and angry light in 
 his uncle's eyes, and he saw that he opened his 
 moutli once or twice as if to speak, but shut his 
 hps again without saying a word ; and Harry 
 was greatly surprised to see his micle presently 
 turn on his heel and walk straight away. 
 
 ' That question seems to be a facer ; it must 
 be repeated whenever the good old man be- 
 comes offensive. I wonder what he did get for 
 me?' 
 
 As for Mr. Bunker, he retired to his own 
 house in Beaumont Square, wall^ing with quick 
 step and hanging head. He let himself in with 
 his latch-key, and turned into his office, which, 
 of course, Avas the first room of the ground- 
 floor. 
 
 It was quite dark now, save for the faint 
 light from the street gas, but Mr. Bunker did 
 not want any light. 
 
 He sat down and rested his face on his
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 197 
 
 hands, with a heavy sigh. The house was 
 empty, because his housekeeper and only ser- 
 vant was out. He sat without moving for half 
 an hour or so ; then he lifted his head, and 
 looked about him — he had foro^otten where he 
 w^as and wh}^ he came there — and lie shud- 
 dered. 
 
 Then he hastily lit a candle, and went 
 upstairs to his own bedroom. The room had 
 one piece of furniture, not always found in bed- 
 rooms : it was a good-bized fireproof safe, which 
 stood in the corner. Mr. Bunker placed his 
 candle on the safe, and stooping down began to 
 grope about with his keys for the lock. It 
 took some time to find the keyhole ; when the 
 safe was opened, it took longer time to find the 
 papers which he wanted, for these were at the 
 very back of all. Presently, however, he lifted 
 his head, with a bundle in his hand. 
 
 iN'ow, if we are obliged to account for 
 everything, which ought not to be expected, 
 and is more than one asks of scientific men, I 
 should account for what followed by remarking 
 that the blood is apt to get into the brains of 
 people, especially elderly people, and above all,
 
 198 ALL SORTS mtd CONDITIONS of MEN, 
 
 stout, elderly people, when they stoop for any 
 lengtli of time ; and that history records many 
 remarkable manifestations of the spirit world 
 which have followed a posture of stooping too 
 prolonged. It produces, in fact, a condition of 
 brain beloved by ghosts. There is the leading 
 case of the man at Cambridge who, after stoop- 
 ing for a book, saw the ghost of his own bed- 
 maker at a time when he knew her to be in the 
 bosom of her family eating up his bread-and- 
 butter and drinking his tea. Eats have been 
 seen by others — troops of rats— as many rats as 
 followed the Piper, where there were no rats ; 
 and there is even the recorded case of a man 
 who saw the ghost of himself, which prognosti- 
 cated dissolution, and, in fact, killed him exactly 
 fifty-two years after the event. So that, really, 
 there is nothing at all unusual in the fact that 
 Mr. Bunker saw something, wdien he lifted his 
 head. The remarkable thing is that he saw 
 the very person of whom he had been thinking 
 ever since his nephew's question — no other than 
 his deceased wife's sister ; he had never loved 
 her at all, or in the least desired to marry her, 
 which makes the case more remarkable still;
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN 199 
 
 and she stood before liiiii," just as if slie was 
 alive, and gazed upon him with reproachful 
 eyes. 
 
 He behaved with great coohiess and presence 
 of mind. Few men w^ould have shown more 
 bravery. He just dropped the candle out of 
 one hand and the papers out of the other, and 
 fell back upon the bed with a white face and 
 quivering lips. Some men w^ould have run — 
 he did not ; in fact, he could not. His knees 
 instinctively knew that it is useless to run from 
 a ghost, and refused to aid him. 
 
 ' Caroline I ' he groaned. 
 
 As he spoke the figure vanished, making no 
 sign and saying no word. After a while, seeing 
 that the ghost came no more, Mr. Bunker 
 pulled himself together. He picked up the 
 papers and tlie candle, and went slowdy down- 
 stairs again, turning every moment to see if his 
 sister-in-law came too. But she did not, and 
 he w^ent to the bright gas-lit back parlour, 
 where his supper w^as spread. 
 
 After supper he mixed a glass of brandy- 
 and- water, stiff. After drinking this, he mixed
 
 20O ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 another, and began to smoke a pipe while he 
 turned over the papers. 
 
 ' He can't have meant anything,' he said. 
 ' What should the boy know ? What did the 
 gentleman know? nothing. What does any- 
 body know ? nothing. There's nobody left. 
 The will was witnessed by Mr. Messenger and 
 Bob Coppin. Well, one of them is dead, and 
 as for the other'— he paused and winced — 'as 
 for the other, it is five-and-twenty years since 
 he w^as heard of, so he's dead, too ; of course, 
 he's dead.' 
 
 Then he remembered the spectre, and he 
 trembled. For suppose Caroline meant coming 
 often ; this w^ould be particularly disagreeable. 
 He remembered a certain scene where, three- 
 and-twenty years before, he had stood at a bed- 
 side while a dying woman spoke to him ; the 
 words she said w^ere few% and he remembered 
 them quite well, even after so long a time, 
 which shows his real goodness of heart. 
 
 'You are a hard man. Bunker, and you 
 think too mucli of money, and you were not 
 kind to your wife. But I'm going too, and 
 there is nobody left to trust my boy to, except
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 2ci 
 
 you. Bo good to liim, Bunker, for your dead 
 wife's sake.' 
 
 He remembered, too., how lie had promised 
 to be good to the boy, not meaning much by 
 the words, perhaps, but softened by the presence 
 of death. 
 
 ' It is not as if the boy was penniless,' she 
 said ; ' his houses will pay you for his keep, and 
 to spare. You will lose nothing by him. 
 Promise me, again.' 
 
 He remembered that he had promised a 
 second time that he would be good to the boy ; 
 and he remembered, too, how the promise 
 seemed then to involve great expense in canes. 
 
 ' If you break the solemn promise,' she said, 
 with feminine prescience, ' I warn you that he 
 shall do you an injury when he grows up. 
 Eemember that.' 
 
 He did remember it noAV, though he had 
 quite forgotten this detail a long while ago. 
 Tlie boy had returned ; he was grown up ; he 
 could do him an injury, if he Jcneiv how. Be- 
 cause he only had to ask his uncle for an 
 account of those houses. Fortunately, he did 
 not know. Happily, there was no one to tell
 
 202 ALL SORTS and COXDLTIONS of MEN, 
 
 him. With his third tiimblor Mr. Bunker be- 
 came quite conhclent and reassured ; with his 
 fourth he feh inchned to be merry, and to slap 
 himself on the back for wide-awakedness of 
 the rarest kind. With his fifth he resolved to 
 go upstairs and tell Caroline that unless she 
 went and told her son, no one would. He 
 carried part of this resolution into effect ; that 
 is to say, he went to his bedroom, and his 
 housekeeper, unobserved herself, had the 
 pleasure of seeing her master ascending the 
 stairs on his hands and feet, a method which 
 offers great advantages to a gentleman who has 
 had five tumblers of brandy and Avater. 
 
 When he got there, and had quite succeeded 
 in shutting the door — not always so easy a thing 
 as it looks — Caroline was no longer visible. He 
 could not find her anywhere, though he went 
 all round the room twice, on all-fours, in search 
 of her. 
 
 The really remarkable part of this story is, 
 that she has never paid a visit to her son at all. 
 
 Meantime, the strollers on the Green were 
 grown few. Most of them had gone home ;
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN 203 
 
 but the air was warm, and tliere were still some 
 who lingered. Among them were Angela and 
 the girl who was to be her forewoman. 
 
 When Eebekah found that her employer 
 was not apparently of those who try to cheat, 
 or bully, or cajole her subordinates, she lost 
 her combative air, and consented to talk about 
 thinofs. She 2[ave Ano-ela a oreat deal of in- 
 formation about the jDrospects of her venture, 
 which were gloomy, she thought, as the com- 
 petition was so severe. She also gave her an 
 insight into details of a practical nature con- 
 cerning the conduct of a dress-makery, into 
 which we need not follow her. 
 
 Angela discovered before they parted that 
 she had two sides to her character; on one 
 side she was a practical and practised woman 
 of work and business, on the other slie was a 
 religious fanatic. 
 
 ' We wait,' she said, ' for the world to come 
 round to us. Oh ! I know Ave are but a little 
 body and a poor folk. Father is almost alone; 
 but what a thing it is to be the appointed 
 keepers of the truth ! Come and hear us, Miss 
 Kennedy. Father always converts any one who 
 will listen to him. Oh, do listen ! '
 
 204 ALL SORTS and CONDITLONS of MEN. 
 
 Then she, too, went away, and Angela was 
 left alone in the quiet place. Presently she 
 became aware that Harry was stand hig beside 
 her. 
 
 ' Don't let us go home yet,' he said ; ' Bor- 
 malack's is desperately dull — you can picture it 
 all to yourself. Tlie Professor has got a new 
 trick ; Daniel Fagg is looking as if he had met 
 with more disappointment; her ladyship is short 
 of temper, because the Case is getting on so 
 slowly ; and Josej)hus is sighing over a long 
 pipe ; and Mr. Malipliant is chuckling to him- 
 self in the corner. On tlie whole, it is better 
 here. Shall we remain a little longer in the 
 open air. Miss Kennedy ? ' 
 
 He looked dan onerous. Ans^ela, who had 
 been disposed to be expansive, froze. 
 
 ' We will have one more turn, if you 
 please, Mr. Goslett.' She added stiffly, ' Only 
 remember — so long as you don't think of 
 " keeping company." ' 
 
 ' I understand, perfectly, Miss Kenned3\ 
 " Society " is a better word than " company ; " 
 let us keep that, and make a new departure for 
 Stepney Green '
 
 ALL SORTS and COKDITIONS of MEN. 205 
 
 CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 THE DAY BEFORE THE FIRST. 
 
 Mr. Bu^'^ker, en hon chrelien^ dissembled his 
 wrath, and continued his good work of fur- 
 nishing and arrangmg the house for Angela, 
 insomuch that before many days the place was 
 completely ready for opening. 
 
 In tlie meantime Miss Kennedy was away — 
 she went away on business — and Bormalack's 
 was dull without her. Harry found some con- 
 solation in superintending some of the work for 
 her house, and in working at a grand cabinet 
 which he desic^ned for her : it was to be a 
 miracle of wood-carving ; he would throw into 
 the work all the resources of liis art and all 
 his genius. When she came back, after the 
 absence of a week, she looked full of business 
 and of care. Harry thouglit it must be money 
 worries, and bagan to curse Bunker's long bill ;
 
 2:6 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 but she was gracious to him in her queenly 
 way. Moreover, she assured him that all was 
 going on well with her, better than she could 
 have hoped. The evening before the ' Stepney 
 Dressmakers' Association ' was to open its doors, 
 they all gathered together in the newly furnished 
 house for a final inspection — Angela, her two 
 aides Eebekah and Nelly, and the young man 
 against whose companionship Mr. Bunker had 
 warned her in vain. The house was large, with 
 rooms on either side the door. These were 
 showrooms and workrooms. The first floor 
 Angela reserved for her own purposes, and 
 she was mysterious about them. 
 
 At the back of the house stretched a long 
 and ample garden. Angela had the whole of 
 it covered with asphalte ; the beds of flowers or 
 lawns were all covered over. At the end she 
 had caused to be built a large room of glass, 
 the object of whicli she had not yet disclosed. 
 
 As regards the appointments of the house, 
 she had taken one precaution — Eebekah super- 
 intended them. Mr. Bunker, therefore, was 
 fain to restrict his enthusiasm, and could not 
 charge more than twenty or thirty per cent.
 
 All 30RTS and condiilons 0/ men. 207 
 
 above the market value for the things. But 
 Eebekah, though she faithfully carried out her 
 instructions, could not but feel disappointed at 
 the lavish scale in wliich things were ordered 
 and paid for. The showrooms were as fine as 
 if the place were Eegent Street ; the work- 
 rooms w^ere looked after with as much care for 
 ventilation as if, Mr. Bunker said, w^orkgirls 
 wxre countesses. 
 
 'It is too good,' Eebekah expostulated, 
 * much too good for us. It will only make 
 other girls discontented.' 
 
 ' I want to make them discontented,' Angela 
 replied. 'Unless they are discontented, there 
 will be no improvement. Think, Eebekah, 
 what it is that lifts men out of the level of the 
 beasts. We find out that there are better 
 things, and w^e are fighting our way upwards. 
 That is the mystery of Discontent — and perhaps 
 of Pain, as w^elL' 
 
 ' Ah ! ' Eebekah saw that this was not a 
 practical answer.' ' But you don't know, jq{^ 
 the competition of the East End, and the straits 
 we are put to. It is not as at the West End.' 
 
 The golden West is ever the Land of
 
 208 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 Promise. No need to undeceive : let her go 
 on in tlie belief that the three thousand girls 
 who wait and work about Eegent Street and 
 the great shops are everywhere treated gene- 
 rously, and paid above the market value of 
 their services. I make no doubt, myself, that 
 many a great West End mercer sits down when 
 Christmas warms his heart, in his mansion at 
 Finchley, Campden Hill, Fitz John's Avenue, 
 or Stoke Newington, and writes great cheques 
 as gifts to the uncomplaining girls who build 
 up his income. 
 
 'She would learn soon,' said Eebekah, 
 hoping that the money would last out till the 
 shijD was fairly launched. 
 
 She was not suspicious, but there was some- 
 thing 'funny,' as Nelly said, in a girl of Miss 
 Kennedy's stamp coming among them. Why 
 did she choose Stepney Green ? Surely, Bond 
 Street or Eegent Street would be better fitted 
 for a lady of her manners. How would cus- 
 tomers be received and orders be taken ? By 
 herself, or by this young lady, who would cer- 
 tainly treat the ladies of Stepney with httle of 
 that deferential courtesy which they expected
 
 ALL SORTS mid CONDLTIONS of MEX. 209 
 
 of the«e dressmakers ? For, as you may have 
 remarked, the lower you descend, as well as 
 the higher you climb, the more deference do 
 the ladies receive at the hands of their tender 
 folk. No duchess sweeps into a milUner's 
 showroom with more dignity than her humble 
 sister at Clare Market on a Saturday evening 
 displays when she accepts the invitation of the 
 butcher to rally up, ladies, and selects her Sun- 
 day's piece of beef. The Ladies of Stepney and 
 the Mile End Eoad, thought Eebekah, look for 
 attention. Would Miss Kennedy give it to 
 them ? If Miss Kennedy herself did not attend 
 to the showroom, what would she do? 
 
 On this evening, after they had walked over 
 tlie whole house, visited the asphalted garden, 
 and looked into the great gUiss-room, Angela 
 unfolded lier plans. 
 
 It was in the workroom. She stood at the 
 head of the table, looking aliout her with an 
 air of pride and anxiety. It was her own 
 design — her own scheme ; small as it was, 
 compared with that otlicr vast project, she was 
 anxious about it. It had to succeed; it mmt 
 succeed. 
 
 VOL. I. P
 
 210 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 All its success, she thouglit, depended upon 
 that sturdy little fanatical Seventh-Day young 
 person. It was she who was to rule the place 
 and be the practical dressmaker. And now she 
 was to be told. 
 
 ' Now,' said Angela, with some hesitation, 
 ' the time has come for an explanation of the 
 way we shall work. First of all, will you, 
 Eebekah, undertake the management and con- 
 trol of the business ? ' 
 
 ' I, Miss Kennedy .^ But what is your de- 
 partment ? ' 
 
 'I will undertake the manas^ement of the 
 girls — ' she stopped and blushed — ' out of their 
 ivork-time.' 
 
 At this extraordinary announcement the 
 
 «/ 
 
 two girls looked blankly at their employer. 
 
 ' You do not quite understand,' Angela 
 went on. ' Wait a httle. Do you consent, 
 Eebekah?' 
 
 The girl's eyes flashed and her cheeks became 
 aflame. Then she thought of the sudden promo- 
 tion of Joseph in Egypt, and she took confidence. 
 Perhaps she really was equal to the place ; per- 
 jiaps she had actually merited the distinction.
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 211 
 
 'Very well, tlien,' Miss Kennedy went on, 
 as if it was the most natural thing in the world 
 that a humble workwoman should be suddenly 
 raised to the proud post of manager. 'Very 
 well : that is settled. You, ^N^elly, will try to 
 take care of the workroom when Eebekah is 
 
 not there. As regards the accounts ' 
 
 ' I can keep them too,' said Eebekah. ' I 
 shall work — on Sundays,' she added with a 
 blush. 
 
 Miss Kennedy then proceeded to expound 
 her views as regards the management of her 
 establishment. 
 
 ' The girls will be here at nine,' she said. 
 Eebekah nodded. There could be no ob- 
 jection to that. 
 
 ' They will work from nine till eleven.' 
 Eebekah started. ' Yes, I know what I mean. 
 The long hours of sitting and bending the back 
 over work are just as bad a thing for girls of 
 fifteen or so as could be invented. At eleven, 
 therefore, we shall have, all of us, half an 
 hour's exercise.' 
 
 Exercise ? Exercise in a dressmaker's shop ? 
 Was Miss Kennedy in her senses ?
 
 212 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN, 
 
 ' Exercise. You see that asphalte. Surely 
 some of you can guess wliat it is for ? ' She 
 looked at Harry. 
 
 ' Skittles ? ' he suggested. 
 
 * No. Lawn tennis. Well ! why not P ' 
 
 ' What is lawn tennis ? ' asked Nelly. 
 
 ' A game, my dear ; and you shall learn it.' 
 
 'I never play games,' said Eebekah. 'A 
 serious person has no room in her life for 
 games,' 
 
 ' Then call it exercise, and you will be able 
 to play it without wounding your conscience.' 
 This was Harry's remark. ' Why not, indeed, 
 Miss Kennedy ? The game of lawn tennis, 
 Nelly,' he went on to explain, 'is greatly in 
 vogue among the bloated aristocracy, as my 
 cousin Dick will tell you. That it should 
 descend to you and me and the likes of us is 
 nothing less than a social revolution.' 
 
 Nelly smiled, but she only half understood 
 this kind of language. A man who laughed at 
 things, and talked of things as if they were 
 meant to be laughed over, was a creatiu'e she 
 had never before met with. My friends, lay 
 this to heart, and ponder. It is not until a
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 213 
 
 certain standard of cultivation is readied that 
 people do laugh at things. They only began in 
 the last century, and then only in a few salons. 
 When all the world laughs, the perfection of 
 humanity will have been reached, and the 
 comedy will have been played out. 
 
 ' It is a beautiful ^ame,' said Anirela, mean- 
 ing Lawn Tennis, not the Comedy of Humanity. 
 ' It requires a great deal of skill and exercises 
 a vast quantity of muscles ; and it costs no tiling. 
 Asphalte makes a perfect court, as I know very 
 well.' She blushed, because slie was thinking 
 of the Newnham courts. ' We shall be able to 
 play There, whenever it does not rain. When 
 it does, there is the glass house.' 
 
 ' What are you going to do in the glass 
 house ? ' asked Harry ; ' tlirow stones at other 
 people's windows? That is said to be very 
 good exercise.' 
 
 ' I am going to set up a gymnasium for the 
 girls.' 
 
 Eebekah stared, but said nothing. This 
 was revolutionary, indeed. 
 
 ' If they please, the girls can bring their 
 friends ; we will have a course of gymnastics as
 
 214 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of^ MEN. 
 
 well as a scliool for lawn tennis. You see, Mr. 
 Goslett, that I have not forgotten what you 
 said once.' 
 
 'What was that, Miss Kennedy? It is 
 very good of you to remember anything that I 
 have said. Do you mean that I once, accident- 
 ally, said a thing worth hearing .^ ' 
 
 ' Yes ; you said that money was not wanted 
 here so much as work. That is what I remem- 
 bered. If you can afford it, you may w^ork 
 with us, for there is a great deal to do.' 
 
 ' I can afford it for a time.' 
 
 ' We shall work again from half-past eleven 
 until one. Tlien we shall stop for dinner.' 
 
 ' They bring their own dinner,' said Eebe- 
 kah. 'It takes them five minutes to eat it. 
 You will have to give them tea.' 
 
 ' No ; I shall give them dinner too. And 
 because growing girls are dainty and some- 
 times cannot fancy things, I think a good way 
 will be for each of them, even the youngest, to 
 take turns in ordering the dinner and seeing it 
 prepared.' 
 
 Eebekah groaned. What profits could
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITLONS of MEN. 215 
 
 stand up against sucli lavish expenditure as 
 this ? 
 
 ' After an hour for dinner we shall go to 
 work again. I have thought a good deal 
 about the afternoon, which is the most tedious 
 part of the day, and I think the best thing will 
 be to have readins; aloud.' 
 
 ' Who is to read ? ' cried Eebekah. 
 
 ' We shall find somebody or other. Tea at 
 five, and work from six to seven. That is my 
 programme.' 
 
 ' Then, Miss Kennedy,' cried her fore- 
 woman, 'you will be a ruined woman in a 
 year.' 
 
 'Xo' — she shook her head witli her ^ra- 
 cious smile — ' no, I hope not. And I think 
 you will find that we shall be very far from 
 ruined. Have a little faith. What do you 
 think, Nelly ? ' 
 
 * Oh, I think it beautiful ! ' she replied, wiili 
 a gaze of soft worship in her limpid eyes. ' It 
 is so beautiful that it must be a dream, and 
 cannot last.' 
 
 ' What do you say, Mr. Goslett ? ' 
 
 ' I say that cabinet-making ought to be con-
 
 2i6 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN, 
 
 ducted in the same liberal spirit. But I am 
 afraid it won't pay.' 
 
 Then Miss Kennedy took them to the room 
 on the first floor. The room at the back was 
 fitted as a diniug room, quite simply, with a 
 dozen chairs and a long table. Plates, cups, 
 and things were ranged upon shelves as if in a 
 kitchen. 
 
 She led them to the front room. When 
 her hand was on the lock she turned and 
 smiled, and held up her finger as if to prepare 
 them for a surprise. 
 
 The floor was painted and bare of carpet ; 
 the windows were dressed with pretty curtains. 
 There were sconces on the walls for candles ; 
 in the recess stood her piano ; and for chairs 
 there were two or three rout seats ranged 
 along the wall. 
 
 ' What is this ? ' asked Eebekah. 
 
 ' My dear, girls want play as well as work. 
 The more innocent play they get, the better 
 for them. This is a room where we shall play 
 all sorts of things : sometimes we shall dance ; 
 sometimes w^e shall act; sometimes we shall 
 sing ; sometimes w^e shall read poetr}^ or tales ;
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDLTIOKS of MEN. 217 
 
 sometimes we shall romp ; the girls shall bring 
 their friends here as well as to the gymnasium 
 and the lawn tennis, if they please.' 
 
 ' And who is to pay for all this ? ' asked 
 Eebekah. 
 
 'My friends,' said Angela, colouring, be- 
 cause this was a crisis, and to be suspected at 
 such a point would have been fatal, — ' my 
 friends, I have to make a confession to you. 
 I have worked out the design by myself. I 
 saw how the girls in our workshops toil for 
 long hours and little pay. The great shops, 
 whose partners are very rich men, treat them 
 no better than do the poor traders whose 
 living has to be got by scraping it off their 
 wages. Now, I thought that if we were to 
 start a shop in which there was to be no mis- 
 tress, but to be self-governed, and to share the 
 proceeds among them all in due order and with 
 regard to skill and industry, we might adjust 
 our own hours for the general good. Tliis kind 
 of shop has been tried by men, but I think it 
 has never succeeded, because they wanted the 
 capital to start it witli. What could we three 
 girls have done with nothing but our own
 
 2i8 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 hands to help us? So I wrote to a young 
 lady who has much money. Yes, Mr. Goslett, 
 I wrote to that Miss Messenger of whom we 
 have so often talked.' 
 
 ' Miss Messenger ! ' Eebekah gasped ; ' she 
 who owns the Great Brewery ? ' 
 
 ' The same. She has taken up our Cause. 
 It is she who finds the funds to start us, just as 
 well as if we had capital. She gives us the 
 rent for a year, the furniture, the glass house — 
 everything, even this piano. I have a letter 
 from her in my pocket.' She took it out and 
 read it. ' Miss Messanc^er beo's to thank Miss 
 Kennedy for her report of the progress made 
 in her scheme. She quite approves of the en- 
 gagements made, particularly those of Eebekah 
 Hermitage and Nelly Sorensen. She hopes, 
 before long, to visit the house herself and make 
 their acquaintance. Meanwhile, she will em- 
 ploy the house for all such things as she re- 
 quires, and begs Miss Kennedy to convey to 
 Miss Hermitag^e the first order for the work- 
 shop.' This gracious letter was accompanied 
 by a long list of things, at sight of which the 
 forewoman's eyes glittered with joy.
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 219 
 
 'Oh, it is a splendid order!' she said. 
 ' May we tell everybody about this Miss Mes- 
 senger ? ' 
 
 ' I think,' Angela rephed, considering care- 
 fully, ' that it would be better not. Let 
 people only know that we have started, that 
 we are a body of workAvomen governing our- 
 selves and working for ourselves. The rest is 
 for our private information.' 
 
 ' While you are about it,' said Harry, ' you 
 might persuade Miss Messenger to start the 
 Palace of Delight and the Collee^e of Art.' 
 
 'Do you think she would?' asked Angela. 
 'Do you really think it would be any use at 
 all?' 
 
 ' Did she haggle about your Co-operative 
 Association ? ' 
 
 ' 1^0, not at all. She quite agreed with me 
 from tlie beginning.' 
 
 ' Then, try her for the Palace. See, Miss 
 Kennedy ' — the young man had become quite 
 earnest and eager over the Palace — ' it is only 
 a question of money. If Miss Messenger wants 
 to do a thing unparalleled among tlie deeds of 
 rich men, let her build the Palace of Delimit.
 
 220 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 If I were she, I sliould tremble for fear some 
 other person with money got to hear of the 
 idea, and should step in before lier. Of course, 
 the grand thing in these cases is to be the first.' 
 
 'What is a Palace of Delight?' asked 
 Nelly. 
 
 ' Truly wonderful it is,' said Harry, ' to 
 think how monotonous are the gifts and be- 
 quests of rich men. Schools, churches, alms- 
 houses, hospitals — that is all ; that is tlieir 
 monotonous round. Now and again, a man 
 like Peabody remembers that men want 
 houses to live in, not hovels ! or a good woman 
 remembers that they want sound and whole- 
 some food, and builds a market ; but as a rule, 
 schools, churches, almshouses, hospitals. Look 
 at the lack of originality. Miss Kennedy, go 
 and see this rich person ; ask her if she wants 
 to do the grandest thing ever done for men ; 
 ask her if she will, as a new and startling point 
 of departure, remember that men want joy. If 
 she will ask me, I will deliver a lecture on the 
 necessity of pleasure, the desirableness of plea- 
 sure, the beauty of pleasure.' 
 
 ' A Palace of Delight ! ' Eebekah shook her
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 221 
 
 head. 'Do you know that half the people 
 never go to church ? ' 
 
 ' When we have got the Palace,' said Harry, 
 ' they will go to church, because religion is a 
 plant that flourishes best where life is happiest. 
 It will spring up among us, then, as luxuriantly 
 as the wild lioneysuckle. Who are the most 
 religious people in the world. Miss Hermitage ? ' 
 
 ' They are the worshippers in Eed Man's 
 Lane, and they are called the Seventh-Day 
 Independents/ 
 
 The w^orst of the Socratic method of argu- 
 ment is that, when the wrong answer is given, 
 the wdiole thing comes to grief. Xow, Harry 
 wanted her to say that the people who go most 
 to church are the wealthy classes. Eebekah 
 did not say so, because she knew nothing of 
 the wealthy classes ; and in lier own circle of 
 sectarian enthusiasts nobody had any money at 
 all.
 
 222 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN, 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE GREAT DAVENANT CASE. 
 
 ' Ofl ! you obstinate old man ! Oh ! you lazy 
 old man ! ' 
 
 It was the high-pitched voice of her lady- 
 ship in reediest tones, and the time was eleven 
 o'clock in the forenoon, when, as a rule, she 
 was engaged in some needlework for herself, or 
 assisting Mrs. Bormalack with the pudding, in 
 a friendly way, while her husband continued 
 the statement of the Case, left alone in the 
 enjoyment of the sitting-room — and his title. 
 
 ' You lazy old man ! ' 
 
 The words were overheard by Harry Gos- 
 lett. He had been workinc^ at his miraculous 
 Cabinet, and was now, following the example 
 of Miss Kennedy's workgirls, ' knocking off ' 
 for half an hour, and thinking of some excuse 
 for passing the rest of the morning with that 
 young lady. He stood in the doorway, looking
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 223 
 
 across tlie Green to tlie sacred windows of the 
 Dressmakers' Association. Behind them at 
 this moment were sitting, he knew, the Queen 
 of the Mystery, with that most beauteous 
 nymph, the matchless Nelly, fair and lovely to 
 look upon ; and with her, too, Eebekah the 
 downright, herself a Mystery, and half-a-dozen 
 more, some of them, perhaps, beautiful. Alas ! 
 in working hours these doors were closed. 
 Perhaps, he thought, when the Cabinet was 
 finished he might make some play by carrying 
 it backwards and forwards, measuring, fitting, 
 altering. 
 
 ' You lazy, sinful, sleepy old man ! ' 
 
 A voice was heard feebly remonstrating. 
 
 ' Oh ! oh ! oh ! ' she cried again in accents 
 that rose higher and higher, ' we have come all 
 the way from America to prove our Case. 
 There's four months gone out of six — oh ! oli ! — 
 and you with your feet upon a chair — oh ! oh ! — 
 do you think you are back in Canaan City ? ' 
 
 ' Clara Martha,' replied his lordship, in 
 clear and distinct tones, — the window Avas 
 wide open, so that the words floated out upon 
 the summer air, and struck gently upon
 
 224 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS oj MEN. 
 
 Harry's ear, — ' Clara Martha, I wish I was — it 
 is now^ holiday time and the boys are out in the 
 woods. And the schoolroom-—' he stopped, 
 sighed deeply, and yaw^ned — 'it was very 
 peaceful.' 
 
 She groaned in sheer despair. 
 
 ' He is but a Carpenter,' she said, ' he 
 grovels in the shavings ; he wallows in the 
 sawdust. Fie upon him ! This man a British 
 Peer ? Oh ! shame — shame ! ' Harry pic- 
 tured the quivering shoulders and the finger of 
 reproach. ' Oh ! oh ! He is not worthy to 
 wear a coronet. Give him a chunk of wood to 
 whittle, and a knife and a chair in the shade, 
 and somethin' to rest his feet upon. That's all 
 he wants, though Queen Victoria and all the 
 angels was callin' for him across the ocean to 
 take his seat in the House of Lords. Shame on 
 him ! Shame upon him ! ' 
 
 These taunts, apparently, had no effect. 
 His lordship was understood by the listener to 
 say something disrespectful of tlie Upper House, 
 and to express regret at having exchanged his 
 humble but contented position of school teacher 
 and his breakfasts, where a man cauld look
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN, 225 
 
 around him and see hot rolls and muffins and 
 huckleberry pies, for the splendour of a title, 
 with the meagre fare of London and the hard 
 work of drawing up a Case. 
 
 ' I will rouse him ! ' she cried, as she ex- 
 ecuted some movement, the nature of which 
 could only be guessed by the young man out- 
 side. The windows, it is true, were open, but 
 one's eyes cannot go outside to look in without 
 the rest of the head and body going too. 
 Whatever it was that ^he did, his lordship 
 apparently sprang into the air with a loud cry, 
 and, if sound means anything, ran hastily round 
 the table, followed by his illustrious consort. 
 
 The listener says and always maintains — 
 * Hairpin.' Those who consider her ladyship 
 incapable of behaviour which might appear un- 
 dignified reject that interpretation. Moral, not 
 physical, were, according to these thinkers, the 
 means of awakening adopted by Lady Dave- 
 nant. Even the officers of the Salvation Army, 
 they say, do not use hairpins. 
 
 ' In the name of common humanity,' said 
 Harrv to himself, ' one must interfere.' He 
 knocked at the door, and allowed time for the 
 
 VOL. I. Q
 
 226 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN, 
 
 restoration of dignity and the smoothing of 
 ruffled pkmies. 
 
 He found his lordship seated, it is true, but 
 in the wrong chah\ and his whole frame was 
 trembling with excitement, terror, or some 
 other strong emotion, while the effort he was 
 making to appear calm and composed caused 
 his head to nod and his cheeks to shake. IsTever 
 was a member of the Upper House placed in a 
 more uncomfortable position. As for her lady- 
 ship, she was standing bolt upright at the other 
 side of the room at the window. There was a 
 gleam in her eye and a quivering of her lip 
 which betokened wrath. 
 
 ' Pardon me, Lady Davenant,' said Harry, 
 smiling sweetly. ' May I interrupt you for a 
 few moments ? ' 
 
 ' You may,' replied lier husband, speaking 
 for her. ' Go on, Mr. Goslett. Do not hurry 
 yourself, pray. We are glad to see you ' — he 
 cleared his throat — ' very glad, indeed.' 
 
 ' I came to say,' he Avent on, still addressing 
 the lady, ' thiat I am a comparatively idle man ; 
 tliat is, for the moment I have no work, and 
 am undecided about my movements, and that.
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 227 
 
 if I can be of any help in the Preparation of 
 the Case, you may command my services. Of 
 com^se, Lady Davenant, everybody knows the 
 importance of your labours and of his lordship's, 
 and the necessity for a clear Statement of your 
 Case.' 
 
 Lady Davenant replied with a cry like a 
 sea-gull. ' Oh ! his lordship's labours, indeed ! 
 Yes, Mr. Goslett, pretty labours! Day after 
 day goes on — I don't care, Timothy —I don't 
 care who knows it — day after day goes on, and 
 we get no further. Four months and two 
 weeks gone of the time, and the Case not even 
 written out yet.' 
 
 ' Wliat time ? ' asked Harry. 
 
 ' The time that nephew Nathaniel gave us 
 to prove our claim. He found the money for 
 our passage : he promised us six dollars a week 
 for six months. In six months, he said, we 
 should find whether our claim was allowed or 
 not. There it was, and we were welcome for 
 six months. Only six weeks left, and he goes 
 to sleep ! ' 
 
 ' But, Lady Davenant — only six weeks ! It 
 
 Q 2
 
 228 ALL SORTS and CONDLTIONS of MEN. 
 
 is impossible — you cannot send in a claim and 
 get it acknowledged in six weeks. Why, such 
 claims may drag on for years before a Com- 
 mittee of the House of Lords.' 
 
 ' He wastes all the time : he lias got no 
 ambition : he goes to sleep when he ought to 
 be waking. If we have to go home again, 
 with nothing done, it will be because he is so 
 lazy. Shame upon you, obstinate old man ! 
 Oh! lazy and sleepy old man!' She shook 
 her finger at him in so terrifying a manner, that 
 he was fain to clutch at the arms of the chair, 
 and his teeth chattered. 
 
 'Aurelia Tucker,' her ladyship went on, 
 warmino- to her work as she thoudit of her 
 wrongs, — ' Aurclia Tucker always said tliat, 
 Lord or no Lord, my husband was too lazy to 
 stand up for his rights. Everybody in Canaan 
 City knew that he was too lazy. She said 
 that if she was me, and trying to get the family 
 title, she wouldn't go across the water to ask 
 for it, but she v/oald make the American 
 Minister in London tell the British Government 
 that they would just have to grant it, whether 
 they liked it or not, and that a plain American
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 229 
 
 citizen was to take his place in their House of 
 Lords. Othenvise, she said, let the Minister 
 tell tlieir Mr, Gladstone that Canada would be 
 annexed. That's line talkin', but as for me I 
 -want things done friendly, an' I don't want to 
 see my husband walkin' into his proper place 
 in Westminster w^ith Stars and Stripes flyin' 
 over his head and a Volunteer Fire Brigade 
 Band playin' "Hail! Columbia" before him. 
 Xo. I said that justice was to be o'ot in the 
 old country, and we only had to cross over and 
 ask for it. Then nephew Nathaniel said that he 
 didn't expect much more justice was to be ex- 
 pected in England than in New Hampshire. 
 And that what you can't always get in a free 
 country isn't always got where there's Lords and 
 Bishops and a Queen. But we might try if we 
 liked for six months. And he would find the 
 dollars for that time. Now there's only six 
 weeks left, and we liaven't even begun to ask 
 for that justice.' 
 
 ' Clara Martha,' said his lordship ; ' I've 
 been thinking the matter over, and I've come 
 to the conclusion that Aurelia Tucker is a sen- 
 sible woman. Let us go home again, and send
 
 230 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN 
 
 the Case to the Minister. Let us frighten 
 them.' 
 
 ' It does not seem bad advice,' said Harry. 
 ' Hold a meeting in Canaan City, and promise 
 the British Lion that he shall be whipped into 
 a cocked hat unless you get your rights. Make 
 a national thing of it.' 
 
 ' No ! ' She stamped her foot, and became 
 really terrible. ' We are here, and we will de- 
 mand our rights on the spot. If the Minister 
 likes to take up the Case, he may ; if not, we 
 will fi^ht our own battles. But oh ! Mr. 
 Goslett, it's a dreadful hard thing for a woman 
 and a stranfjer to do all the fiditin' while her 
 husband goes to sleep.' 
 
 ' Can't you keep aAvake till you have stated 
 your Case .^ ' asked Harry. ' Come, old boy, 
 you can take it out in slumber afterwards ; and 
 if you go on sleeping till the Case is decided, I 
 expect you will have a good long refreshing rest.' 
 
 ' It was a beautiful morning, Clara Martha,' 
 his lordsliip explained in apology, ' quite a 
 w\arm morning. I didn't know people 
 ever had such warm weather in England. 
 And somehow it reminded me of Canaan City
 
 // reminded me of Canaan City in July.'"
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDLTLONS of MEN. 231 
 
 in July. When I think of Canaan, my dear, 
 I always feel sleepy. There was a garden, Mr. 
 Goslett, and trees and flowers, at the back of 
 the school-house. And a JDee came in. I 
 didn't know there were bees in Ens^land. While 
 I listened to that bee, bummin' around most the 
 same as if he was in a Free Eepublic, I began 
 to think of home, Clara Martha. That is all.' 
 
 ' Was it the bee,' she asked with asperity, 
 ' that drew your handkerchief over your head ? ' 
 
 * Clara Martha,' he replied with a little 
 hesitation, * the bee was a stranger to me. . He 
 was not like one of our New HamjDsliire bees. 
 He had never seen me before. Bees stino- 
 strangers.' 
 
 Harry interrupted what promised to be the 
 •beginning of another lovers' quarrel, to judge 
 by the twitchings of those thin shouklers and 
 the frowning of those bead-like eyes. 
 
 ' Lady Davenant,' he said, ' let us not Wciste 
 the time in recrimination ; accept my services. 
 Let me help you to draw up the Statement of 
 your Case.' 
 
 This was something to the purj^ose : with a 
 last reproachful glance upon her husband, her
 
 232 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 ladyship collected the papers and put them into 
 the liands of lier new assistant. 
 
 ' I'm sure,' she said, ' it's more'n kind of 
 you, Mr. Goslett. Here are all the papers. 
 Mind, there isn't the least doubt about it, not 
 the shadow of a doubt ; there never was a 
 claim so strong and clear. Timothy Clitheroe 
 Davenant is as much Lord Davenant by right 
 of lawful descent, as — as — you are your father's 
 son.' 
 
 Harry spent the morning with the papers 
 spread before him, arranging the Case. Lord 
 Davenant, now undisturbed, slept quietly in his 
 arm-chair. Her ladyship left them alone. 
 
 About Jialf-past twelve the sleeping claimant 
 awoke and rubbed his eyes. ' I have had a 
 most refreshing slumber, Mr. Goslett,' he 
 yawned ; ' a man who is married wants it. 
 Sometimes it is what we shall do when we 
 get the title confirmed ; sometimes it's why we 
 haven't made out our Case yet ; sometimes it's 
 why I don't go and see the Queen myself; 
 sometimes it is how we shall crow over Aureha 
 Tucker when we are established in our rights 
 .... but, Avhatever it is, it is never a quiet
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 233 
 
 iiiglit. I think, Mr. Goslett, that if she'd onl}' 
 hold her tongue and go to sleep, I might make 
 headway with that Case in the morning.' 
 
 'It seems straightforward enough,' said 
 Harry. ' I can draw up the thing for you 
 without any trouble. And then you must find 
 out the best way to bring your claim before the 
 House of Lords.' 
 
 'Put it into the Post-Office, addressed to 
 the Queen,' suggested the Claimant. 
 
 ' No — not quite that, I think,' said Harry. 
 ' There's only one weak point in the Case.' 
 
 'I knew you'd find out the weak point. 
 She won't allow there's any weak point at all. 
 Says it's clear from beginning to end.' 
 
 ' So it is, if you make an admission.' 
 
 ' Well, sir, what is that admission ? Let us 
 make it at once, and go on. Notliing can be 
 fairer ; we are quite prepared to meet you half- 
 way with that admission.' 
 
 His lordship spoke as if conferring an 
 immense advantage upon an imaginary op- 
 ponent. 
 
 'I do not mind,' he said, ' anybody else 
 finding out the V\Tak point, because then I can
 
 234 ^i^LL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 tackle liiin. What vexes me, Mr. Goslett, is to 
 find out tliat weak point myself. Because then 
 there is nobody to argue it out with, and it is 
 like cold water running down the back, and it 
 keeps a man awake.' 
 
 'As for your admission ■' said Harry, 
 
 lansfhino;. 
 
 'Well, sir, what is it?' 
 
 ' Why, of course, you have to admit, unless 
 you can prove it, that this Timothy Clitheroe 
 Davenant, wheelwright, was the Honourable 
 Timothy Clitheroe Davenant, only son of Lord 
 Davenant.' 
 
 His lordship was silent for a while. 
 
 ' Do you think, sir, that the Queen will see 
 this weak point ? ' 
 
 ' I am quite sure that her advisers will.' 
 
 ' And do you think — hush, Mr. Goslett, let 
 us whisper. Do you think that the Queen will 
 refuse to give us tlie title because of this weak 
 point ? Hush ! she may be outside.' He meant 
 his wife, not Her Majesty. 
 
 ' A Committee of the House of Lords most 
 undoubtedly may refuse to consider your claim 
 proved.'
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDLTLONS of MEN. 235 
 
 His lordship nodded his head in considera- 
 tion of this possibihty. Then he langlied gently, 
 and rubbed his hands. 
 
 ' It would be rough at hrst. That is so, for 
 certain, sure. There would be sleepless nights. 
 And Aurelia Tucker would laugh. Clara 
 
 Martha would ' he shuddered. 'Wal, if 
 
 we hev to go home without our title, I should 
 be resigned. AVhen a man is sixty years of 
 age, sir, and, though born to greatness, not 
 brought up accordin' to his birth, he can't 
 always feel like settin' in a row with a crown 
 upon his head ; and though I wouldn't own 
 up before Clara Martha, I doubt whether the 
 British Peers would consider my company quite 
 an honour to the Upper House. Though a plain 
 citizen of the United States, sir, is as good as 
 any Lord that lives.' 
 
 ' Better,' said Harry. ' He is much better.' 
 
 'He is, Mr. Goslett, he is. In the land 
 where the Bird of Freedom ' 
 
 ' Hush, my Lord. You forget that you are 
 a British Peer. No spread-eagle for you.' 
 
 Lord Davenant sighed. 
 
 ' It is difficult,' lie said, ' and I suppose
 
 236 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN, 
 
 there's no more loyal citizens than us of 
 Canaan City.' 
 
 'Well, liow arc we to connect this Wheel- 
 wright Timothy with the Honourable Timothy 
 who was supposed to be drowned ? ' 
 
 'There is his age, and there is his name. 
 You've got those, Mr. Goslett. And then, as 
 we agreed before, we will agree to that little 
 admission.' 
 
 ' But if everybody does not agree ? ' 
 
 ' There is also the fact that we were always 
 supposed to be heirs to something in the old 
 coimtry.' 
 
 'I am afraid that is not enough. There is 
 this great difficulty. Why should a young 
 Englishman, the heir to a title and a great 
 property, settle dow^n in America and practise 
 a handicraft ? ' 
 
 ' Wal, sir, I can't rightly say. My grand- 
 father carried that secret with him. And if 
 you'll oblige me, sir, you'll tell her ladyship 
 that we are agreed upon that little admission 
 which makes the connection complete. It 
 will be time enough to undeceive her when 
 the trouble bec^ins. As for Aurelia Tucker,
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDLTIONS of MEN. 237 
 
 why ' here he smiled sweetly. ' If I 
 
 know Clara Martha aright, she is quite able 
 to tackle Aurelia by herself.' 
 
 This was the way in which the conduct of 
 the Great Davenant Case fell into the hands of 
 a mere working man.
 
 238 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE FIRST DAY. 
 
 Angela's genteel place of business, destined as 
 it was to greatness, came into the world with 
 little pomp and no pretence. On the day ap- 
 pointed, the work-girls came at nine, and found 
 a brass plate on the door and a wire bhnd in 
 the windows, bearing the announcement that 
 this was the ' Dressmakers' Association.' This 
 information gave them no curiosity, and pro- 
 duced no excitement in their minds. To them 
 it seemed nothing but another artifice to 
 attract the attention of a public very hard 
 to move. They were quite used to these crafty 
 announcements ; tliey were cynically incredu- 
 lous of low prices ; they knew the real truth as 
 to fabrics of freshness luilasting and stuffs which 
 would never wear out ; and as regards forced 
 sales, fabulous prices, and incredible bargains,
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 239 
 
 they merely lifted the eyelid of the scoffer and 
 went into the work-room. Whatever was 
 written or printed on bills in tlie window, no 
 difference was ever made to them. Nor did 
 the rise and fall of markets alter their wages 
 one penny. This lack of interest in the snccess 
 of their work is certainly a drawback to this 
 metiei\ as to many others. Would it not be 
 well if workmen of all kinds were directly 
 interested in the enterprise for which they hire 
 out their labour ? 
 
 If you have the curiosity to listen to the 
 talk of work-girls in the evenings "when they 
 walk home, or as they journey homewards 
 slowly in the crawling omnibus, you will be 
 struck by a very remarkable phenomenon. It is 
 liot that they talk Avithout stopping, because 
 that is common to youthful . woman in every 
 rank. It is that in the evening the}' are always 
 exasperated. They snap their lips, they breathe 
 quick, they flash their eyes, they clench their 
 fingers, and their talk is a narrative of indigna- 
 tion full of ' sezee,' ' sezi,' and ' sezshe ' — mostly 
 the last, because what ' she ' said is generally 
 the cause of all this wrath. A philosopher,
 
 240 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 who once investigated the subject, was fortunate 
 enough to discover why work-girls are always 
 angry at eventide. He maintains that it means 
 nothing in the world but Nagging ; they all, he 
 says, sit together — forewomen, dressmakers, 
 improvers, and apprentices — in one room. The 
 room, whether large or small, is always close, 
 the hours are long ; as they sit at their work, 
 head bent, back bent, feet still, they gradually 
 get the Fidgets. This is a real disease while it 
 lasts. In the workroom it has got to last until 
 the time to knock off. First it seizes the limbs, 
 so that the younger ones want to get up and 
 jump and dance, while the elder ones would 
 like to kick. If not relieved, the patient next 
 gets the Fidgets in her nerves, so that she wrig- 
 gles in her chair, gets spasmodic twitchings, 
 shakes her head violently, and bites her thread 
 with viciousness. The next step is extreme 
 irritability ; this is followed by a disposition 
 on the part of the forewoman to find fault, 
 and by a determination on the part of the 
 work-girls not to be put upon, with an inten- 
 tion of speaking up should the occasion arise. 
 Then comes Nagginsr, which is, in fact, nothing
 
 ALL SORTS mid CONDITIONS of MEN. 241 
 
 but Fidgets translated into English Prose. Some 
 forewomen are excellent translators. And the 
 end is general exasperation, with fines, notices 
 to leave, warnings, cheekiness, retorts, accusa- 
 tions, charges, denials, tears, fault-findings, 
 sneers, angry words, bitter things, personal 
 reflections, innuendoes, disrespact, bullying, and 
 every element of a Eow Eoyal. Consequently, 
 when the girls go home they are exasperated. 
 
 We know how Angela proposed to prevent 
 the outbreak of this contagious disorder by 
 ventilation, exercise, and frequent rests. 
 
 She took her place among the girls, and 
 worked with them, sitting beside Nelly Soren- 
 sen, who was to have charge of the work-room. 
 Eebekah, with Miss Messenger's magnificent 
 Order on her mind, sat in the show-room wait- 
 ing for visitors. But none came except Mrs. 
 Bormalack, accompanied by her Ladyship, who 
 stepped over to offer their congratulations and 
 best wishes, and to see what Miss Messenger 
 was going to have. 
 
 At eleven o'clock, when the first two hours' 
 ,pull is beginning to be felt by the younger 
 hands, Angela invited everybody to rest for 
 
 VOL. I. R
 
 242 ALL SORTS ami CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 half an hour. They obeyed with some sur- 
 prise, and followed her with considerable sus- 
 picion, as if some mean advantage was going 
 to be taken of them, some trick 'sprung ' upon 
 them. 
 
 She took them into a kind of court, which 
 had been the back garden, paved with asphalte 
 and provided with nets, racquets, and all the 
 gear for lawn tennis. She invited them to play 
 for half an hour. It was a fine morning in 
 early September, with a warm sun, a bright 
 sky, and a cool breeze — the very day for lawn 
 tennis. The girls, however, looked at the 
 machinery and then at each other, and showed 
 no inclination for the game. Then Angela led 
 the way into the great glass room, where she 
 pointed out the various bars, ropes, and posts 
 which she liad provided for their gymnastic 
 exercises. They looked at each other again, 
 and showed a disposition to giggle. 
 
 They were seven girls in all, not counting 
 Eebekah, who remained in the show-room ; and 
 Nelly, who was a little older than the rest, 
 stood rather apart. The girls were not un- 
 healthy-looking, being all quite young, and
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 343 
 
 therefore not as yet ruined as to the complexion 
 by gas and bad air. But they looked dejected, 
 as if their work had no charms for them — in- 
 deed, one can hardly imagine that it had — they 
 were only surprised, not elated, at the half- 
 hour's recreation ; they expected that it would 
 be deducted from their wages, and were re- 
 sentful. 
 
 Then Angela made them a speech. She 
 said, handling a racquet to give herself confi- 
 dence, that it was highly necessary to take 
 plenty of exercise in the open air ; that she 
 was sure work would be better done and more 
 quickly done if the lingers did not get too 
 tired ; therefore, that she had had this tennis- 
 court prepared for them and the gymnasium 
 fitted up, so that they might play in it every 
 day. And then selecting Nelly and two others, 
 who seemed active young creatures, she gave 
 them their first lesson in lawn tennis. 
 
 The next day she gave a lesson to another 
 set. In a few days tennis became a passion 
 with the girls. The fashion spread. Lawn 
 tennis is not an expensive game ; shortly there 
 will be no bit of square garden or vacant space 
 K 2
 
 2/|4 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN 
 
 ill Stepney but will be marked out into its 
 lawn-tennis courts. 
 
 The gymnasium took longer to become 
 popular. Girls do not like feats of strength ; 
 nor was it until tlie spell of wet weather last 
 October, when outdoor games became impos- 
 sible, that the gymnasium began to attract at 
 all. Then a spirit of emulation was set up, 
 and bodily exercises became popular. After 
 becoming quite sure that no deduction was 
 made on account of the resting time, the girls 
 ceased to be suspicious, and accepted the gift 
 with something like enthusiasm. Yet, Miss 
 Kennedy was their employer : therefore, a 
 natural enemy ; therefore, gifts from her con- 
 tinued, for some time, to be received with doubt 
 and suspicion. This does not seem, on the 
 whole, a healthy outcome of our social system ; 
 yet such an attitude is unfortunately common 
 among work-girls. 
 
 At half-past eleven they all resumed work. 
 
 At one o'clock another astonishment awaited 
 them. 
 
 Miss Kennedy informed them that one of 
 the reforms introduced by her was the provid-
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 245 
 
 ing of dinner every day, witliout deducting any- 
 thino[ from the waives. Those to whom dinner 
 was, on most days, the mockery of a piece of 
 bread-and-butter, or a bun, or some such fig- 
 ment and pretence of a meal, simply gasped, 
 and the stoutest held her breath for a while, 
 wondering what these things might mean. 
 
 Yes, there was dinner laid for them upstairs 
 on a fair white cloth ; for every girl a plentiful 
 dish of beef with potatoes and otlier good 
 things, and a glass of Messenger's Family Ale — 
 that at eight and six the nine-gallon cask ; — 
 and bread a discretion. Angela w^ould have 
 added pudding, but was dissuaded by her fore- 
 woman, on the ground that not only w^oidd 
 pudding swallow up too mucli of the profits, 
 but that it would demoralise the girls. As it 
 was, one of them, at the mere aspect and first 
 contemplation of the beef, fell a-weeping. She 
 was lame, and she was the most dejected among 
 them all. Why she wept, and how Angela 
 followed her home, and what that home was 
 like, and why she and her mother and her 
 sisters do now continually praise and pray for 
 Angela, belong to another story, concerned
 
 246 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN 
 
 with the wretchedness and misery which are 
 found at Wbitechapel and Stepney, as well as 
 in Soho and Marylebone and the back of 
 Eegent Street. I shall not write many chapters 
 of that story, for my own part. 
 
 Truly a most wonderful workshop. Was 
 ever such an association of dressmakers ? 
 
 After dinner they frolicked and romped, 
 though as yet in an untaught way, until two, 
 when they began work again. 
 
 Miss Kennedy then made them another 
 speech. 
 
 She told them that the success of their 
 enterprise depended in great measure upon 
 their own industry, skill and energy ; that they 
 were all interested in it, because they were to 
 receive, besides their wages, a share in the 
 profits ; this they only partly understood. Nor 
 did they comprehend her scheme much more 
 when she went on to explain that they had the 
 house and all the preliminary furniture found 
 for them, so that there would be nothing, at 
 first, to pay for rent. They had never con- 
 sidered the question of rent, and the thing did 
 not go home to them. But they saw in some
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDLTIONS of MEN. 247 
 
 vague way tliat liere was an employer of a 
 kind very much unlike any they bad ever be- 
 fore experienced, and they were astonished and 
 excited. 
 
 Later on, when they might be getting tired 
 again, they had a visitor. It was no other than 
 Captain Sorensen. He said that by permission 
 of Miss Kennedy he would read to them for an 
 hour, and that, if she permitted and they liked, 
 as he was an old man with nothing to do, he 
 would come and read to them often. 
 
 So this astonishing day passed on. 
 
 They had tea at five, with another half- 
 hour's rest. As the evening was so fine, it was 
 served in the garden. 
 
 At seven they found that it was time to 
 strike work — an hour at least earlier than at 
 any other house. What could these things 
 mean ? 
 
 And tlien fresh marvels. For when tlie 
 work was put away, Miss Kennedy invited 
 them all to follow her upstairs. There she 
 formally presented tliem with a room for their 
 own use in the evening if they pleased. There 
 was a piano in it ; but, unfortunately, nobody
 
 248 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN, 
 
 could play. The floor was polished for dancing, 
 but then no one could dance ; and there was a 
 table with games upon it, and magazines and 
 illustrated papers. In this room, Miss Kennedy 
 told them, they could sing, dance, play, read, 
 talk, sit, or do anything else in reason, and 
 within the limits of modest recreation. They 
 might also, on Saturday evenings, bring their 
 friends, brothers, and so forth, who would also 
 be expected to behave within the limits of 
 modesty and good breeding. In short, the 
 place was to be a drawing-room, and Angela 
 proposed to train the girls by example and 
 precept into a proper feeling as regards the use 
 of a drawing-room. There was to be no 
 giggling, no whispering in corners, nor was 
 there to be any horseplay. Good manners lie 
 between horseplay on the one hand and giggling 
 on the other. 
 
 The kind of evening proposed by tlieir 
 wonderful mistress struck tlie girls at first with 
 a kind of stupefaction. Outside, the windows 
 being open, they could hear the steps of those 
 who walked, talked, and langhed on Stepney 
 Green. They would have preferred to be
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITLONS of MEN. 249 
 
 among that throng of idle promenaders ; it 
 seemed to them a more beautiful thing to walk 
 up and down the paths than to sit about in a 
 room and be told, to play. There w^ere no 
 young men. There was the continual presence 
 of their employer. They were afraid of her ; 
 there was also Miss Hermitage, of whom also 
 they were afraid ; there w^as, in addition, Nelly 
 Sorensen, of whom they might learn to be 
 afraid. As for Miss Kennedy, they were the 
 more afraid of her because, not only did she 
 walk, talk, and look like a person out of an- 
 other world, but, oh! wonderful! she knew 
 nothing — evidently nothing — of their little 
 tricks. Naturally one is afraid of a person who 
 knows nothing of one's wicked ways. This is 
 the awkwardness in entertaining angels. Tliey 
 naturally assume that their entertainers stand 
 on the same elevated level as themselves ; this 
 causes embarrassment. Most of us, like Angela's 
 shop-girls, w^ould, under the circumstances, 
 betray a tendency to giggle. 
 
 Then she tried to relieve them from their 
 awkwardness by sitting down to the piano and 
 playing a lively gallop.
 
 25Q ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN, 
 
 ' Dance, girls ! ' she cried. 
 
 In their early childhood, before they went 
 to school or work-sliop, the girls had been ac- 
 customed to a good deal of dancing. Their 
 ball-room was the street ; their floor was the 
 kerbstone ; their partners had been other little 
 girls ; their music the organ-grinder's. They 
 danced with no steps, save such as came by 
 nature; but their little feet struck true and 
 kept good time. Now they were out of prac- 
 tice ; they were grown big, too ; they could no 
 longer seize each other by the waist and caper 
 round and round. Yet the music was inspirit- 
 ing ; eyes brightened, their heels became as 
 light as air. Yet, alas ! they did not know the 
 steps. 
 
 Angela stopped playing and looked round 
 her. The girls were crowded together. 
 
 Eebekah Hermitage sat apart at the table. 
 There was that in her face which betokened 
 disapproval, mingled with curiosity, for she had 
 never seen a dance, and never, except on a 
 barrel-organ, heard dance music. Nelly Soren- 
 sen stood beside the piano watching the player 
 with the devotion which belongs to the disciple
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 251 
 
 who loves the most. Whatever Miss Kennedy 
 did was right and sweet and beautifuL Also, 
 whatever she did filled poor Nelly with a sense 
 of humiliation, because she herself felt so 
 ignorant. 
 
 'Eebekah! Nelly!' cried Angela. 'Can 
 you not help me .^ ' 
 
 Both shook their heads. 
 
 ' I cannot dance,' said Eebekah, trying to 
 show a httle scorn or, at least, some disappro- 
 bation. ' In our Connection we never dance.' 
 
 ' You never dance .^ ' Ang-ela forgot for 
 the moment that she was in Stepney, and among 
 a class of girls who do not dance. ' Do you 
 sing ? ' 
 
 ' If any is merry,' replied Eebekah, ' let him 
 sing hymns.' 
 
 ' Nelly, can you help me ? ' 
 
 She, too, shook her head. But, she said, 
 ' her father could play the fiddle. Might he 
 come ? ' 
 
 Angela begged her to invite him immedi- 
 ately, and on her way to ask Mr. Goslett, at 
 Mrs. Bormalack's, to bring his fiddle too. Be- 
 tween them they would teach the girls to 
 dance.
 
 252 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 Then she sat down and began to sing. First 
 she sang, ' By the Banks of Allan Water,' and 
 then ' The Bailiff's Daughter of Islington,' and 
 next, ' Drink to me only with thine eyes ' — 
 sweet and simple ditties all. Then came 
 Captain Sorensen, bearing his fiddle, and happy 
 to help ; and while he played, Angela stood all 
 the girls in a row before her, headed by Nelly, 
 and gave them their first lesson in the giddy 
 dance. 
 
 Then came Harry Goslett ; and at sight of 
 his cheerful countenance and at the mere be- 
 holding how he bowed to Miss Kennedy, and 
 asked to be allowed, and put his arm round her 
 waist and whirled her round in a gallop, their 
 hearts were lifted up, and they longed no more 
 for Stepney Green. Then he changed Miss 
 Kennedy for Nelly ; and though she was 
 awkward at first, she soon fell into the step, 
 while Miss Kennedy danced with another ; and 
 then Mr. Goslett with another, and so on till all 
 had had a practical lesson. Then they ceased 
 altogether to long for the jest of the gallant 
 'prentice ; for what were jests to this manly, 
 masterful seizure by the waist, this lifting almost
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 353 
 
 off the feet, this whirl round and round to the 
 music of the fiddle which the brave old Captain 
 played as merrily as any bo's'n's mate or 
 quartermaster on an East Indiaman ? In half 
 an hour the feet of all but one — the one who, 
 poor gill, was lame — felt that noble sympathy 
 with the music so readily caught by those in- 
 telligent organs, and — they could dance. Perhaps 
 for the first time in the annals of Stepney, her 
 daughters had learned to dance. 
 
 The rest would be easy. They tried a 
 quadrille, then another gallop. Harry en- 
 deavoured to do his duty, but there were some 
 wlio remarked that he danced twice, that second 
 gallop, with Nelly Sorensen, and they were 
 jealous. Yet it was only an unconscious tribute 
 paid to beauty. The young fellow was among 
 a bevy of dressmakers ; an uncommon position 
 for a man of his bringing-up. One of them, 
 somehow, was, to all appearance, and to any 
 but perhaps the most practised eye, a real 
 genuine lady — not a copy at all ; the other was 
 so graceful and sweet that she seemed to want 
 but a touch to effect the transformation. As 
 for the other girls, they were simple young
 
 254 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN, 
 
 persons of the work-room and counter — n com- 
 mon type. So common, alas ! that we are apt 
 to forget tlie individuahty of each, her personal 
 hopes, and her infinite possibihties. Yet, how- 
 ever insignificant is the crowd, the individual is 
 so important. 
 
 Then he was interested in the dark-eyed 
 girl who sat by herself at tlie table, looking on 
 anxiously, at an amusement she had always 
 heard of as ' soul-destroying.' She was wonder- 
 ing wliy her ears were pleased with the playing, 
 and why her brain was filled with strange 
 images, and why it was so pleasant to watch 
 the girls dancing, their eyes aglow and their 
 cheeks flushed. 
 
 ' Do not tempt me,' she said, when Harry 
 ventured to invite her, too, to join the giddy 
 throng. ' Do not tempt me — no — go away ! ' 
 
 Her very brusqueness showed how strong 
 was the temptation. Was she, already, giving 
 way at the first temptation ? 
 
 Presently, the evening was over, the girls 
 had all trooped noisily out of the house, and 
 Angela, Captain Sorensen, Nelly, and the young 
 workman, were walking across the Green in the 
 direction of the Almshouse.
 
 ALL SORTS and COX'DITlONS of MEN, 255 
 
 When Angela got home to the Boarding 
 House the dreariness of the evening was in full 
 blast. The boarders were sitting in silence, 
 each wrapt in his own thoughts. The Professor 
 lifted his head as she entered the room, and 
 regarded her with thoughtful eyes, as if apprais- 
 ing her worth as a clairvoyante. David Fagg 
 scowled horribly. His lordship opened his 
 mouth as if to speak, but said nothing. Mr. 
 Maliphant took his pipe out of his mouth, and 
 began a story. ' I remember,' he said, ' the 
 last time but one that he was ruined ' — he did 
 not state the name of the gentleman — ' the 
 whole town was on fire, and his house with 
 them. What did he do ? Mounted his horse 
 and rode around, and bought up all the timber 
 for twenty miles around. And see what he's 
 worth now ! ' When he had told his story he 
 relapsed into silence. Angela thought of that 
 casual collection of unsympathetic animals put 
 into a cage and called ' Happy Family.'
 
 253 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN, 
 
 CHAPTER Xir. 
 
 SUNDAY AT THE EAST END. 
 
 Sunday morning in and about the Whitechapel 
 and Mile End Eoads, Angela discovered to be 
 a time of peculiar interest. The closing of the 
 shops adds to the dignity of the broad thorough- 
 fares, because it hides so many disagreeable and 
 even humiliating things. But it by no means 
 puts a stop to traffic, which is conducted with 
 an ostentatious disres^ard of the Fourth Com- 
 mandment or Christian custom. At one end, 
 the City end, is Houndsditch, crowded with 
 men who come to buy and sell ; and while the 
 bells of St. Botolph call uj)on the faithful with 
 a clanging and clashing which ring like a cry 
 of despair, the footpath is filled with the busy 
 loungers, who have long since ceased to regard 
 the invitation as having anything at all to do 
 with them.
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 257 
 
 Strange and wonderful result of the gather- 
 ing of men in great cities ! It is not a French, 
 or an English, or a German, or an American 
 result — it is universal ; in every great city of 
 the world, below a certain level, there is no 
 religion — men have grown dead to their higher 
 instincts ; they no longer feel the possibilities of 
 humanity; faith brings to them no more the 
 evidence •of things unseen. They are crowded 
 together, so that they have ceased to feel their 
 individuality. The crowd is eternal — tliey are 
 part of that eternity ; if one drops out, lie is 
 not missed ; nobody considers that it will be 
 his own turn some day so to drop out. Life is 
 nothing for ever and ever, but work in the week 
 with as much beer and tobacco as the money 
 will run to, and loafing on Sundays with more 
 beer and tobacco. This, my friends, is a truly 
 astonishing thing, and a thing unknown until 
 this century. Perhaps, however, in ancient 
 Piome, the people liad ceased to believe in their 
 Gods ; perhaps, in Babylon, the sacred bricks 
 were kicked about by tlie unthinking mob ; 
 perhaps, in every great city, the same loss of 
 individual manhood may be found. 
 
 VOL. I. S
 
 258 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN, 
 
 It was on a Sunday morning in August that 
 Angela took a little journey of exploration, ac- 
 companied by the young workman who was 
 her companion in these excursions. He led her 
 into Houndsditch and the Minories, where she 
 had the pleasure of inspecting the great Mercan- 
 tile Interest of old clothes, and of gazing upon 
 such as buy and sell therein. Then she turned 
 her face northwards, and entered upon a journey 
 which twenty years ago would have been full 
 of peril, and is now, to one who loves his fellow 
 man, full of interest. 
 
 The great Boulevard of the East was thronged 
 with the class of men who keep the Sabbath in 
 holy laziness with tobacco. Some of them 
 lounge, some talk, some listen, all have pipes in 
 their mouths. Here was a circle gathered 
 round a man who was waving his arms and 
 shouting. He was an Apostle of Temperance ; 
 behind him stood a few of his private friends to 
 act as a claque. The listeners seemed amused 
 but not convinced. ' They will probably,' said 
 Harry, ' enjoy their dinner beer quite as much 
 as if they had not heard this sermon.' Another 
 circle was gathered round a man in a cart, who
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 259 
 
 had a flaming red flag to support him. Ho 
 belonged, the flag told the world, to the Tower 
 Hamlets Magna Charta Association. What he 
 said was listened to with the same lanoruid 
 curiosity and tepid amusement. Angela stopped 
 a moment to hear what he had to say. He was 
 detailing, with immense energy, the particulars 
 of some awful act of injustice committed upon 
 a friend unknown, who got six months. The 
 Law of England is always trampling upon some 
 innocent victim, according to this sympathiser 
 with virtue. The working men have heard it 
 all before, and they continue to smoke their 
 pipes, their blood not quickened by a single 
 beat. The ear of the people is accustomed to 
 vehemence ; the case must be put strongly 
 before it will listen at all ; and listening, as 
 most bawlers discover, is not conviction. 
 
 Next to the Magna Charta brethren a cheap- 
 jack had placed his cart. He drove a roaring 
 trade in two-penn'orths, which, out of compli- 
 ment to a day which should be devoted to good 
 works, consisted each of a bottle of sarsaparilla, 
 which he called ' sassaple,' and a box of pills. 
 Next to him the costers stood beside their carts 
 
 8 2
 
 26o ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 loaded with cheap ices, ginger-beer, and lemon- 
 ade — to show that there was no deception, a 
 great glass jar stood upon each cart with actual 
 undeniable slices of lemon floating in water and 
 a lump of ice upon the top ; there were also 
 piles of plums, plums without end, early August 
 apples, and windfall pears ; also sweet things 
 in foot-long lumps sticky and gruesome to look 
 upon ; Brazil nuts, always a favourite article of 
 commerce in certain circles, though not often 
 met with at the tables of the luxurious ; late 
 oranges, more plums, many more plums, plums 
 in enormous quantities ; and periwinkles, which 
 last all the year round, with whelks and vinegar, 
 and the toothsome shrimp. Then there came 
 another circle, and in the midst stood a young 
 man, with long fair hair and large blue eyes. 
 He was preaching the Gospel, as he understood 
 it ; his face was the face of an enthusiast ; a 
 little solitude, a little meditation among the 
 mountains, would have made this man a seer of 
 visions and a dreamer of dreams. He was not 
 ridiculous, though his grammar was defective 
 and his pronunciation had the cockney twang, 
 and his aspirates were wanting ; nothing is
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN, 26 1 
 
 ridiculous that is in earnest. On the riofht of 
 the street they passed the head-quarters of tlie 
 Salvation Army ; the brave warriors were now 
 in full blast, and the fighting, ' knee-drill,' sing- 
 ing, and storming of the enemy's fort were at 
 their highest and most enjoyable point ; Angela 
 looked in and found an immense hall crammed 
 with people who came to fight, or to look on, 
 to scoff, or gaze. Higher up, on the left, stands 
 a rival in red-hot religion, the Hall of the 
 Jubilee Singers, where another vast crowd was 
 worshipping, exhorting, and singing. 
 
 ' There seems,' said Angela, ' to be too much 
 exhorting ; can they not sit down somewhere in 
 quiet for praise and prayer ? ' 
 
 ' We working people,' replied her compan- 
 ion, 'like everything loud and strong. If we 
 are persuaded to take a side, we want to be 
 always fighting on that side.' 
 
 Streams of people passed them, lounging or 
 walking with a steady purpose. The former 
 were the indifferent and the callous, the hard- 
 ened and the stupid, men to whom preachers 
 and orators appealed in vain ; to Avhom Peter 
 the Hermit might have bawled himself hoarse,
 
 263 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN 
 
 and Bernard would have thrown all his elo- 
 quence away; they smoked short pipes, with 
 their hands in their pockets, and looked good- 
 tempered ; with them were boys, also smoking 
 short pipes, with their hands in their pockets. 
 Those who walked were young men dressed in 
 long frock-coats of a shiny and lustrous black, 
 who carried Bibles and Prayer Books with some 
 ostentation. They were on their way to church ; 
 with them were their sisters, for the most j)art 
 well-dressed, quiet girls, to whom the noise and 
 the crowds were a part of hfe, a thing not to 
 be avoided, hardly felt as a trouble. 
 
 ' I am always getting a new sensation,' said 
 Angela. 
 
 'What is the last?' 
 
 ' I have just realised that there are thousands 
 and thousands of people who never, all their 
 lives, get to a place where they can be quiet. 
 Always noise, always crowds, always buying 
 and selling.' 
 
 'Here, at least,' said Harry, 'there is no 
 noise.' 
 
 They were at the wicket gate of the Trinity 
 Almshouse.
 
 ALL SORTS mtd CONDITIONS of MEN. 263 
 
 ' What do you think, Miss Kennedy ? ' 
 
 ' It is a haven of rest,' she replied, thinking 
 of a certain picture. ' Let us, too, seek peace 
 awhile.' 
 
 It was just eleven o'clock, and the beadsmen 
 were going to their chapel. They entered the 
 square, and joined the old men in their weekly 
 service. Angela discovered to her disappoint- 
 ment, that the splendid flight of steps leading 
 to the magnificent portal was a dummy, be- 
 cause the real entrance to the chapel was a 
 lowly door beneath the stone steps, suited, Mr. 
 Bunker would have said, to the humble condi- 
 tion of the moneyless. 
 
 It is a plain chapel, with a small organ in 
 the corner, a tiny altar, and over the altar the 
 ten commandments in a black wood frame — 
 rules of life for those whose life is well-nigh 
 done — and a pulpit, which serves for reading 
 the service as well as delivering the sermon. 
 The congregation consisted of about thirty of 
 the almsmen, with about half as many old 
 ladies; and Angela wondered why these old 
 ladies were all dressed in black, and all wore 
 crape. Perhaps they desired by the use of this
 
 264 ^LL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 material to symbolise mourning for the loss of 
 opportunities for making money ; or for the 
 days of beauty and courtship, or for children 
 dead and gone, or to mark the humility which 
 becomes an Inmate, or to do honour to the 
 day which is still revered by many English- 
 women as a day of humiliation and rebuke, or 
 in the belief that crape confers dignity. We 
 know not, we know nothing ; the love which 
 women bear for crape is a mystery ; man can 
 but speculate idly on their ways. We are like 
 the philosopher picking up pebbles by the sea- 
 side. Among the old people sat Nelly Sorensen, 
 a flower of youth and loveliness, in her simple 
 black dress, and her light hair breaking^ out 
 beneath her bonnet. The Catholics believe 
 that no church is complete without a bone of 
 some dead saint or beatified person. Angela 
 made up her mind, on the spot, that no act of 
 pubhc worship is complete without the assist- 
 ance of youth as well as of age. 
 
 The men were all dressed alike in blue 
 coats and brass buttons, the uniform of the 
 place ; they seemed all, with the exception of 
 one who was battered by time, and Avas fain to
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 265 
 
 sit while the rest stood, to be of the same age, 
 and that might be anything between a hearty 
 sixty-five and a vigorous eighty. After the 
 manner of sailors, they were all exact in the 
 performance of their share in public worship, 
 following the prayers in the book and the 
 lessons in the Bible. When the time came 
 for listening they straightened themselves out, 
 in an attitude comfortable for listening. The 
 Scotch elder assumes, during the sermor, 
 the air of a hostile critic ; the face of the 
 British rustic becomes vacant ; the eyes 
 of the ordinary listener in church show that 
 his thoughts are far away ; but the expression 
 of a sailor's face, while he is performing the 
 duty — part of the day's duty — of listening to 
 the sermon, shows respectful attention, although 
 he may have heard it all before, 
 
 Angela did not listen much to the sermon : 
 she was thinking of the old men for whom that 
 sermon was prepared. There was a fresh 
 colour upon their faces, as if it was not eo very 
 long since their cheeks had been fanned by the 
 strong sea breeze ; their eyes were clear, they 
 possessed the bearing which comes of the habit
 
 266 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 of command, and they carried tliemselves as if 
 tliey were not ashamed of tlieir poverty. Now 
 Bunker, Angela reflected, would have been 
 very much ashamed, and would have hung his 
 head in shame. But then Bunker was one of 
 the nimble-footed hunters after money, while 
 these ignoble persons had contented themselves 
 with the simple and slavish record of duty done. 
 
 The service over, they were joined by 
 Captain Sorensen and his daughter, and for 
 half an hour walked in the quiet court behind 
 the church, in peaceful converse. Angela 
 walked with the old man, and Nelly with the 
 young man. It matters little what they talked 
 about, but it was something good, because 
 when the Captain went home to his dinner, he 
 kissed his daughter, and said that it seemed to 
 him that it was the best day's work he ever 
 did when he let her go to Miss Kennedy. 
 
 In the evening, Angela made another 
 journey of exploration with the same escort. 
 They passed down Stepney Green, and plunged 
 among the labyrinth of streets lying between 
 the Mile End Eoad and the Thames. It is as 
 unlovely a collection of houses as may be found
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 267 
 
 anywhere, always excepting Hoxton, w^hich 
 may fairly be considered tlie Queen of Unlove- 
 line:^s. The houses in this part are small, and 
 they are almost all of one pattern. There 
 is no green thing to be seen ; no one plants 
 trees, there seem to be no gardens ; no flowers 
 are in the window^s ; there is no brightness of 
 paint or of clean windovv^s ; there is nothing of 
 joy, nothing to gladden the eye. 
 
 ' Think,' said Harry, almost in a v/hisper, as 
 if in homage to the Powers of Dirt and Dreari- 
 ness, ' think what this people could be made if 
 we could only carry out your scheme of the 
 Palace of Delight.' 
 
 'We could make them discontented, at 
 least,' said Angela. ■ Discontent must come 
 before reform.' 
 
 ' We should leave them to reform them- 
 selves,' said Harry. ' The mistake of philan- 
 thropists is to think that they can do for 
 people what can only be done by the people. 
 As you said this morning, there is too much 
 exhorting.' 
 
 Presently they struck out of a street rather 
 more dreary than its neighbours, and found
 
 268 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN 
 
 themselves in a broad road with a great 
 church. 
 
 ' This is Limehouse Church,' said Harry. 
 'All round you are sailors. There is East 
 India Dock Eoad. Here is West India Dock 
 Eoad. There is the Foreign Sailors' Home : 
 and we will go no further, if you please, be- 
 cause the streets are all full, you perceive, of 
 the foreign sailors and the English sailors and 
 the sailors' friends.' 
 
 Angela had seen enough of the sailors. 
 They turned back. Harry led her through 
 another labyrinth into another broad street, 
 also crowded with sailors. 
 
 ' This is Shadwell,' said her guide ; ' and if 
 there is anything in Shadwell to interest you, 
 I do not know what it is. Survey Shad- 
 well ! ' 
 
 Angela looked up the street and down the 
 street ; there was nothing for the eye in search 
 of the beautiful or the picturesque to rest upon. 
 But a great bawling of rough voices came from 
 a large tent stuck up, oddly, beside the road. 
 A white canvas sheet with black letters pro- 
 claimed this as the place of worship of the
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 269 
 
 'Happy Gypsies.' They were holding their 
 Sunday Function. 
 
 ' More exhorting ! ' said Angela. 
 
 ' ]^ow, this,' he said, as they walked along, 
 'is a more interesting place. It used to be 
 called Eatchffe Highway, and had the reputa- 
 tion of being the wickedest place in London. 
 I dare say it was all brag, and that really it 
 was not much worse than its neiofhbours.' 
 
 It is a distinctly squalid street, that now 
 called St. George's-in-the-East. But it has its 
 points ; it is picturesque, like a good many 
 dirty places ; the people are good-tempered, 
 though they do not wash their faces even on 
 Sundays. They have quite left off knocking 
 down, picking pockets, kicking, and robbing 
 the harmless stranger ; they are advancing 
 slowly towards civilisation. 
 
 ' Come this way,' said Harry. 
 
 He passed through a narrow passage, and 
 led the way into a place at the sight of which 
 Angela was fain to cry out in surprise. 
 
 In it was nothing less than a fair and 
 gracious garden planted with flowers, and these 
 in the soft August sunshine showed sweet and
 
 270 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 lovely. The beds were well kept; the walks 
 were of asphalte ; there were seats set about, and 
 on them old women and old men sat basking 
 in the evening sun. The young men and 
 maidens walked along the paths — an Arcadian 
 scene. 
 
 ' Tliis little strip of Eden,' said Harry, ' was 
 cut out of the old churchyard.' 
 
 The rest of the churchyard was divided 
 from the garden by a railing, and round the 
 wall were the tombstones of the departed 
 obscure. From the church itself was heard the 
 rolling of the organ and the soft singing of a 
 hymn. 
 
 ' This,' said Angela, ' is better than exhort- 
 ation. A garden for meditation and the 
 church for prayer. I like this place better 
 than the Whitechapel Eoad.' 
 
 ' I will show you a more quiet place still,' 
 said her guide. They walked a little way 
 farther down the main street, then he turned 
 into a narrow street on the north, and Angela 
 found herself in a square of clean houses round 
 an enclosure of grass. Within the enclosure 
 was a chapel, and tombs were dotted on the 
 grass.
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 271 
 
 They went into the chapel, a plain edifice 
 of the Georgian kind with round windows, and 
 the evening sun shone through the window in 
 the west. The high pews were occupied by a 
 congregation of forty or fifty, all men. They 
 all had light brown hair,, and as they turned 
 round to look at the new-comers, Angela saw 
 that they all had blue eyes. The preacher, who 
 wore a black gown and bands, was similarly 
 provided as to hair and eyes. He preached in a 
 foreign tongue, and as it is difficult to be edified 
 by a sermon not in one's native speech, they 
 shortly went out again. They were followed 
 by the verger, who seemed not indisposed to 
 break the monotony of the service by a few 
 minutes' walk. 
 
 He talked English imperfectly, but he told 
 them that it was the Church of the Swedes. 
 Angela asked if they were all sailors. He said, 
 with some seeming contempt for sailors, that only 
 a few of them Avere sailors. She then said that 
 she supposed that they were people engaged in 
 trade. He shook his head again, and informed 
 her with a mysterious air that many of the 
 Swedish nobility lived in that neighbourhood.
 
 272 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 After this they came away, for fear of greater 
 surprises. 
 
 They followed St. George's-in-the-East to 
 the end of the street. Then they turned to the 
 right, and passed through a straight and quite 
 ignoble road leading north. It is a street 
 greatly affected by Germans. German names 
 are over every shop and on every brass plate. 
 They come hither, these honest Germans, be- 
 cause to get good work in London is better 
 than going after it to New York or Philadelphia, 
 and nearer home. In the second generation 
 their names will be Anglicised, and their 
 children will have become rich London mer- 
 chants, and very likely Cabinet ministers. They 
 have their churches, too, the Eeformed and the 
 Lutheran, with nothing to choose between 
 them on the score of ugliness. 
 
 'Let us get home,' said Angela; 'I have 
 seen enough.' 
 
 ' It is the joylessness of the life,' she ex- 
 plained, ' the ignorant, contented joylessness, 
 which w^eighs upon one. And there is so much 
 of it. Surely there is no other city in the
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN, 273 
 
 world whicli is so utterly without joy as this 
 East London.' 
 
 'No,' said Harry, ' there is not in the whole 
 world a city so devoid of pleasant things. They 
 do not know how to be happy. They are like 
 your work-girls when you told them to dance.' 
 
 ' Look ! ' she cried, ' what is that ? ' 
 
 There was a hoarse roar of many voices 
 from a court leading out of the main road ; the 
 roar became louder ; Harry drew the girl aside 
 as a mob of men and boys and women rushed 
 headlong out of the place. It was not a fight 
 apparently, yet there was beating with sticks 
 and kicking. For those who were beaten did 
 not strike back in return. After a little, the 
 beaters and kickers desisted, and returned to 
 their court as to a stronghold whose rights 
 they had vindicated. 
 
 Those who had been beaten were a band of 
 about a dozen men and women. The women's 
 shawls were hanging in tatters, and they had 
 lost their bonnets. The men were without 
 hats, and their coats were grievously torn. 
 There was a thing among them which had 
 
 VOL. I. T
 
 274 ^LL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 been a banner, but the pole was broken, and 
 the flag was clra2[crecl in the dirt and smirched. 
 
 One of them wdio seemed to be the leader 
 — he wore a uniform coat something like a 
 volunteer's coat — stepped to the front and 
 called upon them all to form. Then with a 
 loud voice he led off a hymn, in which all 
 joined as they marched down the street. 
 
 He w^as hatless, and his cheek was bleeding 
 from an open wound. Yet he looked un- 
 daunted, and his hymn was a song of triumph, 
 j^ we'll- set- up young fellow, with thick black 
 hair and a black beard, but pale cheeks. His 
 forehead was square and firm ; his eyes were 
 black and fierce. 
 
 ' Good heavens ! ' cried Harry. ' It is my 
 cousin Tom, Captain in the Salvation Army. 
 And that, I suppose, is a regiment. Well, if 
 standing still to be kicked means a victory, 
 they have scored one to-night.' 
 
 The pavement was even more crowded than 
 in the morning. The political agitators bawded 
 more fiercely than in the forenoon to their 
 circle of apathetic listeners ; the preachers ex- 
 horted the unv>'illing more fervently to embrace
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 275 
 
 the Faith. Cheap-jack was dispensing more 
 vohibly his two penn'orths of ' sassaple.' The 
 workmen lounged along, with their pipes in 
 their mouths, more lazily than in the morning. 
 Tlie only difference was that the shop- boys 
 were now added to the crowd, every lad with 
 a ' twopenny smoke ' between his lips ; and 
 that the throng w^as increased by those wdio 
 were goino- home from church. 
 
 ' Let us, too, go home,' said Angela ; ' there 
 is too much humanity here : we shall lose our- 
 selves among the crowd.' 
 
 T 2
 
 276 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Angela's experiment. 
 
 * No, Constance,' Angela wrote, ' I cannot be- 
 lieve that your lectures will be a failure, or tliat 
 your life's w^ork is destined to be anything 
 short of a brilliant success — an " epoch-mak- 
 ing " episode in the history of Woman's Else.' 
 If your lectures have not yet attracted reading 
 men, it must be because they are not yet 
 known. It is unworthy of faith in your own 
 high mission to suppose that personal appear- 
 ance or beauty has anything to do Avith popu- 
 larity in matters of mind. Who asks — who 
 can ask ? — whether a woman of genius is lovely 
 or not ? And to take lower ground : every 
 woman owns the singular attractiveness of your 
 own face, which has always seemed to me, 
 apart from personal friendship, the face of pure 
 intellect. I do not give up my belief that the
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 277 
 
 men will soon begin to run after your lectures 
 as they did after those of Hypatia, and that 
 you will become in the University as great a 
 teacher of Mathematics as Sir Isaac Newton 
 himself. Meantime, it must be, I own, irk- 
 some to lecture on Vulgar Fractions, and the 
 First Book of Euclid, and unsatisfactory to 
 find, after you have made a Research and 
 arrived at what seemed a splendid result, that 
 some man has been before you. Patience, 
 Constance ! ' 
 
 At this point the reader, who was of course 
 Constance Woodcote, paused and smiled bit- 
 terly. She was angry because she had adver- 
 tised a course of lectures on some desperately 
 high mathematical subject and no one came to 
 hear them. Had she been, she reflected, a 
 pink and white girl with no forehead and soft 
 eyes, everybody would have rushed to hear 
 her. As it was, Angela, no doubt, meant well, 
 but she was always disposed to give men credit 
 for qualities which they did not possess. As if 
 you could ever persuade a man to regard a 
 woman from a purely intellectual point of 
 view ! After all, she thought, civilisation was
 
 278 ALL SORTS and CONDITLONS of MEN. 
 
 only just begun : we live in a world of dark- 
 ness : the reign of woman is as yet afar off. 
 She continned her reading with impatience. 
 Somehow her friend seemed to have drifted 
 away : their lines were diverging : already the 
 old enthusiasms had given place to the new, 
 and Angela thought less of the great cause 
 which she had once promised to further with 
 her mighty resources. 
 
 ' As regards the Scholarship which I pro- 
 mised you, I must ask you to wait a little, 
 because my hands are full — so full of important 
 things that even a new scholarship at Newnham 
 seems a small thmg. I cannot tell you in a 
 letter what my projects are, and how I am try- 
 ing to do something new with my great wealth. 
 This, at least, I may tell you, partly because I 
 am intoxicated with my own schemes, and 
 therefore, I must tell everybody I speak to ; 
 and partly because you are perfectly certain not 
 to sympathise with me, and therefore you will 
 not trouble to argue the point with me. I 
 have found out, to begin with, a great truth. 
 It is that would-be philanthropists and bene- 
 factors and improvers of thhigs have all along
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 279 
 
 been working on a false assumption. They 
 have taught and believed that the people look 
 lip to the " better class " — a phrase invented by 
 the well-to-do in order to show how riches and 
 virtue go too^ether — for c^uidance and advice. 
 My dear, it is the greatest mistake ; they do 
 not look up to us at all ; they do not want to 
 copy our ways ; they are perfectly satisfied 
 with their own ways ; they will naturally take 
 as much money as we choose to give them, and 
 as many presents ; and they consider the ex- 
 hortations, teachings, preachings^ admonitions, 
 words of guidance, and advice as uncomfort- 
 able but unavoidable accompaniments of this 
 gift. But we ourselves are neither respected 
 nor copied. Nor do they want our culture.' 
 
 'Angela,' said the mathematician, ' is really 
 very prolix.' 
 
 ' This being so, I am endeavourino; to make 
 such people as I can get at discontented as a 
 first step. Without discontent, nothing can be 
 done. I work upon them by showing, practi- 
 cally, and by way of example, better things. 
 This I can do because I am here as simply one 
 of themselves — a workwoman among other
 
 28o ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 workwomen. I do not work so much as the 
 others in our newly-formed Association because 
 I am supposed to run the machine, and to go to 
 the West End for work. Miss Messenger is 
 one of our customers. So much am I one of 
 them, that I take my wages on Saturday, and 
 am to have the same share, and no more, in 
 the business as my dressmakers. I confess to 
 you that in the foundation of my Dressmakers' 
 Association I have violated most distinctl}^ 
 every precept of political and social economy. 
 I have given them a house rent-free for a year ; 
 I have fitted it up with all that they want ; I 
 have started them with orders from myself ; I 
 have resolved to keep them going until they 
 are able to run alone ; I give wages, in money 
 and in food, higher than the market value. I 
 know what you will say. It is all quite true, 
 scientifically. But outside the range of science 
 there is humanity. And only think what a 
 great field my method opens for the employ- 
 ment of the unfortunate rich — the unhappy, 
 useless, heavily-burdened rich. They will all 
 follow my example, and help the people to help 
 themselves.
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 281 
 
 'My girls were at first and for the most 
 part uninteresting, until I came to know them 
 individually : everyone, when you know her, 
 and can sympathise with her becomes interest- 
 ing. Some are, however, more interesting than 
 others ; there are two or three, for instance, in 
 whom I feel a special interest. One of them, 
 whom I love for her gentleness and for her 
 loyalty to me, is the daughter of an old ship 
 captain now in an almshouse. She is singularly 
 beautiful, with an air of fragility which one 
 hopes is not real ; she is endowed by nature 
 with a keenly sensitive disposition, and has had 
 the advantage, rare in these parts, of a father 
 who learned to be a fyentleman before he came 
 to the almshouse. The other is a religious 
 fanatic, a sectarian of the most positive kind. 
 She knows what is truth more certainly than 
 any Professor of Truth we ever encountered ; 
 she is my manager and is good at business. I 
 think she has come to regard me with less con- 
 tempt, from a business point of view, than she 
 did at first, because in the conduct of the show- 
 room and the trvinof-on room she has all her 
 own Avay.
 
 282 ALL SORTS and CONDITLONS of MEN. 
 
 ' My evenings are mostly spent with the 
 girls in the garden and " drawing-room." Yes, 
 we have a drawing-room over the work-room. 
 At first we had tea at five and struck work at 
 seven ; now we strike at half-past six and take 
 tea with lawn- tennis. I assure you my dress- 
 makers are as fond of lawn-tennis as the 
 students of Newnham. When it is too dark to 
 play, we go upstairs and have music and danc- 
 ing.' Here followed a word which had been 
 erased. The mathematical lecturer held the 
 letter to the lis^ht and fancied the word was 
 ' Harry.' This could hardly be ; it must be 
 Hetty, or Kitty, or Lotty, or some such femi- 
 nine abbreviation. There could be no Harry. 
 She looked again. Strange ! It certainly was 
 Harry. She shook her head suspiciously, and 
 went on with the letter. 
 
 ' The girls' friends and sisters have begun to 
 come, and we are learning all kinds of dances. 
 Fortunately my dear old captain from the alms- 
 house can play the fiddle, and likes nothing 
 better than to play for us. We place him in 
 the corner beside the piano, and he plays as 
 long as we please, being the best of all old
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITLONS of MEN. 283 
 
 caj^itains. We are not well off for men, having 
 at present to rely principally on a superior 
 young cabinet-maker, wlio can also play the 
 iidclle on occasions. He dances very well, and 
 perhaps he will fall in love with tlie caj)tain's 
 daughter. 
 
 ' What I have attempted is, in short, no- 
 thing less than the introduction of a love of what 
 we call culture. Other thinc^s will follows but 
 at present I am contented with an experiment 
 on a very humble scale. If I were to go among 
 the people in my name, most of them would 
 try to borrow or steal from me ; as I am only 
 a poor dressmaker, only those who have busi- 
 ness with me try to take me in. I do not go 
 on a platform and lecture the people : nor do 
 I open a school to teach them ; nor do I print 
 and circulate tracts. I simply say, ^' My dears, 
 I am going to dance and sing, and have a little 
 music, and play lawn-tennis ; come with me 
 and we will dance together." And they come. 
 And they behave well. I think it is a strange 
 thing that young women of the lov/er class 
 ahvays prefer to behave well when they can^ 
 while young men of their own station take so
 
 284 ^LL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 much pleasure in noise and riot. We have no 
 difficulty in our drawing-room, where the girls 
 bcliave perfectly and enjoy themselves in a 
 surprising manner. I find, already, a great 
 improvement in the girls. They have acquired 
 new interests in life : they are happier : conse- 
 quently, they chatter like birds in spring and 
 sunshine ; and whereas, since I came into these 
 regions, it has been a constant pain to hsten to 
 the querulous and angry talk of work-girls in 
 omnibuses and in streets, I rejoice that we have 
 changed all this, and while they are with 
 me my girls can talk without angry snap- 
 ping of the lips, and without the " sezi " and 
 " sezee " and " seshee " of the omnibus. This 
 is surely a great gain for them. 
 
 ' Next, I observe that they are developing a 
 certain amount of pride in their own superior- 
 ity : they are lifted above their neighbours, if 
 only by the nightly drawing-room. I fear they 
 will become unpopular from hauteur: but 
 there is no gain without some loss. If only 
 one felt justified in doubling the number of the 
 girls! But the Stepney ladies have hitherto 
 shown no enthusiasm in the cause of the Asso-
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN 285 
 
 elation. The feeling in these parts is, you see, 
 commercial rather than co-operative. 
 
 'The dinner is to me the most satisfactory 
 as well as the most unscientific part of the 
 business. I believe I have no rif^^ht to orive 
 them a dinner at all : it is against the custom 
 in dressmakers' shops, where girls bring their 
 own dinners, poor things : it costs quite a shil- 
 ling a head every day to find the dinner, and 
 Eebekah, my forewoman, tells me that no 
 profits can stand against such a drain : but I 
 must go on with the dinner even if it swallows 
 up all the profits. 
 
 ' On Sundays the drawing-room is kept 
 open all day long for those who like to come. 
 Some do, because it is quiet. In the evening 
 we have sacred music. One of the young men 
 plays the violin ' — the reader turned back and 
 referred to a previous passage — yes ; she liad 
 already mentioned a cabinet-maker in connec- 
 tion with a fiddle — no doubt it must be the 
 same — ' and we have duets, but I fear the girls 
 do not care much, yet, for classical music ' 
 
 Here the reader crumpled up the letter in 
 impatience.
 
 286 ALL SORTS and CONDITLONS of MEN, 
 
 ' And tliis,' slie groaned, ' is the result of 
 two years at JN'ewnluun ! After lier course of 
 political economy, after all those lectures, after 
 actually distmguishing herself and taking a 
 place, this is the end ! To play the piano for a 
 lot of work-girls : with a cabinet-maker : and 
 an old sailor : and to be a dressmaker ! She 
 actually enjoys being a dressmaker ! That is, 
 alas ! the very worst feature in the case : she 
 evidently likes it : she has no wish to return to 
 civilisation : she has forgotten her science : she 
 is setting a most mischievous example : and she 
 has forgotten her distinct promise to give us a 
 ]nathematical scholarship. 
 
 * Oh ! Angela ! ' 
 
 She had imagined that the heiress would 
 endow Newnham with great gifts, and she was 
 disappointed. She had imagined this so very 
 strongly that she felt personally aggrieved and 
 injured : what did she care about Stepney 
 work-girls ? What have mathematics to do 
 with poor people in an ugly and poor part of 
 town ? 
 
 Angela's letter did not convey the wdiole 
 truth, because she herself was ignorant of the dis-
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 287 
 
 cussions, gossip, rumours, and reports Avhich were 
 flying about in the neigiibourlioocl of Stepney 
 Green concerning her venture. There were 
 some, for instance, wlio demonstrated that such 
 an institution must fail for reasons which they 
 learnedly expounded : among these was Mr. 
 Bunker. There were some who were ready to 
 prove, from the highest authorities, the wicked- 
 ness of trying to do without a proprietor, 
 master, or boss ; there were some who saw in 
 this revolutionary movement the beginning of 
 those troubles which will afflict mankind to- 
 wards the comino' of the end ; there were 
 others, among whom was also ^Ir. Bunker, 
 who asked by what right this young woman 
 had come among them to interfere, where she 
 had got her money, and what where her ante- 
 cedents ? To Bunker's certain knowledge, and 
 no one had better sources of information, 
 hundreds had been spent by Miss Kennedy in 
 starting the Association ; while, whether it was 
 true that Miss Messenger supported the place or 
 not, there could never be enough work to get 
 back all that money, pay all the wages, and the 
 rent, and the dinners : and hot dinners every
 
 288 ALL SORTS mtd CONDITIONS of MEN 
 
 day! There was even talk of getting up a 
 memorial praying Miss Messenger not to inter- 
 fere with the trade of the place, and pointing 
 out that there were many most respectable 
 dressmakers' shops where the work could be 
 quite as well done as by Miss Kennedy's girls, 
 no doubt cheaper, and the profit would go to 
 the rightful claimant of it, not to be divided 
 among the workwomen. 
 
 As for the privileges bestowed upon the 
 girls, there was in certain circles but one 
 opinion — they were ridiculous. Eecreation 
 time, free dinner of meat and vegetables, short 
 hours, reading aloud, and a club-room or draw- 
 ing-room for the evening : what more could 
 their betters have ? For it is a fixed article of 
 belief, one of the Twenty-Nine Articles in cer- 
 tain strata of society, that people ' below them ' 
 have no right to the enjoyment of anything. 
 They do not mean to be cruel, but they have 
 always associated poverty with dirt, discomfort, 
 disagreeable companions, and the absence of 
 pleasantness ; for a poor person to be happy is 
 either to them an impossibihty, or it is a flying 
 in the face of Providence. But then, these
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN 289 
 
 people know nothing of tlie joys which can be 
 had without money. Xow, when the world 
 discovers and realises how many these are and 
 how great they are, the reign of the almighty 
 dollar is at an end. Whatever the Stepney 
 folk thought, and however diverse their judg- 
 ment, they were all extremely curious : and 
 after the place had been open for a few weeks 
 and began to get known, all the ladies from 
 Whitechapel Church to Bow Churcli began 
 with one consent to call. They were received 
 by a young person of grave face and grave 
 manner, who showed them all they wanted to 
 see, answered all their questions, and allowed 
 tiiem to visit tlie work-rooms and the show- 
 rooms, the dining-room and the drawing-room ; 
 they also saw most beautiful dresses which 
 were being made for Miss Messenger; those 
 who went there in the morning miglit see with 
 their own eyes dressmaker girls actually play- 
 ing lawn-tennis, if in the afternoon they might 
 see an old gentleman reading aloud while tlic 
 girls worked ; they might also observe that 
 there were flowers in the rooms ; it was per- 
 fectly certain that there was a piano upstairs, 
 VOL. I. u
 
 290 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 because it had been seen by many, and the 
 person in the show-room made no secret at all 
 that tliere was dancing in the evening, with 
 songs, and reading of books, and other diver- 
 sions. 
 
 The contemplation of these things mostly 
 sent the visitors away in sorrow. They did not 
 dance or sing or play, iliey never wanted to 
 dance or sing, lawn-tennis was not played by 
 ikeir daughters, the]) did not liave bright- 
 covered books to read ; what did it mean, 
 giving these things to dressmaker girls ? Some 
 of them not only resolved not to send their 
 custom to the Association, but directed tracts 
 to the house. 
 
 They came, however, after a time, and had 
 their dresses made there, for a reason winch 
 will appear in the sequel. But at the outset 
 they held aloof. 
 
 Far different was the reception given to the 
 institution by the people for whose benefit it 
 was designed. Wlien they had quite got over 
 their natural suspicion of a strange thing, when 
 the girls were found to bring home their pay 
 regularly on a Saturday, when the dinner
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 291 
 
 proved a real thing and the hours continued to 
 be merciful, ^vhen the girls reported continu- 
 ously kind treatment, when the evenings spent 
 in the drawing-room were found to be delightful 
 and when other doubts and whisperings about 
 Miss Kennedy's motives, intentions, and secret 
 character gradually died aw^ay, tlie Association 
 became popular, and all the needle-girls of the 
 place would fain have joined Miss Kennedy. 
 The thing wdiich did the most to create the 
 popularity was the permission for the girls to 
 bring some of their friends and people on the 
 Saturday evening. They ' received ' on Satur- 
 day evening : they were at home : they enter- 
 tained their guests on that night : and, though 
 the entertainment cost nothing but the lights, 
 it soon became an honour and a pleasure to 
 receive an invitation. Most of those who came 
 at first were other girls ; tliey were shy and 
 stood about all arms : then they learned their 
 steps : then they danced : then the weariness 
 wore out of their eyes and the roses came back 
 to their cheeks : they forgot the naggings of 
 the work-room, and felt for the first time the 
 joy of their youth. Some of them were iu- 
 
 u2
 
 292 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN 
 
 clined at first to be rough and bold, but tlie 
 atmosphere cahiied them ; they either came no 
 more, or if they came they were quiet ; some 
 of them affected a superior and contemptuous 
 air, not uncommon with ' young persons ' when 
 they are jealous or envious, but this is a mood 
 easily cured ; some of them were frivolous, but 
 these were also easily subdued. For always with 
 them was Miss Kennedy herself, a Juno, tlieir 
 queen, whose manner was so kind, whose smile 
 was so sweet, whose voice was so soft, whose 
 greeting was so warm, and yet — yet . . . who 
 could not be resisted, even by the boldest or 
 the most frivolous. The first step was not to 
 be afraid of Miss Kennedy : at no subsequent 
 stage of their acquaintance did any cease to 
 respect her. 
 
 As for Eebekah, she would not come on 
 Saturday evening, as it was part of her Sab- 
 bath ; but Nelly proved of the greatest use in 
 maintaining the decorum and in promoting the 
 spirit of the evenings, which wanted, it is true, 
 a leader. 
 
 Sometimes the girls' mothers would come, 
 especially those who had not too many babies ;
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 293 
 
 they sat with folded hands and wondering eyes, 
 while their daughters danced, while Miss 
 Kennedy sang, or J\Ir. Goslett played his fiddle. 
 Anf^ela went aniono; them, talkinsj in her 
 sympathetic way, and won their confidence, 
 so that they presently responded and told her 
 all their troubles and woe. Or sometimes the 
 fathers would be brought, but very seldom 
 came twice. Now and then a brother would 
 appear, but it was many weeks before the 
 brothers began to come regularly ; when they 
 did, it became apparent that tliere was some- 
 thing in the place more attractive than brotherly 
 duty or the love of dancing. Of course, sweet- 
 hearts were bound to come whether they liked 
 it or not. There were, at first, many little 
 hitches, disagreeable incidents, rebellious exhi- 
 bitions of temper, bad behaviour, mistakes, social 
 sins, and other things of which the chronicler must 
 be mute, because the general result is all that 
 we desire to record. And this was satisfactory. 
 For the first time the girls learned that there 
 were joys in life, joys even within their reach, 
 with a little help, poor as they were ; joys 
 which cost them nothing. Among them were
 
 294 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 girls of tlie very humblest, who had the 
 greatest difficulty in presenting a decent 
 appearance, who lived in crowded lodguigs or 
 in poor houses with their numerous brothers 
 and sisters : pale-faced girls : heavy-hearted 
 girls : joyless maidens, loveless maidens : girls 
 wdio from long hours of work, and from want of 
 open air and good food, stooped their shoulders 
 and dragged their limbs — when Angela saw 
 them first, she wished that she was a man to 
 use strong language against their employers. 
 How she violated all principles of social 
 economy, giving clothes, secretly lending 
 money, visiting mothers, paying rent, and all 
 without any regard to suppty and demand, 
 marketable value, price current, w^orth of 
 labour, wages rate, averages, percentages, in- 
 terest, capital, commercial rules, theory of 
 trade, encouragement of over-population, would 
 be too disgraceful to narrate ; indeed, she 
 blushed wdien slie thought of the beautiful and 
 heart-warming science in which she had so 
 greatly distinguished herself, and on wdiich she 
 trampled daily. Yet if, on the one side, there 
 stood cold science, and, on the other, a suffer-
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 295 
 
 ing girl, it is ridiculous to acknowledge that 
 the girl alwaj's won the day. 
 
 Among the girls Avas one who interested 
 Angela greatly, not l^ecause she was pretty, for 
 she was not pretty at all, but plain to look 
 upon, and lame, but because she bore a very 
 hard lot with patience and courage very beau- 
 tiful to see. She had a sister who w^as crippled 
 and had a weak back, so that she could not 
 sit up long, nor earn much. She had a mother 
 who was growing old and weak of sight, so 
 that she could not earn much : she had a young 
 brother who lived like the sparrows, that is 
 to say, he ran wild in the streets and stole his 
 daily bread, and was rapidly rising to the dignity 
 and rank of an habitual criminal. He seldom, 
 however, came home, except to borrow or beg 
 for money. She had a father, whose name 
 was never mentioned, so tliat he was certainly 
 an undesirable father, a bad bargain of a father, 
 a father impossible, viewed in connection with 
 the Fifth Commandment. This was the girl 
 who burst into tears when she saw tlie roast 
 beef for the first time. Her tears were caused 
 by a number of reasons : first, because she
 
 296 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 was liUDgry and her condition was low ; 
 secondly, because roasted beef to a hungry 
 girl is a thing too beautiful ; thirdly, because 
 Avhile she was feasting, her sister and her 
 mother were starving. The crippled sister 
 presently came to the house and remained in 
 it all day. What special arrangements were 
 made with Rebekah, the Spirit of Commerce, 
 as regards her pay I know not : but she came, 
 did a little work, sat or lay down in the draw- 
 ing-room most of the time ; and presently, 
 under Miss Kennedy's instruction, began to 
 practise on the piano. A work-girl, actually 
 a work-girl, if you please, playing scales, with 
 a one, two, three, four, one, two, three, four, 
 just as if she was a lady living in the Mile End 
 Eoad or the daughter of a clerk in the 
 brewery ! 
 
 Yes : the girls who had formerly worked in 
 unhealthy rooms till half-past eight now worked 
 in well-ventilated rooms till half-past six : they 
 had time to rest and run about : they had good 
 food : tliey had cheerful talk : they were en- 
 couraged : Captain Sorensen came to read 
 to them : in the evening they had a delightful
 
 ALL SOLtTS and CONDLTIOXS of MEW. 297 
 
 room to sit in, wliere they could read and talk, 
 or dance, or listen. While they read the 
 books which Miss Kennedy laid on the table 
 for them, she would play and sing. First, she 
 chose simple songs and simple pieces ; and as 
 their taste for music grew, so her music im- 
 proved ; and every day found the drawing- 
 room more attractive, and the girls more loth 
 to go home. She Avatched her experiment 
 wdth the keenest interest ; the girls were cer- 
 tainly growling more refined in manner and in 
 thought. Even Eebekah was softening daily ; 
 she looked on at the dance without a shudder, 
 even when the handsome young w^orkman 
 clasped Nelly Sorensen by the waist and 
 whirled her round tlie room ; and she owned 
 that tliere was music in the world, outside 
 her little chapel, far sweeter than an^^thing 
 they had within it. As for Nell}^ she simply 
 worshipped. Wliatever Miss Kennedy did was 
 right and beautiful and perfect in her eyes ; 
 nor, in her ignorance of the world, did she 
 jiouder any more over tliat first difficulty of 
 hers, why a lady, and such a lady, had come 
 to Stepney Green to be a dressmaker.
 
 298 ALL SORTS and CONDLTIONS of MEN, 
 
 CHAPTEE XIV. 
 
 THE TENDER PASSIOX. 
 
 It is always a dangerous tiling f(jr two young 
 persons of opposite sexes to live together under 
 the same roof, even when the lady is plain and 
 at first sight unattractive, and when the young 
 man is stupid. For they get to know one 
 another. Now, so great is the beauty of human 
 nature, even in its second-rate or third-rate 
 productions, that love generally follows when 
 one of the two, by confession or unconscious 
 self-betrayal, stands revealed to the other. It 
 is not the actual man or woman, you see, who 
 is loved — it is the ideal, the possible, the model 
 or type from which the specimen is copied, and 
 which it distinctly resembles. But think of 
 the danger when the house in which these 
 young people find themselves is not a large 
 country house, where many are gathered to- 
 gether of like pursuits, but an obscure board-
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 299 
 
 ing lioiise in a Society-forgotten snburb, where 
 these two had only each other to talk to. 
 Add to this that they are both interested 
 in an experiment of the greatest delicacy, in 
 Avliich tlie least false step wonld be fatal. 
 Add, fnrther, the fact that each is astonished 
 at the other : the one to find in a dressmaker 
 the refinement and all the accomphshments of 
 a lady ; the other to find in a cabinet-maker the 
 distin^nishino; marks of a ofentleman ; the same 
 way of looking at things and talking abont 
 them ; the same bearing and the same courtesy. 
 The danger was even made greater by what 
 seemed a preventive, namely, by the way in 
 which at the beginning Angela so very firmly 
 put down her foot on the subject of ' keeping 
 company ' : there was to be no attempt at love- 
 making ; on that understanding the two could, 
 and did, go about together as much as they 
 pleased. What followed naturally w\as that 
 more and more they began to consider, each 
 the other, as a problem of an interesting 
 character. Angela observed that the young 
 workman, whom she had at first considered of 
 a frivolous disposition, seemed to be growing 
 more serious in his views of things, and even
 
 3oo ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 when lie laughed there was method m his folly. 
 No men are so solemn, she reflected, as the 
 dull of comprehension ; perhaps tlie extremely 
 serious character of the place in which they 
 lived was making him dull, too. It is difficult, 
 certainly, for anyone to go on laughing at 
 Stepney ; the children, who begin by laughing, 
 like children everywhere, have to give up the 
 practice before they are eight years of age, 
 because the streets are so insufferably dull ; the 
 grown-up people never laugh at all ; when 
 immigrants arrive from livelier quarters, say 
 Manchester or Sheffield, after a certain time of 
 residence — the period varies with the mercurial 
 temperament of the patient — they laugh no 
 more. ' Surely,' thought Angela, ' he is set- 
 tling down ; he will soon find work ; he will 
 become like other men of his class ; and then, 
 no doubt, he will fall in love with Nelly. 
 Nothino' could be more suitable,' 
 
 By saying to herself, over and over again, 
 that this arrangement should take place, she 
 had got to persuade herself that it certainly 
 would. ' Nelly possessed,' she said, ' the re- 
 finement of manner and nature, without which
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN 301 
 
 the young man would be wretched ; she was 
 affectionate and sensible ; it would certainly 
 do very well.' And she was hardly conscious, 
 while she arranged this in her own head, of a 
 certain uneasy feeling in her mind, which in 
 smaller creatures might have been called 
 jealousy. 
 
 So far, there had been little to warrant the 
 belief that thino's were advancinoj in the direc- 
 tion she desired. He was not much more 
 attentive to Nelly than to any other of her 
 girls : worse still, as she reflected with trepida- 
 tion, there were many symptoms by which 
 he showed a preference for quite another person. 
 
 As for Harry, it was useless for him to 
 conceal from himself any longer the fact that 
 lie was by this time head-over-ears in love. 
 The situation offered greater temptations than 
 his strenixth could withstand. He succumbed 
 — whatever the end might be he was in love. 
 
 If one comes to think of it, this was rather 
 a remarkable result of a descent into the Lower 
 Eegions. One expects to meet in the Home of 
 Dull Ugliness things repellent, coarse, enjoy- 
 ing the freedom of Nature, unrestrained, un-
 
 302 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 conventional. Harry found, on tlie contrary, 
 tlie sweetness of Eden, a fair garden of delights, 
 in winch sat a peerless lady, the Queen of 
 Beauty, a very Venus. All his life, that is, 
 since he had begun to think about love at all, 
 he had stoutly held and strenuously maintained 
 t^\at it was lese-niajeste, high treason to love, 
 for a man to throw away — he used to say 
 ' throw away ' — upon a maiden of low degree 
 the passion which sliould be offered to a lady 
 . — a demoiselle. The position was certainly 
 altered, inasmuch as he was no longer of gentle 
 birth Therefore, he argued, he would no 
 longer pretend to the hand of a lady. At first 
 he used to make Eesohitions, as bravely as a 
 Board of Directors : he would arise and flee to 
 the desert — any place would be a desert with- 
 out her : he would get out of temptation : he 
 w^ould go back to Piccadilly, and there forget 
 her. Yet he remained : yet every day he 
 sought her again ; every day his condition 
 became more hopeless : every day he continued 
 to walk with her, play duets with her, sing 
 with her, dance wdth her, argue with her, learn 
 from her, teach her, watch over her, and felt
 
 ALL SORTS and CO^DITLOXS of MEA\ 303 
 
 tlie sunsliine of her presence, and at meeting 
 and parting touched her fingers. 
 
 She was so well educated, he said, strength- 
 ening his faith : she was so kindly and con- 
 siderate : her manners were so perfect : she was 
 so beautiful and graceful : she knew so well 
 how to command, that he was constrained to 
 own that no lady of his acquaintance w\as, or 
 could be, her superior. To call her a dress- 
 maker was to ennoble and sanctify the whole 
 craft. She should be to that art what Cecilia 
 is to music — its patron saint : she should be to 
 himself — 3'et, what would be the end.^ He 
 smiled grimly, thinking that there was no need 
 to speculate on the end, when as yet there had 
 been no beginning. lie could not make a 
 beginning. If he ventured on some shy and 
 modest tentative in the direction of — call it an 
 understanding — she froze. She was always 
 on the watch : she seemed to say, ' Thus far 
 you may presume, but no farther.' What did 
 it mean ? Was she really resolved never to 
 receive his advances ? Did she dislike him ? 
 That could hardly be. Was she watching him ? 
 Was she afraid to trust him ? That might be.
 
 304 ALL SORTS and CONDLTLONS of MEN. 
 
 Or was she already engaged to some otlier 
 fellow — some superior fellow — perhaps with a 
 shop — gracious heavens ! — of his own ? That 
 might be, though it made him cold to think it 
 possible. Or did she have some past history, 
 some unhappy complication of the affections, 
 which made her as cold as Dian ? That, too, 
 might be. 
 
 The ordinary young man, thrown into the 
 society of half-a-dozen working girls, would 
 have begim to flirt and talk nonsense with all 
 of them together, or with one after the other. 
 Harry was not that kind of young man. There 
 is always, .by the blessing of kind heaven, left 
 unto us a remnant of those who hold woman 
 sacred, and continually praise, worship, and 
 reverence the name of love. He was one of 
 those young men. To flirt with a milliner did 
 not seem a dehghtful thing to him, at any time. 
 And in this case there was another reason why 
 he should not behave in the manner customary 
 to the would be Don Juan : it w^as simply 
 foi cle gentiUwmme ; he was tolerated among 
 them all on a kind of unspoken, but under- 
 stood, parole. Miss Kennedy received him in
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MIIN. 305 
 
 coiifideuce that he would not abuse her kind- 
 ness. 
 
 One Sunday afternoon when they were 
 walking together — it was in one of the warm 
 days of last Sep^^^ember — in Victoria Park, they 
 had a conversation which led to really import- 
 ant things. There are one or two very pretty 
 walks in that garden, and though the season 
 was late, and the leaves mostly yellow, brown, 
 crimson, or golden, there were still flowers, and 
 the ornamental water was bright, and the path 
 crowded with people who looked happy, be- 
 cause the sun was shining ; they liad all dined 
 plentifully, Avith copious beer, and the girls had 
 got on their best things, and the swains were 
 gallant with a flower in the button-hole and a 
 cigar between the lips. There, is, indeed, so 
 little difference between the rich and the poor ; 
 can even Hyde Park in the season go beyond 
 the flower and the cigar ? In certain tropical 
 lands, the first step in civilisation is to buy a 
 mosquito curtain, though your dusky epidermis 
 is as impervious as a crocodile's to the sthig of 
 a mosquito. In this realm of England the first 
 step towards gentility is the two])enny smoke, 
 
 VOL. I. X
 
 3o6 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 to which we ding, though it is made of medi- 
 cated cabbage, though it makes the mouth raw, 
 the tongue sore, the lips cracked, the eyes red, 
 the nerves shaky, and the temper short. Who 
 would not suffer in such a cause ? 
 
 It bei2fan with a remark of Ano-ela's about 
 his continued laziness. He replied, evasively, 
 that he had intended to take a long holiday, in 
 order to look round and consider what was 
 best to be done : that he liked holidays : that 
 he meant to introduce holidays into the next 
 trade dispute : that his holidays enabled him to 
 work a little for Miss Kennedy, without count- 
 ing his lordship, whose Case he liad now drawn 
 up : that lie Avas now ready for work whenever, 
 he added airily, work was ready for him : and 
 that he was not, in fact, quite snre that Stepney 
 and its neighbourhood would prove the- best 
 place for him to work out his life. 
 
 ' I should tliink,' said Angela, ' that it would 
 be as good a ])lace as any you would find in 
 America.' 
 
 ' If you tell me to stay. Miss Kennedy,' lie 
 replied, with a sudden earnestness, ' I will stay.* 
 
 She instantly froze, and cliillingly said that
 
 ALL SORTS and COXDITIONS of ALEX. 307 
 
 if Ilis interests required liiin to go, of course lie 
 would go. 
 
 Therefore, Harry, after a feA\- mom cuts' 
 silence, during wliicli lie battled with the tempt- 
 ation to 'have it out' there and then, before 
 all the happy shepherds and she])lierdesses of 
 Bethnal Green, returned to his original form, 
 and made as if those words had not been 
 spoken and tliat eifect not been produced. You 
 may notice the same thing with cliildren who 
 have been scolded. 
 
 ' Did you ever consider. Miss Kennedy, the 
 truly hapjiy condition of the perfect cabinet- 
 maker ? ' 
 
 ' No : I never did. Is he happy above his 
 fellows ? ' 
 
 ' Your questions betray your ignorance. Till 
 lately — till I returned from America — I never 
 wholly realised what a su[)erior creature he is. 
 Why, in the first place, the cabinet-maker is 
 perhaps the only workman who never scamps 
 his work : he is a res})onsible man : he takes 
 pride in producing a good and honest thing. 
 We have no tricks in our trade. Then, if you 
 
 care to hear ' 
 
 n 2
 
 3o8 ALL SORTS and CONDITLONS of MEN, 
 
 ' Pray go on ; let me learn all I can.' 
 
 'Then, we were the first to organise our- 
 selves. Our society was founded eighty years 
 ago. We had no foolish strike, but we just 
 met the employers and told them we were 
 going to arrange with them what our share 
 should be ; and we made a book about wages — 
 I do not think so good a book has been put 
 together this century. Then, we are a respect- 
 able lot : you never hear of a cabinet-maker 
 in trouble at a ])olice- court ; very few of us 
 get drunk ; most of us read books and pa])ers, 
 and have ophiions. My cousin Dick has very 
 strong opinions. We are critical about amuse- 
 ments, and we prefer Henry Irving to a music- 
 hall ; we do not allow rough talk in the 
 workshops ; we are mostly members of some 
 Church, and we know how to value our- 
 selves.' 
 
 ' I shall know how to value your craft in 
 future,' said Angela, ' especially Avhen you are 
 working again.' 
 
 ' Yes. I do not want to work in a shop, 
 you know ; but one may get a place, perhaps, 
 in one of the railway carriage depots, or a
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 309 
 
 hotel, or a big factory, where they always keep 
 a cabinet-maker in regular pay. My cousin 
 Dick — Dick the Eadical — is cabinet-maker in a 
 mangle factory. I do not know what he makes 
 for his mangles, but that is what he is.' 
 
 * 1 have seen your cousin Tom, when he 
 was rolled in the mud and before he led off 
 the hymn and the procession. You must bring 
 me your cousin Dick.' 
 
 ' Dick is better fun than Tom. Both are 
 terribly iu earnest ; but you will lind Dick 
 interesting.' 
 
 ' Does he walk about on Sunday afternoons P 
 Should we be likely to meet him here ? ' 
 
 ' Oh, no. Dick is forging his speech for to- 
 night. He addresses the Advanced Club almost 
 every Sunday evening on the House of Lords, 
 or the Church, or the Country Bumpkin's Suf- 
 frage, or tlie Cape question, or Protection, or 
 the Xihilists, or Ireland, or America, or some- 
 thing. The speech must be red-hot, or his 
 reputation would be lost. So lie spends tlie 
 afternoon sticking it into the furnace, so to 
 speak. It doesn't matter what the subject is, 
 always provided that he can lug in the bloated
 
 3IO ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN 
 
 aristocrat and the liatecl Tory. I assure yoiu 
 Dick is a most interesting person.' 
 
 ' Do you ever speak at the Advanced 
 Club ? ' 
 
 ' I go there ; I am a member ; no\v and 
 then I say a word. When a member makes a 
 red-hot speech, brimful of insane accusations, 
 and sits down amid a roimd of applanse, it is 
 pleasant to get up and set him right on matters 
 of fact, l)ecause all the enthusiasm is killed 
 ^vhen you come to facts. Some of tliem do 
 not love me at the Chib.' 
 
 ' They are real and in earnest, while you — ' 
 
 ' No, Miss Kennedy, they are not real, 
 whatever I may be. They are qnite conven- 
 tional. Tlie people like to be roused by red- 
 liot, scorching speeches ; they want bnrning 
 questions, intolerable grievances ; so the speak- 
 ers find tliem or invent them. As for the audi- 
 ence, they have had so many sham grievances 
 told in red-hot words that they have become 
 calloiLs, and don't know of any real ones. The 
 indignation of the speakers is a sham ; the 
 enthnsiasm of the listeners is a sham ; they 
 nppland the eloquence, bnt as for tlie stuff that
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 311 
 
 is said, it moves tliem not. As for his politics, 
 the British workman has got a vague idea that 
 things go better for him under the Liberals. 
 When the Liberals come in, after making pro- 
 mises by the thousand, and when, like their 
 predecessors, they have made the usual mess, 
 confidence is shaken. Then he allows the Con- 
 servatives, who do not, at all events, promise 
 oranges and beer all round, back again, and 
 gives them another shoAV. As if it matters 
 which side is in to the British workman ! ' 
 
 ' And they are not discontented,' asked 
 Angela, ' with their own lives ? ' 
 
 ' Not one bit. They don't want to change 
 their own lives. Why should they ? ' 
 
 ' All these people in the park to-day,' she 
 continued, 'are they working men P " 
 
 ' Yes : some of them : the better sort. Of 
 
 course ' Harry looked round and surveyed 
 
 the croAvd, ' of course, when you open a garden 
 of this sort for the people, the well-dressed 
 come, and the ragged stay a\vay and hide. 
 There is plenty of ragged stuff round and about 
 us, but it hides. And there is plenty of com- 
 fort which walks abroad and shows itself. This
 
 312 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 
 
 end of Loiidou is tJie liome of little industries. 
 Here, for instance, tliey make tlie things which 
 belong to other things.' 
 
 ' That seems a riddle,' said Angela. 
 
 ' I mean things like card-boxes, ])ill-boxes, 
 ornamented boxes of all kinds, for confectioners, 
 druggists, and drapers ; tliey make all kinds 
 of such things for wholesale liouses. Why, 
 there are hundreds of trades in this great neg- 
 lected city of East London, of whi(^h we know 
 notliino^. You see the manufacturei's. Here 
 tliey are with their wives, and their sons, and 
 their daughters : they all lend a hand, and be- 
 tween tliem the thing is made.' 
 
 ' And are they discontented ? ' asked Angela 
 with persistence. 
 
 ' Xot they : they get as much happiness as 
 tlie money will run to. At tlie same time, if 
 the Palace of Delight were once built ' 
 
 ' Ah ! ' cried Angela, witli a sigh. ' The 
 Palace of Delight : the Palace of Delight : we 
 must have it : if it is only to make the people 
 discontented.' 
 
 They walked home presently, and in the 
 evening tliey played together, one or two of
 
 ALL SORTS and CONDITIONS of MEN. 313 
 
 the girls being present, in tlie ' drawing-room/ 
 The music softens : Angela repented her cold- 
 ness of tJie afternoon. When tlie uirls were 
 gone, and they were walking side by side be- 
 neath moonlight on the quiet green, she made 
 shyly a little attempt at compensation. 
 
 ' If,' she said, ' you should find ^^'ork here 
 in Stepney, you Avould be willing to stay ? ' 
 
 ' I would stay,' he replied, ' if you bid me 
 stay — or go, if you bid me go.' 
 
 ' I w^ould bid you stay,' she replied, speaking 
 as clearly and as firmly as slie could, ' because 
 I like your society and because you have been, 
 and will be, I hope, very helpful to us. But if 
 ] bid you stay,' she laid her hand upon his arm, 
 ' it must be on no misunderstanding.' 
 
 ' I am your servant,' he said, with a little 
 at^itation in his voice. ' I understand nothino-^ 
 but what vou wish me to understand.' 
 
 END OF THE FIRST VOLUME. 
 
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