W. Pett Ridge

“ He began by pointing out that everybody nowadays worked excepting the working man, doubted whether it was of much use offering to him help, but declaring himself in doleful tones an optimist, congratulated the new movement on its courage, its altruism, its high nobility of purpose, and managed, before sitting down, to intimate very defiantly that unless labour seized this unique opportunity, then labour must be left to shift for itself and could no longer expect any assistance from him. ”

“ My own society takes up nearly all my time, and other work I leave to other people.”
“Exactly, Mr. Barnes, exactly! I quite understand your position. But I have such faith in my uncle. Do you know that nearly everything he touches turns into money.”
“Very agreeable gift.”
“But the point is this, that nothing can be done unless capital and labour work in unison for a common end. One is affected quite as much as the other, and alone neither can do anything. ”

“ He nodded to the secretary, and felt that the audience, now tired of listening to spoken words, looked at him doubtfully. One of the three clergymen being selected to move the resolution, the other two looked at their shoes with a pained interest, and presently tugged at their black watch-guards, ascertained the time, and, just before the chosen man arose, slipped quietly out. Fortunately for Erb, the remaining clergyman started on a line of reasoning excellently calculated to annoy and to stimulate. ”

“ There is nothing quite so dear and precious as the world's applause, and if here and there a man should announce his distaste for it, the world may be quite sure that this is said only to extort an additional and an undue share. ”

“ Barnes?”
“In one sense you do,” said Erb. “Only thing I can't see is, where your uncle imagines that I come in.”
A dispute between two children over a doll necessitated interference, based on the judgment of Solomon.
“Obviously,” replied the girl, delighted at the importance of her task, “obviously, your work will be to organise.”
“Organise what?”
“Meetings of working men to take up the idea, discussion in the halfpenny papers, argument in workshops. In this way,” she said, with her engaging frankness, “in this way, you see, you could strengthen my uncle's hands.” ”

“ He, I am sure, would succeed where I,”—with a sigh—“where I so horribly fail.”
“Look here,” said Erb, hastily, “if it's any satisfaction to you, I'll say at once that I'm with the movement, heart, body, and soul.”
Lady Frances took his big hand and patted it thankfully.
“Can't tell you how pleased I am,” she declared. “I'll send on all the circulars and figures and things when I reach Eaton Square to-night— (children, children, you are tiresome, really) —and then you can start work directly, can't you?”
A busy man always has time to spare ”

“ Erb, greatly concerned for Rosalind, told her nothing of the incident of the benefit performance, but tried to comfort her with the suggestion that Railton had probably written without thought.
“I am beginning to see,” said Rosalind presently, “I am beginning to see that I have at least one real friend in the world.”
“One's ample,” replied Erb stolidly.
With the men of the Society the occurrence gave to Erb distinct promotion. ”

“ Let them all pay a bob or so a week, and the one that draws a good number gets his ten pound and goes off and gets married like a shot. See what an interest it'd make the girls take in your society. See how it'd make your young carmen sought after. See how fine it'd be for them to start life on their own, instead of having to go on paying so much a week for 'ire to the furniture shops.”
“A reg'lar little orator,” said Erb approvingly. “It must run in the blood, I think. ”

“ Men at the table below adjusted their black leaves of carbonic paper and began to write.
“Now, I've been into the details almost as carefully as the reverend gentleman has, and what I want to say, in order that this audience should not consider that we are absolutely silly fools, is, that so far from this movement having been arranged in order to benefit the workers exclusively, it is very clear to me that there's a few behind the scenes who are going to make a bit out of it.” ”

“ I say this that the previous speaker may see and that you all may recognise the fact that if those I represent give the cause any assistance, we do so with our eyes wide open, and that we are not blindfolded by the cheap flannel sort of arguments to which we have just listened. But let me go on. Because this is going to be a soft thing for the capitalists, it by no means follows that it is going to be a hard thing for the worker. ”

“ And whilst I repudiate the attitude and the arguments of the last speaker, I promise you that I am prepared to do all that I can for the scheme— (cheers) —not in the interests of capital, for capital can look after itself, but in the interests of labour, which sometimes wants a lot of looking after. Your Grace, I beg to second the resolution.”
The Hall liked the brevity of the speech; the subsequent speakers made genial references to it, and the Duchess, in acknowledging a vote of thanks, repaid Erb for his compliment to herself by prophesying that Mr. ”