"By the way, Isabel," he said, "as I was coming down the Caledonian
Road I met your friend Armitage. He is a good fellow whom I have always
liked, so I stopped him and we had a chat. He explained to me that he
was attired in his new pedestrian costume, which indeed struck me as
almost pre-Adamite in its simplicity. He had been helping some of
his friends to move--to shoot the moon, I fancy, would describe the
situation. He inquired of me what I was doing, and we got talking on all
sorts of scientific and philosophic problems. It is extraordinary what
an intellect that man has. Only he lives too much in a world of his own
creation; he seems absolutely oblivious of self, and I feel sure his
hygiene and vegetarianism are simply the outcome of his desire to free
himself from all worldly cares which might impede his absolute devotion
to his Cause. He seems to have practically abandoned his practice. As we
were wandering on rather aimlessly, I suggested accompanying him home,
but he did not appear to jump at the idea, and as I know that it is not
considered etiquette amongst you folk to press inquiries as to address
and so on, I was going to drop the subject; but Armitage, after a short
silence, explained that the fact was he had not exactly got a home to go
to. I concluded that he was in for the bother of changing diggings, and
made some sympathetic remark to that effect; but he said that was not
exactly the case--that, in fact, he had given up having a fixed abode
altogether. As you can imagine, Isabel," continued my brother, "this
information somewhat staggered me. I knew through you that he had
long ago given up his Harley Street establishment and moved into more
populous quarters, where I quite supposed him still to be residing. But
he calmly went on to explain, as though it were the most natural thing
in the world, that he had been in need of a rather considerable sum of
money some weeks back for purposes of propaganda, and that, not knowing
where else to obtain the money, he had sold up all his belongings and
cleared out of his lodgings without paying his rent, 'by way of an
example.' All this he explained with the air of a man adducing an
unanswerable argument, and as his manner did not admit of remonstrance,
I simply asked him what he thought of doing now, which started him off
on a long account of the opportunities for propaganda afforded by such
establishments as Rowton House, the casual wards, and the Salvation Army
Shelters. 'We want to get at the oppressed, to rouse them from their
lethargy of ages, to show them that they too have rights, and that it
is cowardly and wicked to starve in the midst of plenty; we want to come
amongst them, not as preachers and dilettantists, but as workers like
themselves, and how can this be done better than by going in their midst
and sharing their life?' I could not but feel amazement and admiration
at the enthusiasm and sincerity of this man, mingled with sorrow at the
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