Charles Bradlaugh: a Record of His Life and Work, Volume 2 (of 2): With an Account of his Parliamentary Struggle, Politics and Teachings. Seventh Edition — John Shaqi
Charles Bradlaugh: a Record of His Life and Work, Volume 2 (of 2): With an Account of his Parliamentary Struggle, Politics and Teachings. Seventh EditionRobertson, J. M. (John Mackinnon)
Religion
Charles Bradlaugh: a Record of His Life and Work, Volume 2 (of 2): With an Account of his Parliamentary Struggle, Politics and Teachings. Seventh Edition
Robertson, J. M. (John Mackinnon)
Bradlaugh, Charles, 1833-1891
At the end of February we removed to 10 Portland Place (as it was then
called), Circus Road, St John's Wood. It was a queerly-arranged house;
we had the top floor and the basement, with a bath-room on the first
floor, the ground floor and the rest of the first floor being occupied
by a firm of music-sellers. In the basement was a very large and dark
room, which we used for meals, and in which at first our tiny table and
four chairs looked very desolate. On the top floor was one large room
given over to my father's study, the other rooms being quite small. The
library again outgrowing its bounds, in 1880 it descended to the still
larger room on the first floor, whence the books were sold after the
death of their owner in 1891.
At Circus Road my sister and I started housekeeping for my father, with
one little servant much given to fainting. I was appointed head cook
to the establishment, and my father and sister uncomplainingly devoted
themselves to the task of swallowing my experiments in the culinary
art. Never once, either while I cooked for him myself, or later when we
ordered his dinners for him, do I remember my father grumbling at the
food we set before him. His meals had to be punctual to the moment, or,
if asked for at an unaccustomed hour, they had to be promptly served;
if that was done, he was content with whatever was given him.
We had been only a few weeks at Circus Road when the new edition of
the Knowlton pamphlet was printed. Mr Bradlaugh was away in Scotland,
and as Mrs Besant's mind was filled with the idea of the possibility
of a police raid and seizure of the stock, we hid parcels of the
pamphlet in every conceivable place. We buried some by night in her
garden, concealed some under the floor, and others behind the cistern.
When my father was informed of this cleverness he was by no means
pleased, and sent word immediately that there should be no more hiding;
and as soon as he came home again the process began of finding as
quickly as possible these well-hidden treasures--some indeed so well
hidden that they were not found till some time afterwards. He also
knew that a search was possible, but he had no wish to look supremely
ridiculous--to put it no more seriously--by parcels being found in all
these eccentric places.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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