“There was the difference that it had a few waggonettes and
greengrocers’ carts to lengthen it out. Some of the waggonettes and the
greengrocers’ carts were arched in with green branches, and the drivers
wore red caps of the sort usually associated with burlesque. They were
understood to represent ‘caps of liberty.’ A few bakers’ carts displayed
specimens of French loaves and horseshoe rolls. In some of the carts
were children who sang the ‘Marseillaise,’ as the carts trailed through
Piccadilly. Girls of an older growth had donned white dresses trimmed
with a virulent red, and marshalled the younger ones. Mr. Keir Hardie,
with his tweed cap and his pipe, walked through the crowd like one who
expected the homage due to a hero. Mr. William Morris was also there,
but one could not help thinking that he was, and felt, out of place.
There were speeches, of course. These were laudatory, for the most part,
of the workers and the Social Democratic Federation.
“But the Anarchists had, somehow, recovered their spirits, and had
ventured to join in the procession. Agnes Henry, in her inevitable
yellow ulster and cloth shoes, plodded indefatigably on the outskirts of
the crowd. Louise Michel hovered here and there. They had their
flags--red with black fringes--with them. One was an imposing banner on
two poles, with an appeal to put down all government and authority. The
Anarchists took up their position as side shows to the main
demonstration. The crowd had paid no attention to the Social Democrats,
but the Anarchists drew them like a magnet. A man, named Leggatt, a well
known anarchist, declaimed from one platform; a succession of speakers,
including Louise Michel, Mowbray, Dr Macdonald, and others, from
another, which was intended to be more important. Sullivan, of Tower
Hill fame, had a little show of his own. There was an evident desire to
listen to the Anarchists patiently at first. Then the listeners had
their feelings jarred by some outrageous exposition of the doctrine of
explosives. They groaned and hooted. Leggatt, with clumsy retort, said
they should be at a Board School, or playing marbles. So far as he was
concerned, the result was disastrous. There was a spring at him, and he
swayed for a moment on his perch, and then came down full length, while
his platform was soon in little bits. The police, who had been observing
the ugly temper of the crowd, rushed in, just in time to save him from
worse injury. The banner was promptly in ribbons, and its pole was
broken up. On this the people at the other platform discreetly folded
their banner, and took it away.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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