Christmas stories; Dickens, Charles, 1812-1870. Christmas carol -- Fiction; New York (N.Y.) -- Fiction
But it was as President of the Society for the Restoration of King
Manuel to the throne of Portugal that she arose above the ordinary
multitude of publicity seekers. This was a movement so unique and so
suggestive of pomp that many of the prominent show-girls tried to
promote themselves into royal notice by joining the society. They were
almost unanimously in favour of the Restoration. Mrs. Force was
constantly being interviewed about the hopes and designs of King
Manuel, and she was always quoted as saying that the "time is not yet
ripe for the unfolding of our plans or I would be only too happy to
tell you everything--and I may be able to give you something of
interest next week if you will call me up."
Soon after the Bingle disaster, she allied herself with a Society for
the Relief of Incompetent Parents, and later on took up the cause of
Children's Rights and Wrongs. Quite palpably it was Mr. Bingle's
dilemma that inspired her to interest herself in these hitherto
neglected enterprises. She began her duties as a member and supporter
of the causes by at once declaring war upon poor Mr. Bingle. She put
him into a state of siege before he even suspected that hostilities had
begun, and then constituted herself Red Cross nurse, sanitary expert,
peace intermediary, and everything else that she could think of at the
time.
Operations began in November. She had Mr. Bingle brought into her
husband's private office at the bank, and there she explained the
motives and objects of the Society and talked unrestrainedly of the
rights of little children, calmly assuming that the astonished
bookkeeper had no rights of his own and therefore was not entitled to a
word in the shape of interruption.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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