East End (London, England) -- Fiction; London (England) -- Social life and customs -- Fiction
The orator did not take kindly to the proposal at first, strongly
suspecting something in the nature of "guy" or "kid"; but a serious
assurance of a shilling for an occasional hour and the payment of one in
advance brought him over. After this Squire Napper never troubled to go
to Mile End Waste. He sat at ease in his parlor, with his pot on the
piano, while the orator, with another pot on the mantelpiece, stood up
and denounced to order. "Tip us the Teetotal an'
Down-with-the-Public-'Ouse," Bill would request, and the orator (his
name was Minns) would oblige in that line till most of the strong
phrases had run out, and had begun to recur. Then Bill would say, "Now
come the Rights o' Labor caper." Whereupon Minns would take a pull at
the pot, and proceed to denounce Capital, Bill Napper applauding or
groaning at the pauses provided for those purposes. And so on with
whatever subjects appealed to the patron's fancy. It was a fancy that
sometimes put the orator's invention to grievous straits; but for Bill
the whole performance was peculiarly privileged and dignified. For to
have an orator gesticulating and speechifying all to one's self, on
one's own order and choice of subject, is a thing not given to all men.
One day Minns turned up (not having been invited) with a friend. Bill
did not take to the friend. He was a lank-jawed man with a shifty eye,
who smiled as he spoke, and showed a top row of irregular and dirty
teeth. This friend, Minns explained, was a journalist--a writer of
newspapers; and between them they had an idea, which idea the friend set
forth. Everybody, he said, who knew the history of Mr. Napper admired
his sturdy independence and democratic simplicity. He was of the people
and not ashamed of it. ("Well, no, I ain't proud," Bill interjected,
wondering what was coming.) With all the advantages of wealth, he
preferred to remain one of the people, living among them plainly,
conforming to their simple habits, and sympathizing with their sorrows.
("This chap," thought Bill, "wants to be took on to hold forth turn
about with the other, and he's showing his capers; but I ain't on it.")
It was the knowledge of these things, so greatly to Mr. Napper's honor,
that had induced Minns and Minns's friend to place before him a means by
which he might do the cause of toiling humanity a very great service. A
new weekly paper was wanted--wanted very badly: a paper that should rear
its head on behalf of the downtrodden toilers, and make its mighty voice
heard with dread by the bloated circles of Class and Privilege. That
paper would prove a marvellously paying investment to its proprietor,
bringing him enormous profits every week. He would have a vast fortune
in that paper alone, besides the glory and satisfaction of striking the
great blow that should pave the way to the emancipation of the Masses
and the destruction of the vile system of society whose whole and sole
effect was the accumulation of wealth in the hands of the Grasping Few.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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