The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-12-06

but the inhabitants OF tho court didn't like t..
They closed their windows, shtvored, and
air would seftio down. Snlu quietly isHiy in tSe court, col.
felt that things were as they SHOULD be;
romeiy.. No one residing there knew who
Owned the buildings or tho ground. The man
III advance, and he had once told theI landlord
OF the Rose and Crown" that the court was
more lucrative as an investment than II IL had
been situated In the Grosvenor square die
trict. The owner was peculiarly supposed to
have farned the property to q company, and
the rent collector represented this orgnniza-
ton. The company could not be expected to
spend money on repairs, the owner could not
DO reached, and aside from AZ that, the rooms
like the arrangement, he could get .out-there
were n dozen others ready TO take his place.
were not criminals. Most of them did some
thing useful for the living they received. Grim
inals, when convicted, are housed in q much
enough to ~ent-which the denizens of the court
were not. II any prison In the kingdom were
o: the nation would be stirred with l~paigna;
ton, and some wretch IN a ithority would feel
was merely ally representative Of the home OF
the British workingman, in the wisest. largest.
proudcst,, most wealthy, city In the world. Mt
the end of the ninteeIth century, after a thou
sand years. more, or less, of progress. Some
homes of the workinRmen are better. but then
we e have tho artisans improved dwciiihEsS
among us. The occupants of the improved
dwellings, are hedged about with restrictions.
and go a. you liked; freedom to get drunk;
freedom to loaf or work: freedom 10 starve;
were .much. the same as those: Of habituts Of
frst,cl,ss West, End clubs. They liked to
trapec, and thers or at the barber shop they
could plac. q little on n horse they knew nothing
of. One OF the advantages Of a free country Is
that q man can ret quite rs drunk on beer as
he can on champagne. and at n much less cost.
The results are wonderfully similar. 1t is nopu-
larry believed that n policeman in Piccadilly is
kinder to a client In a dress coat than an officer
on Waterloo Road Is TO q man In moleskins.
hose Safusm ho9r. nau llts.e ar9uP,e w WI fsm me
nine portion OF 1t looked somewhat askance at
the force. All n policeman asked Of n drunken
dwellcr in the court was thai II lie wanted to
fight he should fight in the court, and not on a
busy thoroughfare liks Light, street. In the
took charge of them before the battle had been
fought to u finish. and sometimes IL tall police
man watched oIer the separation of tempo
ers resisted the wife who was rociierously
showing him TOWARD his own doorway, when
the officer would say:
Come now. my man. none of that" where
upon. strangely enough, 1t was the woman who
~tection, though when her man proceeded to
abuse n meniner of the force also, she quickly
tod him TO shut his mouth" using an
scriptive. Often a stalwart policeman would
take by the scrufT of the neck an inhabitant Of
Jle court staggering hlOnU l4lpIl SlTttl. lllI
the air with melody or defiance. and walk him
rapidly do IN the street, the man & legs "abollhE
eoou. uncertainty. as II he were 4 waSworE
trance of the court: then. having received the
required impetus from the, officer. the man
shot under the archway and was presumably
taken care OF when he got inside; anyhow,
once in the court he could not get out again
except b. the way he entered, and few ever
became drunk enough TO forget there was always
q policeman in the ne'ghborhood. The thrust
under the archway was merely the Kindly
| I t,h, .t,,. ,.a, Of dating flA pirra1nly net
of plncing a man tenderly in a cab and telling
the driver whore Ia go. Few were ever actu,
ally arrested in the Light street district. and
their conduct had to be particularly ~tlagrant
To bring upon them this last resort OF the force.
Along iiEht street came MsFsI"n: WIN me
in good health. who takes this world seriously
aud believes there Is something 10 be done In
Ross and Crown and nodded 10 some men
who were lounging there.
Are you loing to the meeting tonight,
One shCos his head. another shrugged his
shoulders; 1t was evident at IA glance that none
of them had any interest in the meeting while
the pub" remained open.
ITS important said Marsten. THE COM
will likely be put to vote. You are not in
favor of a etrike. ,ssurelyf Then come along
81 donno' bout that" said one. removing
his pipe. Strike pay Is as good as masters
nay. an lees work to get 1t. could do with a
Strike LAY may be as good as masters
while II lasts. but it won't last rejoincd
When :. gives out VOL, go back to work"
Some Of you won't get back" said Marsten.
That's always the way after a strike. Better
keep n good job while we have It," .
oh. / could do with a bit Of a, 'oliday,'"
repeated the spokesman OF the pub crowd.
NJ Cod" cried Marsten, Indignantly, II.
yon take no more interest in yoq g,t eSnd ~.
We'll. ! thort." answered the Other, good
naturally. when l sees You a-cou.in' along.
as 'ow you'd better it BY arstin' us to ave II
You're muddled with beer already" said
the young man shortly. as he turned and disap-
penred up the court.
minutes after he had left them.
"COcky young fel!er tnat. said one at last.
Jerking his pipe over. his shoulder In the direc-
ton AINrsten had gone.
oh, e knows u bit. o does remarked an
other, sarCastiCally.
There was u longer pause. when the spokes-
man. who had been Illuminating over the mat
~"Wot dye s'y Z 'avin' another pint inso!de?
Then we go t tn nsstin, and i vote T.. for nth tn,
denCe. | do; .Iork bout muddlin'; we'll show
'oOse muddlcd."
ing the situation: 1t is perhaps a pity that
Marsten did not know the result OF his brief
conversation with his fellow workman. He
did not know that the desire for improving
ones condition is not AT all universal. and that
| tT6n NlGTE lHcTt ina "a VIC germ vi u DIT
people do not wish TO he dragOoned into better
lag themselves. fact. as Mrs. Hope might have
told him. goes further than good intentions.
A drop OF beer and n friendly smite on the shout
der would have got him several votes against
The strike. As 1t was. he had merely strength
ened the arms of that ass ~ibbOns.' by max
ing the mistake of surprising that the average
human being is actlIated by reason.
Meanwhile tho young man bad passed under
the archway and no the court. until he came to
doorway No. $. The hall and the five pairs
of Erimy stairs were only less public than the
court, which in its turn was only less public
than Light street because fewer feet trod
thereon. He assembled the first fight OF stairs
and paused Mt one of the doors at tho landing.
From within came the droning notes OF a har-
monium, and Alursten foreborr TO knock as he
listened to the sound. A slatternly woman
came down the second flight with a water Jug
in her hand. She stopped, on seeing a stranger
standing there, and listened to the music also.
The dirge being played did not sOOthe what
ever suyageness there was within The breast of
the woman. for rhe broke out against the in
mates Ot tho rooms.
oh, yes" She cried. Elmo COINS on for
the likes o them. 4 harmOnyun. II YOU please.
GGwd save us! We amt good enough for the
likes o. i'm. A harmonyuIn! In Garden court.
No good can come o. strayaganCe ike that.
Wot's 'r, I'd like 10 know BAH"
The woman. with n wave other hand, ex-