第120章

The March of the Imperialists It was an unusually fine day for the time of year, and as they passed along the Grand Parade - which faced due south - they felt quite warm.

The Parade was crowded with richly dressed and bejewelled loafers, whose countenances in many instances bore unmistakable signs of drunkenness and gluttony.Some of the females had tried to conceal the ravages of vice and dissipation by coating their faces with powder and paint.Mingling with and part of this crowd were a number of well-fed-looking individuals dressed in long garments of black cloth of the finest texture, and broad-brimmed soft felt hats.Most of these persons had gold rings on their soft white fingers and glove-like kid or calfskin boots on their feet.They belonged to the great army of imposters who obtain an easy living by taking advantage of the ignorance and simplicity of their fellow-men, and pretending to be the `followers' and `servants' of the lowly Carpenter of Nazareth -the Man of Sorrows, who had not where to lay His head.

None of these black-garbed `disciples' were associating with the groups of unemployed carpenters, bricklayers, plasterers, and painters who stood here and there in the carriage-way dressed in mean and shabby clothing and with faces pale with privation.Many of these latter were known to our friends with the cart, and nodded to them as they passed.Now and then some of them came over and walked a little distance by their side, inquiring whether there was any news of another job at Rushton's.

When they were about half-way down the Parade, just near the Fountain, Crass and his mates encountered a number of men on whose arms were white bands with the word `Collector' in black letters.They carried collecting boxes and accosted the people in the street, begging for money for the unemployed.These men were a kind of skirmishers for the main body, which could be seen some distance behind.

As the procession drew near, Sawkins steered the cart into the kerb and halted as they went past.There were about three hundred men altogether, marching four abreast.They carried three large white banners with black letters, `Thanks to our Subscribers' `In aid of Genuine Unemployed', `The Children must be Fed'.Although there were a number of artisans in the procession, the majority of the men belonged to what is called the unskilled labourer class.The skilled artisan does not as a rule take part in such a procession except as a very last resource...And all the time he strives to keep up an appearance of being well-to-do, and would be highly indignant if anyone suggested that he was really in a condition of abject, miserable poverty.Although he knows that his children are often not so well fed as are the pet dogs and cats of his `betters', he tries to bluff his neighbours into thinking that he has some mysterious private means of which they know nothing, and conceals his poverty as if it were a crime.Most of this class of men would rather starve than beg.

Consequently not more than a quarter of the men in the procession were skilled artisans; the majority were labourers.

There was also a sprinkling of those unfortunate outcasts of society -tramps and destitute, drunken loafers.If the self-righteous hypocrites who despise these poor wretches had been subjected to the same conditions, the majority of them would inevitably have become the same as these.

Haggard and pale, shabbily or raggedly dressed, their boots broken and down at heel, they slouched past.Some of them stared about with a dazed or half-wild expression, but most of them walked with downcast eyes or staring blankly straight in front of them.They appeared utterly broken-spirited, hopeless and ashamed...

`Anyone can see what THEY are,' sneered Crass, `there isn't fifty genuine tradesmen in the whole crowd, and most of 'em wouldn't work if they 'ad the offer of it.'

`That's just what I was thinkin',' agreed Sawkins with a laugh.

`There will be plenty of time to say that when they have been offered work and have refused to do it,' said Owen.

`This sort of thing does the town a lot of 'arm,' remarked Slyme; `it oughtn't to be allowed; the police ought to stop it.It's enough to drive all the gentry out of the place!'