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others who were acting the part of the dog in the manger, and would neither work themselves nor let others work if they could hinder them.

I was not sorry to hear of this determination, especially as it, in a great measure, produced the effect intended; for I was loth that our cause should be disgraced by violence. Disgraced enough it was by this time, though, by the low habits into which some of our number had rapidly sunk. Men who, before the turn-out, were sober and industrious and clever in their trade, in the course of a few weeks became loose and intemperate, and a positive nuisance to the neighbourhoods in which they lived; so true is it that

"Satan finds some mischief still

For idle hands to do."

I must say, however, that in more instances than one the men would not, in all probability, have been so bad if they had not been angered by their wives, who not only took no pains to make their homes as comfortable as their unhappy circumstances would admit, but were for ever reproaching their husbands with the folly of which they had been guilty.

Happily for me, my wife was of another temper, and had learned a very different lesson in the school of her great Master. Betsy was a humble, sincere Christian, and the blessed fruits of communion with God and the teachings of God's Holy Spirit were never more manifest than at this trying time. She kindly kept her word; she never reproached me, although I knew that she had not approved of my conduct. So far, indeed, from ever uttering an impatient word, she bore all the privations of the strike meekly and patiently and cheerfully; and when I gave way to impatience or despondency, as I often did, she laid herself out to raise my spirits. Besides this, she worked doubly hard now that I had nothing to do. Before I married her she had learned and worked at dressmaking, but had given it up as our family came on. Well, she took to this again, in addition to all her housework; and, though she could not earn much at it, being so often called off by other

matters, the few shillings a week that she did earn were very precious to us.

I cannot think of it even now without very strong, deep feeling; and, when sometimes I sat by her, late at night, after the children were in bed, and watched her toiling with her needle so cheerfully for a few pence, so to speak, and had it borne in upon my mind that I had voluntarily exposed her to this by throwing up my forty or more shillings a week good, I was ready to cry with heartache; and that is the truth.

"Betsy," I said one night, "I cannot go on so much longer; I must do something."

"Is there no likelihood that the strike will soon end, James?" she asked.

"I don't see that there is," I answered, gloomily; "Mr. Johnson has taken on fresh hands, you know; and I have heard that he can have as many more as he wants by only writing for them."

"Then he has not filled up all your places, James ?" said Betsy, looking at me wistfully.

"Not yet: no, I should say not."

"And wouldn't you

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"Don't say a word about it, Betsy," I said, hastily interrupting her. "I cannot go back again unless our demands are met; and Mr. Johnson must take all of us back again, or none. That is what was agreed upon at the first; and there is no being off that bargain."

My wife did not argue with me; but her silence touched me more than all the words she could have spoken.

"Would you mind leaving D

(our town) very much ?" would be a great trial.

I asked, hesitatingly; for I knew it Her happiest years had been passed at D, and she had friends there from whom it would be hard to part, especially to go to a strange place.

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Why do you ask, James ?" she said, with a little start, as I could see.

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Well, it is of no use for me to stop here if I cannot

get work to do," I said; "and by all accounts there is abundance of employment to be had in London, at high wages."

and added, "I know

"How do you know this, James ?" "From Michael Collins," I said; you don't like Collins, Betsy; but he has the means of knowing, and he would not say so if it were not so, I should think."

"He came from London himself, did he not ?"

"Yes, he did."

"Why did he come away if there was plenty of work at high wages there ?" she asked, quietly; " and why does he not go back again instead of idling his time away in D———?”

I could not answer these questions very satisfactorily to myself or to my wife; but, supposing Collins to be a single man, and suspecting him to be of a roving disposition, I gave him credit for honest motives at any rate, if not for wise reasons for his conduct.

"And the new men Mr. Johnson has taken on, did you not tell me that they came from London? and, if so, is it not odd for them to have left plenty of employment and high wages behind them ?"

I confess that I had not thought of this before, and it staggered me. At the same time I knew that there are always, in every trade, a number of men, hanging loose on society, and ready for any change: and I tried to account for their conduct in this way.

My wife did not say much, but I could see that she was not satisfied with my argument. At last she suggested, "Why do you not write to your brother and ask his opinion and advice ?"

I should say that my brother Tom, a good, sterling fellow as ever lived, was in the same trade as mine, and had lived and worked in London some time.

"I have thought of that, Betsy," I said; "but I would not do it without knowing your mind about going." My dear wife looked very kindly in my face.

"If it

seems right to go, James, I won't throw a single obstacle in the way," she said.

CHAPTER IX. "A FOOL AND HIS MONEY ARE SOON PARTED."

The strike had lasted six weeks when Betsy suggested my writing to my brother Tom; and by this time the greater part of our savings had been swallowed up. I had a few pounds left, however; and I calculated that if Tom reported favourably about our removal to London, we should have enough to take us there, and to keep us for a week or two till I got regularly into work again. At any rate, I knew that, if it were needed, Tom would lend me a helping hand, though. I might feel loth to ask him for assistance, seeing that he had a larger family than I to support. Happily, I was not in debt, thanks to my wife's good management.

Well, I wrote my letter to Tom, and posted it, making up myn mind to wait patiently, and take no steps about seeking elsewhere for work till I got his answer.

By this time the condition of the greater part of the men on strike was very pitiable. It was the beginning of winter, and hard, cold, wet weather had set in. The poor fellows had no money, and by this time their little credit at the shops was quite exhausted, while the shopkeepers were naturally impatient to be paid for what the men had had. So there they were, they and their wretched families, suffering from cold and hunger; for, though Michael Collins had engaged that we all should receive assistance from the society he was so fond of talking about, that assistance never came. The only resource the turn-outs had, therefore, was to pawn from time to time as much as they could spare, or what they could most easily spare, of their household goods, and even of their clothing. Thus, when warmth and comfort and good food were wanted most, because of the cold weather, these blessings were brought down to the lowest point with them.

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I very well remember now, and could tell too, many

affecting domestic histories of this hard and sorrowful time ; but it would make my own story too long, and it is not necessary. I shall only say, therefore, that, with regard to several of these poor families, the imagination of the reader can scarcely exceed the real state of distress they were in.

And yet they still stood out for their rights: I should rather say that we did; for we still held together, and were determined that only in one way—our way, of course—should the strike be ended.

I should say, however, that the number of the men on strike was somewhat lessened by the single men, and one or two of the married ones, leaving the town and going on tramp, as it is called, after employment. Of these nothing was heard for some time; and when we did hear, the news was not such as to encourage others to follow their example.

And now I come back to the day when I wrote a letter to my brother Tom, in London, in which I gave him a full and faithful account of our strike; mentioning Michael Collins as our leader in it, and asking Tom's advice about my going to London, and taking my family there.

I had posted my letter, and had just turned away from the post-office, when I encountered Collins, who had a letter in his hand which he was going to post. So we walked away together.

I must say that, at this time, I had no suspicions of Michael's character. I knew, indeed, that he was a rattling fellow in his talk, and not very particular in his habits; but I thought that Betsy was uncharitable in the bad opinion she had somehow formed of the man; and, as I had a will of my own, I did not choose to be led away by that opinion. I think now that there was a little bit of contrariness and obstinacy in this; and I have also learned, since then, to believe that women (well-principled, sensible women, I mean) are more quick-sighted than men with regard to the character and disposition of those they meet with. But I did not think so at that time; and as I walked on in company with Collins, I told him, among other things, of my

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