Soon after I came to London I found out an old school-fellow, and went to lodge7 with his family: They were tainted8 with Atheism, and my once pious9 playmate was as corrupt10 as the rest of them. They took me one Sunday evening to Cleveland Hall, where I heard Mrs. Law knock the Bible about delightfully11. She was not what would be called a woman of culture, but she had what some devotees of "culchaw" do not possess—a great deal of natural ability; and she appeared to know the "blessed book" from cover to cover. Her discourse12 was very different from the Unitarian sermons I had heard at Plymouth. She spoke13 in a plain, honest, straightforward14 manner, and I resolved to visit Cleveland Hall again.
Three or four weeks afterwards I heard Mr. Bradlaugh for the first time. It was a very wet Sunday evening, but as 'bus-riding was dearer then than it is now, and my resources were slender, I walked about three miles through the heavy rain, and sat on a backless bench in Cleveland Hall, for which I think I paid twopence. I was wet through, but I was young, and my health was flawless. Nor did I mind the discomfort15 a bit when Mr. Bradlaugh began his lecture. Fiery16 natural eloquence17 of that sort was a novelty in my experience. I kept myself warm with applauding, and at the finish I was pretty nearly as dry outside as inside. From that time I went to hear Mr. Bradlaugh whenever I had an opportunity. He became the "god" of my young idolatry. I used to think of him charging the hosts of superstition18, and wish I could be near him in the fight. But it was rather a dream than any serious expectation of such an honor.
When the new Hall of Science was opened I became a pretty regular attendant. I heard Mr. Charles Watts19, who was then as now a capital debater; Mr. G. J. Holyoake, Mr. C. C. Cattell, Mr. Austin Holyoake. and perhaps one or two other lecturers whom I have forgotten. Mr. Austin Holyoake frequently took the chair, especially at Mr. Bradlaugh's lectures, and a capital chairman he was, giving out the notices in a pleasant, graceful20 manner, and pleading for financial support like a true man. He was working hard for the success of the enterprise himself, and had a right to beg help from others.
Mr. Bradlaugh, however, was the great attraction in my case. Perhaps I was more impressionable at that time, but I fancy he was then at his best as an orator21. In later life he grew more cautious under a sense of responsibility; he had to think what he should not say as well as what he should. He cultivated the art of persuasion22, and he was right in doing so. But at the earlier period I am writing of he gave a full swing to his passionate23 eloquence. His perorations24 were marvellously glowing and used to thrill me to the very marrow25.
Gradually I began to make acquaintances at the Hall. I got to know Mr. Austin Holyoake and his charming wife, Mr. and Mrs. Bayston, Mr. Herbert Gilham, Mr. R. O. Smith, and other workers. By and bye I was introduced to Mr. Bradlaugh and shook hands with him. It was the proudest moment of my young life. I still remember his scrutinising look. It was keen but kindly26, and the final expression seemed to say, "We may see more of each other."
In 1870 I wrote my first article in the National Reformer. For a year or two I wrote occasionally, and after that with tolerable frequency. I was also engaged in various efforts at the Hall; helping27 to carry on a Secular2 Sunday School, a Young Men's Secular Association, etc. Naturally I was drawn28 more and more into Mr. Bradlaugh's acquaintance, and when he found himself unable to continue the Logic29 Class he had started at the Hall he asked me to carry it on for him. Of course I was proud of the invitation. But the Class did not live long. It was not Logic, but Mr. Bradlaugh, that had brought the members together. Nor do I think they would have learnt much of the art from Mr. Bradlaugh, except in an empirical way. He had a very logical cast of mind, but as far as I could see he had little acquaintance with formal Logic as it is taught by Mill and Whately, whom I select as typical masters of Induction30 and Deduction31, without wishing to depreciate32 the host of other authorities. Mr. Bradlaugh really gave his class lessons in Metaphysics; his talk was of substance, mode, and attribute, rather than of premises33 and conclusions. Mr. Bradlaugh and I were brought into closer acquaintance by the Republican agitation34 in England after the proclamation of the present French Republic. I attended the Republican Conference at Birmingham in 1871, when I first met my old friend Dr. Guest of Manchester, Mr. R. A. Cooper of Norwich, Mr. Daniel Baker35, Mr. Ferguson the Glasgow Home Ruler, and other veterans of reform. We held our Conference on Sunday in the old meeting-place of the Secular Society, which was approached by very abrupt36 steps, and being situated37 over stables, was not devoid38 of flavor. On Monday the Conference was continued in one of the rooms under the Town Hall. A long political programme was concocted39. I was elected Secretary, and had the honor of speaking at the public meeting in the large hall. It was my first appearance in such a perilous40 position. I was apprehensive41, and I said so. But Mr. Bradlaugh put his hand on my shoulder and told me not to fear. His kind looks and words were an excellent tonic42. When I rose to speak I thought next to nothing about the audience. I thought "Mr. Bradlaugh is listening, I must do my best." And now as I am writing, I recall his encouraging glance as I looked at him, and the applause he led when I made my first point. He was my leader, and he helped me in an elder-brotherly way. Nothing could exceed his considerate generosity43. Other people did not see it, but I remember it, and it was typical of the man.
One incident at the Conference is worth noting. It occurred in the afternoon, when Mr. R. A. Cooper (I think) was in the chair. The question of Free Education was being discussed. Mr. Bradlaugh did not quite like it, nor did I. He asked me to go with him into an ante-room and consider an amendment44. What it was I can hardly remember, although I recollect45 that Mr. Cooper was very sarcastic46 about it. Since then my own opinion has changed, as I dare say Mr. Bradlaugh's had changed; and the incident would not be worth recalling if it did not throw a light upon Mr. Bradlaugh's philosophy. He was always in favor of self-help and individual responsibility, and he was naturally hostile to everything that might weaken those precious-elements of English life.
During the years immediately after the opening of the Hall of Science, Mr. Bradlaugh was there a good deal. Sometimes he attended the week-night entertainments and gave a reading from Shelley or Whittier or some other poet. The audience applauded as a matter of course. They always applauded Mr. Bradlaugh. But he was no reader. He delivered his lines with that straightforward sincerity47 which characterised his speeches. He cultivated none of the graces or dexterities of the elocutionist. Besides, he was too original to be a successful echo of other men. I think he only did justice to Shelley's lines "To the Men of England." But this is a piece of simple and vigorous declamation48; very fine, no doubt but rather rhetoric49 than poetry.
Mr. Bradlaugh was anything but a cold man. I should say he was electric. But his tastes, so far as I could discover, did not lie in the direction of poetry. Certainly I heard him once, in those old days, read a great part, if not the whole of Shelley's "Sensitive Plant." He loved Shelley, however, as an Atheist and a Republican, and I suppose he took Shelley's poetry on trust. But I do not think, though I speak under correction, that he cared very much for poetry as such. I could never discover from his conversation or writings that he had read a line of Shakespeare—the god of Colonel Ingersoll. His mind was of the practical order, like Oliver Cromwell's. He had a genius for public affairs. He was not only a born orator, but a born ruler of men. Naturally he had, as the French say, the defects of his qualities. And it may be that the terrible stress of his life tended to repress the poetical50 side of his nature, and less developed his subtlety51 than his strength. Yet his feelings were deep, and his heart was easily touched. When William O'Brien delivered that great speech in the House of Commons after his imprisonment52 by Mr. Balfour, with all its needless indignities53, there were two men who could not restrain their tears. One was an Irish member. The other was Charles Bradlaugh. One who witnessed the scene told me it was infinitely54 pathetic to see that gigantic man, deemed so hard by an ignorant world, wiping away his tears at the tale of a brave man's unmerited suffering.
Mr. Bradlaugh used to attend the social parties pretty often in those old days. He did not dance and he stood about rather awkwardly. It must have been a great affliction, but he bore it with exemplary fortitude55. Once or twice I saw Mrs. Bradlaugh there. She had a full-blown matronly figure. Miss Alice and Miss Hypatia came frequently. They were not then living in the enervating56 air of London, and they looked extremely robust57. I also remember the boy Charles, of whom Mr. Bradlaugh seemed very proud. He was a remarkably58 bright lad, and full of promise. But he was carried off by a fever. Only a day or two after the lad's death Mr. Bradlaugh had to lecture at the Hall. I was away, and I wondered whether he would fulfil the engagement. He did fulfil it. A friend wrote to me that Mr. Bradlaugh walked through the hall and mounted the platform with a face as white and rigid59 as that of a statue. He made no reference or allusion60 to his loss, but all could see he carried a bleeding heart. His lecturing in such circumstances was characteristic. Weaker men would have indulged their grief; he was made of sterner stuff, and would not let it interfere61 with what he deemed his duty.
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1 rev | |
v.发动机旋转,加快速度 | |
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2 secular | |
n.牧师,凡人;adj.世俗的,现世的,不朽的 | |
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3 secularism | |
n.现世主义;世俗主义;宗教与教育分离论;政教分离论 | |
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4 atheism | |
n.无神论,不信神 | |
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5 atheist | |
n.无神论者 | |
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6 pointed | |
adj.尖的,直截了当的 | |
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7 lodge | |
v.临时住宿,寄宿,寄存,容纳;n.传达室,小旅馆 | |
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8 tainted | |
adj.腐坏的;污染的;沾污的;感染的v.使变质( taint的过去式和过去分词 );使污染;败坏;被污染,腐坏,败坏 | |
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9 pious | |
adj.虔诚的;道貌岸然的 | |
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10 corrupt | |
v.贿赂,收买;adj.腐败的,贪污的 | |
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11 delightfully | |
大喜,欣然 | |
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12 discourse | |
n.论文,演说;谈话;话语;vi.讲述,著述 | |
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13 spoke | |
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说 | |
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14 straightforward | |
adj.正直的,坦率的;易懂的,简单的 | |
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15 discomfort | |
n.不舒服,不安,难过,困难,不方便 | |
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16 fiery | |
adj.燃烧着的,火红的;暴躁的;激烈的 | |
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17 eloquence | |
n.雄辩;口才,修辞 | |
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18 superstition | |
n.迷信,迷信行为 | |
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19 watts | |
(电力计量单位)瓦,瓦特( watt的名词复数 ) | |
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20 graceful | |
adj.优美的,优雅的;得体的 | |
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21 orator | |
n.演说者,演讲者,雄辩家 | |
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22 persuasion | |
n.劝说;说服;持有某种信仰的宗派 | |
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23 passionate | |
adj.热情的,热烈的,激昂的,易动情的,易怒的,性情暴躁的 | |
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24 perorations | |
n.(演说等的)结束语,结论( peroration的名词复数 );夸夸其谈的演说 | |
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25 marrow | |
n.骨髓;精华;活力 | |
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26 kindly | |
adj.和蔼的,温和的,爽快的;adv.温和地,亲切地 | |
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27 helping | |
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的 | |
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28 drawn | |
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的 | |
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29 logic | |
n.逻辑(学);逻辑性 | |
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30 induction | |
n.感应,感应现象 | |
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31 deduction | |
n.减除,扣除,减除额;推论,推理,演绎 | |
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32 depreciate | |
v.降价,贬值,折旧 | |
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33 premises | |
n.建筑物,房屋 | |
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34 agitation | |
n.搅动;搅拌;鼓动,煽动 | |
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35 baker | |
n.面包师 | |
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36 abrupt | |
adj.突然的,意外的;唐突的,鲁莽的 | |
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37 situated | |
adj.坐落在...的,处于某种境地的 | |
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38 devoid | |
adj.全无的,缺乏的 | |
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39 concocted | |
v.将(尤指通常不相配合的)成分混合成某物( concoct的过去式和过去分词 );调制;编造;捏造 | |
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40 perilous | |
adj.危险的,冒险的 | |
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41 apprehensive | |
adj.担心的,恐惧的,善于领会的 | |
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42 tonic | |
n./adj.滋补品,补药,强身的,健体的 | |
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43 generosity | |
n.大度,慷慨,慷慨的行为 | |
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44 amendment | |
n.改正,修正,改善,修正案 | |
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45 recollect | |
v.回忆,想起,记起,忆起,记得 | |
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46 sarcastic | |
adj.讥讽的,讽刺的,嘲弄的 | |
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47 sincerity | |
n.真诚,诚意;真实 | |
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48 declamation | |
n. 雄辩,高调 | |
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49 rhetoric | |
n.修辞学,浮夸之言语 | |
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50 poetical | |
adj.似诗人的;诗一般的;韵文的;富有诗意的 | |
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51 subtlety | |
n.微妙,敏锐,精巧;微妙之处,细微的区别 | |
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52 imprisonment | |
n.关押,监禁,坐牢 | |
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53 indignities | |
n.侮辱,轻蔑( indignity的名词复数 ) | |
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54 infinitely | |
adv.无限地,无穷地 | |
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55 fortitude | |
n.坚忍不拔;刚毅 | |
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56 enervating | |
v.使衰弱,使失去活力( enervate的现在分词 ) | |
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57 robust | |
adj.强壮的,强健的,粗野的,需要体力的,浓的 | |
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58 remarkably | |
ad.不同寻常地,相当地 | |
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59 rigid | |
adj.严格的,死板的;刚硬的,僵硬的 | |
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60 allusion | |
n.暗示,间接提示 | |
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61 interfere | |
v.(in)干涉,干预;(with)妨碍,打扰 | |
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